Gaming has come a far way. Normally, when people make that claim it’s usually accompanied by a side-by-side graphical comparison or reference to map size. What I’m talking about, however, involves the good old-fashioned pen and paper RPG. It’s strange to think of innovation with a type of game that relies on something so basic: pen, paper, math, dice, and whatever props you and your table deem necessary. The only innovations that came to mind were updates in rules/gameplay through the release of new games or editions. Then I realized, the internet is a thing! I’ve made a lot of like-minded nerd friends who’ve enjoyed tabletop gaming and as life goes on we find ourselves scattered across the country, but thanks to the previously mentioned internet we’ve been able to still find ways to play our favorite tabletop RPG’s no matter where we are. I’ve used a few different programs and applications and have learned some of the pros and cons of each. To use a cliché that we’re all tired of; this year has been different and some people are still a little uncomfortable with interacting face to face with a group of people. Others may not want to wear a mask during their weekly table sessions (which is understandable unless you’re role-playing a character that wears a mask I suppose) and some people might just be too far away from their friends to keep playing. If you’re trying to get into the world of online tabletop RPGs, here are a few ways to do it and some information to help you determine which one is right for you.

Tabletop Simulator

My first foray into online DM’ing. Tabletop Simulator, available on Steam, is a virtual space for you and your friends to do any kind of table gaming you can think of. From chess to poker to monopoly, Tabletop Sim has you covered. A friend and I have even used it to play games of Warhammer 40,000 remotely which is an absolute dream come true for me, not only because I get to stay in touch with my friend, but also because it saves me thousands of dollars on little plastic figurines.

The great thing about TTS is its versatility and depth. The game (though game might be a bit of a stretch as it’s more of an application) offers a lot of components built right into the file such as dice and little figurines but it’s the modding community that gives you all the tools you could want. There are thousands of assets, for free, in the steam workshop that any DM would die to have in their house. From mats and maps to character tokens and special dice Tabletop Sim gives you the chance to build your game exactly how you want to do it; a lot of bang for your buck at $20.00 as of this writing. IF you’re fortunate enough to have a VR headset and compatible system, TTS also gives you the option to slap that bad boy on and get even more immersed with the table, literally navigating yourself through virtual space. Though there are some assets for character sheets, one of the issues I’ve had comes from keeping and maintaining the character and stat sheets in-game. We used physical ones that we kept on our person as a workaround for that but it can be a touch frustrating to not be able to see and interact with each other’s stats.

Why you should get Tabletop Simulator: You’re someone who wants a lot of depth and a lot of variety. You appreciate the 3D playing field and the freedom to run your game however you see fit. You enjoy mods and all the craziness people can come up with and want to see it in your campaign. You and your group all have working PCs, a steam account, and $20.00.

Roll20

One of the more popular TTRPG sites out there, Roll20 is often the go-to for remote gaming. With tons of built-in assets and features, there’s a lot you can utilize to make your game work. From dice to character sheets for a huge variety of games, Roll20 has earned its reputation as a solid and reliable platform to launch your adventures from. One of the bigger draws is that it can be played for free, with optional premium subscriptions available monthly for $4.16/month or the super-premium version for $8.33/month unlocking more features and tools for DM’s and players alike. If you’ve ever watched a DnD video on YouTube, or any other related game, there’s a very good chance that the people were using Roll20.

Another feature that Roll20 boasts is its large community of players. Always wanted to play DnD but can’t find a group? Maybe there’s that new TTRPG that you’ve always been curious about but are wary to spend the money on the books? Roll20 has you covered with huge lists of players with games open to the public. Just check the prerequisites, request to join the game, and hopefully next thing you know you’ll be in a brand new game with a group of new friends!

A hiccup I’ve run into trying to utilize this site is it can be a bit daunting. It’s not the most user-friendly site to use and if you’re anything like me you’re probably going to be watching a few YouTube videos that break it down, which is helpful if you’re having a hard time making heads or tails of the included tutorial. Like Tabletop Simulator, Roll20 gives you a plethora of options for customization, including many built-in assets such as maps or character tokens to help build your world; though if you want to really flesh out your campaign you’re probably going to have to hand over a little bit of that hard-earned money for the premium subscription.

