Flowstone Saga Review
Release Date: September 26th, 2024
Developer: Impact Gameworks
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), Nintendo Switch (TBA 2024)
Price: $17.99
RPGs have become so flexible and diverse over the course of the last two decades that it's one of the reasons why it continues to be one of the leading and most popular genres in the medium. It's a personal favorite of mine, and though I love a good traditional turn-based experience, it's the unique titles that try to bend and push the genre forward that I find the most memorable. The inventive and creative decisions behind crafting these experiences should always be commended, and this is no different with Flowstone Saga which wonderfully blends together a turn-based adventure with the mechanics of the revolutionary and continuously influential Tetris.
Looking back at some of the most popular RPGs of the last few decades, a lot of them have found themselves trying to push forward and implement something new as to not feel like a reskin of a reskin. Puzzles & Dragons intricately and cleverly meshed together match-three gameplay in the guise of an RPG, card-based RPGs have been on a huge rise for years now, some putting more emphasis on deck-building than others (like Shadowverse), and even the illustrious Final Fantasy has opted for a more action-based direction while still keeping those elements from its past. Flowstone Saga can comfortably be added to this list of forward-thinking RPGs, with a stunning art direction to boot that keeps the whole package not only immersive, but hard to look away from.
RPG-enthusiasts will have plenty to enjoy here, especially those needing a nice getaway that won't take up much time as the game can be finished in just under ten hours compared to others reaching close to 100, though completionists will find themselves needing triple the amount of time. Even though the story leaves a lot to be desired due to its banal dialogue that doesn’t really propel anything of value forward, it makes up for this in just about every other department where its creativity shines and entertains throughout. It's, quite frankly, a breath of fresh air, and those who love puzzle aspects in both their gameplay and overworld will be fairly pleased with everything Flowstone Saga has to offer, going from area to area and meeting charismatic characters that keep the journey pleasant throughout.
In regards to its combat, the main protagonist, Mirai, will gain access to new abilities as the story progresses, and with these abilities become skills needed as time goes on that will massively influence gameplay progression. These, alongside equipment that can be gained, will give Mirai the tools she needs for successful encounters, and you can feel the bump in power each time you level up. However, after a point, levelling becomes a bit of a slog due to the fact that an allotment of skill points eventually become few and far between. This leads to combat eventually becoming stagnant as it flatlines, causing battles to last quite a bit of time, which it was already doing prior due to having to essentially play a game within a game - a full-on Tetris game within a JRPG that serves as its battle system with each successful clear.
While the battles and environments are fun, however, the dungeon design could have a lot more quality-of-life enhancements to it to make it more palatable for the average person. Maybe we've grown so accustomed to maps being presented on our HUDs, but it's fairly easy to get lost with the lack of a map in dungeons, and though you won't necessarily spend hours trying to find your way through one as they're fairly cohesive, you *will* find yourself turning around from time to time as you come across another dead end and area you've already been to.
The game grows with the expansion of your town and does so in a way that feels mostly organic, allowing for new mechanics that help stretch the game out further with shops and the like to not feel so one-dimensional. These do, however, require a fair bit of resources that will necessitate a bit of grinding, and then eventually an additional boss fight. These can be relatively enjoyable (even if they feel a bit soulless) especially if you enjoy management sims and base-building, but it can admittedly feel like it's artificially prolonging the game. Currencies also tend to be given aplenty in order to purchase things, but it also reaches a point where it eventually feels like it's all for nothing, especially when purchasing the likes of decorations for your home only really serves as a means of distraction as it truly means nothing since there's no reason to really go home ever. While it's nice to at least see that these things do remain intact for the sake of world building, the shallowness of it all - in particular to it all just being a façade - is too obvious to hide.
Flowstone Saga has an equal amount of pros and cons that balance itself out for better or for worse, so ultimately a game like this, while creative, still leaves a lot to be desired and may leave players yearning for more. Thankfully, unlike most cases, Flowstone Saga is actually sold at an extremely reasonable price that I think is deserving of its cost of entry. Especially for those that enjoy both Tetris and JRPGs on their own, they'll have a blast with the main content of Flowstone Saga and blaze through a relatively enjoyable experience, even if its side content and "fillings" all seem like it's for nothing. Credit where credit is due, however: You won’t find a game quite like Flowstone Saga, and it at the very least set out to do what it wanted to do very well, combining two beloved yet very different types of games in a harmonious way.
PROS:
Incredible pixel-art and usage of colors makes Flowstone Saga one of the most vibrant and pleasant Indie RPGs on the market.
Like any good RPG, Flowstone Saga's compositions keep the journey melodic and exciting no matter what the scenario.
Its implementation of Tetris mechanics to execute moves and make the flow of battle is fantastically done and easily addictive
CONS:
Starts off slow and, while it gets better, its story is overly simplistic with extensive dialogue that feels forced
A lot of content outside of its main scenarios feels shallow and almost like an afterthought, used as a sort of dressing to give the appearance of a robust setting, when it ultimately remains hollow.
A huge thank you to Impact Gameworks for providing us with a copy of Flowstone Saga for the purposes of this review