Open on page 25 of your story manual
It is difficult as well as a reduction, harness The Great Whale Road in the usual schemes and try to frame the work of Sunburned Games in some kind you are accustomed to: it’s a bit of a GDR, there is a splash of management, fighting but the Great Whale Road is primarily an adventure that seeks to revive the great season of discoveries and explorations
of the northern peoples in the 7th century. Unlike the common imagination he sees in Saxons, Franks, Danes, Brettons, and Frisians of the nations exclusively devoted to the war, in fact their tribal societies were mainly based on trade, relationships took place in villages and markets, there were jarl and leaders to keep order, but it is obvious that duels and battles we
re on the agenda in those times, much quicker tools to settle disputes. Before we begin the real game of the game, we are therefore spending a few lines to praise the development team in its desire to recreate a title that does not only feature stereotyped films, novels or video games, but which goes far beyond and which places its roots in true history.
Management lethargy
The only campaign present at the
time of launch is the story of a Danes clan, namely the Ulfarssted people, who remained orphans of their jarl, who fell victim to one of the expeditions in foreign regions. In this unreasonable situation, the player plays the role of the new clan leader and takes on all the tasks, starting a journey of travel, discoveries, vengeance, and
fury that carry the northern warriors precisely throughout the great whale road. As mentioned earlier, The Great Whale Roadis a title from many facets and the division of mechanics takes place mainly through the passing of the years and the seasons: the life
of the small village of Ulfarssted is in fact characterized by the alternation of long winters and summer tepid times, months posing different challenges . During the cold season, Th
e Great Whale Roadit is in fact a management, perhaps more a proto-viching life simulator and at this stage the task of the player is to organize the duties and duties of the population to be used in hunting, harvesting or breeding. Provisioning is, however, not the only resource to be kept under control because the population – just as if it were a value – should be distrib
uted in other areas, such as war, diplomacy or trade, all variables with a precise output such as the amount of goods produced or the ability of their warriors on the battlefield. Already in the preview phase we noted that the parameters to be monitored were few, there was no real challenge in focus point manage
ment, and even in the review we underline how the situation has not changed, witha rotting plan that is definitely less dynamic than the casual events that come along in the winter, like bad-end hunting trails, uncomfortable encounters, or restless dwellers, all situations where they can hear their voice but they do not always produce the hoped-for effects.
You return to action
With the melting of the ice, the routes return to be navigable and The Great Whale Roadcomes out of his lethargy, adding beside the ever-present managerial mechanics, even the exploration and battling phases that are often to be borne by visiting
other villages and markets. The village of Ulfarssted works as a true HUB, where pointers of interest are indicated by indicators, such as the blacksmith, where to buy new weapons and equipment, the warehouse, and especially the gathering place of their warrior handpiece. Just like in a GDR, this is where you run your party of heroes, divided into different clas
ses, with body-to-body warriors and others specialized in launching weapons: the list of instruments to inflict is really long, between spears, swords, axes and mazes, arms, shields and armor are certainly not lacking, especially when advancing in the adventure,
when new markets open up on the horizon and recruit new units in the villages touched by the drakkar. Each warrior also has a tree of abilities, which unfortunately are, however, really too narrow and are often similar to each other, even among different characters.
