Roadwarden

Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 167: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆ (8/10) [i]Roadwarden[/i] is a beautifully crafted text-based RPG/adventure that blends thoughtful survival mechanics with deep, immersive prose and a haunting frontier setting. You play as a newly appointed roadwarden—part sheriff, part diplomat—sent to a remote peninsula to assess its safety, support settlements, and report back within 40 days. It’s a grounded fantasy where monsters, corpses, and political unrest are as dangerous as bandits. Its strength lies in giving you a fully realized world, extensive freedom of choice, and writing that lingers long after the credits. That said, it’s not always an easy journey, nor a perfect one, but it’s a memorable ride for anyone who values story-first adventures. 🌲 [b]Pros:[/b] [list] [*] Rich, atmospheric worldbuilding. From pixel-art vistas tinged with late-summer hues to ambient guitar and forest sounds, [i]Roadwarden[/i] delivers a distinctive, melancholy tone. Every location—from hermit caves to crumbling inns—feels specific, storied, and steeped in mystery. [*] Complex, meaningful choices. You're given an uncommon amount of autonomy. Whether you're solving quests, managing factions, or simply deciding how to treat others, your actions truly shape how the peninsula sees you—and how events unfold. There’s no right way to play, and multiple playthroughs reward different builds and approaches. [*] In-game map that tracks your travels. Unlike many text-based games, [i]Roadwarden[/i] gives you a wonderfully practical hand-drawn map that updates as you explore. It’s a vital tool for remembering towns, ruins, NPCs, and roads, and helps maintain a sense of place across dozens of hours. [*] Survival systems that enhance immersion. Managing hunger, fatigue, and time adds just enough pressure to make each decision feel meaningful without becoming a chore. Combined with weather and gear durability, the game quietly reinforces how isolated and vulnerable you are. [*] Outstanding writing and character interaction.The prose is elegant without being dense, and conversations feel authentic. There’s plenty of emotional nuance—especially in small villages where everyone knows everyone else’s secrets. Your kindness, cruelty, or apathy genuinely matters. [/list] 🌧️ [b]Cons:[/b] [list] [*] Steep mid-game learning curve. The game doesn’t hold your hand, and the in-universe slang can be disorienting at first. Understanding the region’s politics, religions, and factions takes patience. [*] Time limit may feel restrictive. The 40-day window provides urgency, but it also means you might miss out on finishing entire story arcs. There’s an Easy Mode with a more relaxed time limit, but even then, pacing can feel tight depending on how you approach objectives. [*] Endings can feel underwhelming. Despite excellent narrative build-up, the final moments don’t always reflect your journey as deeply as expected. Some players felt their decisions—especially around faction alliances—weren’t fully acknowledged. [*] Text-heavy format isn’t for everyone. While the visuals and map help, this is fundamentally a reading experience. If you're looking for animations, combat, or visual storytelling, you may find the format limiting. [/list]

Roadwarden is a great game with superb writing, good and fitting design and a perfect soundtrack. The choices you make matter, you can play the character you want to play and if you pay attention you get rewarded. This is one of the best roleplaying-games I have played.

Went into this game blind after seeing it on a top ten list with 9 other of my favorite games. Absolutely amazing. I love jumping into, exploring, and shaping such a well built and well-written world. I love games that I need a notebook for, and I love a game with unreliable character information. Each character has their own interests, information, and assumptions. Beautiful.

Great world building, interesting options.

Never really played anything like it. Roadwarden is a purely text based choose-your-own-adventure game where you're rewarded for attention to detail and a sense of curiousity. The writing is immersive and intriguing, and the graphics/audio add an extra layer of storytelling. Interesting mysteries get broken up into little clues that are peppered around the map, and you're rewarded for returning to people and places as your progress uncovers new ways to interact with the world. Your limited time and supplies adds a sense of urgency to it all. For just a few dollars, Roadwarden is a steal for anyone who reads fantasy or enjoys deeply well written stories told through well thought out worldbuilding. 9/10

This is the first game in a long time that really caught my interest. It's an excellent text-based RPG that is so thoughtfully written and executed; the characters are fleshed out quite well, and the story line is very compelling. I have just completed all the achievements, and I'm honestly sad that I've nothing left to do in the game. If you haven't played a text-based RPG before and are curious to try one, I definitely recommend Roadwarden as a brilliant starting point in the genre. It is such a wonderful game!

Roadwarden is a meticulously crafted dark fantasy world with excellent writing and narrative. Each decision carries weight and seems to boast an almost uncountable combination of endings. This was seriously such a treat to play that I'm left craving for more after my first playthrough.

