Sticks and stones
Empire Software released this adventure in 1989, and it's quite unlike anything I expected. I'd seen screenshots and was half-expecting something like Drakkhen with a typical dungeon-crawler storyline. Well, it's similar in some regards and with monsters and weapons, including stones. I know, I know, stones...
We begin on Tessera, a world once rich and prosperous but now suffering famine, disease, and a crime wave that only Robocop could fix. Their god, N'Gnir, strangely seems to be in slumber, so it's your mission to find and wake him. It won't be easy because you must battle your way through the numerous different lands, and each has eight kingdoms. This game is huge, so pack butties because it's unlikely you will be home for tea.
Our adventure starts from the comfort of our castle. From the outside, it's impressive, and I wonder just how rich I am. However, inside it's rather sparsely decorated and mostly empty. This is situated in a strange, chaotic world with most of its populace being completely barmy. All early encounters aren't welcoming; instead, they're a brawl without any provocation. They love to throw pebbles without any reason lol.
Let's take a look at my grand castle, and the second screenshot is from a peek inside...
From the outside, your home looks awesome. Wish it was real!!
But on the inside, it's a bit bare, so obviously furnished by a guy!
The lands outside are populated by weirdos who all seem to hate me?!
A game with character
Fortunately, some people are normal rather than fanatical psychopaths, so chat to them for information. As the box states, this isn’t just an adventure game; it’s packed with action and puzzles set in a fascinating new world. There are many puzzles to complete, including feeding a giant mouse mouldy cheese. These aren’t mind-boggling puzzles; the information you gather will soon make sense for these rather peculiar guardians.
The gameplay uses a smooth first-person engine with simple controls. Use the mouse to guide the pointer: pushing it upwards walks you forward, and downwards moves you backwards. Turning around is as easy as moving the pointer to the side of the screen. While a joystick is available, I found it less intuitive and rather awkward, but YMMV. Also, if walking feels too slow and you’d prefer to run, simply press the F3 key. This isn’t a traditional run, but it does speed up time for you and the entire game.
Exploring is a breeze, making it easy to navigate and find useful items, weapons, people and even enjoy a good fight. However, you’ll quickly realise people aren’t friendly, so practice and master your stone-throwing skills! Well, until you find something better, like a sling or crossbow. I recommend taking your time to thoroughly investigate your surroundings; you might find some seemingly insignificant objects that turn out to be valuable. For example, as you collect pebbles, why not check out those trees to see what's hidden?
Sleeping Gods Lie, though not entirely open-world, offers a similar experience. Each area allows for free exploration within its segment, with limited exits providing opportunities to move on and discover new areas. However, thorough exploration is crucial for finding helpful items and better weapons.
As you upgrade your weapons, skirmishes become easier, but tougher enemies lurk ahead. Key tips include resting regularly, exploring thoroughly and saving your game frequently like a paranoid madman!
It's time for some screenshots from this bizarre, yet enthralling, adventure game...
This ain't a peaceful land, and most start fights by throwing pebbles at you!! That distant pixelated mess is a guardian (get closer for a better view!)
The second guardian is freakishly cute (but rather hungry!!)
Aesthetics
Visually, I’m torn. The 3D engine is fantastic, offering full exploration of expansive landscapes. Freedom to roam is great, but through sparsely populated places, making it feel somewhat barren. I’d have liked more to "look at". However, the sprites are a different story. From afar, they’re a wobbly mess of pixels, probably because of the low res? Get closer, they scale beautifully - a feature I really admired in the old engine.
The audio isn't as good as it should be simply because there's hardly anything to hear! I'm sure something could have been done, even if it were footsteps, or a delicate background chiptune. Talking of that, the title screen introduction has a fantastic tune which is nothing less than gorgeous!
Right, let's see some more screenshots and this time I got closer to a guardian...
I later returned to get a better screenshot, but it's a vicious beast!
Then it wasn't long before the stone-throwing started again lol.
A wise old man restores my faith in humanity.
The CryptO'pinion?
Sleeping Gods Lie has some interesting ideas, but it's not perfect. The character integration should have been more inclusive with more depth. As is, it's only used to pass on information rather than any interaction. Also, the weird pebble-throwing battles are initially amusing but soon wear thin. Thankfully, progression comes thick and fast, therefore very rewarding, because the game gets better once you've found better weaponry.
There's no denying that this is an enthralling adventure, and I loved exploring the lands, wondering what I might find. If you have lots of time to set aside, this is definitely something to dig your heels into over a weekend. A fast-paced adventure perfect for explorers looking for something different in a weird, new world.
I enjoyed this game, but don't forget your pebbles and prepare for lots of mindless squabbles!
