Avernum 2: Crystal Souls Review (PC)

good
key review info
  • Game: Avernum 2: Crystal Souls
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: N/a
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Avernum 2: Crystal Souls logo

Avernum 2: Crystal Souls is out, offering fans of tactical role-playing games another avenue to waste some time in a pleasant manner.

The game is a remake of a remade game from 1996, coming with spiffier visuals and a bunch of new content. Creator Jeff Vogel himself stated that even players who enjoyed both previous editions would find a lot of new stuff to do, which pretty much puts me in a privileged position, as I haven't had the pleasure of coming in contact with neither of them.

But you know the old saying, if you've played one Spiderweb Software game, you've played them all. Whenever I see a new entry, however, I cannot help but feel that tingly sensation that reminds me of Dark Sun: Shattered Lands.

Granted, I don't feel the same level of excitement, being jaded and, well, not 10 anymore, and that is partly because I have the same gripes with the games, I discover the very same set of pet peeves, incessantly gnawing at my good time.

What I also discover is an enthralling world and some pretty good writing, an over-arching storyline that always manages to enforce a steel grip on me, and the wish to push forward and see what wonders await next.

Ready to roll
Ready to roll

Story

Avernum is an underground world where wrongdoers are imprisoned instead of being executed, because fantasy humans are much better than actual ones. Doomed to live their lives in darkness, the survivors have built a fledgling society that grew in power over time, so the surface dwellers decided to invade you and kill everyone.

Talk about a complete lack of perspective. You could argue that they should be flayed for not having the decency of executing you, but that means a whole lot of lost years, and life in the dark is still life, however you look at things.

Proper civilization planning and sweeping problems under the rug (literally) aside, your people also assassinated the lord of the Empire somehow, which is pretty much the main reason you're getting wiped out now. Oops.

The Empire's forces are invading Avernum one cave at a time, and a hero must rise to the task of stopping the oppressive forces before it's too late and everything is doomed.

As if the denizens of underground worlds don't have enough on their plate already, a series of magical barriers start popping up out of nowhere, cutting off communication and supply lines, and an ancient alien race is revealed to be the culprit.

The epic and sprawling journey that is Avernum 2: Crystal Souls aims to provide context for these events and to find solutions to all the world's problems. Pretty much your average role-playing game power fantasy.

Also, although the game is set in a series, it's a completely standalone product, which you can enjoy to its fullest without any prior experience in the universe.

Kicking back, slaying goblins
Kicking back, slaying goblins

Gameplay

The first thing you notice about Avernum 2: Crystal Souls and its systems is the fact that everything is very dated, reminiscent of a time long forgotten, and you'll often find yourself wondering whether you should blow the dust from its surfaces before sitting down and jumping in.

However, that dose of nostalgia is not just a cheap ploy meant to capture the attention of old-school role-playing game fans, but instead the conscious realization of a vision, wondrously put together with very limited resources.

There are some areas that feel barren, while others offer a ton of detail and pop to life, conjuring the specifics of the lives of the denizens of Avernum through the miscellaneous doodads painstakingly decorating every chamber and hallway, and to the plants growing in the fields outside.

You begin your journey by creating a party of four characters or by using the default one, which has a pretty good mix of skills and classes, if you're a newcomer.

You then proceed to explore the huge world, talking, and talking, and talking, enjoying the huge amount of witty banter and dramatic narrative that Spiderweb Software has conjured up, and fighting your way to fame.

The writing is decent overall. It has its ups and downs, but at least there are a ton of moments where your options aren't only limited to yes/no answers but have the proper nuance to come across as a cheeky monkey, histrionic diva, or complete tool.

As I often enjoy role-playing characters ranging from insufferable buffoons to bloodthirsty murderers, always on the lookout for even the faintest opportunity to draw blood, I enjoyed my time with Avernum 2: Crystal Souls quite a bit.

Kicking back, slaying goblins
Kicking back, slaying goblins

However, the sheer amount of text you can go through can be a bit off-putting for some, so do remember to bring your reading glasses along for the ride.

The second biggest component of the experience is the turn-based, tactical combat. Each class has some unique skills that come into play when fighting the many entities that seem to want you dead, and there are even skill trees to develop, but most of the time you'll be stuck in a rut, casting your hardest-hitting spells every turn, without much room for experimentation.

Granted, that is usually the main way things are done in role-playing games of this nature, so the fact that you can also summon creatures and other entities to assist in battle, and that there are curses to put on enemies and beneficial spells to buff allies with, as well as various other such support abilities to make use of, makes up for the tedium of clearing trash mobs.

