This unique isometric RPG opens with a quote from Glen Cook’s The Black Company, and fans of Cook’s dark military fantasy novels will feel right at home in this gritty and grimy setting. The Age of Decadence drops you into a crumbling empire teetering on the brink of chaos, with several major guilds and noble houses vying for power while the general populace struggles to survive amidst gangs of thugs, mercenaries, and religious fanatics. It’s a harsh and brutal world with very little magic outside basic alchemy and very few monsters, though your fellow humans fill the latter role quite admirably.

Unlike most RPGs, The Age of Decadence emphasizes story and character interaction over combat as the player gets caught up in various schemes and power struggles. In many events throughout the game, the player is confronted with meaningful choices which alter the direction of the story in meaningful ways, opening new possibilities while closing off others. There are multiple paths through the story and the player can choose between allying with the Commercium (merchants guild), the Imperial Guards, the Boatmen of Styx (assassins guild), and several other factions. Each path provides a different perspective on the overarching story while the player’s decisions and actions help shift the balance of power between the various factions. This lends the game excellent replay value as each playthrough with a different character type creates a distinctly different experience.

Skills are split between Combat Skills (e.g., Swords, Bows, Dodge, Block, etc.) and General Skills (e.g., Sneak, Streetwise, Crafting, Lore, etc.). Building different skills unlocks different options throughout the game, allowing the story to progress in different directions. Of course there are never quite enough skill points to go around, so you’ll need to make some choices in terms of what to focus on, and those choices will impact which options or paths are available as you work through the story.

While combat isn’t the primary focus of the game, the turn-based combat system makes for some challenging conflicts. There’s a good variety of weapon types with poison, potions, and other items like nets and bolas supplementing your character’s abilities. Fans of traditional RPGs should be advised that The Age of Decadence takes a slightly more realistic approach to combat; you’re not likely to become an unstoppable killing machine but focusing on combat skills will allow your character to progress quite a bit. Or you can focus more on non-combat skills, leveraging skill-based alternative options which allow you to progress through the game with minimal combat.

The game’s fairly heavy on text, drawing inspiration from Cook’s noir-flavored narratives to build a broken and decaying society filled with shady characters. The world design follows suit with lots of yellows and browns, crumbling ruins and scrabbly flora. All together, it builds a cohesive world with a very distinctive feel.

Bear in mind that it isn’t an open world RPG, each area is broken up into zones and the paths to navigate those zones are somewhat limited, so you don’t get the kind of free range exploration found in open world RPGs. It also isn’t a terribly long game, though what’s there is plenty substantial enough to be satisfying, and the variations when playing through it with different characters lends it a lot more life.

Despite those limitations in scope, The Age of Decadence accomplishes what it sets out to do extremely well, delivering a unique and challenging RPG experience in a dangerous world echoing the spirit and tone of Glen Cook’s landmark military fantasy series. Just as Cook challenged and subverted the fantasy genre’s conventions in the 80s and 90s, The Age of Decadence flips around many of the conventions common to modern RPGs, offering meaningful choices and branching story paths while focusing on street-level characters with limited abilities rather than gods and kings.

Highly recommended for fans of isometric RPGs who'd like a change of pace emphasizing story and meaningful choices over endless combat.

This unique isometric RPG opens with a quote from Glen Cook’s [u]The Black Company[/u], and fans of Cook’s dark military fantasy novels will feel right at home in this gritty and grimy setting. The Age of Decadence drops you into a crumbling empire teetering on the brink of chaos, with several major guilds and noble houses vying for power while the general populace struggles to survive amidst gangs of thugs, mercenaries, and religious fanatics. It’s a harsh and brutal world with very little magic outside basic alchemy and very few monsters, though your fellow humans fill the latter role quite admirably. Unlike most RPGs, The Age of Decadence emphasizes story and character interaction over combat as the player gets caught up in various schemes and power struggles. In many events throughout the game, the player is confronted with meaningful choices which alter the direction of the story in meaningful ways, opening new possibilities while closing off others. There are multiple paths through the story and the player can choose between allying with the Commercium (merchants guild), the Imperial Guards, the Boatmen of Styx (assassins guild), and several other factions. Each path provides a different perspective on the overarching story while the player’s decisions and actions help shift the balance of power between the various factions. This lends the game excellent replay value as each playthrough with a different character type creates a distinctly different experience. Skills are split between Combat Skills (e.g., Swords, Bows, Dodge, Block, etc.) and General Skills (e.g., Sneak, Streetwise, Crafting, Lore, etc.). Building different skills unlocks different options throughout the game, allowing the story to progress in different directions. Of course there are never quite enough skill points to go around, so you’ll need to make some choices in terms of what to focus on, and those choices will impact which options or paths are available as you work through the story. While combat isn’t the primary focus of the game, the turn-based combat system makes for some challenging conflicts. There’s a good variety of weapon types with poison, potions, and other items like nets and bolas supplementing your character’s abilities. Fans of traditional RPGs should be advised that The Age of Decadence takes a slightly more realistic approach to combat; you’re not likely to become an unstoppable killing machine but focusing on combat skills will allow your character to progress quite a bit. Or you can focus more on non-combat skills, leveraging skill-based alternative options which allow you to progress through the game with minimal combat. The game’s fairly heavy on text, drawing inspiration from Cook’s noir-flavored narratives to build a broken and decaying society filled with shady characters. The world design follows suit with lots of yellows and browns, crumbling ruins and scrabbly flora. All together, it builds a cohesive world with a very distinctive feel. Bear in mind that it isn’t an open world RPG, each area is broken up into zones and the paths to navigate those zones are somewhat limited, so you don’t get the kind of free range exploration found in open world RPGs. It also isn’t a terribly long game, though what’s there is plenty substantial enough to be satisfying, and the variations when playing through it with different characters lends it a lot more life. Despite those limitations in scope, The Age of Decadence accomplishes what it sets out to do extremely well, delivering a unique and challenging RPG experience in a dangerous world echoing the spirit and tone of Glen Cook’s landmark military fantasy series. Just as Cook challenged and subverted the fantasy genre’s conventions in the 80s and 90s, The Age of Decadence flips around many of the conventions common to modern RPGs, offering meaningful choices and branching story paths while focusing on street-level characters with limited abilities rather than gods and kings. Highly recommended for fans of isometric RPGs who'd like a change of pace emphasizing story and meaningful choices over endless combat.