Why you should use Roll20: You want a free website that you can get you and all your friends on to start gaming. You have the time to figure out how it works and enjoy the built-in communication settings instead of having to rely on third-party programs like discord or Teamspeak. Perhaps you’re unable to find a group to play your fantasy games and want to meet up with new people and make different connections as well as broadening your horizons.

Fantasy Grounds

First things first: if you are going to get this program don’t make the mistake I did. You want fantasy grounds unity, not just fantasy grounds. Thank God for steam refunds. That being said let’s move on. Fantasy Grounds is the only entry on this list that can boast its official status as being partnered with Dungeons and Dragons and when you look at the program it shows. Just because it’s official for one game doesn’t mean it’s restricted to that, however, and exists with the same idea of being a virtual space for any tabletop game. It comes preloaded with a huge amount of content for specific games that are meant to make prepping much more of a breeze than in the conventional way.

Fantasy Grounds also works as a “DM hub”, so even if you’re still able to meet in person it’s still useful as a way to compile all your information and keep the game running seamlessly instead of having to shuffle through a mess of papers and disjointed files while your party eagerly awaits to find out whether or not the room was booby-trapped. I can’t help but feel like the interface is a little dated, however. Some of the files and the way things are constructed come off as rudimentary and just give me the feeling that this is an older type of program that really should have a new coat of polish on it by now. To be fair, the unity version did address a lot of these concerns and it looks much better now but it still comes off as confusing and awkward at times. The other issue is the price.

You’re getting what you pay for with the preloaded assets and sheets but at a whopping $40.00 it’s going to be difficult to convince everyone in your party to grab it unless you’re playing with some serious gamers. At that price point, it seems like it would work better as a DM’s assistant for in-person games, and although that’s not the point of this list it’s worth noting that we won’t be separated forever.

Why you should use Fantasy Grounds: You love Dungeons and Dragons and have the coin and time to understand the interface. You want to flesh out a campaign and go deep into all the features that are available in TTRPG. You like to run the games and want to have a competent and organized way of keeping the game running and you plan on playing games in person.

Whatever program you use, just make sure you’re having fun using it! Things kind of suck right now, but if we look on the bright side we’ll see that we have all these awesome ways to stay in touch with our friends and keep the fun alive. There’s a huge community for support with virtual tabletop gaming and whatever issue you may run into there are probably a hundred youtube videos or articles explaining how to work around it, so don’t get discouraged! So give your friends a text, throw them the information on where/how/when to play, and go on an adventure already!

Since 1995, Bioware has been creating games that have cemented themselves in history as some of the greatest titles ever made. Games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Baldur’s Gate, and both the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series’. However, the studio has run into a rough patch, or rather a rough mile. In the last decade, the company has seen a bit of a decline due to underwhelming and overall bad titles. Three games, in particular, seem to be the source of this, each of them ranging in quality and each of them disappointing in some way to consumers. In my personal opinion, having played all two out of three of these games, I feel that some were given too much hate a little too soon and that fans expected a well-known, well-reputed company like Bioware to make polished masterpieces. I want to be clear and state that it is usually not entirely Bioware’s fault for their games being faulty when they are, but we’ll get into that soon enough. Without further ado, here are the three games that are responsible for Bioware’s decline, whether you like them or not.

The Good – Dragon Age: Inquisition 

Many fans, including myself, will say that out of the last three major titles released by Bioware, Dragon Age: Inquisition is the best on the list. With an excellent cast of actors, both new and returning, with well-written characters to boot. But why did I put this on the “Bioware’s decline” list? Well, because it’s not the best game they’ve ever made. And that’s all. Granted this is one of my personal favorite games, I’ve played it through three times, but my reasoning for putting it on this list is simply because, as much as I liked it, it left some fans underwhelmed. Now years before, 2011 specifically, was a big moment for Bioware after the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic, a game that MSNBC declared best MMO of the year.

