This game is an absolute gem. I haven't seen a REALLY good dungeon crawler since Grimrocks - and this is it. Finally!

However, the "mandatory" Grimrock comparison isn't really valid. In fact, tile-based movement is just about the only thing Operencia has in common with these two masterpieces. Which doesn't stop it from being a masterpiece in its own right, as far as I'm concerned.

So, what do we have here?

Exploration and looks.
So, movement is tile-based. But the camera is completely free: you can look around as much as you like, and sometimes, something gets placed in a "special" way. Don't panic: the game doesn't abuse it (or provides hints).

Locations are 3D and have multiple floors as well as different heights within a single "floor". Pits also exist, but they are few and never used to access anything that you can't reach otherwise. Occasionally there are elevators and other means of vertical travel.

All of it looks gorgeous and diverse. Music is awesome too, with a unique theme for each location - if a bit repetitive at times, since it plays constantly without pauses.

Party.
In Operencia, you only create your main character. The rest of your party consists of unique characters who join you as the story progresses. There are 6 companions in total, and max party size is 4 (main + 3 others). You can change party at campfires (universal "hubs" for everything from saving to alchemy and trading), but the story and narrative assumes that they all travel together. So, inactive characters get full experience and participate in dialogue.

There are no classes as such. Instead, everyone has a skill tree with 3 branches. Most (not all) of these are unique. What's NOT obvious about skills is that they do get more effective as you level up (e.g. get better success rates). There are also 6 attributes (strength etc). You get 3 points per level, but bonuses can also be gained via skill trees and, of course, items (up to +10 bonus).

There are also FREE redistribute buttons! Yes, you can respec your characters anytime, as many times as you like. If you play with hard combat, you'll probably have to do it multiple times. Leveling up "correctly" doesn't matter that much in the first half of the game, but things get a lot more painful later, and not everything can be "fixed" by items (especially if you can't even wear them).

Setting, story and dialogue.
Operencia has a mildly intriguing setting based on Hungarian (and other) folklore, with a tiny bit of history in the mix. Three worlds, World Tree, Sun God, dragons, griffins, fairy curses, stars from heaven in human form, Attila the Hun - you have it all. The story has most of the standard "unexpected" turns and revelations. But it's neither dull, nor confusing. Constant lighthearted party banter helps too (there's a lot of it).

Secrets.
If you are one of those taught by Grimrock to walk around wall-hugging, looking for hidden buttons - relax. There are just 3 buttons in the whole game, and they are hard to miss. There are some illusionary walls, which can also be noticed with relative ease because they are semi-transparent. Light sources located nearby make it even easier. Other secrets are either puzzle-based, item-based or artifact-based.

ARTIFACTS!
This is one of the best features of Operencia! As you progress, you'll find unique items which give you new abilities. You'll need them to progress, but they are also used for secrets. And a lot of these require artifacts which are obtained later in the story (sometimes MUCH later), so you'll have to backtrack to find them all. This adds a bit of a "metroidvanic" vibe to the game, which adds a lot to the fun, so I won't spoil any details.

Backtracking.
Old locations can be revisited once you finish the first 3. Then, you are completely free to backtrack, with just one obvious (and temporary) exception. The game does give you a lot of "no-return" warnings, but really, you can just ignore them. No matter what it says, you CAN go back. Only the final battle is, well, FINAL: once your start it, you win the game or you die (no post-gameplay).

Puzzles.
Puzzles are there. Not nearly as much in Grimrock and not nearly as challenging. There are standard ones which you've seen a hundred times and probably hate by now. There are unique ones. Some rely on artifacts. None are particularly hard, and the worst part is that the devs somehow managed to make a great old-school game without respecting their players' brains - so they made your companions give lots of unwanted hints, ruining about 90% puzzles which were easy to begin with...

Alchemy.
Alchemy is... weird. When you find a "recipe", instead you get a riddle describing various properties of the ingredients. You need to solve it by arranging these properties correctly. You don't have to collect the actual ingredients. You just get the potion with a limited number of "charges" (yeah, I know it should be "doses" - go tell the devs), which can be replenished by resting. Oh, and you'll need a cauldron first.

Saving and resting.
There are some autosaves (depending on your difficulty settings). To save manually, you have to visit a campfire. There, you can also do other things (more unlock as you progress), but primarily - rest by spending "firewood" (limited resource) to replenish your HP, energy and potions. Contrary to some of the game's wording, you DO NOT need to spend firewood to save!

