Games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance and its follow-up, along with the popular Plague Tale series, are breathing new life into the medieval game genre.
Okay, so I just started playing this game, 1348 Ex Voto, and it’s seriously cool. The name basically means ‘from a vow made,’ and the whole story is about getting revenge. It’s set in Tuscany back in the 1300s – think castles, fields, and a lot of drama. It’s a really immersive experience so far!
Sedleo’s attempt to create a personal story within a large-scale world doesn’t quite succeed. While aiming high, the game suffers from inconsistent delivery and particularly poor combat.
Okay, so the story is pretty straightforward, but totally gripping! It follows Aeta, a new knight still finding her feet, and her life gets completely turned upside down when bandits attack her town. The worst part? They kidnap her friend, Bianca! So naturally, Aeta sets off on a journey across the land to track down the people who took her and bring Bianca home.
Aeta journeys across varied landscapes – from peaceful countryside to towering mountains and ancient castles – forging alliances and battling enemies as she seeks Bianca. Her training as a knight proves essential in overcoming the dangers she faces.
Honestly, in this game set in 1348, it feels like you either walk around or fight. And the fighting? It’s just not very good, which is a real shame because it’s pretty much all the action there is.
During battles, the game focuses on the action by zooming in when Aeta encounters an opponent. You’ll primarily defend by blocking and dodging, although the dodge mechanic could be improved.
In combat, you primarily use a mix of single and dual-handed attacks. Landing these attacks at the right moment weakens an enemy’s defenses, creating an opening to strike when their guard is down.
The combat starts off promising and could be visually impressive, but it’s ultimately let down by repetitive actions and a frustrating targeting system that doesn’t work well.
Aeta automatically targets enemies, but it’s unpredictable whether she’ll lock onto the right one. You might miss a hit because her aim changes suddenly, leaving you open to an enemy attack.
Fighting isn’t just flawed in one way. The timing for blocking after a combo is often unreliable, leaving you open to attacks. Plus, enemies sometimes seem to appear suddenly during a battle, which is also a problem.
The biggest problem with 1348 is its frustrating combat, especially since Aeta’s quest doesn’t offer much else to do. While the game features beautiful landscapes – from vibrant fields to sprawling mountains – gameplay mostly involves simply walking through narrow paths, with the occasional branching path to find improvements.
Overall, the game’s technical performance isn’t great. While it’s an independent title and some imperfections are understandable, issues like a fluctuating frame rate, textures appearing and disappearing, and strange character animations become frustrating, even compared to other games made with similar budgets.
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2026-03-23 23:07