Coridden - Review @ RPGFan

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RPGFan reviewed Coridden:

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Coridden Review

Coridden is the archetypical indie game. While many AAA titles play it safe with too much money on the line, indies are usually free of this pressure and can explore their wonderful ideas without reservation. At the same time, lack of experience or limited team sizes rear their heads and a misshapen creation pops out of the oven on occasion. Coridden thrives with bold ideas and heart, but a weak foundation in the basics and lack of polish hold it back.

Our heroes exist in a pre-historic setting with electrical equipment and computers scattered about. The people rely on swords, spears, and bows while existing concurrently with technology beyond even the real world's abilities. While this discordance seems odd as I type it, when playing the game, I never second-guessed it. In fact, as I played this local cooperative action RPG with my sister, we briefly remarked how cool and innovative the setting is.

Right out of the gate, enigmatic gauntlets are thrust upon us, allowing us to shapeshift into reptiles, given we have the appropriate DNA. A mysterious AI travels alongside us as we search for our missing father. Multiple storylines start, which would typically stimulate intrigue, but the writing's a bit rough. However, I also found the writing to be full of heart, as themes of family are core to Coridden's story in a raw way we don't usually see from big budget titles. While I had a hard time reading and internalizing the lore logs scattered around, I also couldn't get into the dialogue or character development. Part of this may be due to the rough voice acting.

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Coridden, while lacking polish, also shines like a diamond with its wealth of ideas, theming, and creative setting. Almost better as a proof-of-concept, my intention isn't to steer the developers away from success, but to highlight that the hard part's been done: good game design. All that's needed is some QA. For you, reader, you may enjoy seeing what's being chewed on here, but don't go in expecting a crisp experience.

Score: 62/100