The skill system is pretty straightforward, providing some diversity without making things too confusing, and enemies themselves have their own arsenals of abilities such as poison, fear, and many others, making battles more exciting and dangerous.

The game is also pretty difficult, especially if you charge head-first into packs of enemies, and you often have to pay attention to proper positioning and even to prepare for engagements if you want to emerge victorious.

In case you find it too difficult or too much of a breeze to get you engaged, you can change the level of challenge in the game on the fly, and adjust it to your preference, which is another plus.

The skill system is pretty straightforward, providing some diversity without making things too confusing

The interface is a pretty big turn-off for me, but my usual frame of reference for excellence in role-playing games' UI is World of Warcraft plus a ton of add-ons, so I'll give it a pass. It takes a bit to get used to, but you'll learn its ins and outs in no time, even if it takes one or two clicks more than I would have liked when casting spells.

There are also several other issues that I would have liked to see implemented, such as having visual cues telling you how many action points certain actions take up, or ranges on spells and so on, but I guess the game engine does have its limits.

There are a few helpful modern touches such as quest markers / points of interest on the minimap, and various hints contained within the messages that pop up whenever you try to interact with stuff, trying to make your life easier and to educate you about some of the things you can and cannot do, telling you, for instance, that you can't hop into a boat that you don't own, but that maybe some nearby character can sell it to you.

The game is also pretty long, and there are a ton of things to do, a ton of dungeons to explore, and a ton of secret passages and doors to discover, not to mention innumerable creatures to slay for greater glory.

The narrative features plenty of optional side-quests, and you can even finish the games by following multiple threads, which means that you can potentially pick the game up again after you're finished, and try a different cast of characters, and explore the things you missed during your first playthrough.

Sound and visuals

From a visual standpoint, the game both impresses by the wealth of detail in the world and disappoints by not having a more coherent and strong art direction, as more personality and some striking graphics could have greatly improved the experience.

It's not all bad though. If you're fairly new to gaming, you might be put off by the apparent barren nature of the game, with sterile environments and a lot of repetitive assets, but if you can stomach it, you'll quickly find more and more details as you progress through the world of Avernum.

Spiderweb Software has achieved a true level of mastery when it comes to doing a lot with a very limited amount of resources, and the richness of Avernum's world is a testament to the dedication and love put in assembling it.

There is a ton of detail and some ingenuity to the way things are put together, and you get a vibe of realism, as if you're actually inside a fantasy world, and not merely an amusement park ride, where only the visible bits are painted.

You won't be wowed by the graphics anytime soon, but you'll appreciate the effort put in, especially when you see that every spell that you cast has at least some visual cues, if not actual animations, and that you're able to tell enemies apart by their looks, and that nearly everything that you can pick up or mess around with is represented in a way that makes the interaction pretty clear.

As far as sounds go, even if they lack variety and sometimes polish, they make the experience complete, from the metal-on-metal clashes of combat to the fizzling sounds of lighting being discharged into nearby goblins.

They serve to make the world more believable through ambient noises like chatter in towns, or the wind blowing when you're out in the wild, and to give your actions more weight.


The Good

  • Classic CRPG
  • A lot of content
  • Engaging
  • Good story

The Bad

  • Visuals could be better
  • Wonky interface
  • It feels old

Conclusion

The game delivers in all major areas that old-school role-playing game fans care about. It has pretty good and satisfying combat that oftentimes challenges you to actually get involved and perform some tactical magic, it has a huge world to explore, a ton of characters to meet, and a pretty good story.

It also features dated visuals, a clunky interface, walls of text, and a fixed 2D isometric viewpoint. It's a budget product that could have had a much better presentation, as far as graphics and user experience are concerned.

Furthermore, it has some of the same old problems that Spiderweb Software's games have been experiencing for some time now, crashes, some bugs, and other technical issues, as well as the now infamous issue of not being able to close the inventory or skill panel by pressing the same key you used to open it.

It's a remake of an older game with a lot of graphical revisions and an overhauled interface, as well as a bunch of new content added and reworked, including much of the writing.

Overall, it's among the best indie role-playing game experiences ever crafted, and if low-fi visuals and reading don't scare you, it's well worth the purchase, especially since there is just so much content to enjoy, as well as added value through replayability.

story 8
gameplay 8
concept 8
graphics 6
audio 7
multiplayer 0
final rating 7.5
Editor's review
good
 
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Avernum 2: Crystal Souls screenshots (25 Images)

Avernum 2: Crystal Souls logoReady to rollKicking back, slaying goblinsThis is a lot more frightening than it looksExploring the world
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