The Hand of Merlin

The Hand of Merlin caught my attention when I learned of some of the incredibly talented people who are responsible for the game. Set in the day and age of King Arthur, this is a mash-up of game styles. At its core, they are describing the game as a rouge-lite, but it has squad-based battles, turn based combat, dynamic choices, and a fantastic sci-f/horror twist on this story we have heard a million times before.

Interdimensional Medieval Madness!

The plot of the game is what drew me to it, written by the same person responsible for the excellent Talos Principle. The Hand of Merlin is set during the days of Merlin, King Arthur, Excalibur, and all that other goodness that we have read about in books and seen in movies for decades.

The difference here is that while the game has a medieval setting, it also has other dimensions where there are huge differences to the world, demonic forces and other things that you would not believe are at play here. You get to make choices that can affect the narrative going forward so there is a lot of replay value here.

Thinking About Magic

The combat on offer in The Hand of Merlin certainly will have a bit of a learning curve. You have different characters/classes that you can use as well as all kinds of weapons and spells. The battles are turn based and you have a squad of warriors that you need to keep an eye on. Death in this game is permeant so you might not want to get too attached to some of your characters.

Taking The Right Risks

I love the idea of the progression system in The Hand of Merlin. As you play, your heroes will be able to level up. Here you can choose if you want to improve their abilities or you can roll the dice and assign a whole new set of skills. Making sure your team has a balanced set of skills I feel is key. Another interesting aspect of the progression of the game is the weapons. This game has legendary weapons (even Excalibur) some of these you will buy, but others require you to go on dangerous quests where surely a few of your team will fall!

Medieval Horror

The presentation of the game is great. The way it has that medieval look we have seen a million times, but mixes it with horror and sci-fi is very cool. I cannot think of other games set during this time period that have attempted to do the same thing, to be honest with you. I get why the camera is as far out as it is, but I would love it if it had been placed a bit closer to all of the action.

Pros:

• I love the story the game tells
• The story has different paths depending on what you do
• This is a game that requires a great deal of skill
• I like the way your characters and weapons progress in the game

Cons:

• This game is going to be very challenging
• I think it would have been cool if the camera got in a bit closer to the action