Just actual peak, if you think it'll interest you even a bit, try it. Worth the price

This game is a wall of text, but a great one. A real true test of gamer attention spans. Aside from that, the world building and overall pacing up to the end are fantastically done. As you progress and make the realm safer, it actually feels like it, in spite of essentially being an RPG Bible If you are an RPG enjoyer and have a prefrontal cortex that hasn't turned into a pink ooze, this game feels like getting lost in a book and you'll feel right at home for about 8-10 hours. Easy buy 9/10

A very immersive text-based adventure where you get to explore a new world and choose how you want to change it. The player is given quite a lot of freedom in which storylines to pursue and how they develop, which I enjoyed a lot. The in-game Journal is nice, but I've found it useful to note down a lot of additional info in a separate note library (prices of items and services, information about people, etc.)

Not sure that I'm fond of it being so text-based; but my computer is already old and I like to read. The writing is intelligent and interesting. It's also teaching me at a ripe old age how wise it is to generally be friendly and supportive rather than distant and detached as has become my true nature. Uhm, I guess.

This game is fantastic - so engrossing I played it for two days straight until I finished it. Very highly recommended!

Its good, reminds me a lot of disco elysium in how everything is structured. Not exactly replayable unless your trying to 100% achievements but overall I really enjoyed my time with it. The world building is great, the dialogue is good, and its been a while since I have actively felt a desire in my bones to find out what happens next in a game, rather than to just continue to play it. 9.5/10

A fantastic expression of character writing in an expertly juxtaposed, beautiful dark fantasy world. Many of the setting concepts are fresh and interesting, giving way to fulfilling choices that make sense from every angle - almost no course of action is completely morally "evil", rather serving to benefit one ethic more than another. Each of the many characters is written with a unique style, aesthetic, and demeanor, nearly perfectly setting them apart from one another and saving the reader confusion. The resource management is simple, effective, and rewarding, and the standard time limit is just the right amount, letting me finish absolutely everything by the very the last day. Still, the overwhelming barrage of information and overlapping tasks, especially when it came to making the "right" choices in survival instances, could be a bit more clearly stated so the player needn't rely entirely on their memory of past conversations. The glossary helps a little, but not every line of dialogue makes it in there. Most of my "failed" interactions came from misremembering information given to me in throwaway dialogue from hours of play earlier. If I spent more time waiting between play sessions, it would have been impossible to keep track of everything. These instances were few, however, and are more wishful thinking. I'd say a bit more fun than reading a normal book. 8/10

An incredible little gem of a game. It has a lot replay-ability. It was the first text based game i've played and it was such an interesting and fun experience.

This game really engrossed me, this game is a real hidden gem. The choices always felt extremely meaningful, and I often had to stop and think for quite some time about what the "right" action was for my goals. It never had unfair unintended consequences, but still kept me guessing. The economy made sense and the time limit was fair but kept me moving, I think I only had one or two mysteries remaining at the end of my run. Most problems had many solutions. It took me about 15hours to do one playthrough which is pretty good, there seem to be quite a few different endings, but I feel so attached to my version of the main character I'm in no hurry to rerun in the short term Overall a wonderful game!

This game is amazing and encapsulates you in the world very quickly, but you can also be judged very harshly for your choices. My initial cowardice wasted precious hours that I could have spent ensuring the communities in-game were content and semi-united, so I hadn't completed all storylines before the ending. If you're looking for a beautiful story-driven game with a web of different endings and plotlines, this is it. But beware perfectionists... be ready to hustle

Fantastic game. Visuals: 8/10, the pixel art is fantastic but I don't love the limited color palette and I would really really like NPC portraits. Music: 10/10. Gameplay: 9/10, it's a surprisingly customizable text adventure—each playthrough is different enough to be interesting. More replay value than most text adventures. Overall 9/10.

This game is my favorite game of all time. I've played through it multiple times and haven't been able to find a game that scratches the itch that Roadwarden did. Unfortunately, it's lost its novelty after the 5th or so playthorugh since I've basically done everything that can be done. This developer's other games are good stories, but don't even come close to the story-telling and action this game has to offer. I'm waiting, desperately hoping that a Roadwarden 2 comes along. Whether it's a prequel, sequel, or takes place in another place entirely, I need more. I'd recommend this story to anyone, it's that good.

TL:DR: If you are into roleplaying games, this is for you. Steamdeck review: Works out of the box. All texts are readable and the controller issues have been patched. I am looking forward to reading this on holiday. Thanks for making this game. It is a good read and very well written. Just be sure to play it with the time limit!

beautiful world made to be explored. Amazing unique cultures and people with their own lives you are only in as a small blip. I plan to 100% the game next and I hope I'll continue to find as much in it as I did in my first play through!

Been looking everywhere for a text RPG like this. The world-building and immersion are great; it feels almost like playing something akin to BG3 except more novel/text form which I actually may enjoy more.

