Operencia: The Stolen Sun

Operencia: The Stolen Sun is a top-notch old-school dungeon crawler that modernizes the genre in impressive ways. If you enjoy these sorts of challenging retro RPGs then you definitely won't be disappointed with this massive and memorable adventure.

If you're a Dungeon Crawler fan, you'll love this game and it's available on Xbox Game Pass.

I didn’t expect to get sucked into the world of Operencia: The Stolen Sun as fast and hard as I did. The story and memorable characters inspired by Central European mythology swept me off my feet from the get-go. The combat is equal parts fun, challenging, and rewarding which means entering battles hardly ever feel like a chore. Zen Studios has created a beautiful dungeon crawling RPG that not only will please the diehard blobber fan but also newcomers thanks to clever modern sensibilities. While the tile-based movement isn’t perfect, don’t let that hold you back from experiencing everything else Operencia: The Stolen Sun has to offer. You won’t regret it.

I enjoyed the consistently pleasant mix of environmental puzzles and combat, as well as the crash course in Hungarian folklore.

Operencia is a great dungeon crawling experience that you shouldn’t sleep on, especially if you’re a fan of the genre. While some of the mechanics and presentation are a little hit-or-miss, that shouldn’t scare you away from the unique world, memorable characters, and excellent combat that Operencia has to offer.

Classic dungeon crawling in the likes of The Bard’s Tale with puzzle elements, surprising depth and colorful visuals.

Operencia: The Stolen Sun took me by surprise and I’m going to have to start thinking of Zen Studios as more than just a great Pinball developer. It packs a decent story, memorable characters, robust combat strategy and challenge, a huge world and plenty of playtime. Currently in Xbox Game Pass, you’re able to try it out right now if you’re a subscriber, but even if not, I wouldn’t feel any guilt recommending Operencia even at its full $38.99 CAD price tag if any of the above sounded appealing to you. While it won’t be for everyone and has its quirks, it’s a specific game meant for old school dungeon dwelling fans like myself that miss the genre.

Despite a few issues with its long loading times and its poor voice work, Operencia offers a robust and diverse dungeon crawler that should not be overlooked. The game makes great use of its intelligently mashed-up framework, with a fine balance in place to ensure that the gameplay remains constantly fresh and rewarding throughout. Whether you seek engaging combat, deep progression, or, thrilling puzzles, Operencia has it all, and much more besides.

Operencia: The Stolen Sun should appeal to a range of gamers: fans of well made, turn-based RPGs and anyone looking for a budget title that hasn’t compromised graphics or mechanics will also appreciate it. The game doesn’t take a lot of chances but there is plenty of depth and replayability in its character leveling and crafting systems and while it may seem easy in the first few hours, combat difficulty increases and the puzzles become challenging as the game progresses.

Operencia: The Stolen Sun is wildly ambitious for Zen Studios and for their first RPG it is incredibly impressive. It’s filled with passion and the team clearly love the genre. It does not get everything right, but if this is evidence of more to come, I can’t wait to see what the studio can do next.

Operencia: The Stolen Sun revives classic and long gone turn-based, first person dungeon-crawler mechanics, resulting in a very satisfying game for the lovers of the genre but bringing back several of its shortcomings. Definitely suggested to classic RPG nostalgics, but we recommend everyone else to try it too, via Xbox Game Pass.

A good classic dungeon crawler that may be too rude for non-usual players of the genre.

Operencia: The Stolen Sun proves ambitious for an indie project, and one that offers a wealth of satisfying content for the asking price. Its methodical, sluggish nature may not be for everyone, but those who accept it as a rough-around-the-edges retro dungeon crawler, should get a kick out of it.