What makes a game truly mobile: is it being able to be played in bite-sized sessions, or having controls that don’t require qualifications in interpretive finger-dance? Reaper: Tale of a Pale Swordsman by Hexage is one such game that I believe is truly mobile, and if it’s a RPG you’re after, you will be hard-pressed to find a better one on Android.
Story
Set in a time when gunpowder and magic are clashing, you assume the persona of the Black Swordsman, a decidedly neutral party in this whole conflict and with swordsman skills that apparently nobody else possesses. Travelling through the war torn region, you make allegiances with tribal folk who are caught in two wars, one against the invading imperial forces and another civil war against other tribes for power over the land. For the most part, the story serves only as a backdrop to the combat game-play, but it’s nice that developer Hexage has written such a nuanced story for Reaper.
The story is carried out on the world map where you will be doing most of your travelling between objectives and different locations. At each location you will usually either be receiving a mission or reaching your mission destination, at which point you will have a conversation which sets the premise for the fight you’re most likely about to have. Travelling between these points also presents the risk of randomly encountering enemies.
For each battle that you win you will receive experience points and gold which you will collect during the battle. Collecting enough experience points will level your character up, at which point you will be able to select one of three stat increases. This is a nice deviation from normal “stat-counting” RPGs where you assign stat points to different attributes, instead replacing it with a streamlined way of presenting leveling up to the player. The gold you collect can be used to buy new gear from various shops that you will visit along your travels to further augment your swordsman’s abilities.
The crux of this leveling system in Reaper is that the game is free up until level 10, after which you can pay for one of the 3 levels of the game: the standard Adventure Edition which opens up the full game, the Destiny Edition which gives you the full game with a few more additions, and the Dark Legend Edition which opens up everything available in Reaper including the Dark Harvest Mode; more on this mode later. Depending on your level of affection of the game, this system is quite forgiving as 10 levels will give you quite a good indication of whether you’ll want to splash out more money on upgrading your game, and if I’m honest, it’s pretty worth it.
Gameplay
The control scheme in Reaper is definitely one of the highlights of the game. You have a choice of either touch controls, which is made up of small directional controls for movement in the bottom left and swipe controls for combat on the right side, or, as Reaper is MOGA-enabled, you can connect your MOGA Bluetooth controller and button-bash to your heart’s content. Both methods of control are fantastic and although I personally preferred to play the game with a MOGA controller, the touch controls are definitely in the upper echelon of game controls ever conceived.
The genius thing about the controls is that attacking is automatic when within range of an enemy, and all gestures will add certain amounts of flair or functionality to your attacks; for example, a downward swipe will give you a downward smash, whereas an upward swipe will give you an uppercut. The controls are simple, but as streamlined as the controls are, the endless waves of enemies can quickly kill you if you’re not too careful.
The fact that combat stages only occur in 5-10 minute instances is a particular plus in Reaper as this means that you can pick up the game for a short period of time whenever you want and still satiate your gaming hunger. This prevents, or at least mitigates, any of those frustrating moments when your gaming sessions are cut short while you’re in the middle of a level with no way to save, and makes Reaper a prime candidate for travelling on public transport.
Apart from the standard Story Mode, there is the Dark Harvest Mode which is more of a wave-based mode. After defeating all the enemies on the stage, you are given the opportunity to buy new items with your newly earned gold as well as selecting a new skill as you will have been leveled up. This is a nice side challenge that keeps things fresh and different from the Story Mode.
Reaper also has Google Play games integration as well which will sync up your game saves over your different devices as well as your achievements and scores. There’s also a rudimentary leaderboard, but judging by how big some of the scores are on it, you may never find where your score is.
Presentation
The art style in Reaper is refreshingly colourful and full of personality with plenty of attention paid to all character models, enemy types and backgrounds. Despite the dark premise of the game, the graphics of the game are extremely vibrant, which is further pronounced by the appearance of gold pieces rebounding around the stages.
While the combat stages of the game are delightful detailed, the world map and story parts of the game are less well presented, though still serviceable. The world map quickly becomes cluttered with visited locations and objectives, and without a quick legend to refer to it can be quite a chore to work out shops from the other locations.
Similarly, the story components of the game are conducted while in the world map view, and when encountering a conversation, the text that is presented is a little bit too small for my liking, even on the 5.5-inch screen of a Note 2. As a consequence, I found myself following the actual story very little, but your mileage of the story may depend on how closely you pay attention.
Overall
Rating: 4.5/5
Reaper is definitely one of the best mobile RPGs on Android right now. Whether you’re a gaming enthusiast or just playing casually, Reaper will have something to offer you. It’s very nearly the perfect gaming experience on mobile, but it falls short because of its story and the way it’s presented.
Game: Reaper
Price: Free
Gallery of Screenshots
