Long Gone Days is a very impressive character-driven RPG that draws you in with it’s excellent pixel art visuals, unique combat system, and a gripping emotional rollercoaster of a story, filled great writing and major plot twists.
In Long Gone Days you play as Rourke, a Sniper specialist that is part of a large military unit know only as The Core. You have recently been transferred into a new squad, replacing the previous sniper due to an injury, and have been thrown into a combat scenario without any knowledge of the operation or the people you’re working with. You soon meet your spotter in the training room who gives you some vital information on how fighting is conduct in the game and she also gives you some special ammo that acts as your special ability. Not long after this you meet your Medic, who comes off as a pretentious, self-absorbed person that doesn’t seem to care about what you have to say. After going through the initial mission a lot of question begin to arise and you decide to go AWOL and leave The Core as their goals aren’t exactly what you first initially thought (we won’t give away to much of the plot in this review, as it makes the immersion much more real!)
Long Gone Days offers a unique take on the classic format of the RPG genre. Having an over world that you can explore and interact with is only the tip of this gorgeous iceberg of a game. Although the story itself is linear at times, the exploration in itself is very well thought out, giving you multiple items to find and inspect and also giving the player a means to learn more about the world around them. The Medic character, Adair, isn’t as self-absorbed as you’re first lead to believe as well and becomes a key component of your teams make up. With him by your side at the start he proves to be an excellent healer in combat. Long Gone Days also features a morale system. When in a party certain things you say to party members can either boost morale making other party members a lot more powerful and useful throughout the demo. However if morale is in any way compromised and your party members are at their lowest their combat effectiveness is diminished leaving them panicked and unwilling to assist you at all.
The story of Long Gone Days is one of the most immersive and emotionally driven stories we’ve come across. It makes you feel as though you’re gazing through the world in front of you through the eyes of Rourke and that you and him are as one. Moments in Long Gone Days will leave you shocked with terror, while others will have you questioning the very motives of the people around you. Long Gone Days also has an extremely well thought out design to it as well, The environment is very well thought out, initially making you think that the game will be a happy one, with its bright tile set and happy-go-lucky main character, but soon you realise that this isn’t the case as the tiles become darker and a sinister undertone truly comes to light about your mission and the Core itself.
Long Gone Days is simply an extremely well thought out, beautifully designed RPG that many game developers should take note of. An immersive story, fantastic character build ups and a very impressive sniper section (something you wouldn’t think would appear in a game like this) bring this title full circle and leave you yearning for more.
Download the Long Gone Days Alpha Demo Here (Windows Only)