The release of open world RPG title Balrum is imminent – on 14th December 2015 it will be available to purchase on Steam (having opted out of having an Early Access release). It may be over a year after the planned release date but that extra time brewing in development seems to have been put to good use by developing duo Balcony Team.
Graphically there doesn’t seem too much to shout about with the fantasy world portrayed from a zoomed out isometric viewpoint and some functional animations. However scratch beneath the surface and that large open world looks well stocked with varied locations, independent NPCs, turn based combat, branching plot, side quests, farming, alchemy, hunting and even the option to tame animals to be your loyal pets.
A beta version of Balrum has been available since March 2014 for Kickstarter backers who pledged at least $25 and in that time has gone through a huge number of updates which have fixed bugs, adding content and balanced gameplay. Balcony Team have also done an exemplary job in running a Kickstarter campaign with regular, informative updates and excellent engagement with their backers.
I must admit to having some doubts about how well Balrum would play with all these features and systems but the positive reactions of those backers who’ve played the beta seems to indicate it could be well worth a purchase.
