Bellwright is one of the latest additions to the popular medieval subgenre of video games. In this game, you are dropped into a land full of betrayal, oppression, and violence. As the hero of this story, it’s your job to help villages overcome the powers that push them down while developing your own settlement into a thriving community.
I was able to play this early-access game for nearly 18 hours. Here’s what I found to be the good and the bad of Bellwright, as well as why this game is surrounded by suspicion.
What Bellwright Does Right
Upon my explorations to gather materials and collect quests to earn gold and renown, one gleaming thing about Bellwright stood out to me. The environment that it takes place in is one of beauty. It’s green and vibrant with wild game and foliage that can be used for food or crafting. The villages seem lively enough for what the game is at its current stage. Most of those villagers can become a part of your growing settlement when you earn enough trust. They can become allies and fight alongside you when the time comes.
Speaking of the settlement building in this game, it just feels nice. Every time my newfound virtual friends and I complete a new structure, I feel accomplished. Whether that says something about me is a different story. As you gain more and more people to fill the huts and roles needed to have a functioning base of operations, you watch as your settlement grows into more of a village and possibly a town. It takes time, but watching the process feels worth it.
Bellwright is pretty slow in its entirety, but that isn’t a bad thing. Neither trust nor communities are built in a day, and that shines through in this game. While in this day and age it’s common to like things quick and simple, a slower pace works well in this case. It adds to the immersion this game can properly bring if its followed through with.
What Needs to be Changed
While Bellwright has immense potential, it is a game in its beginning stages of early access. That means there are things need do need to be worked on. If you play the game, you’ll notice the general clipping issues clothes have, the occasional frame drop, and combat that can seem quite clunky. While not the worst issues to have, fixing those issues will still improve the player experience.
Something that I desperately hope changes in the future is how the NPCs are voiced. Right now, they all have flat AI-generated voices. They make the NPCs sound and feel unemotional despite them living in a land of crisis. When listening to those voices, it’s not uncommon to hear distracting audio pops or other distortions. Sometimes, one character will sound like a different person altogether. As a person against this type of AI, this is my biggest problem with the game.
Among the issues that need to be fixed to make Bellwright a more pleasurable game to play, there are aspects that need to be more fleshed out. In the game, there seem to be only two seasons, winter and not winter. It would be amazing if the game had all four seasons similar to how Sons of the Forest does it. The enemies could be more diversified as well, which would give players an incentive to keep playing the game.
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Why Some People Are Suspicious
As you’ve read in the headline of this article, Bellwright does have the potential to be an incredible game. That’s only the case if it sees regular updates and is shown the love and care I think it deserves. However, under just about every video of Bellwright gameplay, there are comments from people who assume that won’t be the case. Although I hate to say it, their suspicions are justified.
Bellwright was published by Snail Games USA. If you’re not familiar with that company, it’s partially responsible for Ark: Survival Evolved and Ark: Survival Ascended. Those are two well-known titles in the world of open-world survival games, and I own both of them. However, Snail Games USA is also known for its work on Last Oasis, Atlas, Dark and Light, and Outlaws of the Old West. As of the writing of this article, all of these games are still in early access and have been left behind.
With a history of unfinished games in its wake, it’s not a surprise that people are suspicious when it comes to Bellwright. A history of unfinished games could make anyone wary, especially since video games are becoming more expensive these days. Though, with this game, I truly believe Snail Games has a chance to redeem itself. I have decided to hold onto hope as I continue playing.
Wrapping Up
As a lover of open-world games and the medieval subgenre, I have enjoyed playing Bellwright despite its flaws so far. Just like Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, I remember seeing it advertised at The Game Awards. Although it was just a brief trailer, I did make a mental note to at least try it out. While the future of this game might be a bit murky and another addition to gaming controversy, I am happy I have given it a chance.
After possibly hiring a small group of voice actors, fleshing out certain aspects of the game, and fixing general issues, I believe Bellwright could climb its way up the list of games that I love to play. If you do want to play it as well, be warned. I’ve found it to be a bit of a time-sink, which could be could or bad depending on your daily obligations.
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