Rogue Legend Tame the Wild is a survival simulation/RPG that is in the designer’s words, “a mash up of Harvest Moon, Mine Craft, Recettear, and Zelda.” The game opens with a heartwarming scene of family life interrupted by your character’s town falling under the attack of heavily armored soldiers. Your mother promptly directs you to a hidden door secreted behind the fireplace.
And there the game begins: In a secret passageway behind the main character’s ruined home. After collecting tools, crafting stone into blocks and then placing them over a pit, you finally exit the underground by smashing through a wall and entering upon a scene of your hometown in ruins.
Upon exiting this 8bit horror show, the screen fades to black bearing the text “One Year Later.”
In this new chapter of the game, you find yourself the owner of an unfinished farm and faced with an un-named proprietor. Who is this guy? Who rebuilt the town? Where did they come from? And why are berries 60 bucks?!!!
Oh, I get it, you tell yourself. You just “bought the farm” and the guy who sold it to you is Satan. Actually, he’s not. He’s just an unidentified NPC in Tame the Wild’s pitted plot. The right topmost corner of the screen sports a message log, where you are told what to do next. As mentioned earlier this title is an RPG/survival sim hybrid. As such, your character experiences the pangs of a normal human (dashing my hopes of this game being some sort of afterlife sim/parody). He experiences thirst, fatigue, hunger, sickness, and cold via thought bubbles appearing above the character’s head and notifications above the status bars at the bottom left of the screen. The weather also comes into play, ranging from dust storms to varying levels of rainfall and changes with each season.
In the beginning of the game, NPCs, namely the Satanesque dude, advise you to prepare for the winter. This alone is a daunting task requiring a delicate balance of farming crops; raising livestock, crafting tools and weapons, and exploring the wild for raw materials (Consult the game Wiki for tips). None of this is made any easier by surprise attacks on your farm (whether or not you are present) by coalitions of bees and bats hell bent on destroying your crops.
Of course one can purchase items in town instead of crafting them or forage for them but the prices are reminiscent of Soviet Russia in its decline. However, if you are looking to kill some time, one of the shops features a gambling machine where you can spin a wheel for a chance to multiply a pay-in of $10.
Although Tame the Wild exhibits many attributes of a competent RPG the controls could use some work. As is often the case, the touch screen is not completely compatible with game play. Tame the Wild’s crafting system is your bread and butter but, unfortunately, can be a precarious venture. It is not possible, for example, to see what it takes to craft an item without having at least one of the necessary ingredients in your inventory. Tapping on pictures in an attempt to find out what they represented often resulted in crafting something I didn’t need and losing valuable raw materials. Ugh!
I also found myself re-positioning my character when attempting to select an item in my inventory and vice versa. This can be especially aggravating when one is trying to care for crops and sometimes devastating when battling enemies. Furthermore the vertical orientation places the button for consumables right beneath the inventory. Titling the screen solves one problem but limits visibility of the exit.
Luckily, the developer is very much open to customer suggestions. Consultation of his Kickstarter site reveals upgrades such as a multiplayer option, 3D graphics, and more detailed combat (including spells) to be included in Rogue Legend 2.
This game is hardcore in the sense that it requires constant attention to status bars and dedication to routine yet ends up being too mundane. If you want a game that will keep you playing and guessing look elsewhere. The only thing unpredictable about game play is where the grass will grow next. Maybe with better control options; updated graphics, an engaging battle system against random enemies, and a more interesting plot Rogue Legend Tame the Wild could aspire to be a solid 3.
Hardcore?
Kinda...
A work in progress that pique’s the player’s curiosity, Rogue Legend Tame the Wild is in the beginning stages of becoming a decent Sim/RPG.