Playable demos are a fantastic way to experience a game without having to spend any money. IronSaga‘s demo showcases the game’s core fundamentals, and to be honest I wasn’t all that impressed. The game opens up with the player standing alone in a room. A dialogue box appears as an unknown character named Guardian begins to fill you in on the game’s backstory. The throne is taken by your evil half-brother Trytin, and his minions poison the land. You must set out on your quest to claim the throne and save the land from Trytin’s wrath.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDa1miDb7co
During your adventure in IronSaga, you defeat enemies and find chests that grant you gold. The gold that’s earned can only be spent on stronger weapons, as the game doesn’t have potions or shields. The lack of items in the game makes gold a fairly useless acquisition, especially since the majority of enemies can be easily killed with the starting weapons. After pushing your way through the demo, you begin the ending boss fight with a Warlock. The player is greeted with some dialogue from Trytin after defeating the Warlock, and the demo ends in a large thunderclap.
The developer Justin Bernon, decided to cancel his Kickstarter campaign shortly after I played the demo. Honestly, the game needs a lot of work before it can run a strong and successful campaign. The demo felt incredibly repetitive, and they should have worked out the kinks before using it to ask for money. Developers have to draw the audience in and make them want more, especially if they want a donation. The game needs more “meat and potatoes” to stand a chance against some of the most active campaigns.
All in all, the game has a very long way to go before it can make a decent impression and I think canceling the Kickstarter campaign was a smart move.
