Epistory - Typing Chronicles Review

Every once in a while, a game comes along with a beautiful art style which draws potential players in before they even know what the game is about. This is Epistory - Typing Chronicles, the latest from Belgium-based developer Fishing Cactus. Before I even read the full title, all I knew about this game was that it was gorgeous. Besides being incredibly good-looking, Epistory is a story-driven typing game in which the player controls a girl riding a fox through a fantasy landscape. In order to do anything within the game, the player must type words of varying length and complexity. This can be anything from simply clearing a path, to typing "resume" in the pause menu, and even combat.

Being a story-driven game, there's a lot about Epistory I don't want to reveal. I'll avoid spoilers and talk only about 1) gameplay mechanics, and 2) the first ~20 minutes of the game. This is a game which should be experienced firsthand and I don't want to take any of that experience away from potential players.

At the beginning, the player is put in control of the girl on the fox. You walk around the world and learn the basic concept; a tree blocking your path? Type the word floating above that tree to watch it disappear before your eyes. Trying to gather experience? Look for words all around the landscape, revealing dialogue and backdrop items alike. You might plant a few flowers, or expose a larger area to walk around in. Things start to pick up when a meteorite crashes into the land ahead. Upon exploring, you find a deep cave full of dangerous creatures and rivers of lava. You pick up the power of flames, giving you the ability to burn bushes and enemies alike. I'm not telling you anything else because, again, you should experience the story for yourself!

While walking around and typing obstacles out of existence seems a bit casual, combat is where the game can get frantic. If an enemy so much as touches you, that's game over. In true storytelling fashion, you're met with a "no, that's not how that happened at all" à la Prince of Persia. In order to defeat the creepy beasts, you have to type the words which keep appearing over their heads while they approach. Faster typing means faster killing. If you're a bit too slow? Well, you better hope that you're not. From what I've heard, the game actually adapts to your typing speed. That means that if you're the kind of person who types one letter at a time, that doesn't have to be a barrier to entry. I haven't seen this because I'm a filthy millennial who grew up at a computer. Oops.

Apart from story and gameplay, there are a few other aspects which push this from "game" to "work of art". The art style, as mentioned, is beautiful. The world is made up of pages out of a book, and every item and creature is like a little origami creation. The voiceover for the narration is superb, the soundtrack is pretty... Honestly, this game is a really solid package all around. This is a pretty short review because most of the game is story-driven, but I highly recommend you pick it up if you have the means.

-Justin

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Graphics: PERFECT
Sound: GREAT
Gameplay: AMAZING
Value: GREAT
 
OVERALL: AMAZING

Fishing Cactus:

Website: http://fishingcactus.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fishingcactus?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FishingCactus

FULL DISCLOSURE: this game was provided to A-To-J Connections free-of-charge by the developers in order to write this review.