Garshasp: Temple of the Dragon – developed by Dead Mage is an indie game based on Persian mythology which follows the life of Garshasp, an ancient warrior who is seeking to reclaim a legendary mace of his ancestors which was stolen by the Deevs.
Game Features
Garshasp is a melee combat game with some platforming thrown in, it seems the basic concept of the game is very similar to the popular Prince of Persia games. Garshasp, the main character even looks like a more bulky version of the character in Prince of Persia.
The first thing you notice when loading this game is the lack of options. There are actually no in game options, you have to run a separate configuration application. This may be forgiven as it has been developed by an indie company, but it certainly isn’t ideal.
The controls in this game are very simple, even too simple possibly. It’s not offering enough in terms of melee combat, its main feature. Left click for a fast attack and right click for a heavy attack. Games like this usually have different weapon types, or the ability to cast spells, but this one just seems too simple and repetitive.
Gameplay
Getting into the game, you start off with a cut scene. The graphic style of the game is quite basic and does not look polished at all, even in cut scenes such as this one. The voice acting is pretty bad, there’s no emotion and the characters sound like robots, this is reinforced when the characters mouths are moving out of sync with the audio. Maybe I’m being picky, after all it is an indie game, but even when you look past these flaws, you are just greeted with more.
Movement is controlled by w, a, s, d as usual with this type of game, but the difference with this one is that you can’t control the camera. I was finding myself moving the mouse with my right hand trying to readjust the camera angle. The game claims to offer exploration but this is hard when the camera is controlled for you, forcing you in certain directions. This can get awkward at times which makes it hard to see and fight enemies.
Overall
In conclusion, Garshasp is an indie game lacking in major areas. The camera is locked and the environment is linear. The combat is too basic and repetitive.
The appearance and mechanics presented in this game however, are not too bad. Hopefully Dead Mage will concentrate on bringing something new to the table, as this is very important within the indie genre. This game is too similar to an existing title, and I think will therefore have a hard time.
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