Just like a roller coaster ride - Sudeki starts out slow, speeds up and just as it hits its peak, it totally falls down
The game was great overall but the story, which pretty much makes up half of an RPG's grade makes great in slowly building itself up but cuts out too quickly.
The game stars four great looking and quirky characters: Tal, the stud swordsman, Ailish, the playful princess, Elco, the tireless scientist and inventor and Buki, the fierce Anthropomorph (half-human half-animal) huntress. Unlike many RPGs or adventure games, all four of them seem to play an even role within the whole story. No one or two characters steal the spotlight plot-wise and their personalities are about as colourful as the world of Sudeki.
Following the random adventures of these four friends gives additional story and character background but also leads to a few twists that deepen the story and make it more intriguing. There are betrayals and parallel dimensions and just when it all starts to come together, the story just cuts out. Players are not even given a chance to explore the world of Sudeki any more before the final battle.
What a shame too since this world highlights one of the better things about the game: graphics and design. Most of the Sudeki locales are very vivid and imaginative like something out of a Tim Burton movie. Next to that is the good but not great music and voice acting especially from the four main leads.
Despite the beautiful setting, Sudeki's monsters are quite grisly, come in hordes and become tougher as the story progresses. The destruction and gore is quite intense too.
Sudeki features one of the most innovative gaming hybrid experiences I've played. It's a mix of first-person shooter, action and RPG. The town-traveling, skill-learning and money-earning elements are definitely fresh out of an RPG but come combat, it becomes similar to Golden Axe or other famous four-player beat-em-ups.
Players can control either one of the four main characters. Tal and Buki are melee and Ailish and Elco are long-ranged. Controlling the melee characters, players can string attack combos like that of any action ofr beat-em-up title. When players use either of the latter, they go into first-person view and this is when the FPS elements kick in. All characters are magic-capable.
I liked Sudeki - at one point I began to love it and thought I had a real gem when I picked this game up for less than ten bucks. However, I realized why the game generated mixed reviews. Sudeki has most of the tools of a great game - cool characters, great graphics, a beautiful setting and an intriguing plot but all that goes down the drain by a pitiful final act that just looks like the developers ran out of time or money and didn't bother polishing it up or making it more presentable. A real shame.