Combat.
Unlike Grimrock, where you kite monsters in real-time on the same maps you are exploring, Operencia uses a classic turn-based system. You see a monster on the map, you approach, you switch into combat mode and the monster becomes 3-5 monsters... The only thing that matters before the combat is whether you approach from behind to ambush, or get ambushed yourself. Ambushing side gets an initiative bonus for the first turn.

In battle, enemies are positioned in 3 lines by distance: close, medium, far. This is unchangeable: killing the frontliners does NOT move the rest closer! You can attack anyone with any weapon (e.g. far line with a dagger), unless someone *taunted* you. The distance just scales the attack's damage according to its own "efficiency graph" (visible in UI).

Your party does NOT have front/back lines. The enemies attack whoever they want, the best way to prevent it (well, except AOE) is the infamous Taunt ability... Problem is - for the most of the game it is YOUR ENEMIES who spam Taunt against you! Only a couple of skills can counter it, and they have ridiculously high energy cost and cooldown, making a lot of fights infuriatingly hard, sometimes impossible without just the right setup. Hello unlimited respecs...

There are also rechargeable "party skills", but they are unlocked gradually as you progress.

Combat UI is severely lacking in terms of giving information. Tooltips mention "weapon damage" without ever saying what it is. Enemies are labeled "Elite" without telling you what it means (hint: you can't instakill them). Attack animations mix with idle animations, damage/immunity flyouts are quick and color-coded, so it's easy to miss what happens and hard to understand why: there is no combat log whatsoever!

Still, somehow, the combat manages to be quite fun between all the frustrations. I played with "hard" combat and had a good challenge, but never really got stuck. I even managed to clear out the final location with just one rest (right before the final battle), and I still had 8 spare units of firewood. There really are more than enough other ways to conserve and replenish your resources if you pay attention to all of the game's features. But if you just rest after each battle or two, I guess you'll run out quickly...

Good news: mobs don't respawn!

To sum it up: if you love dungeon crawlers, you should definitely play this. Operencia can be very frustrating at times, but it is totally worth it!

