Garhasp Review: The Dragon Temple
Garshasp: Temple of the Dragon, developed by Dead Mage, is an indie game based on Persian mythology that follows the life of Garshasp, an ancient warrior who seeks to recover a legendary mace of his ancestors that was stolen by the Deevs.
game features
Garshasp is a close combat game with some platforming, it seems that the basic concept of the game is very similar to the popular Prince of Persia games. Garshasp, the main character even looks like a bulkier version of the Prince of Persia character.
The first thing you notice when loading this game is the lack of options. Actually, there are no options in the game, you have to run a separate settings app. This can be forgiven as it’s been developed by an independent company, but it’s certainly not ideal.
The controls of this game are very simple, maybe even too simple. It doesn’t offer enough in terms of melee combat, its main feature. Left click for a quick attack and right click for a heavy attack. Games like this often have different types of weapons or the ability to cast spells, but this one seems too simple and repetitive.
how to play
Upon entering the game, you start with a cut scene. The graphical style of the game is quite basic and doesn’t look polished at all, even in cut scenes like this. The voice acting is pretty bad, there is no emotion and the characters sound like robots, this is reinforced when the characters’ mouths are not in sync with the audio. Maybe I’m being picky, it’s an indie game after all, but even when you look past these flaws, you’re greeted with more.
Movement is controlled with w, a, s, d as usual in this type of game, but the difference with this one is that you can’t control the camera. I found myself moving the mouse with my right hand trying to readjust the camera angle. The game claims to offer exploration, but this is difficult when the camera is controlled by you, forcing you in certain directions. This can get awkward at times, making it difficult to see and fight enemies.
general
In conclusion, Garshasp is a standalone game that lacks important areas. The camera is locked and the environment is linear. The combat is too basic and repetitive.
However, the appearance and mechanics presented in this game are not that bad. Let’s hope that Dead Mage will focus on bringing something new to the table, as this is very important within the indie genre. This game is too similar to an existing title and therefore I think he will have a hard time.