⚔️🪓 Video Game Fables PC (Steam) Review 8/10 "Laugh as You Level" ⚔️🪓 @MomijiStudios #IndieGames #GameDev

It’s always a pleasure to come across a game that has been created as a labour of love, and Video Game fables is very much that.

Developed by one-man team Momiji Studios (with music provided by Levc EGM), Video Game Fables is primarily a turn-based RPG with an open-world structure, but is also packed with mini-games and asides – from the website:

"Video Game Fables" is a fun, light-hearted RPG adventure set in an abandoned RPG game world that hasn't had a player in decades.

The world's script gets completely ruined by someone calling herself "The Forsaken Princess."

It's up to Aru (the world's princess), Nate (an NPC aspiring to be a hero), and Tator (the villain's son) to get things back to normal...or maybe change everything forever.”

As you make your way through the narrative with our three intrepid adventurers, you’ll be accompanied by some furiously jolly chiptune music that absolutely meshes with the bright and blocky visuals. That’s not to say all is retro pixel action, mind you – there is some impressive 3D design work that comes in mainly through funky enemy design, as well as environmental puzzles.

Yes, whilst the backbone of the game is travelling the kingdom, and getting involved in random battles – the initialisation of which takes the shape of dark clouds following your character in the overworld, these are occasionally easily avoided, so you don’t have to get caught up in every single one – the amount of ‘sideys’ in the game is impressive, from a section in which you proceed through the invented world of a forest pumpkin Lord by progressing through various stages of inverted platforms, to kart racing, and a personal highlight in which you must ascend to a floating birdcage in the sky through a load of physics and switch-based trickery. These sections seem to always appear at the just right time to mix up the gameplay and keep things fresh and fun.

Even the turn-based battles have a little slant on how they play out, with a tongue-in-cheek approach to the critical moves, involving clonking a frying pan in someone’s face or forcing them to drink a dodgy potion to slowly poison them. The way in which your party all shares the same XP pool and can teleport back to your base camp to spend various currencies on items and equipment (but only one member of the team can use each weapon) gives the game a sense of cohesion and community.

Also, don’t think that this is a breezy kids’ game – if you dick around too much during the battles – and especially during the boss fights – you’ll get your fists kicked off, so don’t be slacking in that department!

I left my favourite part of the game until the end. The writing. It’s always a gamble when a game takes a comedic approach of any form, as – if that humour doesn’t gel with you, it can make the whole game feel like a slog. Here in Video Game Fables, however, the writing really does hit the right balance of light-hearted commentary in the proceedings and doesn’t rely on pop culture references, in-jokes or lazy smut. All of the humour feels like it belongs in the lore of the game world that is created. Everything from the enemy names and descriptions, to the dialogue and visual gags – they all just work, feel cohesive and world-building, and flow easily into the story.

I’m really glad that I took the time to dive into Video Game Fables. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m primarily a console gamer, but I’ve been extremely lucky in how the few times that I have picked up a PC title to review – I’ve been rewarded with some well-spent hours in worlds created by gifted minds.

Demo available:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1577690/Video_Game_Fables/