Then in 2012, Mass Effect 3 was released and deemed good but not quite as good as the second installment. Then, in 2014, Inquisition was released to the public with a similar reaction. Now you could argue that Mass Effect 3 was the start of the decline, but really it was only thought of like a hiccup, a suitable ending but not necessarily a strong one. Dragon Age: Inquisition was a realization that, while Bioware was still doing well, they were starting to stall, showing that their creative talents may have reached their limit.

There’s nothing wrong with the game, heck fans agree it’s not even the worst of the three Dragon Age games, but it still wasn’t the improvement from the second title they had hoped for. It had a few unfixable glitches that, while harmless, broke the immersion of the game. There were also LONG loading screens, sometimes up to two minutes just to get to a single cut scene. And finally, and probably most importantly, the combat was very unappealing. Hits didn’t seem to register at times and some heavy attacks would make the animation skip, so NPCs would immediately end up on the ground instead of falling back like an actual person would. The game makes up for this in its story and characters; honestly, I like the characters in this game more than any other game I’ve played. So overall it’s good, but it’s still technically at fault in my opinion.

The Bad – Anthem

Bet everyone saw this coming right? I’ll admit right away, I haven’t played this game. Nor do I want to, nor do I have to play it to understand how much of a monumental flop it is. Considered the absolute worst game made by Bioware, Anthem is an unfinished sci-fi game released in 2019 where you fly around in a jetpack with a cool suit of armor and fight beasts on a jungle world. That’s pretty much it. But the game itself isn’t what fans initially dislike/hate, no, they hate that EA pushed it out into the public far too quickly. Bioware wanted to wait and finish the game properly, but EA, desperate to improve their image due to so many red flags pointed out by fans, hit the big red launch button and sent the Iron Man knock-off off to the races.

Once they had, people immediately panned it on all social media platforms, saying that the game was a massive disappointment due to all the hype and barely any content. All bark and no bite, if you will. So what’s being done to fix this? Surely Bioware and EA would want to fix their blunder, right? Not anymore. As of late February of 2021, EA and Bioware announced they were “ceasing production” on Anthem to focus on other projects, which we’ll also get to later. So after making millions in profits, EA and Bioware both have shut down development on a game people paid $60.00+ for, and rightfully expected them to fix. Personally, I think this game probably could have turned out right if EA didn’t push for its release so quickly like it did with our next title.

The Ugly – Mass Effect: Andromeda

I’ve heard many quotes from friends about this game; “Dead on arrival,” or “Unfinished” and “Sloppy,” and none of them is incorrect. In 2017, with fans overjoyed that Mass Effect was seeing a revival, EA and Bioware released Mass Effect: Andromeda to the public, a stand-alone game outside of the main trilogy. However, and this was only the start of EA’s blunders, they released it too early. Because of this, it was drawn and quartered by fans, as the game was so glitchy at launch that it was hard to play at times. I personally arrived after the game was patched, so I have no real knowledge of the glitches other than what I’ve seen and heard from friends, and of course the various memes about Peebee, an Asari companion in the game. Outside of that though, I really enjoyed playing this game. The bugs I did notice were small and didn’t hurt the game in any way, and the character models for the main characters that you constantly interacted with were good as well. I also liked a few of the characters, though most of them were admittedly stale.

So it’s fixed, right? I like it, so why did I name this ugly? Because there was a lot of ugliness to get to where it is now, fans blacklisting the game, terrible bugs and character models in the beginning, and ultimately the truth that the game will most likely not see a sequel, at least not in the near future, since it was left on a cliff hanger. There are two reasons for this: 1. The game was so poorly received that it’s going to take years for fans to trust a sequel. 2. Bioware is focused completely on reviving the milky way based games, with a legendary edition of the trilogy set to be released this year, and a sequel game to that in the works, so attention will be as far away from Andromeda as we actually are. So overall, with a crashing start and a few scars, Mass Effect: Andromeda is ugly but functional as a game, though there’s not much more I can say about it.

