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Frayed Knights: The Skull of S'makh-Daon
The Buzz
AWARDS
Editor's Choice Winner: Best Indie Game of 2011 (RPGWatch)
"If you are a frequent visitor to RPGWatch then you will definitely know
about Frayed Knights. It was one of last year's most anticipated
indies of 2011 and for a lot of us it delivered on everything it promised.
What Jay Barnson, developer of Frayed Knights, wanted to do with
the game is bring back some of the RPGs of old like Wizardry and
Might and Magic. He delivered in spades for a lot of us.
"For those of you who are new to RPGWatch, Frayed Knights is a
dungeon crawler similar to the Might and Magic series. The combat
was turn-based and there were many skills to improve your four characters.
Unlike the M&M series, Jay brought his own style of writing and humor to the
game. If you are familiar with Monkey Island or Quest for Glory
then you'll have a good idea of the style of writing the game offers. The
writing is one of the best parts to this game. His humor is just as good,
if not better, than some of the professionally developed games out there -
especially some of the newer AAA games which attempt to bring humor to a
game, but only deliver the most base type of comedy.
"While the game does have its flaws such as the graphics and, to some, the
UI, it delivers on all that was promised: a computer RPG of comedy and high
fantasy."
Winner: Best Indie RPG of 2011 (GameBanshee)
"2011 brought us a healthy dose of independent RPGs, but none of them stood
out quite like Frayed Knights: The Skull of S'makh-Daon did. A living
tribute to the old Might and Magic and Wizardry games, this
long-in-development labor of love by Jay Barnson (and some especially
dedicated friends) kept us coming back for more with its excellent
turn-based combat and entertaining writing. Old-school in both its interface
and gameplay, additions (innovations?) like Drama Stars helped alleviate
some of the frustrations that often come with RPGs from years past, and its
literal hundreds of spells and feats gave party-building fans plenty to chew
on. It might not have been the most polished indie game released this year,
but it's hard to deny the entertaining gameplay that took RPGs back to their
roots."
Runner
Up: Best Character System, 2011 (GameBanshee)
"If there was one game that was heavily fueled by its mechanics this year,
it was Frayed Knights: The Skull of S'makh-Daon. Though it starts
players out with four fixed characters, its system quickly opens up to allow
for a huge amount of flexibility and variety in building them. With hundreds
of options available, solid game balance, and plenty of different strategies
to tap into, Frayed Knights made us agonize over each and every stat point
and level-up in the best possible way. And considering that it was one of
only a few titles that allowed us to build entire parties this year, it had
an edge on most of its competition right from the start. "
REVIEWS
"The bottom line on
Frayed Knights: The Skull of S'makh-Daon is that it provides a great,
traditional, and well-designed CRPG experience, the likes of which we rarely
see these days. Players who are used to the polish and streamlining more
modern RPGs, and who don't take kindly to the game's less serious tone and
style may not find themselves drawn into the game, but the underlying
mechanics are, provided you enjoy combat and dungeon crawling, some of the
best I've seen in years. I think fans of some of the genre's classics, like
Might & Magic, Wizardry, and Betrayal at Krondor
will really appreciate Jay Barnson's tribute to old-school CRPGs, and,
perhaps, it will also convince some newer fans of the genre to get into the
classics as well." -
Frayed Knights: The Skull of S'makh-Daon Review at GameBanshee
"I loved this game. It's what
I've been waiting for since Wizardry 8 or even the end of the
Quest for Glory series." -
Skavenhorde, Frayed Knights Review at RPGWatch
"...The quality here is
superb in almost every aspect. Combat is new and refreshing, something
desperately needed in an industry that doesn’t ever take chances, the
characters are memorable, the writing is brilliant, and it just makes you
come back for more. Luckily, this is the first of a trilogy, and I only hope
I get to review all of them." -
Frayed Knights: The Skull of S'makh-Daon Review at Digitally
Downloaded
"The developer’s passion for
his craft shines through Frayed Knights, a feature that isn’t so
common in games requiring hundreds of workers developing small parts
separately from each other. It’s refreshing to see this sort of thing
surface lately" -
The Indie Fix: Frayed Knights First Impressions at Bits 'n Bytes
Gaming
"This is a game I’ve really
wanted to like for a long time. However, I don’t, I love it! It was
a breath of fresh air poured into a genre, which sadly has become almost
stale in its approach." -
Corwin, Frayed Knights Review at RPGWatch
8.375/10 - "...If
you’re looking to play a dungeon game with that classic ‘bit’ like nature,
simplistic and easy to run / play I would thoroughly recommend Frayed
Knights." -
D22 Zone,
Review: Frayed Knights: The Skull of S'makh-Daon
"From what I've played so far, most of Frayed Knights: The Skull of S'makh-Daon is a lot of fun, with combat and a character system that strike the right balance of intuitiveness and complexity." -
GameBanshee's Frayed Knights: The Skull of S'makh-Daon preview
Editor's Choice Runner Up:
Most Promising Game of 2011 ---
RPG
Watch Game of the Year Awards 2010: Most Promising RPG
"Fans of old-school RPGs don't
have much to celebrate in these days of 'streamlined' games. But thanks to
indie developers, we have hope -- check out this trailer for old-school RPG
Frayed Knights: The Skull of S'makh-Daon." -
GamePro
The Indie Fix: Interview with
Frayed Knights' Developer Jay Barnson - Bit's 'n' Bytes Gaming
Jay 'Rampant Coyote' Barnson Interview - RPG Watch
Interview
with Jay Barnson - IndieRPGs.com
Extravagant Frayed Knights
Codex Preview Feature - RPG Codex
Comments from players and
testers:
"I encountered a random group
of hobgoblin wuzards, who immediately unloaded every spell they had at me.
Arianna was already incapacitated, so it looked like real trouble. My party
was sleeping, awakening, dropping asleep again, spell effects flying
everywhere, all in the space of a single round. Very tense moment... until,
having shot their collective wad, the wuzards all ran out of endurance
simultaneously and became pathetically vulnerable. Dirk and my casters mowed
through them one by one. Your endurance mechanic caused lots of fun there."
"Power Word: Defenestrate
makes me happy beyond words."
"The Crag Wolf 'puppy' dialog
is awesome. I love Chloe so much. And kind of fear her."
"Between Frayed Knights and
Mass Effect 2, I've logged over 80 hours in the past two weeks on RPGs!"
(Hey, at least we contributed!)
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System
requirements:
1.2 gHz CPU, Windows XP or better, 400 Mb HD Space (200 for
demo), OpenGL + compatible 3D card
Please play the demo first and make sure it runs
on your machine before buying. If you can't get it
to run, we don't want your money!
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