Garhasp: Dragon Temple Review

Garshasp: Temple of the Dragon – Developed by Dead Mage is an indie game based on Persian mythology that follows the life of Garshasp, an ancient warrior who seeks to recover a legendary mace from his ancestors that was stolen by the Deevs.

Game features

Garshasp is a melee combat game with some platforms, it seems that the basic concept of the game is very similar to the popular Prince of Persia games. Garshasp, the main character even looks like a bulkier version of the Prince of Persia character.

The first thing you notice when loading this game is the lack of options. Actually, there are no options in the game, you have to run a separate setup app. This can be forgiven as it has been developed by an independent company, but it is certainly not ideal.

The controls in this game are very simple, possibly even too simple. It doesn’t offer enough in terms of melee combat, its main feature. Left click for a fast attack and right click for a heavy attack. Games like this usually have different types of weapons or the ability to cast spells, but this one seems too simple and repetitive.

How to play

Upon entering the game, you start with a cut scene. The game’s graphic style is pretty basic and doesn’t look polished at all, even in cut scenes like this one. The voice acting is pretty bad, there is no emotion and the characters sound like robots, this is reinforced when the mouths of the characters are not in sync with the audio. Maybe I’m being picky, it’s a standalone game after all, but even when you look past these flaws, they just salute you with more.

Movement is controlled by w, a, s, d as usual in these types of games, but the difference with this one is that you cannot control the camera. I was moving the mouse with my right hand trying to readjust the angle of the camera. The game is meant to offer exploration, but this is difficult when the camera is controlled by you, forcing you in certain directions. This can be uncomfortable at times, making it difficult to see and fight enemies.

Usually

In conclusion, Garshasp is a standalone game that lacks important areas. The camera is locked and the environment is linear. The combat is too basic and repetitive.

However, the appearance and mechanics featured in this game are not that bad. Hopefully Dead Mage will focus on bringing something new to the table, as this is very important within the indie genre. This game is too similar to an existing title and therefore I think you will have a hard time.