One of my all time favorite games. Very unique play style that is more addicting than expected. Highly recommend brewing a cup of your favorite tea and relaxing to this game. Wish there were more like this!

very enjoyable experience. text based games are something ive never tried often, but this had charm, insight, and gave me something to read whilst in between books. My recommendation to increase experience is to take notes, good notes, on all the people you meet, all the places you learn about, etc. enjoy!

Grim and world weary with the occasional spark of hope, the writing here is crisp and evocative. It has all the flavor and detail of a world like The Witcher, with a responsiveness to player choices that rivalss ome of the best of the genre, like Fallout New Vegas.

an amazing narrative game, my first one to run for 100%. special thanks for availability on MacOS. highly recommended for story / text-based enjoyers with rpg elements. this is a very good game.

It's been years since I completed the game and I still think fondly about it every now and then. The soundtrack is also amazing.

Would play this rather than reading a Book. Role playing and adventure, you make a difference in this small peninsula. Very distinct from other games and wish there were more of these. Short but elegant. Would recommend for story driven readers that like to make their own choice when reading.

Right before my final journey I wanted to give it 9/10 for some rough edges here and there but the ending is very well written, which is honestly a surprise these days So 9.5/10 it is Very good game if you like reading

Roadwarden” is one of the most immersive and emotionally rich games I’ve ever experienced — and it does it all with pixelated graphics and walls of text. That alone is a feat worth celebrating. The storytelling here is masterful. Every conversation, every decision, every quiet moment feels like it matters. It creates an atmosphere so vivid and alive that you forget you’re not looking at flashy 3D models or cinematic cutscenes. Instead, you’re reading — and feeling — every line. The pixel art and illustrations are deceptively simple but incredibly effective at setting mood and tone. Combine that with the ambient music and slow pace, and you get fully drawn into this grim, beautiful, haunted world. One of my favorite touches? The achievements that pop up mid-game. It’s subtle, but it reinforces the feeling that your journey is being witnessed — that your actions, no matter how small, leave a mark. It made me feel like I was carving out my own unique story in a world that didn’t owe me anything. I went into this expecting a neat little indie RPG. I came out of it thinking about it for days. Easily one of my favorite games I’ve ever played.

Vibe: It remindes me so much of Ranger's Apprentice, so if you loved that book you will love this game. I recommend a lot! Ofc it's a lot different but I felt a bit like a Ranger doing what I always wanted after that series. Sound design: is reallu well done. The music is good and immersive, while the sounds can be soothing or scary, depending on what the game wants you to feel. It's really good and adds a lot of character to every place. Journal: I really enjoy the way it's getting updated. In most games I played it was some kind of omnipotent source of knowledge but here it just gathers the information you get from other characters. Also I really like the ability to take notes ingame. I'm quite a notetaker and it's really nice that I don't need to leave the game and distract myself to write something down. Mechanics: It is my first rpg of that style, so I'm quite knew to that. I really like the pacing, that you can think about your options and not worry about everything jumping on you at once. Despite that it can still get pretty intense, the descriptions are really well written and the sound design adds to the pressure as well. I'm playing on casual because I like chilling in games and no pressure, but the Standard mode having the 40 day limit is such a good idea especially taking in the account the story. The scarcity of food, quite harsh conditions of spending the night and the day cycle make it feel like we are really in a place that doesn't want us and it adds to the story so much. The story: I haven't played a lot and frankly I don't know. I was hooked from the first moments and the mystery of everything we need to learn and explore makes it fascinating. The journal makes everything we learn easy to access at any time and if there is something lacking or important we can put it in notes. But every place is so characteristic and memorable that once you visit it you will remember it. The informations are really well presented, at first it feels like a lot (which makes sense from the story point) and then we learn more and it makes more sense. I still haven't gotten close to the answers of any of the main mysteries but i am slow and like to take my time. Replayability: When I was looking for some stuff online it got brought up. I am still in the beginning of my first playthrough but I am planning on playing again. Mostly because I want to try another class for my character. Of course since there is a lot of stuff you need to learn the second playthrough won't be as magical, but I will be able to say more once I'm finished with the first. I recommend it so much! I can't wait til I get to know more about the world I'm exploring and about all of it's mysteries. The writing is really good and pleasant, art very climactic, with every NPC fleshed out. It's a wonderful game with a lot of love put into it.

Just excellent. Rich, interesting world that feels lived in and vast despite taking place in a small backwater.

Love this game. Amazing world building and storytelling, and so much replay value.

Fantastic game, lots of choices and very replayable.