Conclusion

Bioware has been given a bad rep, and EA was the one to blame for it ultimately, pushing games too early and hurting both of their images, and some fans might say that it’s a bit of a copout relying on their established Mass Effect games, albeit 4K Ultra-HD enhanced and remastered versions of those games, while they work on their other projects. I think the games deserve a remaster to keep up with the times, but because of the timing, especially with the fresh news that they’re scrapping Anthem, it makes them look all the more suspicious. I’m hoping that the next full game that they release, which is set to be Dragon Age 4, will quell some of the justified anger brought on by years of cutting corners, but in the meantime, Bioware will have to deal with the fact that the only thing helping their image is rehashing.

It seemed that for the longest time, we were trapped in “early-access” hell. Copy and pasted titles were dropping almost weekly all promising the same kind of experience: an open-world crafting/survival experience with friends. The concepts were intriguing and gameplay footage would get enough people interested in perhaps throwing it on their wish lists or perhaps even risking it and purchasing the game outright. But there was always one little tag on its Steam page, one little category that all of them had belonged to. Early access.

Early access is a great concept. It gives us the chance to support and feed creators for the promise of something better tomorrow while we pay less today. It’s not a hard concept to get your head around and in the right circumstances, it’s even a pretty good deal. But then, after a while, it felt like they were just getting worse. They were coming out with less and less polish, horribly broken and unplayable with delayed and stagnant updates and patches. There’s a game-breaking glitch that causes your character to get constantly trapped between two trees and somehow take fall damage until they die? Don’t worry player, we hear you and we’re happy to announce that our next patch will finally improve the lighting inside the tavern!

They’re not supposed to be finished when they’re made available to the public, but you should be able to play them, and by play them I mean sink some serious time in, not play for three hours and think “Yeah there’s not much to do now but it could be cool someday.” My advice: if you come away from a game and that’s your first thought, request a refund. They don’t usually get to that level and you’ll have just another program taking up space in your Steam library that you never touch.

All of this is why I’m not sure why I’ve been loving Valheim so much. Is it because I’ve slowly become so disillusioned with the survival/crafting genre and broken early access snoozefests that I’ve needed something resembling an interesting experience like a dying man needs water? Or is it just because the game is really good? My first steps in the world were filled with the same amount of trepidation I always feel when booting up a new game of this genre. As I picked up rocks and sticks and got into a couple of fistfights with boars, the whole time one nagging question stuck at the back of my mind, “At what point am I going to get bored with this game?”.

It’s a valid question, and it happens with every game we play sooner or later. The big question is will it be in four hours or forty? As of writing this I’m thirty hours in and have no intention of stopping, in fact, I probably would have had this written and a lot more work is done already had I not got into this game. Suffice to say my fears of getting bored of the game are no longer a concern.

Everyone is talking about this game at present, and for good reason. I’m going to offer some advice that I usually stay away from: the best time to get this game is right now. I like to tell people to wait on certain things if they’re unsure, I mean it’s a digital file for a game it’s not going anywhere and it can only get better over time, right? Well, yeah actually. The developers have released the 2021 roadmap and these updates and events truly are going to be game-changing. With the massive success of the game, there’s no reason these patches shouldn’t be released on time and complete. The reason you should get it now is that I really feel like we’re at the beginning of one of those great games that are going to stick around for a long while. The type of game that someday people will be nervous to get into because it’s been out for so long they would feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of different things to do and experience (which is the reason I still have yet to play Rust, and after this game, I may never attempt to). Getting in on a great game at the beginning is exciting and doesn’t happen often but this one is easy to get in on because it’s inexpensive ($20.00 as of this writing), it works, and it’s fun.

First off, who doesn’t like Vikings? Vikings are cool, they’ve got awesome beards and badass lore that works perfectly for video games. The setting takes place in the 10^th realm, a kind of purgatory between Earth and Valhalla and your character has to prove their worth to enter Viking heaven by slaying a number of champions in Valheim. That’s it, that’s the plot. A bird takes you to this strange new world, plops you down, gives you a few tutorial hints, and pretty much slaps you on the ass, and tells you to get to killing. Anything you want to discover in the story you have to do so yourself; reading rune stones, listening to the crow, etc. It doesn’t shove story and exposition down your throat which makes you want to learn it yourself. In a game about Vikings, it’s pretty subtle with the whole Norse thing unlike the recently released Assassins Creed: Valhalla which portrayed Vikings as these ridiculous caricature buffoons who can’t go five seconds without mentioning Odin or Thor and have visions for breakfast.

