Crimea (Formerly Krai Mira)

The Fallout series is one of the most revered RPGs out there, and the good part is that new episodes are still being developed. However, the latest releases in the series modified the original experience by a lot, mostly because of the perspective change and the simplification of many gameplay aspects. Hence, some people would still want to see an isometric production featuring the same elements, but even that happened in the form of Wasteland 2.

Crimea is a top-down role-playing game that borrows most of its ideas from the Fallout franchise, although it also changes quite a few things as well, to set itself apart. Thus, although the action takes place in similar environments, there are no vaults or a Brotherhood of Steel in the story, just an almost dead world inhabited by mutants and the people who try to survive the post-apocalyptic wasteland.

You play the role of one such survivor and it is your task to protect a village from an incoming horde of cannibals, which are basically humans that gave up on animal meat and decided to try something a tad more bipedal instead. In theory, you are free to roam the environment and do as you please, but in reality there are many barriers to stop you from doing that. Hence, your only option is to follow the invisible guidelines and forget about free exploration entirely, which is kind of disappointing.

To stick with tradition, the game uses an action point-based combat system that takes place in turns. As such, you have a limited number of points you can use whenever your turn comes, and they can either be spent on moving around, attacking an enemy or using an item from your inventory. In this regard, the game is quite sturdy, although the difficulty level is kind of unforgiving in some circumstances, which might turn the less experienced players away.

Thankfully, there should be no complaints when it comes to the visual chapter, because you can clearly see that a lot of work and dedication went into the graphics. Although the environments are a bit too barren and lacking polish in some cases, most of the maps are quite atmospheric, and they portray the post-apocalyptic theme pretty well. The same goes for the music, although it’s not as memorable as you would hope.

All things being equal, Crimea does not come close to what Fallout was or is, but that’s only because the game is still under heavy development. Hence, if the people behind it keep working hard, this might yet to become a brilliant game, because all the right elements are there, waiting to be utilized.