You’re tasked to explore the collapsed world, visiting points of interest such as towns and villages, cities and ruins. Initially you’ll begin with a party of three characters, though choices you make and actions you take will eventually allow you to recruit 6 more. Trials of Fire review: Choices mean characters There’s a lot of brown and deep red in the world art, sure, but your avatars are boldly drawn and the action pops with colour and character. The art style is immediately striking, presenting the burned-out world of Ashe (get it?) as an actual storybook, allowing you to turn pages to reach your inventory and character screens, and scrawling encounter text and choices on the page like an unfolding tale. Trials of Fire’s dying, post-Cataclysm fantasy world may not be anything particularly original, but as a backdrop for exploration, combat and some pretty interesting flavour text it more than seves its purpose. Card Collecting, for example, fills me with about as much excitement as picking the fluff off a bobbled jumper, and 2020 pretty much rogueliked me half to death – and yet within just a few minutes Trials of Fire had not only got my attention, but my respect, too. While high fantasy and swords & sorcery are way up on the list of things that bring me joy, certain other elements occupy the opposite end.

Reading about Trials of Fire before playing it left me unconvinced I’d enjoy it.

Download the new for mac Trials of Fire