I like to look through interesting-looking free games on itch.io, most of them being demos or proof-of-concept kind of games. While it’s easy to dismiss these games as empty promises, I appreciate them for their unique ideas, even if sometimes they don’t end up turning into a full-fledged game.

In its’ demo days, it was already a nearly completed games. Indeed, the part that was included in the demo didn’t really change much - if at all. The visuals and gameplay were set in stone by that point. The full version ended up being about 3 times bigger than the demo. Yes, it’s a short game overall.

What immediately catches the eye is the game’s visual style. Vibrant colors with plenty of purple and yellow and blue. Pixelated environments that feel kind of blurry. Static enemy sprites surrounded by a barely noticeable glow. While I don’t expect it to be everyone’s cup of tea, Ruadine’s visuals are sure to impress many here!

But what I think is the main selling point of the game is its’ combat system. I honestly have never seen a similar system before. In real time, both you and your opponent possess a “turn meter” that’s steadily increases during battle. As it raises, you get to choose between attack and defense, and when you decide to act, you activate your chosen actions (up to three) at once.

It gets interesting when the game introduces sigils. They contain special abilities which are triggered by three actions activated at once. Both your weapon and your shield can be engraved with a sigil and the power of two different sigils can be combined to activate a different spell. Thus, having two different sigils allows you to have 3 spells on top of versatility of mixing attacks and defenses. Combine this with a clever enemy design and you have a very solid foundation for an engaging and highly customizable challenge to overcome.

If you are interested in Ruadine, it can be bought on itch.io (with the demo I was talking about earlier) and Steam.