TL;DR
Step into the shoes of The Warden, an alchemist tasked with brewing potions to save the world from Mount Morbus. While visually stunning and offering deep gameplay with creature transformations and branching narratives, The Serpent Rogue suffers from an overly tedious and repetitive resource-gathering grind at the start. This initial barrier can be frustrating, and text visibility issues on Switch's portable mode are also a concern. If you can push through the early grind, a compelling alchemical adventure awaits, but the initial friction might deter some. Want to know if it's worth the effort? Dive into the full review!
As The Warden, our avatar embodies an alchemist. The gameplay loop centers around sourcing ingredients and brewing potions that aid in traversing the perilous unknown. With malevolent forces entrenched in Mount Morbus, the fate of the world rests upon our shoulders.
The Serpent Rogue marks my first review of a title exclusively released for the current generation of Playstation and Xbox consoles (along with Switch, pending its own next-gen iteration). As such, impressions will be based on the Xbox Series S version.
The Serpent Rogue revolves around gathering components to craft potions, essential for progressing through the game. However, even before embarking on the initial quest, the repetitive nature of collecting basic resources like worms and petals became apparent. The game’s early stages suffer from a lack of clarity regarding resource requirements, their purpose, and overall direction. The necessity of grinding for ingredients before meaningfully engaging with the game world creates an initial impediment. This requirement to amass specific items before undertaking even basic missions feels restrictive, hindering the player’s ability to explore the central conflict and prepare accordingly, presenting a frustrating paradox.
The game features visually appealing graphics and smooth animations. The Serpent Rogue performs admirably on Nintendo Switch in both handheld and docked configurations. However, the size of text and interactive elements poses a significant issue in portable mode, rendering them difficult to discern on the smaller screen. Initial gameplay in portable mode was ultimately abandoned in favor of the TV display.
After considerable effort, including multiple playthroughs to ensure thoroughness, I managed to gather sufficient resources to progress beyond the initial village and properly engage with the game.
While the map layout remains consistent across playthroughs, enemy and resource placement are randomized. Once past the initial hurdle, The Serpent Rogue reveals an engaging and complex gameplay system. The Warden can transform into various creatures, each with unique abilities, to facilitate mission completion. Moreover, player choices dynamically influence the narrative, creating a nuanced balance between heroic and villainous paths.
In conclusion, The Serpent Rogue’s initial experience is marred by frustrating and tedious resource gathering. However, overcoming this hurdle unlocks a compelling and intricate world. The visibility issues encountered in Switch’s portable mode further detract from the experience. Therefore, while the game demonstrates potential, these shortcomings prevent a full recommendation.
Review code for The Serpent Rogue was provided by Team 17. The provision of review materials does not influence editorial objectivity.
