Hungarian excellence.

Seriously though, a very fun, short, atmospherically dense little RPG. The writing, lo-fi visuals and funky music is the stand-out here obviously.

I tend to be quite critical of turn-based rpgs that don't deviate from the core final fantasy formula, but here I think the fights are sparse and tense enough that it actually works in its favour. Advancement being solely equipment based makes getting access to new stuff, particularly the ranged weapons, feel very exciting.

Only reason it's not getting a full five stars is that it's too simple to just run back and forth between altars to pray after every fight. Honestly would have been preferable to just ignore HP and Tools attrition outside fights altogether.

You are woken up from your drunken stupor by an explosion in the distance, smoke rising over the hill. Pavol, what do you want to do?

I grab my armor and sword.

They're right there, near the broken glass and the empty cups. You put them in a hurry. Then?

I need to speak with the lord of the castle right away.

Sure. When you get out of your booze smelling room, you see the stone and the frescos adorning the tight and oppressive walls of the keep. You see the lord ... whatsisname.

He's called Josef. Have you read my notes?

Yes I have. Anyways. You meet him -

Josef.

Lord Josef, yes, he seems to not believe what you tell him. "An explosion, you say? Are you sure you're not drunk? Was it a dream?" He crosses his arms in disbelief. Roll persuasion with disadvantage.

I roll a persuasion check... Do you think I convinced him?

Pavol, for heaven's sake, you rolled a 3. He takes a long look at you and tells you to go pray in the chapel. Oh, also he says you should get rid of your stinking breeches.

I tell him to get bent, say goodbye and go towards the explosion.
__________

Felvidek feels like a very elaborate and quite profound take on a D&D module in which the DM is clearly and enthusiastically trying to mimick Medieval society, but has to meet the players halfway in order to accomodate their not very clever and not always bright ideas. It's refreshing to read and play, thanks to the clever writing, the wonderful soundtrack which has no business being this funky and the stunning visuals; what I really appreciated were the interesting premise and characters. The combat is quick, tactical and never grindy (I mean there's no exp, so there is no real reason to fight enemies). Thus, battles feel heavy, impactful and especially towards the end, brutal. One small note: the script is filled with Ye Old Anglish, so if you're not comfortable with reading that much I fear the game isn't really for you, since it'd lose probably all the charm.

Felvidek doesn't shy from showing weird or horrid stuff, peel by peel taking away from the ahah funny drunk knight looking for his wife to I wonder if he had kids waiting for him at home. It hits peak after peak, rarely doth the speech feel hollow and pointless.

It's raw, emotional and packing with soul and secrets, it's a passion project like nothing else and I was clearly part of its target audience. Easily my favourite game of 2024 thus far.