Masquerada: Songs And Shadows – Review

Developed by Witching Hour Studios, based in Singapore, Masquerada: Songs And Shadows is an isometric Role Playing Game with an art style reminiscent of The Banner Saga. The game catches the eye with beautiful visuals and hooks you in with its interesting real-time-with-pause gameplay system.

You play as Cicero Gavar, previously exiled for crimes against the state, and now summoned back to Citte della Ombre to investigate a kidnapping. The story is really interesting from the start, with a rich backstory and a well realized world to support it. There are various factions pitted against each other, and there’s a constant sense of mistrust among the denizens. Watching the story unfold is an absolute delight, specially due to the excellent voice acting done by the likes of Matthew Mercer and Jennifer Hale. The city itself is beautifully drawn with clear Venetian inspirations, and is a joy to explore.

There’s an ongoing Civil War in the city, and the story develops around it with various factions fighting for their very survival. The plot avoids the trappings of most fantasy cliches and delivers a compelling tale throughout. The developers have put in a lot of love, time and effort in making a world that feels like it’s in constant turmoil, and things are at a tipping point.

The Masquerada, the privileged class in Ombre use Mascherines – masks that give them magical powers. The Contadani are the lower class, and the game begins with the player character inciting them to rebel. It’s because of this crime that Cicero is exiled, and the game starts five years later, when he is summoned back.

The game plays in an isometric perspective, and combat is real time, though you can pause at anytime to issue commands and decide tactics. The tutorial does a good job of familiarizing the player with the basics, but as you progress through the game, much deeper mechanics are revealed and the pause option becomes a necessity. You can choose to let AI manage other party members and there are times when you might want to just let free and enjoy the smooth and speedy combat.

Applying tactics and taking the time during encounters is immensely fun, however, specially during the boss fights. Layering multiple elemental magic on top of each other to deal massive damage is fun and can be really powerful when properly utilized. Some of it can get overwhelming at times, with a bit too much micromanagement needed if you want really get into the combat. Fortunately, the combat mechanics are robust enough to keep the players interested and feel rewarded.

For the most part, Masquerada follows a linear structure, opening up occasionally. I actually liked this more focused approach, specially because of how good the story was. The game did lack more exploration and character customization elements, which I hope to see expanded upon in the future. While my time in Ombre was short – just over 12 hours – I would love to return in a sequel with more stories and mysteries to uncover.

Register with us for the best in gaming, and join us for video game discussions on our forums.