Heads Will Roll: Reforged

HWR is a weird mix of grindy roguelike meta progression and visual novel that doesn't really work. Contrary to its description, the game is actually pretty linear, which is a problem when it has combat so absurdly punishing that you'll end up grinding the first chapter of the game over and over and over again just to bank chargen points so that you can creep ever so slightly farther into the story on your next run. Combat has a lot of problems. Your chance to hit is based on the disparity between your character's current stamina and your opponents. This seems like it would encourage a very cautious playstyle, where you fight conservatively and wear them down before going in for the kill. Except that it doesn't. If you go more than two rounds without attacking, the game imposes a reputation penalty for "timidity." And even if it didn't, you can't turtle anyway because enemy hit chances are absurdly high, (regardless of stamina) and every attack has a chance to impose crippling status ...

More replayability than legionary life but also more difficult with a steeper learning curve.

Let's make a "hardcore survival RPG" with a "complex fighting system" (purely based on vague dice rolls and an archaic stamina, body-targetting mechanics), lots of stats (which hardly matter, as nothing is deterministic and everything relies on luck), as well as random events that kill whole runs, with hidden rolls again and almost no player agency (notice a trend?).  Now, let's add a META PROGRESSION SYSTEM, which in theory enables the player to grind endlessly to create an uber-character that perhaps will have better luck dealing with all of these trash systems. You will have to grind for HOURS in order to have a competent character. This also goes strictly AGAINST the narrative of being a poor, weak farm boy. Makes no sense. Keep in mind, the dev solution for this is relying on a random character, which in theory has better equipment and stats. Notice, once again, how they enjoy taking away every single aspect of player agency. Finally, as a good "hardcore RPG roguelike game",...

great game, in my opinion it is better than A legionary tale in all ways but the setting. it has a lot of build variety, different routes and the game changes dramatically when you become stronger than the average serf. at first you try to survive as long as you can, getting points in the rogue lite system, and then once you manage to reach far enough you become strong enough to explore the game many routes. the negatives: 1.the game ui is very janky and annoying to use 2.after you win the game a few times the beginning chapters becomes very repetitive, I wish you could unlock the save system in the heads will roll difficulty once you get certain amount of points. I am using save backups in order to skip the beginning of the game but I wish for an in game solution. I will also add that the threads of destiny dlc is very lackluster and I can only recommend the french path as it seems the most polished. all in all I really love this game and recommend it to anyone who liked A legionar...

I just love the game, the combat, the story, all round just great. It's also amazing that the devs keep working on it and pumping out new content.

Great RPG; Branching paths, choices to make; Combat is lovely; Runs in any pc; Goated dev. Get it you will NOT regret.

What I expected: Fun little Renpy medieval game What I got: A game that has been lovingly continued by the developer with new DLC that adds huge chunks of content. I'm not even halfway through all the storylines.

Having played the legionaires tale before, I was interested to see how this game turned out. And so far, I have to say, pretty damn great. HWR is certainly the type of game for us that love stories and deadly environments. As someone who has played WFRP for more than two decades, well, it is right up my alley. Or my last character's, who was impaled. After two normal difficulty tries to get the hang of the mechanics somewhat, I went for the developer's chosen difficulty. Heads Will Roll/Hardcore. Admitting some frustration after a first few deaths, I am now really enjoying just seeing where I get and how things turn out. All the while getting the points to make my character manually.

Excellent game. Enough depth to care about it. Combat is great. Many ways to skin the Frenchmen. Would be nice if you could create your dude instead of re-rolling until you get a decent mix of however you like to start. But outside of a starting talent that's stays with you the whole game, you can build your guy however you want anyway. I don't know, you should definitely get your little $20 out of it.

Good game! The hardest difficulty is recommended for a better experience.