Wildermyth

[Antimatter]

Has anyone played this game yet? Wildermyth, an RPG that is not that crazily popular (yet?), was named the Best RPG of 2021 by PC Gamer. At that time, I was puzzled by this decision, as they voted for Wildermyth instead of Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. According to one of the comments under that article on PC Gamer, "Pathfinder was a great but traditional game. It didn't bring anything new to the genre, but it has tons of depth for fans of traditional isometric RPGs. This game [Wildermyth] actually progressed the genre somewhere new. It's not as vast, but it felt truly new".

95% review rating on Steam!

I'm interested in playing this game, so if you have tried it, please do share your opinion.

 

[WarChiefZeke]

I've not only played it, I have hundreds of screenshots cataloging my runs. Characters can get a huge variety of different powers based on in-game events, they form relationships both good and bad with characters both in and out of the party, lots of mods to enhance the gameplay and expand upon existing features. Complete endorsement on my end.

Some of my characters i'm surely going to use for DnD runs at some point. I'm particularly attached to Athenly, someone who was visited by a witch at some point in her adventuring career and took on features of a wereraven. Party members started referring to her as "The Crow Queen" at times and so it just stuck with me.

 

[Antimatter]

Sounds awesome! What is the gameplay like? What game(s) is it similar to? How much story is there? Is there any element of randomness in the game? How vast is it?

 

[WarChiefZeke]

Sounds awesome! What is the gameplay like? What game(s) is it similar to? How much story is there? Is there any element of randomness in the game? How vast is it?

There are multiple main stories, and there are a lot of random events as well. Gameplay is basically a tactics RPG. Each character can move, perform one action, and one swift action per turn, much like DnD. There are only three basic classes, but many different ways to build those classes based on the feats you take at level up. A mage can be built as a Fighter/Mage hybrid and work very well in that role if you choose the right powers.

And there are over a dozen specialty classes you can get either from random events, making certain choices in certain campaigns, etc. These ones often, but not always, transform your characters appearance to some extent and you can choose the extent of that as the game progresses. So between your base class, standard powers, and specialty powers, you have a lot of ways to make some very unique builds.

Honestly, the narrative is where it really shines, which is the last thing you would expect from a procedurally generated game. But it really is great. The campaigns have set narratives, so not everything is random, but even the random events take into account things like your characters personality, history, etc.

 

[mlnevese]

I had never heard of it. It's now on my wish list, which I now call the "list of stuff I don't want to forget exist when I have time to play something new "

 

[Cahir]

Added to my wish list (the option was criminally underused by me in the past). I admit the visual aesthetics is not exactly my coup of tea, but I can swallow it, if the rest of the game is good.

 

[Urdnot_Wrex]

What do they mean by "progressed the genre somewhere new"? Is it the fact that you experience your characters' whole lifetime, that skills can be gained through events, that campaigns are randomized? A combination of all that?
And what exactly can I expect from "procedurally generated" in this context?

 

[InGameScientist]

As a long-time supporter/player of the game, I think the thing that the game did really well on to push was to present the player with events that helped tell stories about the characters.

In games like XCOM and other turn-based tactic games, the events occurred as a means to push gameplay - a new type of mission or introduce an enemy. But once you finished a campaign, they always came at roughly the same points in a campaign.

In Wildermyth, everything, from your characters, the NPCs, the map (both overland and tactical) are generated, so your first run and 100th run can feel different. On the surface, your characters may feel limiting because there are only three basic archetypes (warrior, mage, rogue) but underneath, they all can have different personalities, which make them react differently to each other and world events. Even the same events can have different outcomes depending on your character's personalities.

That, together with your characters having a finite time on the map (they retire if they don't expire) and the fact that items can be handed down "generations," just makes for awesome stories to be told through the game!

 

[Urdnot_Wrex]

Thanks @InGameScientist and @WarChiefZeke (Also, welcome to our little pocket of space time!) for your impressions and the information. It's sounding more and more interesting, especially the combination of narrative and tactical elements.
But if the playthroughs cover a character's lifetime and you're talking about the variety of several runs, how many game hours can I expect an average run to last?

 

[InGameScientist]

Thanks @InGameScientist (Also, welcome to our little pocket of space time!) for your impressions and the information. It's sounding more and more interesting, especially the combination of narrative and tactical elements.
But if the playthroughs cover a character's lifetime and you're talking about the variety of several runs, how many game hours can I expect an average run to last?

Thank you for the welcome! I saw the twitter post and I thought to drop by!
There are 6 multi-chapter campaigns currently included with the game, so in some of the more involved and longer campaigns, the characters that you start with may not be with you till the end (i.e., they will hit their retirement age before the campaign is done). You can also have "legacy recruits" who are younger versions of retired characters that retain some of the perks that you managed to get while you played with them. So even if you are playing the same campaign story, you can run through it with a mix of old and new characters.

