Summoner is a party-based CRPG that launched on PS2 in 2000, and it was just lately given a brand new lease on life because of a re-release on PS5 and PS4 through PlayStation’s Classics push. Developed by Volition (later Deep Silver, of Saint’s Row fame), the studio’s formidable and expansive effort was marred by an absence of polish and technical points regardless of taking pictures for the moon with its storytelling, world-building, and comparatively distinctive chain fight system. Summoner stays fairly tough. Nonetheless, it is by no means been extra accessible, and the usual suite of quality-of-life enhancements like save states, rewind, and show choices make taking part in it a extra palatable exploration for gaming archaeologists.
Gamers are forged because the titular Summoner, a humble villager named Joseph, and thrust right into a surprisingly gritty world of demons, dragons, and warring empires. Born with the mark of the Summoner, Joseph woke up to his powers throughout an invasion by the Orenians in his childhood. He introduced forth a mighty demon however shortly misplaced management, ensuing within the deaths of his family and friends, in addition to the attacking troopers. Now an grownup, Joseph finds himself once more having to name upon the ability of the Summoner because the Orenians are on the march, and darkish powers start to align.
All through a prolonged, 30+ hour journey, Joseph will collect a celebration of companions who will battle by his aspect, including texture to occasions and permitting for extra mechanical flexibility. Flece is a quick-witted thief from the capital metropolis of Lenele with a mysterious previous, employed to do the work of the shadowy King of Fleas. Rosalind is a scholar of the language of Creation with hyperlinks to Joseph’s childhood and a strong spellcaster in her personal proper. Jekhar is a soldier with unfinished enterprise of his personal with Joseph however is compelled to assist him by circumstance and his oath of allegiance.
Summoner shines within the depth of its recreation world and the lengths Volition went to fill it with characters and backstory. Along with the principle quest, gamers can undertake quite a few aspect quests to additional pad the playtime. Whereas primarily of probably the most fundamental selection (Summoner did come out over twenty years in the past), they add further flavour for individuals who need it and reward you with gear and expertise in your efforts.
Fight is the place Summoner differentiates itself most from its contemporaries. It employs a comparatively weird mix of real-time CRPG mechanics and chaining inputs rhythmically, like a chimaera produced from items of Star Wars: Knights of the Outdated Republic and Legend of Dragoon. Whenever you order the managed character to assault an enemy, they’re going to mechanically proceed to take action. Simply earlier than every blow, a sequence image will seem above the character’s head, and inputting certainly one of 4 instructions (which correlate to geared up expertise) will permit the chaining of a number of assaults collectively. Throughout this time, the enemy can’t counterattack, and the window for the following grows shorter after every successive enter.
It is a fairly partaking system (at the very least initially), albeit one that may really feel fiddly, particularly as encounters develop in dimension and complexity. Characters can improve their talent with a selected weapon via continued use and enhance their base statistics after accumulating sufficient XP. You possibly can pause the motion to forged spells (which can then play out in real-time), rising in effectiveness via repeat use of those powers.
Sadly, Summoner falls down in its execution and the sport’s usually unpolished really feel. The moment-to-moment gameplay has a good bit of jank to it, with body fee points (particularly in Lenele, which is admittedly fairly spectacular), pretty forgettable music, and graphics that, even in 2000, weren’t thought-about particularly aesthetically pleasing. The decision and customarily muddy textures haven’t benefitted from the passage of time, both.
Whereas progressive and fascinating, the chain fight system generally frustrates and considerably falls aside when encountering a number of enemies concurrently. For the reason that manner you unlock new chain assaults is by repeatedly utilizing these unlocked beforehand, fight will get monotonous till further choices open up. Compounding issues is the AI of companion characters, which is fairly fundamental, and you will have to babysit every get together member to return via tougher encounters. Puzzle and fight sections that require get together members to separate up and function independently do not assist issues.
You will even be continually battling with the digicam, which is unruly at greatest and downright terrible the remainder of the time. Pulled again so far as doable, the angle nonetheless would not permit you to see a lot, and the rest is way too near be very helpful, particularly in fight. Transferring the digicam in any respect leads to some slight slowdown, so even interacting with the sport world on this minor manner ultimately begins to really feel like a slog. These points lengthen to the sport’s draw distance, which is shockingly brief, and you will typically be stunned by geometry that seemingly seems out of skinny air, particularly in its extra populated areas.
Conclusion
Summoner was clearly an formidable try by developer Volition to create an interactive RPG world of appreciable scale, but it surely’s undercut by some obvious points that make the expertise largely irritating. With an typically struggling body fee, uncooperative digicam, archaic inputs, and a fight system that frustrates when put to the take a look at, it is a arduous recreation to advocate to any however probably the most devoted retro gaming fans.
