Developed by Superstatic, and published by Superstatic and Anshar Studios comes a thrilling tale of fractured people and fallen crowns. Explore the world of Liberte’, set at the time of the French Revolution. Battle foes through blade and bullet and uncover the mysteries that reside.
Vive la révolte!
The year is 1789. The coronation of the new King is thrown into chaos by the rebel insurgencies. And even more so, when a mysterious beast wreaks havoc on the people of Paris. Liberte‘ follows a young man by the name of Rene awakes amidst the chaos with no memory of anything, only that he is being called by a mysterious voice. The voice turns to be the strange and alluring Lady Bliss, a being from beyond this world who seeks to heal the world. But can she truly be trusted?
As Rene, you will run the chaos-stricken streets of Paris and interact with the factions that have formed. The Crown is led by Philip and heir to the empty throne. The Rebels are led by Max and his band of fighters. Ori and her mysterious wildland people lead the Tribe. And the Congregation is led by the Church and religious people within. As you play, you will have to side with one or the other, and ultimately decide who the new leader of France shall be.
Liberte‘s art style showcases impressive visuals in its cut-scenes and character descriptions. Although the in-game models may lack intricate details, they effectively fulfill their purpose. The voice acting, for the most part, is commendable. The named characters are exceptionally portrayed, but it must be said that the other non-playable characters and adversaries are subpar.
The fires of Liberte’ burns bright
Liberte’ is a combination of top-down Diablo-esque combat, crossed with deckbuilding in a roguelike setting. Combat involves melee, ranged, and some magics used through cards. Using these cards in a deck has a unique mechanics. Most cards have a Mana Cost, and the only way to gain Mana is to burn other cards. You will lose the card; however, you will gain the Mana cost and allow you to activate the Skills, Passives, and Talents. Some cards can only be used a set number of times before you can’t use them again. Skills and Techniques are limited to a certain keybind. If you find two Combat Skills, you will have to replace the first one you found with the new one, if you so wish.
As you go through a level, you will earn XP and Silver, which can be used to hold more Mana at a time and purchase items in between combat areas. There are over a hundred cards, and many different archetypes that those cards represent. These are used to augment your playstyle and provides a fair bit of flexibility.
Liberte’ has four mini-campaigns for you to explore, one for each faction and potentially another for Lady Bliss herself. In addition, there will be points in the gameplay when you will be forced to quickly choose a side. This will affect the rest of the level: who you end up fighting at the end and what Faction will receive their progress. However, there doesn’t seem to be any real consequence for your actions, should you favor one or the other faction. As a result, other than the unlocks you discover later on, nothing happens for choosing a side. Which is a little disappointing.
Freedom? Or Madame Guillotine?
As it stands, Liberte’ is not yet finished. However, there is a good amount of stuff to sink your teeth into. That being said, there is much that this game can do to improve itself in the future. The combat needs work and needs to be either more deliberate or less punishing. Some attack animations lock you into a state that leaves you wide open, and in the narrow corridors, this is a problem. One that you find yourself facing fairly often. As far as story, it isn’t nearly as deep as it sets itself up to be. Above all a majority of the plot is unvoiced, which is a shame because they set up a strong start in the prologue.
Other than running the game to completion multiple times, there’s no way to explore the story. And yeah, play the game to get the story, it makes sense. But ultimately your choices in Liberte‘ don’t matter. Presumably on the game’s completion, your final choice in the game will be to choose which faction wins in the end. And as of now, there is nothing to incentivizes you to choose one or the other. Picking the Crown one run won’t make the Rebels hate you in the next. It’s all just XP towards an unlock line.
I don’t hate this game. It has potential. If the combat and audio was a little more polished it might make up for what it lacks in other areas. However as far as the story goes, having no drawbacks for picking a side really is a letdown. Finally, boasting 4 mini campaigns is a bold move when those campaigns have no consequence.
Liberte’s is available on PC through Steam Early Access.
VERDICT
GOOD
GOOD
I don’t hate this game. It has potential. If the combat and audio was a little more polished it might make up for how it lacks in other areas. Having no drawbacks for picking a side really is a let down. Boasting 4 mini-campaigns is a bold move when those campaigns have no consequence.
