Games Check: A Bavarian Tale – Silence – Rustic Crime RPG – News

With a rarely used setting, the debut work is looking for Active Fungus Studios our attention: Somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the Bavarian provinces of the year 1866 a man from Munich comes… no, not to heaven. But in the middle of a bubbling cauldron of country life. And of course we with him. In doing so, we experience A Bavarian Tale – hushed up but anything but the idyllic village romance of yesteryear.

Big yard – big worries?

Resi, two beers!
Valentin Schmidt is a physics reporter by profession and is sent from the big city to the country to compare numbers. No, don’t go away, dear reader! Doesn’t sound like a particularly exciting assignment, I know. But when he arrives in seemingly tranquil Wolpertshofen, a number of problems await him: a gang of robbers all around John Pascolini is up to mischief in the surrounding woods and the night before a tavern dispute got so bad that one person died. Two groups face each other in the village: Teacher Loibl would like to call a revolution, Pastor Beyerle would like to preserve the status quo. And the mayor just wants peace in town. Valentin is pressured from all sides to take on the investigation of the death. What else can he do then?

The tasks that Valentin is burdened with are varied. Aside from murder, he can also deal with abortions, Kegel debt, wartime trauma, and digestive disorders. Although only about a quarter of the characters in the village can be talked to, there are quite a few village personnel. The secondary strands provide variety, some laughs and experience points that Valentin urgently needs. Since A Bavarian Tale is an adventure with role-playing elements, our protagonist should improve in seven categories such as “gut feeling” or “physical” if he really wants to solve the mystery of Lenz’s death.

In the course of the conversations or when examining the surroundings, we have to carry out rehearsals again and again. This is represented by 20-sided dice, which we “roll” by pressing a button. For example, we crack crates with “dexterity”. If the value rolled is lower than the required value, we can compensate for it – if our value is high enough. In many situations there is no second chance. Valentin doesn’t find a clue or a witness refuses to testify. Failure is part of the concept here, since we don’t have the chance to develop a character that is highly bred in all areas.

One of the many exams. Things are looking very good for us here.

Do you know hiking?

The village and its surroundings is a relatively small area, but because of Valentin’s slow pace, the paths can lead to the farms on the outskirts or to the isolated huts in the forest. However, if a place has been reached for the first time, the hiking trail fast travel system often helps. The environment is not technically impressive, but is nicely designed and invites exploration, although some textures are reloaded very late. Courtyards and houses look beautifully livable, with many windows simply being lit surfaces. The fact that there are boxes at every nook and corner that Valentin can loot may be part of a good role-playing game, but the fact that it doesn’t startle any of the villagers disturbs my immersion.

At some points Valentin can switch into a kind of detective mode. The environment changes into a black and white grid and we can search everything with the mouse – but our brave official does not take a single step in this mode. Exciting points light up green. If we mark them with the left mouse button, they will also be visible in the normal game graphics. However, this mode nibbles at Valentin’s concentration, which we can only replenish by enjoying a pretzel. Just Bavaria.

In some places the game switches to such drawings.

So talk mia do ebn

The setting literally sets the tone for the voice output. If you don’t like the Bavarian accent, you should keep your distance. Mushrooms, cards, kini… It’s true that all of this doesn’t get the upper hand and is sometimes explained, but apart from one villager who tries extremely hard to speak standard German and the funniest supporting character in the game, nobody here speaks standard German. And that’s just as well. Because for me, the language and the interspersed historical background are what make the game so appealing. In addition, all texts are conjured up in High German on the screen, so that northern lights also have a chance. The speakers are drawn from the pool of smaller Bavarian theaters and do a good to very good job across the board. Unfortunately, Valentin himself remains silent. The music is unobtrusive and in some places reminds of a crossroads derrick and brass music. Only during the fight passages is it funny out of place. The combat system seems immature with its few options and in some situations it isn’t fun due to camera problems. Luckily fights can usually be avoided.

Technically, the game unfortunately has some weaknesses. In some places, the collision query deals very freely with space and time. Sometimes Valentin stops a meter away from the stream for no apparent reason, at other places he can get into the water. Stairs also only seem to work when the program wants it to. The villagers like to get stuck in corners or stand on top of each other. The fact that Valentin, when he falls into the water drunk again, can breathe under the surface without any problems is more of a fault than a feature – especially if there are waters where he can’t get back to shore. The engine doesn’t seem to be particularly optimized either, because the fan on my PC was hardly quiet during the test. The game sometimes froze at the beginning, but as the game progressed it didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment of the game.

Just Bavaria

Conclusion

Surprisingly, the technical problems hardly reduce my enjoyment of the game. I want to find out what’s behind the pastor’s facade. What drives the Schorsch. And of course who murdered Lenz. And if Valentin’s liver lasts that long – after all, we’re in Bavaria – he’ll solve the riddle with my help.

• Third-person adventure with role-playing elements
• single player
• For beginners to advanced
• Price: 14.99 euros
• In one sentence: Luia, sog I! The existing weaknesses are brushed aside by the strong setting.