This is a repost of what I already said at the AGS forums, but I wanted to say it here, too.:
What a game!
I finally got a chance to play it over the last few days, and it was amazing. I completed the game as a Rogue, which was quite a bit of fun. After looking at some hints, it seems I missed a few things here and there, and I'll be trying to get closer to 500 points next time (I got 426 this time).
The story was great, and kept me interested throughout the game. The art and animation were fantastic. The scenery is just beautiful, I really enjoyed wandering around the landscape. I loved the characters and dialogue, and most of the voice work was wonderful and drew me in. I loved the music, it was always appropriate and it stayed in my head over the days I was playing. The enemies were all great. I didn't change the difficulty level at all, so combat wasn't too hard, but some enemies were still somewhat challenging. Also, I'm glad you chose to replicate this combat system, as it was the most fun version of combat from the Quest for Glory series. Leveling up was a lot of fun, and I spent a few days of gameplay working on increasing my skills and stats. I ended up with every skill I had maxed out. I'd also like to point out how good the programming was in this game.
There were a lot of great references in this game. The ending reminded me of the final scene of Trial By Fire, which I thought was a great touch. Although, reading through earlier posts here, I don't think I was able to help enough people! I'll definitely be trying a little harder next time, and this is certainly a game that can be played through multiple times.
Overall, this was a tremendously satisfying gaming experience. It feels like a love letter to the Coles, definitely comparable to the Quest for Glory games. Great job to everyone involved, and thank you all so much for sharing this wonderful gift with us!
A few comments / issues:
Click here to view the secret text
×After a while, I found money easy to come by. One reason for this is that, as a Rogue, I was able to steal the letter back from Liff to get the reward many consecutive times. Not sure if this was intended, but I enjoyed it.
In the room with the dragon skeleton, I'm not sure if I was supposed to fight that many Brigands. It looked as though they were supposed to be other enemies that glitched into Brigands, but I may be wrong.
In Eitri's house, the mirror reflection of a Troll was visible outside of the mirror if I went too deep into the room.
I had trouble in Sigurd's room, and was never actually able to get into his bedroom. Nothing would prevent the sword from falling, but a glitch allowed me to break into the chest from the other side of the door.
I loved seeing Uhura, Arne the Aardvark, Keapon Laffin, and Cedric the Owl. Also, the carved Leopard and other various items scattered about. These made for great Easter Eggs.
I was a little sad to see the ending. It makes the prospect of a sequel look unlikely, and to be honest I was really hoping for a series here. That said, I understand why it was done, and it works with the story. I'll definitely be keeping my eye on Crystal Shard's future endeavors into Adventure RPG hybrid games.
Again, fantastic job. I love this game.