Book of Travels – Spotlight
Early Access Games are still a hot topic in the gaming world. I won’t go into detail on the advantages and disadvantages of both sides because that would require a separate article, so I won’t do so here. Assessing EAGs from the standpoint of a reviewer can be difficult. To be fair to the creator, you must consider the game’s potential. On the other side, you must make it very obvious what a player will receive in exchange for their money. It’s difficult to balance the two.
With that said, let us turn our attention to Book of Travels, a game developed by Might and Delight from Sweden, which will be released in Early Access on October 11th for PC and Mac. The game is a “Tiny Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game,” with the number of players on each server limited to make “every meeting memorable when players cross paths.” It’s a fascinating concept. So, how does the gameplay stand up to the competition?
You begin by constructing a character from a variety of archetypes, each of which has an appealing name like “the enfolder,” “the larker,” or “the ribboned.” There are twelve to pick from, each with their own set of skills and brief explanations. You are then given the option of selecting your age, gender, upbringing (poor, religious, urban, etc.) and, most enticingly, writing your own little backstory.
Following a basic selection of abilities and talents, the player must choose an eye colour (which adds a separate personality feature) and roll for random starting equipment in Book of Travels. Your character’s first and last names are also chosen at random, however you can re-roll them as many times as you like. Those who are familiar with tabletop RPGs will appreciate the small nuances that the makers have included.
Book of Travels has a lot of beauty and ingenuity in terms of design, utilising a water-color approach. It successfully conveys a storybook ambiance, complete with a dynamic day-night cycle. A vision similar to that of many point-and-click adventure games is offered to you. Your character is a speck in the environment, little taller than a finger’s breadth. It’s as simple as clicking on the desired location to walk or run. Your character can travel in and out of the frame, as well as along paths, however there are limitations. This isn’t a free-for-all planet. The environment moves with you, and you can explore adjacent sectors by reaching the edge and selecting a compass direction.
With railroad tracks, farmers, hunters, peasants, and mention of’spectres,’ the backdrop of Book of Travel is a strange mix of mediaeval and steam-age. As you go around, you’ll come across a lot of NPCs, some of whom you can talk with via speech bubbles, however it’s just a question of reading what they have to say – there are no options to speak yourself, which would have added a lot to the game.
I had a great time strolling about, picking up plants and gazing at rocks during my playthrough. I eventually came across a sweet old lady who took me to the nearest tea shop. I met a trader on the way, but I had nothing worth trading (trading is a clever balancing act, where you are able to stack low-value items into an enticing offer.) I found a fire at the train station to sit by and dry out, erasing my ‘wet’ penalty. A server fault pushed me out of the game before I could find the tea-house.
In conclusion, I had high hopes for Book of Travels because it has a great ambiance, a well-thought-out mythology, and a very unique style. You get the impression that the creators genuinely care about the universe they’ve built. Regrettably, it all felt a little hollow. My character walked a lot but didn’t come across anything really interesting. Worst of all, it’s difficult to tell how the character development procedure affects a player’s game experience in any meaningful way. Is it possible that it may blossom into something fantastic? The potential is there, but I believe there has to be a lot more stuff added.