This is how RPGs should be like, and not just text-based. You are not the center of the world or of events happening (usually), but you can influence them to an extent. Story generally develops in a reasonable way, without lots of sudden twists and drama for the sake of it. You can anticipate and prepare to an extent even without meta-gaming. Your character has a life of his own to take care of, saving the world and everyone around is not (or at least does not have to be) a primary goal of his. Worrying about being safe and having a good place to stay at is more important than trying to find some (probably non-existent) magical treasure sword of legend. I was a bit initimidated by the amount of text I [i] had [/i] to read, but I learned to skip long descriptive parts when I didn't feel like reading them and it was a smooth ride from there. Game has a naturally feeling, interesting world that you can even define a bit yourself (answering questions about background lore during dialogue). It definitely has replayability since you won't be able to complete every major thing and discover all the mysteries in one go, especially when you are not familiar with the game on the first run. Art is and nice, nothing fancy, but very suitable. There is room for improvement, of course. I haven't found a way to speed up GUI transitions between locations, for example (fading animations) and they were a bit annoying even on the first run and are more annoying on the second, when I'm skipping screens I have already read before. I'm not sure if there is a description of all mechanics somewhere because I was unsure about exact effects of being full vs partially full vs starving (only tutorial popup says something about them once). There were mentions of some items (like shields) in the game that only appeared in trader's stocks closer to the end of the game for some reason, even though I've checked the trader multiple times and didn't find a reason for them not selling the shield before. But it's all minor problems and maybe I'm being dumb. Great game if you can stomach choose your adventure / text based RPGs.

Neat concept, good systems, old school go at your own pace, unfortunately it felt like a wall of text all the time.

Great realistic medieval fantasy story. A lot of routes to take and things to learn about the North

No interesting lore or meaningful choices mid music

Amazing text-based pixel art RPG. World is so alive.

Walls of text, which could be trimmed or put into "look at" command. I usually like text games but this gets a 5/10.

A great text-based adventure with good world building!

A game that can easily be described as "kind of like playing D&D, but by yourself" yet has so, so much to offer. The writing of Roadwarden really gripped me and made me invested in the world's setting and characters, all through sheer quality and care. The world-building and dialogue landed nearly every impact and response it seemed to try and garner, with very few misses. The art style and art direction held the same soul, some locations being extremely memorable and gorgeous. This game has a fantastic story, setting and is all around one hell of a vibe. The "combat" revolves around RNG with some things you can do to turn the rolls toward your preferred outcome. There are very few typos, but they do exist. You will be reading a LOT if you don't use the Narrator. This isn't a perfect game even despite my prior praise of it. Your experience will likely differ greatly, leaving an even better or worse impression than I had. However, I really can't recommend Roadwarden enough for those who enjoy TTRPGs or a good interactive narrative. Roadwarden has a place in my Top 5 RPGs - buy it if you think it looks neat. I did and I don't regret it a bit.

This is a gamebook/visual novel type RPG. If you're reading this you probably understand what that is, but I just want to be clear this isn't a party-based or tactical combat, etc, kind of game. It's one of the best of that gamebook-on-roids genre though. The writing hits a nice spot between evocative but also simple enough to read quickly and allow your imagination to fill in the rest - really, designers of other similar games should study the style here & take notes. The world and your character's place in it feels plausible. All kinds of cool little details & mechanics that come into play unexpectedly. It's also about as open-world as this genre gets, lots of options for where to explore and when. The pixel art is really clear, thematic, and helps set the stage for each area you travel to. One thing I appreciated the most (and again, wish other designers would take to heart) was that the game was able to create suspense, curiosity, tension, etc, without a cliche Save The World From The Dark Lord and/or the also popular You, An Impoverished Orphan, Are The Child Of A Demigod type storyline. Your character *is* actually somewhat exceptional & uncommon in this game's world, and you do have power over others' lives, but it's in a grounded way that makes sense. The tough decisions you have to make are usually the types of decisions that have to be made in the real world. It feels authentic in a way. So yeah - if you like text-based RPGs or interactive fiction, this is a no-brainer.

I have never been one for RPG games, but this was a truly amazing experience. Everything about Roadwarden is just...soulful i guess is the best way to describe it. Its got a great introduction the guides the player without railroading, its got actually interesting world building thats very believable. The gameplay is fair, though not easy. The game gives you hints about...basically everything, but you need to find those hints and actually you know, take the time to think about it. Everything negative that happens to you can be avoided or mitigated just by following the advice that the many characters give you, but requires you to actually listen to the many, many stories the characters have to tell just to survive. Gameplay is honestly fun which i didnt think possible for an RPG, and the story is great and really draws you in. No matter how you play it, you will have to be forced to make difficult choices, and not just some crappy Bioshock type of clearly good choice versus clearly evil choice. There are no heroes and villains, there is only you who must try to pick the winners and the losers, often with little regard for morality but instead for your own survival. Brilliant game, well worth the money and i would recommend it to anyone who can read [though if you pick the fighter class, you will not be able to read]

Compelling story, satisfying gameplay.

by far one of THE BEST text based RPG's i've played in a long while.

Rich and well-constructed.

The outstanding text-based RPG I did not now I needed to play.

Great text based rpg, love it

Easily one of the most intriguing RPG games I've ever played.