Overall Impression (tl;dr) -

The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is a one of a kind interactive RPG that lets you play as a person who can become anybody - and with very dire consequences to all those around. You can play it multiple times and still come to different conclusions, take other paths and discover new ways to solve problems. Developers are really quick in terms of bugfixing, providing us players with flawless experience.

The long journey of Brante through life might be successful or not, but it surely will leave its mark on you. It's an amazing title that deserves your attention.

Final rating - ★★★★★


Experience (gameplay/lore) -

Life of Sir Brante is divided into parts; from his earliest childhood to the most unfortunate events of his adulthood. Throughout his life journey, the player makes decisions for the main hero that influence his skillset, relations with his relatives and other NPCs as well as have effect on religious/political situation within the country. It is a story of growth or tragedy, during which much can be gained and - likewise, much can be lost. It isn't by far an easy game if you're set on reaching a specific goal. It takes logical thinking, planning and at times helping yourself with provided choice descriptions - these can be turned on or off depending on what type of gameplay you prefer. There are numerous resources that Brante might make use of later in life, most notably: his family standing and wealth, but also the ratio of his successes at work; over-zealotry in that manner doesn't always make friends. Finally, passing through stages of life is riddled with opportunities to… die. But death isn't the end in the world of The Blessed Arknian Empire and if you are to play The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante, you will learn about it first-hand. The monumental events the game ends with are well-planner: and I have found multiple endings really satisfying. It's truly about what you lead your character to be, what choices you make and what kind of person you made him. You can save multiple people - or leave them to their demise.

Lore-wise, world-building in the Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is simply something else. While at first are simple - seen by eyes of a toddler - as the main character grows up, the scale of lore built by Sever studio reveals itself. And it is a well-constructed fantasy universe; dark and grim, realistic, with a stern religious system in place and a political domination of one ethnic group over all others. You learn about the foundations of Arknian Empire as well as about the fate The Twins, existing gods, plan upon the humanity. What is perhaps most amazing is the judgment that Sir Brante meets with after all is concluded. This ought to become a mystery in this review, but is certainly one of the strongest sides of the game.

Audiovisuals (graphics/audio) -

The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is graced with amazing artworks very much in line with the dark setting created by Anton Kolomiets. They are the soul of the game and complete in the same sense mechanics do; it is rare to see such able creativity. I found the visual side captivating from beginning to an end and it certainly influenced my perception of different characters. Virtually everybody you’ll have contact with has their hand-drawn art and unique appearance, you will notice numerous arts depicting places and religious motives as well.

An hour-long soundtrack for the game prepared by Vasiliy Kashnikov and Fyodor Trubin is memorable and plays its role well in unsettling the player - it strives, I feel, to underline the setting: to give additional depths to some tragedies and conclude events of major importance. I'm of the opinion that the artists did a great job here, captivating the setting very well.

Optimisation (mechanics/bugs) -

The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is easy on your PC and doesn't contain any major bugs. If there are any loading screens, they are cleverly hidden under animations and cutscenes. I experienced no crashes nor lagging. Works perfectly fine.

TAGS:
#rpg #interactive #fantasy