Finally, a smart indie RPG for people who love Undertale

True confession: While I’m a fan and enjoying it talehugely influential 2015 Indie RPG Which rewards a peaceful approach to conflict, I was never able to complete a peaceful round of the game. That’s because I have a bad taste for the game’s combat, which requires lightning reflexes and near-perfect memorization during long, brutal boss battles. So you can imagine how thrilled I was when I came across a wonderful RPG that replaces twitchy, infuriating challenges with sweet word puzzles.

lexman, From developer Knights of Borria, it immediately caught my attention among the many booths at the Day of the Devs indie show on December 8th. This is largely due to the monochromatic pixel art style, which is interspersed with triangular splashes of colour. You play as a pointy-hatted wizard with a fluid, smooth stroke, navigating your way through a variety of colorful dungeons and puzzles.

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As in any worthwhile dungeon, you’ll encounter bad guys to dispatch, and Lexman It puts a unique twist on the genre’s familiar turn-based combat. When you enter battle, you’ll see a swirling cloud of word fragments in the bottom half of the screen, which you can then use to create arcane spells. There are a variety of solutions for any given situation, and the most obvious one may not be the right—or most interesting—choice. You may have a clear idea of ​​what would happen if you chose “Fireball,” but aren’t you at all curious about what might happen if you chose “Hairball” instead?

Once you get your way, the following dialogue will dance and flash across the screen, often in vivid contrast to the game’s black-and-white aesthetic. Sometimes the entire game interface will shift or change color, like when I cast a “yellow” light in response to an enemy using a green shield. These innovative rhythms combine with the familiar combat system to make each encounter feel special and memorable in its own right. At least during the brief demo, there was no hint of the kind of unwanted repetitive encounters that often plague old-style role-playing games.

With its full embrace of platitudes, I wasn’t surprised to discover that the team is behind it Lexman It is based in the United Kingdom (Cornwall, specifically). There is a definite dryness and Python-like sensitivity to the writing here that feels different from it tale– and many imitators – in a welcome way. If you’re a fan of funky RPGs with a lot of personality, this is a game worth a look.

Lexman It doesn’t have a release date yet, But you can wishlist it on Steam To stay informed of future updates.