Odin Dropped His Mighty Hammer On This "Saga" Of The Gods! – Saga of Nine Worlds: Gathering Review

Behold the mighty Norsemen, who set sail upon thee seas, valiantly battling fire-breathing dragons, under thee honor of their almighty Gods! Eipix used to be one of my favorite developers; now, they simply regurgitate their rehashed story lines and formulaic mechanics into every game within every series. Even their HOSs have become trite, recycling the same types without any refreshing creativity. They kind of lost their "wow" factor. With this new series, I was hoping that they would have taken a much-needed diversion from the norm, towards an invigorating path filled with captivating innovation and elevated gameplay. Unfortunately, they mostly did not. I am disenchanted by the storyline, which is the foundation of a game, holding all the supporting components together. The plot moves along slowly and fails to build up moments of excitement. What they did do well is to successfully integrate Norse mythology and the Vikings theme into the environment; for example, the wood-constructed Viking ships, adorned with striped sails and serpent-like masts. Rune stones — raised stones with a runic inscription — are omnipresent throughout this game. The characters' appearances, including their attire, appropriately complement the theme of the storyline: horned helmets; cloak-clad women; steel-armor gear; long haired men with braided beards; and weapons of warfare, such as swords. The dwarves are an important part of Norse mythology due to their masterly skill in creating artifacts for the Norse Gods. Their roles here are reminiscent to their roles in Lord of the Rings in which they created weapons and jewelry for the elves. However, I find their personalities to be sapless and devoid of compelling emotion. Surprisingly, I thought that the graphics have improved; I don't notice the typical blotchiness that this developer is known for. You can customize your settings. The inventory is labeled and interactive; items require assembly. In custom mode, the teleport map indicates available actions; but it does NOT facilitate brisk travel to labeled locations. It has become quite frustrating to repeatedly tap on a desired location to find that magic spot in order for my touch input to be acknowledged. Transition between scenes is smooth and quick; no glitches to report. Gameplay is story-driven and implements a twist of allowing you to control your destiny. Even the map is incorporated into the gameplay. I am pleased that the Journal records information about the characters I encounter, as well as varying mythological beliefs, traditions, inventions, etc. The multi-layered HOSs — a trademark of this developer — are taken up a notch in both ingenuity and complexity. They are thematically and artistically rendered to enhance the storyline. The puzzles, multi-layered as well, are effectively fused into the actions in progress, as their solutions will solve a quandary. But, as creative as the puzzles are, I find most of them to be beginner leveled, thus depriving me of the challenge needed to quench my thirst. You discover well-blended collection sets within the locations and within the HOSs. I have to admit that I'm feeling a bit jaded because I thought that this game would be over the top. Something is amiss here. It seems that the mediocre storyline, the lack of connectedness to the characters, and the underwhelming puzzles diminish my overall satisfaction. And that map makes it painful to navigate between locations. Therefore, my true rating of 3.5 stars is lowered to a disappointing 3 stars. Lynx Minx: hotties in the house again! ?
Review by KimTwilight69 on Saga of Nine Worlds: Gathering.