Even though role-playing games are ostensibly about playing a particular role, a fundamental requirement is that your strength continually grows. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing Dragon Age Origins, Baldur’s Gate 3, or even Disco Elysium, the idea that in the future you will be stronger or more capable than you are now is a tenet of the fantasies they embody. . Brighter shoresRuneScape creator Andrew Gower’s new role-playing game dares to do it differently, and it’s fair to say it hasn’t gone over well with fans. In response, the developer took to Steam to justify its decision in the face of this backlash, pleading with players to “please give it a chance.”

The problem arises from the existing episodic structure in Brighter shores. When starting out in this role play You will choose a class and level up throughout the first episode, as is usual in a game of this type. The problem for fans is what happens when you get to the second episode and all the episodes after that. Instead of continuing to level up, you choose a new class and start your journey all over again. You can continue with your previous class, but only by returning to the chapter related to that particular class; Any progress made there won’t necessarily carry over to the rest of the game.

It’s fair to say that this structure is controversial, with fans expressing dismay at the concept of starting over as the game progresses. However, developer Fen Research Ltd is aware of this and took to Steam to explain its reasoning. “I would just like to assure you that your hard work in improving your professions is definitely NOT deleted, reset, or rendered irrelevant when you move on to a new episode!” Write the Gower study. “Your existing professions from episode 1 remain intact and remain useful any time you are in Hopeport. You will find that you still return regularly to Hopeport and utilize and progress further in those professions.”

“It is NOT intended that you first ‘finish’ episode 1, then move on to episode 2, and never return to episode 1. Instead, it is relatively easy to advance to each new episode, but even when you have reached the last episode, you will not be not even close to finishing. Instead, you can at any time choose any of the episodes you have unlocked and continue leveling up in that episode,” the developer continues.

“The episodes are also very interconnected, so you’ll regularly find yourself going back and forth between them. For example: you can use the combat in episode 3 to kill some monsters and get reagents for potions. You can then take these reagents to episode 1 to make some potions, which you will then use in episode 4. Once you get to episode 3, you can also start crafting your own weapons that you can “fine-tune” for use in ANY episode 1. 4, further interconnecting the back-and-forth between the episodes and allowing you to quickly gear up in episode 4.”

The developer also asks fans to “give it a chance,” stating that “all of our testing has shown that, once you get used to it, unlocking a new combat profession from time to time becomes quite fun.”

Despite its strong defense, the Brighter Shores developer also promises some changes. The first is now active, and player levels now show both individual episodic progress and the combined total. New challenges will also arrive in the future that will require progress over multiple episodes to complete, and in-game information will be changed to be clearer.

Brighter Shores is now available for free in Early Access. So if you want to make a decision about this episodic system, it won’t cost you anything to try it. You can catch up on the game with the latest blog post, more here.

If you prefer to try something else, our guides to the best fantasy games and the best MMORPG will help you find your perfect gaming accompaniment.

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