I’ve always loved the Viking aesthetic which is another hook into why I’m so obsessed with the game. One of the first things you’ll notice when logging into the game for the first time is that the graphics are a little…pixelated. It’s kind of a shock at first but once you get into the game and begin playing you start to appreciate the unique and stylized look of the game. The beautiful lighting and weather effects add fantastical whimsy to the experience and I don’t think I’ll ever forget looking up into the night sky for the first time. I’ll let you experience it for yourself. The stylized method of graphics accomplishes two things: Firstly, it helped the developers create the game faster and with fewer issues, helping them focus on gameplay and creating a working product. Second, they’ll keep the game from looking out of date for a long time. No one complains about Minecraft graphics because the game was made with a specific style in mind and it works for what it’s trying to accomplish.

The most difficult part for me has been avoiding news and screenshots from the game. It’s always a good feeling to discover something for yourself in a game but so many of these crafting games have me getting instantly frustrated and just minimizing the game, opening google and having someone tell me what to do. Valheim makes you want to do it for yourself because when you do it is just so, so satisfying. Aside from the clips they play on their store page, I haven’t seen any of the upcoming locations or enemies and I don’t want to. The panic and excitement that comes from facing a brand new enemy, not knowing what its capabilities are or what it’s going to do to you, it’s how these games are meant to feel.

The game feels totally organic. No scripts, no railroading, nothing. It gives you a goal to work towards but you do with it what you will. You want to work on finding dungeons and fighting trolls and skeletons? Go for it. Want to kick back and build a gigantic mead hall instead? Sounds fun to me. Setting out to an unknown location comes with such a swell of the excitement of not knowing what you’re going to find. The first time we set sail across the ocean might be one of my favorite gaming memories just for how everything happened and how unprepared I was for it. (If you want to follow my method of avoiding “spoiling” the game I’d suggest you skip this paragraph).

The sun was rising over Valheim. I’d finally gotten my three fellow adventurers filled up on food, gear, and to the ship (which is an accomplishment of its own if you know the people I play with. Think “herding cats”). After setting out onto the ocean, congratulating ourselves on finally building a ship and taking to the sea like real Vikings, something troubling was occurring. Off the front of a ship, a giant toothy head emerged from the water, roaring, and hissing at the ship with its lashing tongue. Maybe we expected something to happen but a sea serpent? Just outside the starting area? That we were not ready for. We sailed the ship as fast as it would go, avoiding its bite as best we could while the rest of us feebly flung arrows as it chased us. We managed to avoid sinking, but just barely when we realized we needed to land somewhere to make repairs to the ship. Just ahead, a small island floated in the middle of the water. It wasn’t a base destination by any means but it would do. When we landed on it, we noticed strange barnacles on the island. In Valheim, whenever you find something new you have to harvest it because that’s how it progresses. So we get to swinging and the island starts to shake. Nothing happens at first and we keep swinging but the island shakes again but this time, it roars and begins to submerge. That was when we realized we escaped the attack of the serpent only to land on the back of a gigantic turtle, who does not appreciate us hitting his shell.

The rest of the adventure went on and we even discovered a new area which we got to explore for all of five minutes before we were brutally and systematically murdered by the new monsters. And we wanted to keep on playing.

To reemphasize the point of this post, Valheim is an early access game that feels like it’s complete. In the immortal words of Todd Howard “It just works.”. I’ve played thirty hours and feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of what is out there and what I can experience. I’ve killed one boss and have found the location of the other but it’s so far away I have a lot of work to do before I find myself in its neck of the woods and I absolutely love it. Currently, I’ve stuck a pin in exploring and upgrading my gear and am constructing the massive mead hall I’ve always wanted. The Greydwarfs and Trolls can try to knock my walls down all they want, but my roots are sunk deep, and I’m going to be in Valheim for a very, very long time.

If you’re interested in the future roadmap for the game, just follow this link: https://www.pcgamer.com/valheim-roadmap/