GAMEPLAY 8.5/10
Coridden is an action RPG with the twist of being able to turn into the creatures you defeat. You can also summon copies of those creatures and ride them and all jokes aside ride your friends in co-op. The gameplay loop is familiar for action RPGs, pick a class, defeat enemies for XP, collect loot, upgrade gear and repeat.
There are 4 prebuilt classes with 3 skill trees each. There’s also a Custom class that allows you to pick your skill trees. Each creature that you add to your roster also has its own skill tree. So there’s lots of customization available and many synergies lurking between the skills.
There’s a good variety of armor and weapons which can be further customized with gems. Interestingly, creatures are also counted as gear with their own gem slots to make them customizable as well.
NARRATIVE 8.5/10
You begin the game as a young arena fighter who’s gifted a pair of gauntlets for your first fight. As it turns out these gauntlets allow you to shapeshift into creatures and they also carry an AI who throws you into the main story adventure.
Without spoiling anything the story builds up into a familiar tale of saving the world. However, I’ve rated the narrative this high because I felt the writers did a great job of not falling into the cliched trope of making the main character the chosen one from the get go. Instead you slowly grow in power and when the moment of truth arrives you happen to be in a position to save the world if you so choose.
GRAPHICS 8/10
The graphics are good. It’s not the most beautiful game I’ve seen in the genre but it’s not bad either. They more than get the job done especially when graphics are not the biggest concern in an isometric RPG. Animations are also solid and make combat feel both fluid and engaging.
SOUND 8/10
The music is excellent and fit well regardless of whether you were in combat, exploring, or roaming around your hometown. There was only one or two places where the music got slightly repetitive. Besides that the music is definitely a highlight of the game.
Sounds effects were equally excellent. The sound of your weapons impacting enemies, the growls and roars of creatures, and the clank of armor all add greatly to the immersion and satisfaction of gameplay.
Voice acting was also very well delivered. There’s good variety of accents and speaking styles so that the characters you meet feel unique.
VALUE 8/10
Without a sale the game is less than $20. I’m going to guess that the main story is about 10 hours long. I spent over 25 hours with side content but that might be because I’m really bad at video games. There are also mission boards which provide continuing content after the story is complete so you can go on building your character. So I think there’s plenty of value for your dollar here.
OVERALL 8.2/10
