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Year: September 30, 2016
Genre: RPG, Action, Fantasy
Developer: Witching Hour Studios
Publisher: Ysbryd Games
Interface language: RUS(MULTI)
Voice language: ENG
Publication type: RePack
Version: 1.20(a)
Tablet: Not required (DRM-Free by GOG)

System Requirements:
Operating system: Windows 7+
Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel Core i3
RAM: 4 GB
Video adapter: Intel HD Graphics 4400
Free hard disk space: 12 GB

Description:
Unravel the web of lies and deadly magic hidden by the Venetian masks in this beautiful RPG with real-time combat, pause mode and fully voiced dialogue. The inhabitants of the troubled city of Sitte della Ombre do not care about religious sacraments. You can find eternal life in it only by writing your name in the lines of songs that poets compose about desperate deeds. People endowed with at least a small grain of power do everything possible to take a place in history. This can be achieved with the help of maskerines - enchanted masks that give owners the ability to call upon the elements for help and cast deadly spells on their enemies.

Peculiarities:
▪ Your Combat, Your Rhythm: Use Tactical Pause mode to control the flow of the battle, strategically place your fighters and plan attacks during battle.
▪ Signs of Fate: Elemental magic marks your enemies with signs. Bring the sign into action using the magic of another element to stun your outnumbered enemies and gain an advantage!
▪ Vibrant and vibrant graphics: Enjoy fantastic colors and incredible imagery inspired by the finest French comics artists, giving 3D characters a unique style and memorable look.
▪ Fully narrated story: The dramatic events in the heart of Ombre unfold over 12 hours. Such famous actors as Jennifer Hale and Matthew Mercer gave their voices to the game.

Features of the repack:
▪ Based on the DRM Free version from gog.com
▪ Changing the language in the game settings
▪ Game version - 1.20
▪ Installation ~ 4 min
▪ RePack from qoob

However, Cicero has a clearly defined not only biography, but in general all further actions. He will conduct the investigation himself, decide where to go, who to beat and who to talk to, ask questions and answer them, “settle” the problems of his party members... linear to such an extent that it fundamentally does not allow the player to choose answer options in dialogues, I don’t I'm talking about side quests, exploring the surrounding area and influencing the plot. Strange move? It’s not the right word, and only one thing partially excuses it – it turned out to be a very good story, although you can’t fully participate in it.

We are treated to great long conversations throughout, each of which is fully voiced, and the wonderful acting is worth applauding. Of course, there are no beautifully staged videos in the isometric RPG from Kickstarter, but in conversations they show “live” faces and gestures - a great find, it turned out much cooler than the usual “portraits” with dry text descriptions. Where words cannot do it, slightly animated comic inserts come to the rescue - stylish and beautiful to choose from. The appearance is generally decent, although the excellent work of the artists is slightly disfigured by technical shortcomings. Whatever one may say, the “blurred” paving stones underfoot look sloppy, and the special effects from the witchcraft are too primitive.

And we will have to look at magic often, because everyone in our squad wears masks. Some even in a figurative sense - the inhabitants of the City of Shadows have a lot of mysteries. The characters who join the investigator would do credit to any party RPG - their characters are written down to the smallest detail, and it’s interesting to watch the development of personalities and relationships in the group. A straightforward and hot-tempered warrior assigned to us as an assistant and spy, a healer who founded an orphanage, an archaeological scientist, an information dealer - not the most accommodating company, especially since they all belong to competing factions. Cicero himself is also noteworthy - a man of difficult fate, overwhelmed by a bunch of his own demons. At least some benefit from the ubiquitous “rail”...

The conditional “class” of any of the companions is determined by two things: the manner of fighting (a chest-thrusting “tank”, a back-stabbing assassin or a long-range “mage”) and an elemental element (earth, water, air or fire), which is responsible for the set of available spells . Having undergone special training, Gavar has even more fun. He knows how to modify his fighting style on the fly, moving from one stance to another - just like Geralt from the first. The choice of element for the hero seriously affects tactics: for example, the “air” Cicero is easier to keep enemies at a distance, while the “fire” one feels comfortable in a crowd, scattering waves of flame around him. True, the role-playing system is quite flexible and allows you to create non-standard “builds”. Just don’t expect to exchange your trusty sword for an axe: new masks, enhancing designs and engravings on weapons are the maximum “gear” that can be found.

