With RPGs continuing to evolve in this latest console generation, more and more of our time is being consumed getting lost in the expansive worlds of titles like Bloodborne and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. With 200 hours of plus of play time possible, days and weeks can fly by before we reacquaint ourselves with society. Soda cans, beer bottles and take away containers slowly fill up my living space to the point where it’s probably just easier to move out afterwards, rather than clean up.
For those with full-time jobs and relationships to think about, these game become hard to play unless you’re willing to give them up. For instance, I recently got engaged, but with the impending launch of Fallout 4, which is said to boast over 400 hours of content, I’m interested to see where that relationship is at once I re-emerge from the Wasteland. After completing a game like Fallout or Skyrim, although I feel accomplished and a bit nostalgic with all the time invested, I also feel absolutely exhausted, like I’ve been running long distances wearing power armor. Consequently, I often need some time away before I spend another 200 hours in a brand new game world.
Sometimes it’s necessary to take a break, and feed your RPG hunger with something a little more simple, and a lot less time consuming. Here are my suggestions for some short, but sweet, RPGs you may have missed, or are just worth revisiting.
Citizens of Earth
Citizens of Earth is a turn based RPG, in which you play as the ignorant and oblivious Vice President of the world. The Vice President apparently has no responsibilities, lives with his mother, and like most politicians, no one likes him. Complete quests to gather numerous followers such as a teacher, a barista, the town’s baker who functions as a healer, or your own brother as your strength character. Using the citizens of earth you take on a variety of nemeses, like protestors, corporate bigwigs, even mutated coffee beans. One of my favorite things about the game is its retro RPG feel, along with some genuinely funny lines from the Vice President. However the game’s navigation leaves a lot to be desired, with the characters handing out quests freely but giving very vague descriptions of your next destination. Game time runs at about 15 hours, making it an overall easy play.
Costume Quest 2
Released in October of 2014, I had immense fun playing Costume Quest 2 just in time for Halloween. So much so, that I decided to revisit it this Halloween as if it were a Halloween special on network television. And that’s really part of the game’s appeal — it’s art style and story remind me of a cartoon I might’ve seen around Halloween in the 90s.
Costume Quest 2 picks back up where the first one left off, with Reynold and his sister Wren, once again trying to stop the evil dentist Orel White from destroying Halloween. If you haven’t played the first Costume Quest I highly recommend it as well, however some much appreciated changes were made to Costume Quest 2. Like the first game, you collect materials to make new costumes, and once a costume is complete your character takes its form, with each costume offering different abilities. Unlike the first, during turn-based battles, if you time your attack right, you have an opportunity to attack a second time. This helps keep the fights a little more interesting by requiring a bit more attention.
The buff system was also improved, replacing ‘Battle Stamps’, with ‘Creepy Treat Cards’ which can be used anytime in battle. If you’ve played Costume Quest 2 before, try playing with the Candy Corn costume equipped for every battle of the game. As the Candy Corn you forfeit your turn by just standing there (but focus enemies attack while having a high defense) and instead get numerous excuses why Candy Corn can’t fight. Such as, “Candy Corn doesn’t have arms” to unapologetic remarks like “Why don’t you take a picture it’ll last longer.” The longer I played with Candy Corn the funnier these remarks became. With the game time running about six hours long, and six hours of Candy Corn doing nothing, I cracked up when I saw, “Candy Corn is about to make it’s move”.
Child of Light
Child of Light follows the adventure of Aurora from Austria, after she falls fatally ill and seemingly dies. However, she awakes and finds herself in the land of Lumeria, which is being threatened by the evil Queen Umbra. With the help of some recruitable Lumerians, from a mouse archer to a wizard, you fight your way through Lumeria attempting to free it from Umbra’s clutches.
Child of Light is at first a side scroller with a variety of simple puzzles you must complete to advance. Once Aurora runs into an enemy, the screen warps, and a turn-based battle begins. Aurora and up to two of your recruited characters fight using both physical, and magical attacks to wear down enemies. There is also an added bar toward the bottom of the screen that always moves, showing you the battle rotation. This allows for better strategy when planning your attacks. Where Child of Light truly succeeds is in its watercolor style art, which resembles pages right out of a children’s book. Unlike a good book however, its story is not terribly gripping, and having to listen to entire game played out in rhyme can get a little irritating. I found this to be a nice touch in the beginning though, making it feel more like a storybook, and whoever was ambitious enough to do so deserves a pat on the back. Child of Light game time clocks in at around 11 hours.