(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. I did get a review copy of this game, but got no financial compensation for reviewing the game. I got the code and nothing else. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)I may not be a full-blown PC gamer, but one of my favorite games on PC that I think is fantastic is Knights of Pen and Paper. Developed by Behold Studios, the same dev team behind the awesome gem Chroma Squad, it was a charming indie RPG that reminded me of the few times I did play D&D and Pathfinders. I recently got contacted by the developer that they were making a new follow-up to this game, and it’s called Galaxy of Pen and Paper. So, is it a better game? Or is this just Knights of Pen and Paper, but with sci-fi elements? Let’s find out.
Galaxy of Pen and Paper is a sci-fi-themed turn-based RPG where you gather up to four players, create your own dungeon master, and go on an epic space journey to save the galaxy. You will get to choose your race and class that range from mechanics, gun soldiers, and bounty hunters. You will travel to different planets, completing quests that are optional, and ones that will be crucial to progressing the story. Like in the previous game, Knights of Pen and Paper, you could scale the difficulty of some of the missions by adding more enemies of one type, or adding different enemies per battle. This way, if you want to risk it, you can get more gold by completing tougher battles. You will also be expanding on said worlds and quests by finding special class characters that you have to go help out. You also have the usual RPG trappings of experience points with buying new abilities, and buying equipment to make your characters stronger. So, what’s new? Well, this time, you will have a ship to fly around and get into simple yet strategic battles with other ships. You take turns using energy points, and you have to choose wisely, since these battles can also be tough. The side quests are dependent on a “famous”, meter and each time you die, you lose some “famous” points. You definitely have a good lengthy adventure ahead of you with about 12+ hours of content and many more hours to add onto that with side quests, grinding, and the different variation of characters that you can use in the game.
Graphically, this game looks great. It has wonderful pixel art that’s a vast improvement over Knights of Pen and Paper, the 3D designs have a charming look to them, and I never encountered any hint of slowdown or bugs during my time playing the game. The music was catchy and upbeat that kept me pumped with its techno vibes. The game is also a tad silly with references, 4th wall jokes, and is just a goofy space adventure. While a comedic space adventure is nothing new, since we have the Space Quest franchise to thank for that, Galaxy of Pen and Paper is still a pretty funny game. Comedy is subjective of course, but I think most people will find a couple of good laughs from the game’s writing.
So, what’s wrong with Galaxy of Pen and Paper? Well, as much as I like this turn-based RPG, it gets a tad repetitive. You will be doing the same thing of fighting enemies, doing quests, harvesting materials to sell, and it can get grind-heavy. Doesn’t help either that finding materials are based on a game of luck if you will get something. And while the story can be entertaining, it’s also very light, and I found myself checking out at certain points. The ship battles are a nice idea, but they were not really a lot of fun, and they seemed to be random in how smart the AI will be while fighting them. I feel like this game does a few things to speed up progress, but it’s also held back by design choices that make it a game that overstays its welcome.
In general, I think Galaxy of Pen and Paper is a great RPG, and a solid time to be had. I don’t think I would get it at full price, but if you can get this on a good sale, then I highly recommend purchasing it. If you liked Behold Studio’s previous efforts like Knights of Pen and Paper and Chroma Squad, then I would buy the game to support the developer. Just be prepared for a wacky space-fueled adventure!
This game gets a 7/10
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