Embric of Wulfhammer’s Castle reviewed on PlayThisThing

I’ve received an email from a Dr. Tof Eklund pointing me to a review he wrote of the indie RPG Embric of Wulfhammer’s Castle. He describes it as sort of a strange cross between RPG and interactive fiction, with an overweening focus on building romantic relationships substituting for combat as the meat of the gameplay.

If this sounds like a relationship sim, well, it basically is, except that it’s apparently more about exploring and traversing a non-linear narrative with multiple endings than it is about time allocation and grinding for stat points.

Here’s a choice quote from the review:

Highly unconventional gameplay hiding behind a conventional facade, an occasional lack of polish to the system, and the game’s queer themes make it a labor of love. I can’t image what a pitch meeting with a publisher would be like for this title –- though I think there might be more of an audience for this sort of game than the conventional wisdom would dictate.

I’d post a screenshot, but you already know what RPG Maker assets look like. If you’re curious, you can nab the game free-of-charge right here.