“Yet Another Fantasy Title” by indie developer Atomic Wolf relies on an entertaining mix of fantasy and humor. Anyone who appreciates the genre should check out the demo during Steam Next Week, says MeinMMO author Max Handwerk.
What’s going on in this game? A magic-filled fantasy world, an old wizard searching for a prophesied hero, and a cruel dragon threatening the realm: Yes, “Yet Another Fantasy Title” has essentially everything that makes a typical fantasy story. But this is not a typical fantasy story.
The old wizard named Grindalf, for example, has obviously looked too deep into the glass a few times when he set off to announce the prophesied hero “Sir Geoffrey” with the help of an epic fireworks display. Unfortunately, his journey was in vain, as the prophesied one has already met his end.
“You” in this case means “you”: your main character is a likable yet generally annoyed rogue who first meets the chosen one at the story’s beginning. Sir Geoffrey rides in grandly on a unicorn and in shining armor, while you sneak through the forest in a dragon costume after you had to disguise yourself to escape a predicament.
It will be a brief encounter, as the chosen one appears heroic but not particularly bright. Believing he has found the evil dragon, he attacks you – and falls in a lackluster duel that lasts about two seconds.
This, of course, comes very inconveniently for Grindalf. He quickly devises a plan that your main character now has to fill the vacated position. And so, you’re in a pickle and set off to save the realm.
What kind of game is Yet Another Fantasy Title?
How does the game play? “Yet Another Fantasy Title” is an action RPG viewed from a top-down perspective. Your hero starts out armed only with bare fists and must first sneak through a small but simple stealth passage.
Shortly thereafter, you obtain your first weapons: you snatch a sword from distracted guards, giving you the tools to take on your enemies. From here, your arsenal grows quite quickly:
- You fight bandits and collect weapons like spears or axes from them
- You learn your first lightning spell and soon after the fireball
- Shortly thereafter, you can acquire more scrolls for various spells from the local merchant
Moreover, you quickly receive a horse, allowing you to dash across the lovingly designed map. And that’s necessary because the local police are quite quick when you commit a crime. Then the horses literally turn on their sirens and chase you quite mercilessly depending on your wanted level, until you give your horse a new coat at “Pimp my Horse” – GTA pros will understand the system.
But “YAFT” borrows a few ideas not only from GTA. The first area playable in the demo is clearly inspired by the world of The Lord of the Rings: houses resemble hobbit holes, and the first scene of the game on a river strongly reminds one of the Argonath pillars. “Grindalf” is also an obvious parody of Gandalf, complete with a fireworks cart.
The demo already gives a good impression of what to expect from the game. Gameplay-wise, the concept is entertaining: the fights don’t seem that easy at first, as the enemies are not stupid and look for ways to surround you or poke you from cover. But once you get the hang of it, you can take them down with spear and magic pretty quickly, dismantling entire bandit camps in no time. The combat mechanic is direct and simple.
One exception for me were the so-called “Duck Temples.” These seem to be particularly challenging challenges where you have to face a kind of duck cult to obtain strong loot. However, they were so powerful that I couldn’t get past them at first. So it won’t be too easy, at least at the beginning.
The highlights of the demo for me were:
The humor: The entire fantasy genre is quite skillfully parodied, but in a charming way. The atmosphere is somewhat like in Tiny Tina’s Wonderland. Our hero, for example, has no desire to embark on such an epic journey and would rather cause chaos as a “Rogue Mage” with the spells learned.
The world and atmosphere: You can tell that the people behind the game actually love fantasy, even though they are parodying the topic. The colorful world is beautiful to look at, and the soundtrack is a real highlight.
At the forefront are the dialogues between characters like the pyromaniac halfling who wants to blow up anything and everything, the corrupt guard who just chased you but then gives tips on how to bribe them, and of course the wizard who probably would rather just sit at home. If you want to laugh, you’re in the right place.
The chases: Escaping from the guard on horseback or, conversely, chasing down some scoundrels was a lot of fun for me in the demo. You have to weave quickly through the forests while also making sure not to trample the poor inhabitants of the villages. That turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable and was a real highlight for me.
Where are the problems? I found it a bit unfortunate that the world hardly reacts to what you do – apart from the fact that you get attacked if you accidentally roast bystanders. However, if an entire bandit camp is seeking trouble with you while you stroll through the streets, it doesn’t seem to affect anyone.
Unfortunately, you also can’t talk to many characters. At least in the demo, the game felt like you were just riding from quest to quest, instead of exploring or interacting with the world. There’s a danger that the game could become monotonous if you want to play it long-term.
It remains to be seen whether the humor and the overall quite simple gameplay can carry the game over the long haul. The gameplay trailer shows things like fights against the dragon or a tank-like vehicle that plows around. However, nothing like that is seen in the demo, making it hard to assess.
Is it worth it? At least a look at the demo is definitely worth taking for any fantasy fan. The game doesn’t take itself seriously, is entertaining, and if you enjoy parodies, you’re in the right place. For example, if you like games like “Magicka” or “Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands,” you’ll find a similar approach when it comes to the mood.
“Yet Another Fantasy Title” is played solo, but the fantasy genre is also often used in multiplayer games. A list of the best MMOs and MMORPGs of 2024 can be found here.
