Operencia: The Stolen Sun - Review @ RPGFan

RPGFan reviewed the dungeon crawler Operencia: The Stolen Sun:

Operencia: The Stolen Sun

"Operencia can be inconsistent in presentation and difficulty, but I would lightly recommend it to anyone looking for a traditional RPG experience with emphasis on exploration."

From Zen Studios, a developer mostly known for pinball titles, comes Operencia: The Stolen Sun, a first-person dungeon crawl that puts just as much emphasis on dungeon exploration as its traditional turn-based combat system. The game certainly has a unique feel that separates it from other first person crawls like Etrian Odyssey or the related Persona Q series, with a setting that invokes a blend of mythology and fairytales as well as endearing characters who grow on you as the story progresses. Though it presents an immersive setting and interesting characters, Operencia does lack some polish in certain areas.

Operencia begins with a prologue where the player controls Attila, a king of legend in the titular land, fighting off a dragon leading an Underworld invasion. After this small introduction, we are brought to the present time, where the player-created protagonist, the son/daughter of a farmer, had a dream calling them to a cursed, flooded castle. There he or she meets Joska, a rogue who has also infiltrated the castle, and together they fight its army of cursed frog soldiers and rescue maidens. This serves only as a sort of second prologue however; upon exiting the castle our heroes find that the sun has disappeared and it's likely a new plot from the Underworld is afoot. They set out to find where the sun has gone and meet many companions who join the party along the way, each with their own connections to the plot or each other.

[…]

Pros:
Feeling of exploration, fun character dialogue, potential replay value.

Cons:
Uneven difficulty, unimpressive sound design, some UI issues.

Bottom Line:
A decent dungeon crawl of light to moderate length which is fun overall and may have replay value, but lacking in consistency.

Score: 80%

More information.

I found nothing really wrong with the game, but for some reason it just didn't pull me in.

I somewhat enjoyed this game, and I would lightly recommend it to those who enjoy this type of game.

So much equivocation If you like turn-based blobbers, you should play this game. Why? Because it's pretty good and your [non-JRPG] choices for such games in the last ten twenty years can be counted on one hand.

Originally Posted by Drithius
"…and your [non-JRPG] choices for such games in the last ten twenty years can be counted on one hand.

So much this. If I could take a pill to forget that JRPGs exist, I wouldn't even ask about side effects.

oh, this is a turn based blobber? I might get this then. The graphics look great too.

2019 GOTY for me.

Really great old school blobber RPG !

I liked the gameplay but not the companions and their incessant banter, especially given your protagonist responses were fixed. If there had been an option to create a party and stop the banter I'd have enjoyed it more.

Intro text from Operencia: The Stolen Sun

An unknown force has abducted the Sun King Napkiraly, leaving Operencia in a state of perpetual darkness – and eventual doom.

So, in my native language, which is Hungarian (In our barbaric country everybody is hungry, this is why our lands are called Hungaria… ) anyway, so Napkiraly literally means NAP = SUN KIRALY = KING.
In the English translation this comes down to:
An unknown force has abducted the Sun King "Sun King", who sounds like a Korean Ruler.

Another interesting trivia is Operencia means Country by The Great Sea = ocean, in Hungarian folk tales. It means the Edge of The World.
I wouldn't be too surprised, if originally it meant, Hollow Earth Entry.