This game is an absolute gem. I haven't seen a REALLY good dungeon crawler since Grimrocks - and this is it. Finally! However, the "mandatory" Grimrock comparison isn't really valid. In fact, tile-based movement is just about the only thing Operencia has in common with these two masterpieces. Which doesn't stop it from being a masterpiece in its own right, as far as I'm concerned. So, what do we have here? [b]Exploration and looks.[/b] So, movement is tile-based. But the camera is completely free: you can look around as much as you like, and sometimes, something gets placed in a "special" way. Don't panic: the game doesn't abuse it (or provides hints). Locations are 3D and have multiple floors as well as different heights within a single "floor". Pits also exist, but they are few and never used to access anything that you can't reach otherwise. Occasionally there are elevators and other means of vertical travel. All of it looks gorgeous and diverse. Music is awesome too, with a unique theme for each location - if a bit repetitive at times, since it plays constantly without pauses. [b]Party.[/b] In Operencia, you only create your main character. The rest of your party consists of unique characters who join you as the story progresses. There are 6 companions in total, and max party size is 4 (main + 3 others). You can change party at campfires (universal "hubs" for everything from saving to alchemy and trading), but the story and narrative assumes that they all travel together. So, inactive characters get full experience and participate in dialogue. There are no classes as such. Instead, everyone has a skill tree with 3 branches. Most (not all) of these are unique. What's NOT obvious about skills is that they do get more effective as you level up (e.g. get better success rates). There are also 6 attributes (strength etc). You get 3 points per level, but bonuses can also be gained via skill trees and, of course, items (up to +10 bonus). There are also FREE redistribute buttons! Yes, you can respec your characters anytime, as many times as you like. If you play with hard combat, you'll probably have to do it multiple times. Leveling up "correctly" doesn't matter that much in the first half of the game, but things get a lot more painful later, and not everything can be "fixed" by items (especially if you can't even wear them). [b]Setting, story and dialogue.[/b] Operencia has a mildly intriguing setting based on Hungarian (and other) folklore, with a tiny bit of history in the mix. Three worlds, World Tree, Sun God, dragons, griffins, fairy curses, stars from heaven in human form, Attila the Hun - you have it all. The story has most of the standard "unexpected" turns and revelations. But it's neither dull, nor confusing. Constant lighthearted party banter helps too (there's a lot of it). [b]Secrets.[/b] If you are one of those taught by Grimrock to walk around wall-hugging, looking for hidden buttons - relax. There are just 3 buttons in the whole game, and they are hard to miss. There are some illusionary walls, which can also be noticed with relative ease because they are semi-transparent. Light sources located nearby make it even easier. Other secrets are either puzzle-based, item-based or artifact-based. [b]ARTIFACTS![/b] This is one of the best features of Operencia! As you progress, you'll find unique items which give you new abilities. You'll need them to progress, but they are also used for secrets. And a lot of these require artifacts which are obtained later in the story (sometimes MUCH later), so you'll have to backtrack to find them all. This adds a bit of a "metroidvanic" vibe to the game, which adds a lot to the fun, so I won't spoil any details. [b]Backtracking.[/b] Old locations can be revisited once you finish the first 3. Then, you are completely free to backtrack, with just one obvious (and temporary) exception. The game does give you a lot of "no-return" warnings, but really, you can just ignore them. No matter what it says, you CAN go back. Only the final battle is, well, FINAL: once your start it, you win the game or you die (no post-gameplay). [b]Puzzles.[/b] Puzzles are there. Not nearly as much in Grimrock and not nearly as challenging. There are standard ones which you've seen a hundred times and probably hate by now. There are unique ones. Some rely on artifacts. None are particularly hard, and the worst part is that the devs somehow managed to make a great old-school game without respecting their players' brains - so they made your companions give lots of unwanted hints, ruining about 90% puzzles which were easy to begin with... [b]Alchemy.[/b] Alchemy is... weird. When you find a "recipe", instead you get a riddle describing various properties of the ingredients. You need to solve it by arranging these properties correctly. You don't have to collect the actual ingredients. You just get the potion with a limited number of "charges" (yeah, I know it should be "doses" - go tell the devs), which can be replenished by resting. Oh, and you'll need a cauldron first. [b]Saving and resting.[/b] There are some autosaves (depending on your difficulty settings). To save manually, you have to visit a campfire. There, you can also do other things (more unlock as you progress), but primarily - rest by spending "firewood" (limited resource) to replenish your HP, energy and potions. Contrary to some of the game's wording, you DO NOT need to spend firewood to save! [b]Combat.[/b] Unlike Grimrock, where you kite monsters in real-time on the same maps you are exploring, Operencia uses a classic turn-based system. You see a monster on the map, you approach, you switch into combat mode and the monster becomes 3-5 monsters... The only thing that matters before the combat is whether you approach from behind to ambush, or get ambushed yourself. Ambushing side gets an initiative bonus for the first turn. In battle, enemies are positioned in 3 lines by distance: close, medium, far. This is unchangeable: killing the frontliners does NOT move the rest closer! You can attack anyone with any weapon (e.g. far line with a dagger), unless someone *taunted* you. The distance just scales the attack's damage according to its own "efficiency graph" (visible in UI). Your party does NOT have front/back lines. The enemies attack whoever they want, the best way to prevent it (well, except AOE) is the infamous Taunt ability... Problem is - for the most of the game it is YOUR ENEMIES who spam Taunt against you! Only a couple of skills can counter it, and they have ridiculously high energy cost and cooldown, making a lot of fights infuriatingly hard, sometimes impossible without just the right setup. Hello unlimited respecs... There are also rechargeable "party skills", but they are unlocked gradually as you progress. Combat UI is severely lacking in terms of giving information. Tooltips mention "weapon damage" without ever saying what it is. Enemies are labeled "Elite" without telling you what it means (hint: you can't instakill them). Attack animations mix with idle animations, damage/immunity flyouts are quick and color-coded, so it's easy to miss what happens and hard to understand why: there is no combat log whatsoever! Still, somehow, the combat manages to be quite fun between all the frustrations. I played with "hard" combat and had a good challenge, but never really got stuck. I even managed to clear out the final location with just one rest (right before the final battle), and I still had 8 spare units of firewood. There really are more than enough other ways to conserve and replenish your resources if you pay attention to all of the game's features. But if you just rest after each battle or two, I guess you'll run out quickly... Good news: mobs don't respawn! [b]To sum it up:[/b] if you love dungeon crawlers, you should definitely play this. Operencia can be very frustrating at times, but it is totally worth it!