PSN Review – Faery: Legends of Avalon

When it comes to turn-based RPGs on the PS3, there are scant few choices for fans of the genre. Spiders Games hopes to remedy this with their downloadable release of Faery: Legends of Avalon. Does this game have what it takes, and is it worthy of your hard-earned money? Find out in our review.

The story here is pretty simple – you are a faery awakened from a deep stasis. The world of Avalon is in danger, as humans have stopped believing in faeries and other mythological creatures. Without this belief, magic is failing and thus the existence of many civilizations is in peril.

The game consists of exploring the world around you, talking to its various inhabitants, and combat. There are no random fights – you can always see the enemies beforehand, and combat ensues when you fly close enough to them. The combat system is hilariously simple. You have two options to advance combat: use a physical move or a magical ability. Characters can also eventually switch their stance between offensive and defensive, which can add bonuses to certain moves. It really is a very barebones system. There’s nothing wrong with it, but at the same time there is nothing particularly special about it. You will quickly grow tired of this combat system as you go on fetch quest after fetch quest. Your character is seemingly revered by the other inhabitants, and then sent on menial tasks that they could really do themselves. It almost seems as if those missions are in there solely to increase the length of the campaign.

Customization is here in the form of what abilities you choose, which affects how your character looks. It is in-depth enough to give your character a unique look and is always welcome in RPGs. There is also a “Friends” option in the main menu, which allows you to see how your PSN friends have played through the game. This shows you how some of the choices you are given in the game affect the outcome of the story, which is a unique feature that is worth checking out.

The various locations you visit in the game are surprisingly well rendered. The characters are well rendered, and are reminiscent of Folklore when talking about how the inhabitants look – a bit creepy, more akin to a Tim Burton film than a Disney one. While the characters and buildings are decently detailed, the environment (more specifically, the ground) does seem a bit less polished, but not enough that it detracts from the visual appeal of the game’s art style.

The music is easily the brightest spot in Faery, and would seem at home in any fairytale movie. Sweeping horns, legato strings and enchanting chimes all add greatly to the ambiance of the game’s world. As with most RPGs, however, the music can get repetitive after a while, but at least with this game the music is done well enough that it does not really reach that point.

Speaking of audio, one thing is noticeably absent from the game – any semblance of voiceover work. The entire story is told via text, and no characters have any voices. Sure, there is the occasional grunt or scream during combat (and on rare occasion, while talking), but not even the main characters are voiced. Perhaps the game had a small budget, but in the current generation of gaming this is a rather disappointing omission.

So you’ve got a basic turn-based RPG with a finely-detailed fantasy setting. The music is pleasing, and the art style is impressive. But with a weak story, bland fetch quests comprising the majority of your campaign, and absolutely no voiceover work whatsoever, this game is hard to recommend to anyone but fans of this genre of games. There’s nothing terrible about Faery: Legends of Avalon, it’s just that there’s nothing that makes the game stand out from all the countless RPGs before it.

PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score



+ Pleasing artwork, enchanting musical scores.

– Weak story, bland combat system.

– Many of the quests feel like time-fillers.

6 out of 10

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