There were a few games last year that we didn't have time to review, so before 2025 gets too crazy we're playing review catch-up and rectifying some of these omissions.
So if you're reading this and wondering if you've slipped through a wormhole back into 2024, don't worry, you've not become unfastened from time.
We're just running late. Before playing Skald: Against the Black Priory, I liked the idea of this throwback roleplaying game, but wasn't sure it was for me.
I love old-school RPGs, but pre-1997 is too old-school for me, and Skald's primary source of visual inspiration is an era of DOS and Commodore RPGs I have respect, but not much affection for.
Skald's gorgeous VGA-inspired pixel art scared me off as much as it enticed me. Finally diving into the game, though, I found something decidedly more modern: Skald is crisp and tight, threading the needle with an elegant, modern design sensibility that doesn't sand off the complexity and depth I crave in my RPGs.