But this is only needed for battles, and in any case they cannot be called particularly exciting. The showdowns here are noticeably more pleasant than in any game, but they are far from complex tactical battles. Yes, you need to constantly lead your teammates away from attacks across the area (and they rush back with manic persistence) and monitor the flanks, there are even combinations of special skills, but over time it gets boring to throw numerous opponents around. Plus there's simply too much fighting. It’s not that they violate the logic of the plot, but with less “action” it would have been perceived better.

However, she still leaves good memories. A twisted political detective story smoothly flows into an excellent drama about friendship, devotion to ideals and overcoming oneself, spoiling the impression only with an inappropriate and, most importantly, inexplicable “happy ending”. Judging by the short epilogue, the developers intend to explain everything in the sequel. I hope it will be more extensive.

* * *

It's difficult to compare with peers in the genre. I don't like the idea of ​​a role-playing game that is completely devoid of choice, but it's impossible to ignore the merits of this work.

The genre of role-playing games is becoming more and more blurred every year, and many people now perceive that the main indicator of an RPG is the development of character characteristics. However, this is just one of the so-called role-playing elements, the presence of which does not make the entire game role-playing. It is precisely this “camp with elements” that our guest today belongs to - an adventure game Masquerada: Songs and Shadows, which although it has the basic RPG element mentioned above, is not a role-playing game in itself. This introduction may seem strange to some, but it is necessary for the right mood of the reader.

The developers positioned their project as an action-RPG with an active pause that expands the tactical options for the player, but they forgot to add to the game most of the mechanics and conventions that turn a bright isometric adventure into a role-playing game. There are no side quests and the opportunity to explore the world, there is no equipment and weapons as such, with the exception of “maskerin” - witchcraft masks that give characters superhuman abilities. There are many NPCs in the game, but it is impossible to interact with them, there is no decision system as a phenomenon, and most importantly, the project is mercilessly linear. Have you left the zone? You will not be able to go back and collect the missing document.

Therefore, I insist that Masquerada is an isometric adventure with RPG elements, but not the tactical RPG that the developers claimed during the Kickstarter campaign. We sorted this out and move on! This adventure turned out to be definitely interesting and exciting, despite the large number of incomprehensible terms with which the story bombards the player from the very first minutes, like Allied aircraft in the skies over Dresden. Many names are of Italian origin, or stylized to resemble the Italian language, which is not at all surprising - the entire game setting is based on the Renaissance in Italy.

The setting, visual design and script are the main pillars that confidently hold this game and make it stand out from the rest. The game's story tells of an exile named Chichero Gavar who returned to his hometown at the call of the head of the local government, the Chancery. He is tasked with conducting an investigation and finding a missing person who was trying to uncover the mystery of the origin of the Mascherin. As it turned out, our hero knows the missing man and owes his life to him - five years ago, Chichero was almost sentenced to death, but it was the missing scientist who insisted that the guy simply be banished to a distant island. Of course, given this circumstance, our hero could not refuse the task.

Having read the word “investigation” in the description of the script, many may have the thought: “Oh, we will investigate the intricacy of mysteries and intrigues!” To some extent, this idea is true - there is an intricacy of mysteries and intrigues in the game, it will more than once provide the player with unexpected turns in the scenario and will be able to surprise. However, we, as players, will not investigate anything. The scriptwriters do this for us, having fully written out each knot, and we will only direct the team of heroes from point “A” to point “B”, then to point “C” and so on alphabetically. On his way, Chichero will meet new and old acquaintances, find loyal companions and, most interestingly, will really reveal to the player many cool secrets that intrigue and fuel curiosity.

In addition to a large number of dialogues and information scrolls found during the journey or added to the library as a result of communicating with characters, or after activating some kind of scene, there are quite a few battles in the game. They are all very similar and routine: we move from enemy to enemy, use special attacks and try to inflict as much damage as possible on the villain’s back in order to quickly destroy his health and not bother with the shield. Protective auras cover all characters from the front, both opponents and the player's team.

Battles are fought in real time, the player controls one of three available characters, when two of them act under the control of artificial intelligence. We can switch between heroes at any time, and also enter the battle into an active pause state, where we can give commands to all characters and assign what skills they will use and which enemies to focus on. The thing is interesting on paper, but in reality you don’t need to use it, at least on the normal difficulty level. A much more effective approach is to pump up the heroes with useful combat skills and maskerines, expanding their arsenal of abilities. By the way, leveling up is also damn linear; the game gives out skill points for victories in story battles. Checkmate, lovers of pumping up.

