Masquerada: Songs and Shadows

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An exceptionally well made RPG with beautiful art, memorable characters, and an engaging story - Masquerada is a must play for any fan of the genre.

For a freshman effort by an indie developer, there is just enough to really get your attention in Masquerada, and I look forward to seeing what Witching Hour Studios does next. Behind the mask of this game is a studio with a lot of heart, and while their first outing is ultimately flawed, their heart is sometimes all you need to make your mark in the gaming world.

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows is a fully voiced, story-driven, tactical role-playing game set in a flamboyant fantasy land that takes inspiration from various European cultures. It's an interesting and colourful adventure that can be completed in around ten hours or so, and its brisk pacing is enough to keep you playing. However, those looking for the kind of depth that's usually associated with the genre may come away disappointed.

While there’s nothing particularly poor about Songs and Shadows’ story or battle system, the way they come together leaves an unwelcome void in between. When playing, it’s hard not to compare it to bigger, better games like Baldur’s Gate or more recent RPGs like Pillars of Eternity and Divinity. Masquerada just doesn’t have the same level of rewarding complexity or seamlessness, bogged down by constant stopping and starting.

I believe there are gamers out there who will find much to love in Masquerada. A compelling story, placed in a fresh and fully realized fantasy world, without the concern of struggling with unforgiving combat is certainly a description I can see being in some people’s wheelhouses.

Seething shadows breathing lies. You can fool any friend who ever knew you. Leering satyrs, peering eyes. Run and hide, but a face will still pursue you.

There has been a recent influx of indie RPGs yet few have captured what makes the genre special. Does Masquerada: Songs and Shadows have what it takes to stand out from the crowd?

Masquerada: Songs and Shadows is the debut PC and console title from Singapore based Witching Hour Studio — having previously worked on only iOS and Android games. The game had already launched on PC back on September 30th 2016 after they reached their modest Kickstarter goal in only 12 days earlier that year. Now the game is set to bring its isometric, action based role-playing to Xbox One and PS4.

As I mentioned, this game probably would have been much stronger as an adventure game or visual novel. Excise the combat and the codex, and you’d have a solid narrative-driven game. The shear amount of new vocabulary the game throws at you would’ve been a much smaller complaint if text and story were the only things I had to focus on.

Masquerada is pretty and plays well but I think it’s reasonable that we can expect more from a game’s story than just having one. Storytelling basics like pacing and ‘showing not telling’ are the difference between Masquerada and Journey. Jam packing a lot of story into a game is not the same as having a good story.