That's a long way to answer your question, but I would guess a typical campaign to take between 10-15 h? I guess it also depends how fast you read and all that stuff - I'm making VODs of my run so it's taking a bit longer to get through the stuff.

 

[mlnevese]

All right... this is a conspiracy to make me buy another game...

 

[Urdnot_Wrex]

That's a long way to answer your question, but I would guess a typical campaign to take between 10-15 h? I guess it also depends how fast you read and all that stuff - I'm making VODs of my run so it's taking a bit longer to get through the stuff.

I like long answers, short ones usually lead to more questions... that sounds just about right for discovering something new between very extensive games of 100-200 hours, where frankly the prospect of a second or even third run, despite undiscovered content, sounds a bit scary.
It seems that Wildermyth doesn't only have replay value but gives you a realistic chance to make use of that, even if you're not a one-game-forever kind of person.

All right... this is a conspiracy to make me buy another game...

Why, of course. Someone has to push you elitist GamePass owners to go the extra mile occasionally!

 

[Antimatter]

Amazing arguments, @WarChiefZeke and @InGameScientist (welcome to the Tavern, very happy to see you-- feel free to always promote your streams and videos here btw)!

 

[WarChiefZeke]

I consider the greater offhand options mod a must have, because I like throwing weapons and dual wielding, and the extra races mod definitely worth considering but not necessary, its still in beta and needs some tweaking. But I like what it does.

 

[InGameScientist]

I consider the greater offhand options mod a must have, because I like throwing weapons and dual wielding, and the extra races mod definitely worth considering but not necessary, its still in beta and needs some tweaking. But I like what it does.

This too! I forgot about the mods (I'm running 30+ mods for my campaign now), so that'll let you enjoy the game longer. The other big thing is multiplayer for the game - each of the characters can be controlled by someone else, so you can truly have this be a sort of digital DM!

And if you all like the sound of what Wildermyth offers...wait till I tell you about Mars Tactics

 

[mlnevese]

I blame you all for this...

 

[WarChiefZeke]

I'm currently running the campaign that begins with one of your legacy heroes (one who has completed one or more adventures), now grown old, returning to see a grown up son of theirs named Jandin, who fights a friend of his in a village tournament and wins. He doesn't have the best reception with her, having left to pursue her own adventures, and their relationship starts at rivalry.

A tracker girl named Coba hangs around his mother Fini a lot, learning what he can from her, and she quickly forms a romantic relationship with her son. They have one last talk before the end fight of the first chapter.

 

[Urdnot_Wrex]

I'm currently running the campaign that begins with one of your legacy heroes (one who has completed one or more adventures), now grown old, returning to see a grown up son of theirs named Jandin, who fights a friend of his in a village tournament and wins. He doesn't have the best reception with her, having left to pursue her own adventures, and their relationship starts at rivalry.

A tracker girl named Coba hangs around his mother Fini a lot, learning what he can from her, and she quickly forms a romantic relationship with her son. They have one last talk before the end fight of the first chapter.

View attachment 2521

I think those are interesting little details, those family connections and children of retired heroes playing the next campaign... gives the whole "procedurally generated" (which, frankly, would sound a bit negative to me otherwise, without knowing anything) such a unique personal note.

I almost gave in and purchsed it too, before the sale ended, but then decided I'd rather swim against the stream and pre-order Stray, to play for once a game that I discovered completely on my own without anyone suggesting it to me

 

[WarChiefZeke]

I think those are interesting little details, those family connections and children of retired heroes playing the next campaign... gives the whole "procedurally generated" (which, frankly, would sound a bit negative to me otherwise, without knowing anything) such a unique personal note.

It's worth mentioning that not everything is randomly generated. Although your characters are rolled for you at start-up, you can just click on them to edit their appearance and personality.

I did no editing for this team, however. They are who the dice made them. But I have mods that greatly expand the character creation so they don't look like a default team would.

 

[Urdnot_Wrex]

Thank you for the welcome! I saw the twitter post and I thought to drop by!
There are 6 multi-chapter campaigns currently included with the game, so in some of the more involved and longer campaigns, the characters that you start with may not be with you till the end (i.e., they will hit their retirement age before the campaign is done). You can also have "legacy recruits" who are younger versions of retired characters that retain some of the perks that you managed to get while you played with them. So even if you are playing the same campaign story, you can run through it with a mix of old and new characters.

That's a long way to answer your question, but I would guess a typical campaign to take between 10-15 h? I guess it also depends how fast you read and all that stuff - I'm making VODs of my run so it's taking a bit longer to get through the stuff.

Hey I found your YouTube channel today, can highly recommend watching this and the following episodes for everyone interested in the game:



I especially like that you explain with a very calm voice, makes it pleasant to listen to and easy to follow.