The combat adventure Masquerada: Songs and Shadows is designed in a very colorful and high-quality manner. There is nice cartoon art and excellent animation here; the developers spared no time and resources to revive the works of their talented artists. The game world feels alive, unusual and fabulous, and the journey itself is like reading a picture book, during which you are periodically distracted by various routine actions. In this parallel, plot fragments are like reading the pages of a book, running from point to point is equated to slowly turning the pages, and battles are presented as those same routine and distracting actions.

I would also like to praise the voice acting, which is not only high-quality, but also accompanies all the dialogues in the game. This is very cool, because the voice actors did an excellent job with their task, managing to convey the mood, emotions, peculiar accents, and good humor. But the translation, which I would at first call very good, gets a little naughty from time to time. It becomes noticeable that the translators did not always understand in what context words and some phrases were used. For example, when the characters arrive at the appointed place and say “That’s it”, the translation “That’s all” looks very incorrect.

Trophy hunters will likely be pleased by the presence of the Platinum Cup in the game and its relative simplicity. To get platinum, you will need to be careful to find all the collectible items scattered throughout the locations, but most trophies are obtained simply by completing the project. The main thing is not to rush to move from location to location, because there will be no turning back. I missed one scroll by accidentally pressing “X” once again when, after the story dialogue, a transition circle appeared right under my character. And another funny moment: in one of the trophies there is an obvious reference to the wonderful manga and series Full Metal Alchemist: after defeating the boss Chimera, we receive a silver cup with the name “Ed... ward...”. I even felt sad somehow...

A fantasy tactical RPG, the plot of which takes place in the beautiful city of Ombre, where our hero named Cicero Gavaro returns to solve the mystery of a daring kidnapping that shook the entire city!

The game has been updated from the Demo version to the FULL version!

The game features tactical battles that can be stopped at the right time to give new orders and make important decisions. All events and battles will take place in a town called Ombre. The city resembles beautiful Venice. The main character is Cicero Gavaro. Gavaro is an exile and he will have to return to his native land. In the game you will often have to use magic, and for this you need special masks that have magical powers. The owner of the masks will be able to understand ancient languages, become invisible and know the most powerful spells. Many residents of the town have such masks. Cicero will have assistants with their masks, but only you can help him unravel the mysterious abduction that shocked all the residents of the city.

Navigate the masked deceptions and deadly magic of a vividly Venetian city in this fully voiced pause-for-tactics RPG.

In the turmoil-ridden Citte della Ombre, religion holds no sway. Only the songs sung of one’s deeds will carry an Ombrian’s legacy beyond death. Those who hold even the smallest morsel of power will make every effort to ensure their songs live on. Enter the Mascherines - masks that grant their wielders the power to channel the elements and cast destructive magic.

The Mascherines have perpetuated a culture of inequality between the power-hungry guildsmen known as the Masquerada and the impoverished lower classes, the Contadani. A prolonged civil war, ignited by Contadani rebels who steal Mascherines from the Masquerada, has only drawn scars of mistrust across the Citte since.

One of Ombre’s finest sleuths, Cicero Gavar, was exiled for a crime against the state five years ago, but he is now summoned back to Ombre to solve the mysterious kidnapping of the diplomat Razitof Azrus. As other members of the Masquerada join his investigation, all having their doubts about one another within this culture of deception, their faith will be pushed to the limit as a deeper conspiracy lurks in the shadows of Ombre.

FEATURES:
Your Fight, Your Pace: Use the tactical pause to control the rush of combat, position your party and plan their attacks by the second.
A Game of Tag: Lay elemental magic tags upon your enemies, and activate the tags with another element for crowd-controlling status effects!
Vivid Comicbook Art: Feast your eyes on dreamy colors and environmental linework inspired by French comic artists, blended with stylized 3D characters for a timeless aesthetic.
A Fully Voiced Tale: The drama at the heart of Ombre unfolds over 12 hours of narrative, fully voiced by VO heavyweights like Matthew Mercer and Jennifer Hale.

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Masquerada: Songs and Shadows, a very unusual mixture of adventure and role-playing game, was released on Steam in September 2016 and, unfortunately, remained almost unnoticed by the public. It’s a pity, because this is a truly unique and very beautiful project. The release of the game on consoles, as well as the release of a large update on Steam, including high-quality Russian localization, is an excellent reason to pay attention to Masquerada: Songs and Shadows.

