14 DAY TRIAL // Whalenought Studios is a Romanian developer that has just brought us an old-school RPG with turn-based combat elements. Serpent in the Stagland is a ‘90s cRPG that tells the story of Necholai, a minor god of celestial body, who descends to the Staglands for a moonlit festival.
The game is set in the late bronze age in a Transylvanian landscape and promises to allow players to make their own choices while adventuring the Staglands, even though the game will roll the dice for you.
Serpent in the Staglands brings Romanian mythology (one of the richest in the world) to RPG in an appealing form. The game features a single-player campaign within the world of Vol, which is full of various races, gods steeped in history and unique politics.
According to developers, Serpent in the Staglands isn't about good and evil, or saving the world and being a hero, instead players will be fighting to stay alive in a harsh land.
No checklist, no map markers, no linear story, just pure cRPG
Let's see what the game does not offer. Well, Serpent in the Staglands does not feature auto-populating map markers, checklist quest grinding and rigid story exposition.
So, your party of five adventurers will have to examine hand-drawn maps in your inventory for secret locations, diagrams of foreign languages, note encounters of interest in their in-game journal and learn for themselves how to best smuggle Spices.
Basically, you will be free to investigate, roleplay, but above all else, do not forget to pray to the RNG god when combat occurs.
Serpent in the Staglands features a classless role-play system, which means players will be able to create their own builds from any combination of the more than 100 magic, combat and aptitude skills.
The story is non-linear and unfolds as the players advance into the game. There's also no level scaling or story-blocked map barriers that might prevent players from getting into certain locations.
If anything about this game got you thinking, you can now buy Serpent of the Staglands via Steam for just $20. It's also worth mentioning that developers also offer a demo, so you can try it before purchase.
