Dread Delusion is the Fresh Fantasy RPG You're Looking For

Dread Delusion is exactly the kind of refreshing, wholly original fantasy the world needs right now. For those bored with orcs, elves, dwarves and wizards, check your coat, grab a bevvy and settle in for some captivating God Damn RPG Time.

It's a slow burn, at first. Amongst a vivid sky of stark, pulsating red washing over a mushroom filled landscape, an oppressive secular regime ejects you from their prison cells to hunt down a rogue mercenary turning to forbidden practices. A world of flesh Gods and tyrannical magic threatens to loose your mind from your very skull. You don't make full sense of it to begin with - step forward with your rusted sword and fight. Or sneak, or talk, or throw daggers - all the RPG stats are here, and they offer a compelling reason to explore onward.

The further you dive into this world of sky islands and plant life that feels a little too alive, you feel the tendrils of its lore creep up inside your brain. And what grossly fascinating lore there is here, ceded through NPC dialogue, chance encounters with a chained God, and tomes that put Skyrim's meagre stories to absolute shame.

Ah, the books. These are no mere slapped-together paragraphs sitting atop bookshelves, strewn about as trinkets to collect and hoard. These are lovingly crafted page turners alighted atop pedestals, bespoke stories you will find in a single place, always worthy of stopping to peruse. History, biography and salacious journalism come together to build an enthralling and singular world, one of the very earth being torn asunder and of literal clashes with petty, cruel Gods. After snoozing through the hundredth Tolkienesque high fantasy, this breath of fresh, pungent, bitter air is music to the eyes. 

I have yet to even enter the Clockwork Kingdom, nor the region of the Endless, so insistent am I to dig up positively juicy secrets, discover entirely new systems, learn wild new spells and puzzle out side quests and other mysteries. Why wouldn’t you want to check out an airship constantly circling a mountain peak, or a bandit encampment with a giant monster floating above, or any number of genuinely cool places filled with enthralling mini stories. Dread Delusion's early access period has clearly served this experience well, with this being a very well polished, very fun game to explore even before hitting 1.0.

With an official ending to the game hitting release this week, Dread Delusion is perfect proof that you don't need hundreds of millions of dollars spent on bland, copy paste games with 1000 planets - a small team can, and will, make a 40 hour RPG that easily cements itself as a best in class must play for those looking for their next Elder Scrolls style experience.

Code for Dread Delusion on Steam was provided for the purposes of this piece.