Leviathan: The Last Day of the Decade

[Darklord Rooke]

There's a new, large-budget ($150,000), indie title that's just been released called 'Leviathan: The Last Day of the Decade.' Has anybody here played it? I've heard some really good things about it but I've got a large backlog of games and won't get to it any time soon. Thought I'd bring it to people's attentions though. http://vndb.org/v13124

What is this game?

Probably, the most exact definition would be visual novel, adventure/quest and interactive fiction. We decided not to bound our game to a defined genre and restrictions.

Is Leviathan an episodic game?

Yes. Full version includes five episodes (ep.1-ep.4 are available, ep.5 is coming soon). Episode one is free, so you can download it from our website (thelostwood.com) and play it so you can see if you like the game.

Some facts about the setting and the atmosphere?

Well, Leviathan takes place in a dark fantasy world mixed with cyberpunk and alien technologies. Five noble families rule the country under the suzerainty of Plague King - the supernatural creature who has an ability to plague the country with the terrible disease called Decade... The story begins at the first day of the Decade and ends at the last day. The way HOW it ends depends on you.

What languages is it available in?

Available in the following languages: Russian, English, German (first 2 episodes only). International version includes all of them.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=172019758

http://thelostwood.com/en.html

[Down]

Same thing here : I heard a lot of good about it but didn't get around to play it because extensive backlog.

The dark fantasy/cyberpunk setting seems really appealing though.

[garejei]

The developers hooked me up with a free copy (thanks devs!) but I've only played the first two episodes. Still need to get around to playing ep 3.

Based on the first two episodes I think it's still far too early to draw any conclusions. It could go either way right now. Those two eps are basically just the exposition, at least that's what it felt like. The English translation could use some polish, though. The writing feels weird here and there, plus there are a few grammar mistakes as well. It might seem like a minor thing but it can ruin immersion. I'm hoping there will be some more character development as well. There's this chick who's supposed to be your love interest (I think?), but I felt no connection to her at all. I dunno how to explain it.

Don't let your backlog hold you back, though, the episodes are pretty short. 30 mins for ep 1, maybe an hour and a half for ep 2.

Edit: Btw, they told me they're planning to fix the grammar mistakes, so I guess that won't be a problem in the future.

[Darklord Rooke]

Don't let your backlog hold you back, though, the episodes are pretty short. 30 mins for ep 1, maybe an hour and a half for ep 2.

Whoa, those are some pretty short episodes Why are they splitting the game into 5 episodes if it's only 6-7 hours in length? Seems a bit weird to me.

[shcboomer]

Looks interesting, maybe I'll give it a go when my backlog clears up a bit.

[Joyjason]

Gonna give this thread a bump here.

 

I was also granted a free copy, which gave me the title up to episode 3. As I finish episode 3, I have very favorable review for this game, except for the fact that there are several things I find unpleasant...

 

1) The "whoosh" effect is getting annoying

2) There's no humor

3) Elements are introduced too suddenly

4) Too much effort has been spent in creating route variety, to the point character graphics really suck

5) Finishing episode 3, I can see how this story is going to end; and it's not going to be a "happy ending" that we're all familiar with, unless there are even more "sudden elements" that switch up the plotline in the next two episodes.

 

Lostwood Games, this is a nice direction you're taking, but I'm afraid that it'll be hard to complete with the commercial groups due to the fact that cyberpunk isn't the best genre out there, and that Leviathan is really short compared to the other games.

 

I mean... I finished the entire 3 episodes in a single sitting...

[Albedo]

Looks good, but I think I'll wait until they release episode 5.

[Silvachief]

I picked it up on the cheap from a sale...haven't tried it out yet though.

[nohman]

I'll give it a go. Downloaded episode 1.

[Joyjason]

I'll give it a go. Downloaded episode 1.

 

Trust me. Ep. 1 isn't enough to determine the quality of the game because the main characters do not even appear until Episode 2, which you need to buy. 

 

Incidentally, did anyone realize that there are already "votes" for this game on VNDB? Yeah, it's not even complete (even in Russian), yet people are casting their votes...

What does that mean? I'll leave it up to your imagination, but let me take 5 seconds to utilize this factor to criticize VNDB for the 13 millionth time. 

[Darklord Rooke]

Incidentally, did anyone realize that there are already "votes" for this game on VNDB? Yeah, it's not even complete (even in Russian), yet people are casting their votes...

What does that mean? I'll leave it up to your imagination, but let me take 5 seconds to utilize this factor to criticize VNDB for the 13 millionth time. 

 

[Low blow aimed at Square-Enix]I'm still pissed they included Lightning Raidy on their database but not Final Fantasy XIII. I think everybody will agree that FFXIII has far more visual novel elements, and fewer RPG elements, than Lightning Raidy   [/Low blow aimed at Square-Enix]