Galaxy of Pen and Paper (PC) Preview

A playroom with a TV set in the corner, and the original PlayStation connected to it, some posters on the walls, with one of them being Ridley Scott's Alien, the silhouette of a ThunderCats toy figurine in the back, and the Enterprise hanging from the ceiling. Yup, typical with many indie games, this is pixelated nostalgia-fest all over again, and, thankfully, it is pulled off pretty well, with neat visuals and some nice '80s synth-rock tunes bopping along the action.

At the centre of it all sits the game master - or, more accurately, the Galactic Master - and two of his friends. The occasion? Some good ol' pen and paper role-playing, with the player actually being in control of the role-players and the GM; the first in battles and map navigation, the second when it comes to the customisation of everything - and, just like with the original title in the series, there's a lot to customise here. The problem is that it's not fun…

It's possible to create all sorts of characters, both visually as well as in terms of gameplay, and after a while the one in control will be free to either follow the main path, or craft custom missions, by choosing their type, opposition, and level of challenge. There two problems, though. First of all, it all boils down to a lot of menu clicking, not to mention that the gameplay mostly revolves around the battlefield, which turns out to be your run of the mill, barebones, turn-based RPG, with nothing special about it.

The second, and equally serious flaw, is the total lack of immersion. The choice to control the actual players might be unique, but it can never be as fun as… well, roleplaying! This, and the fact that the story has the depth of a fish bowl, means that the experience ends up feeling bland. Finally, unlike actual pen and paper, there's not much to do here. The fun in the real thing is how it's possible to try all sorts of ways to handle a situation, but here it's all about turn-based battle after turn-based battle, with a couple of multiple choice crossroads thrown in for good measure.

The last straw is how weak the humour is. Knights of Pen and Paper was simplistic and boring too, but it was also a great, albeit, light-hearted, satire of all things medieval fantasy. This continues on the same path, by poking fun at science fiction, with Star Wars being the main inspiration, but, to be honest, it miserably fails due to the vast majority of jokes (if not all of them) falling flat on their faces, with some not even being jokes, but simply winks and nudges towards sci-fi nerds.