A Vivid Fever Dream of Retro Role-Playing
Your eyes are heavy. Each slight movement from your limbs, head, or even mind affect you in ways indescribable to those who haven’t felt the most immense level of pain. Yet as you power through, and your eyelids slowly lift the veil of mystery from this curious world you’re in, blue glowing mushrooms and flying creatures sit at the forefront of the stunning landscape that waits before you.
This is the Oneiric Isles, and for whatever reason, you’re a prisoner here. But this is your journey… your adventure, and what happens next is entirely up to you.
Right off the bat, Dread Delusion sets the tone for what type of role-playing elements it will prioritise throughout its runtime. Players must choose their character’s stat affecting backstory, all the while being presented with the dark-fantasy narrative the game offers. Huge glowing mushrooms, Lovecraftian horrors, and all other manner of distinct life forms occupy the Oneiric Isles, and with the primary developer James Wragg being an expert in visual design, the aesthetic is a highlight of the game.
This is in large part thanks to Dread Delusion’s decision not to pander to every corner of gamers. Instead it knows what it set out to achieve, and graces players with the pixelated equivalent of a Van Gogh canvas. Rather than the destructive attitude of “realism means better graphics”, Dread Delusion opts for textures that would often be dubbed outdated, yet in this instance they lend themself to the immersive world and run at a constant 4K 60FPS on Xbox Series X.
This approach extends itself to the gameplay too, with the game playing like a cross between Daggerfall and Morrowind, incorporating distinct skill stats which you craft a build around. Much like those Elder Scrolls entries, traits like wisdom or guile, affect corresponding skills such as attack and defence, leaving your choices for an initial backstory crucial to the build you want to play. Following this, you’re given a simple goal of defeating rogue officer Vela Callose, and simply allowed freedom in this bizarre world, again, akin to an Elder Scrolls title.
Glimmers of Delusion
To further upgrade your character, these curious blue floating skulls named Glimmers of Delusion will be your best friend. Acting as the namesake of the game, Delusions can be allocated to one of four stats: might, wisdom, guile, and persona. Each of these affect corresponding skills ranging from lockpicking to combat proficiency and can be found scattered across the Oneiric Isles. Collecting three Glimmers of Delusion will unlock a full Delusion, used to bolster your core stats. Those keen to explore whilst completing every quest will also be rewarded, as these crucial collectibles are rewarded for quest completion, along with hidden in every secret nook and cranny you can find.
Sadly, this is about the extent exploration reaches, with each hidden area either containing Glimmers of Delusion, or a simple chest to give you a potion. It becomes tiresome after a while, with each secret more or less following an identical formula, leaving exploration an aspect that certainly needs a lot of work to incentivise players to actually investigate the world.
True Role-Playing
Quests are much better in this regard, often giving players an ultimatum of two differing paths to take. Take for example one of the first major quests Dread Delusion tasks the player with: getting a passport to enter a nearby city. Exploration and interaction with NPCs will unveil options such as uncovering the secret god worship taking place which is affecting the village farm. The player can take this route and be rewarded, or, if they have upgraded their lock-picking skill, they could find a hidden basement and buy a passport from a dodgy dealer. This freedom to really decide what route to take emphasises the role-playing in a role-playing game, capturing what many modern titles miss.
Unlike these more modern role-playing games, Dread Delusion is void of a major inclusion to help players navigate; gone are the quest markers which allow all dialogue to be skipped and the objective still easy to find, instead replaced with the need for dedication and attention to details. Using the dialogue of NPCs as a guide, or even purchasing a compass to follow directions, each objective remains manageable and all the more rewarding, being an intentional design choice to honour retro titles whilst further immersing the player.
Of course, a role-playing game wouldn’t be complete without guilds or factions, and Dread Delusion is no outlier with three major factions present. Whether you opt for the Union, Outlaws, or Wikkans, they all offer a bonus to separate stats, leaving it crucial to befriend whichever one will best benefit you. The questlines aren’t as expansive as say the Thieves’ Guild or Dark Brotherhood, yet slot perfectly with the curiosities of the Oneiric Isles.
Barebones Combat and Dice-Roll Sorcery
It may seem as though Dread Delusion thrives through its visuals and storytelling, and unfortunately this is further proved upon an inspection into combat, magic, lockpicking and alchemy. Each of these systems are barebones, with combat stretching as far as attack and block, magic casting simple spells, lockpicking revolving around an infuriating roll of a dice, and alchemy combining ingredients for a stagnant reward. One of the only gameplay systems I truly loved was the unique lore stat, unlocking alternate paths and passageways to secrets through hidden levers.
The final distinct gameplay system Dread Delusion offers is the airship, serving as an alternative to fast-travel – think the equivalent to the King of Red Lions in Wind Waker. Whilst there is a novelty to operating Dread Delusion’s fast-travel equivalent, it isn’t available until near enough the end of the game, leaving the airship an appreciated addition that is unfortunately too little too late. In fact, all these systems certainly make the game better, yet their potential is much greater and is left unseen, with their inclusion often feeling out of necessity.
An Unapologetic Love Letter to Retro RPGs
Even if you disregard the gameplay, map design, and story, Dread Delusion’s greatest strength would still remain… the immersive world. The vibrant visuals and ambient soundtrack manage to strike a perfect level of harmony, transforming the Oneiric Isles from a concept to a fully-fledged world. Pair this with small polish such as unique menu visuals (although the navigation for said menus is rather poor with a controller) and Dread Delusion’s gorgeous world make it worth playing just to be immersed. I compare it to the same feeling I got when playing Skyrim in the middle of the night and looked up at the dark yet starry sky, taking in the music and beauty.
Those looking for a frictionless, streamlined modern open-world experience should keep searching for another game; Dread Delusion knows the exact needs of its target audience, and always meets them with unapologetic zaniness. Whilst its clunky combat and repetitive exploration rewards often betrays the overall excellence, immersion and presentation are maintained throughout its runtime, leaving Dread Delusion not just an RPG, but a vivid fever dream that fans of the genre shouldn’t dare miss.
Important Links
Dread Delusion – Retro RPG Magic Comes To Consoles – https://www.thexboxhub.com/dread-delusion-retro-rpg-magic-comes-to-consoles/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/dread-delusion/9MXMJHC1K8CH/0010
