Zoria: Age Of Shattering pays homage to classic RPGs that many have grown up with, drawing inspiration from legendary titles that have defined the genre’s history.
Developed by Tiny Trinket Games and published by Anshar Publishing, Zoria: Age Of Shattering has been available on PC via Steam since March 7, 2024. The game presents itself as a classic turn-based fantasy RPG set in the continent of Uram, with a strong emphasis on storytelling and world-building.
Hey, you’re finally awake…
For those who devour RPGs like daily bread, taking control of your character in a situation where they have just escaped death is not a novelty; it’s a formula that has been tried and tested for decades.
The choice is once again apt, allowing us to immediately embody the commander of a fortress on the brink of falling into the hands of formidable enemies adept at mastering necromancy and dark magic. The reason they can do this and the backstory behind it constitute the core of the game’s plot, divided into five chapters.
We’ll have the opportunity to customize our commander and choose from nine classes, closely embodying the beloved role-playing archetypes such as the cleric, ranger, and the classic warrior who acts as a living wall between enemies and the party. The character editor offers a surprising variety of options, considering that we are dealing with an indie product developed by just three individuals! The quality of the models also holds up at acceptable levels, despite some minor flaws.
It won’t be long before the introduction thrusts us into the first battle, where we’ll get to grasp the combat system with pleasure. While it doesn’t shine with particular depth, it proves to be practical and, above all, enjoyable.
Swords and Flames
The combat options will primarily revolve around the strategic combination of physical and magical attacks, as well as support and healing abilities. Nothing groundbreaking, but it’s the care and variety in the options available that stand out; skillfully combining the various support abilities, attacks, and general actions of different classes will be the key to victory, especially at higher difficulties. As expected, this will require more than a few encounters and several good game overs.
Tough elite and bosses often lead enemy groups, formidable opponents whose moves and strategies need to be understood patiently. But the different difficulty levels come to the rescue, adapting the game to the preferences of each player, from those interested only in discovering the intense plot to those who want to sweat bullets to emerge victorious from the most mundane of battles.
Character development unfolds through skill trees, where we can choose which branches to follow, and spend attribute points to enhance the attributes according to our playstyle and the type of commander we are building. Overall, it’s satisfying and varied.
We’ll find ourselves managing the actions of our party of four characters using the classic action points, which will be consumed to move them on the battlefield, attack, and use skills, but not to consume potions – a substantial difference from many giants that inspired the creation of Zoria: Age Of Shattering. This makes them tools of undoubted utility, and it’s precisely when talking about potions and crafting in general that the game flexes its muscles.
What happens if I combine this with… that?
Although not mandatory for the game’s progression, sooner or later, we’ll have to get acquainted with the crafting system. For potions and food to cook at numerous stations or at our camp, the system is simple and immediate: a screen will display the necessary ingredients, and, provided we have them all with us, a convenient button will allow us to have our life-saving concoction or steaming soup in hand.
But the creation of weapons and armor… here is where the Tiny Trinket Games trio let their creativity run wild. Once in possession of the appropriate blueprints, it’s up to us to choose which materials to use for the various parts of the equipment we want to forge. And each material will provide a bonus of different nature. So, we may end up with a wizard’s tome that, paradoxically, provides a strength bonus or a heavy warrior’s armor that ironically makes our character more agile… the possibilities are endless and tied only to our inventiveness.
These are not entirely new mechanics in RPGs, but it’s genuinely pleasing to find them with such depth in an indie product. We’ll be constantly encouraged to seek materials in the vast game world, experiment with different combinations, and cross our fingers when deciding to try inserting a powerful Fragment into our equipment, risking breaking it and losing all the invested components.
And if you don’t appreciate this system, seeing it as a mere nuisance? No problem, equipment is obtainable in almost every encounter and treasure, as well as from merchants, with randomly generated statistics, similar to the Diablo series, just to mention one of the most famous inspirations.
Managing inventory, a fortress, companions… so much stuff!
After a few hours in the lands of the Uram continent, we’ll be assigned a personal fortress, and inevitably, resource management becomes more complex. Not only will we be asked to recruit various companions to bolster our army, but we’ll also have to assign them missions that they will complete automatically in the background without interrupting the gameplay, with risks and rewards varying based on the difficulty. Additionally, each area of our fortress can be upgraded and expanded using gold, materials, and supplies. However, beware, as these supplies will also be essential for resting at the camp during adventures outside safe places, vital for recovering mana or energy and making use of various camping abilities specific to each class.
The use of resources needs to be carefully evaluated, as well as the potential sale and purchase of new equipment and materials. It will be up to us to choose which improvements to prioritize and which to ignore, and how to allocate our supplies, whether to focus on forging or accumulating gold and ingredients. This can become a bit burdensome after a few hours, especially since the menus are unfortunately a bit clumsy, and the interface is sometimes chaotic and impractical, with an inventory that easily fills up with numerous items that we’ll struggle to keep track of.
This, combined with a certain underlying repetitiveness, might discourage some players in the advanced stages, but the excellent world-building, good writing, variety in enemies and settings, and the secrets hidden in the world will more than compensate. Emerging on the verge of death from a dungeon, with the party on the brink and afflicted by a chain of debuffs, without supplies or potions, and returning triumphantly to the fortress to sell the loot and invest all the earnings in new equipment and upgrades, provides a unique satisfaction, one capable of curling the corners of the mouth into an involuntary smile.
Zoria In the Shadow of Giants
In essence, Zoria: Age Of Shattering presents itself as a successful indie version of timeless RPGs like Baldur’s Gate, Diablo, Dragon Age, Sacred, and many others, and I don’t write this with a negative connotation, quite the opposite. The work done by the Tiny Trinket Games trio is commendable; while playing, you can feel the care, love, and dedication they poured into their title, as you find it in every small tidbit of lore, every dialogue, corner of the world, and room.
A title, despite the obvious technical limitations, that left a very positive impression on me. I recommend giving it at least a chance, also to support the massive amount of time and work dedicated to its creation.
“Emerging on the verge of death from a dungeon, with the party on the brink and afflicted by a chain of debuffs, without supplies or potions, and returning triumphantly to the fortress to sell the loot and invest all the earnings in new equipment and upgrades, provides a unique satisfaction, one capable of curling the corners of the mouth into an involuntary smile.”
- Meticulous attention to world-building and lore
- Excellent variety of situations, battles, and missions
- High longevity
- In-depth crafting system
- Chaotic menus
- Somewhat spartan and impractical interface
- Tends to be repetitive in the long run
8/10
I’ve been a gamer, amateur writer and technophile since 2006. I personally prefer games that can offer a good challenge, and I’m a great enthusiast of retrogaming. I love to dissect every single backstory behind messages, development and secrets of videogames, which I consider proper work of arts.