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows

Genre RPG/adventure
Platforms Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Switch
Developer Witching Hour Studios
Publisher Ysbryd Games
Websites masquerada.com, Steam

And although some believe that localization is not at all necessary, and in order to enjoy modern games, it is worth including the original language, in the case of Masquerada: Songs and Shadows, Russification is very important. Firstly, this game really has a lot of text - dialogues, extracts from Chichero Gavara’s diary, his opinion about his companions, sketches on the history of Ombre, stories about magic, classes, city districts, etc. Secondly, Masquerada has its own language and terminology, based on borrowings from Italian, which makes the game difficult to understand in English. Fortunately, the Russian translation turned out to be really very worthy, and reading Chichero’s notes feels like reading a good fantasy novel.

The fact is that the authors of Masquerada managed to build such an original game world, with a carefully designed structure and its own history, that against its background even the series looks like a completely standard, unremarkable fantasy. The authors of Masquerada: Songs and Shadows were inspired by Renaissance Italy, Venetian carnivals and masks, Florentine intrigue, and the confrontation between noble houses in Bologna. Hence the masks, the basis of the game’s combat system, a specific visual style and mesmerizing instrumental music, interspersed with divine operatic vocals and choirs. Renaissance magic is a very unusual setting.

Inspectore Chichero Gavara, the best detective of the White Spire, a traitor and the brother of a traitor, expelled from Ombre and deprived of all privileges, returns to the city of Citte to improve the disastrous financial situation, and at the request of Vaorone takes up the investigation of the disappearance of his old friend, the regenti Razitof. Regenti disappeared under mysterious circumstances, and two inspectors, former colleagues of Gavara, who were assigned to handle the disappearance case, were found murdered. Vaorone believes that only Gavara will cope with this matter, especially since mask-makers, revolutionaries and bandits are somehow involved in it, to whom Gavara’s brother gave out masks five years ago, the basis of power and strength in Ombra, previously available only to the aristocracy. Confrontation between mask wearers and masquerade; searching for a way to create new magical masks; intrigues woven in Chitta by all guilds and factions - welcome to the magical Renaissance.

During his investigation, Chichero will visit different areas of Citte and Ombre, gather a motley team of representatives of various guilds, often with difficulty tolerating each other, find new masks and, perhaps, unravel the mystery of the appearance of the Mascherines and the secret of the ancient Dimenticate civilization, on the ruins of which Citte stands .

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows – 2.5D RPG/adventure in a hand-drawn environment with controlled pause. The basis of the role-playing system is the magical abilities of characters of different classes and masks that allow the use of ultimate spells. At the same time, unlike many RPGs with a controlled pause, here you will have to maneuver a lot, because the heroes are protected from enemy attacks in the front hemisphere (the sector depends on the class), but are almost defenseless when attacked from the flanks and behind. That is why in the arsenal of almost all heroes, and especially local assassins, sicarios, there are so many skills related to rapid movement across the playing field. In general, there are quite a lot of spells in the game, they can be developed, and there are six masks for each character, however, they still need to be found and painted.

But there are no new types of weapons, armor and decorations in Masquerada: Songs and Shadows. All you can do is put an engraving on your weapon that enhances it. The lack of inventory, and indeed experience indicators, is very unusual for a role-playing game. As well as the lack of any options in the dialogues. The story will develop along the beaten path, you are not able to change anything here. That is why Masquerada is closer to an adventure game than to a role-playing game, despite the fact that the combat part here can easily give some odds. Not being able to roleplay in Masquerada is a bit frustrating, but it allows you to concentrate on the story.

And the story is really good. All the characters in the game pursue their own goals, almost all of them are hiding something. Following in the footsteps of Razitof, the detective comes across new evidence, meets old friends, remembers the past, and begins to understand his deceased revolutionary brother, whom he refused to support five years ago. The stories in Gavar's diary are written in a very lively, figurative and beautiful language and, thank God, the Russian translation turned out to be excellent. If you are used to scrolling through dialogues and don’t like looking at your diary, this game is clearly not for you.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the voice acting. Despite the indie nature of the project, and Masquerada was partially funded on Kickstarter, the authors managed to attract truly stellar actors and voice all the characters in the game. Judge for yourself. Felicia Day, creator of the web series The Guild, who has starred in the TV series Supernatural, Eureka and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Jennifer Hale, Canadian actress and singer, voice of Commander Shepard (Femshep) in the video game series. Matt Mercer, who has voiced dozens of anime and games, including, etc. Dave Fennoy, who worked on , and many other games. Ashly Burch as Tiny Tina in , Chloe Price in