What I did in the game: LV99. All Mana Equipments found. Leviathan beaten.
The One Picture I have taken: Equip screen (so we can see the Leviathan Scale)
As I was starting my Assassin's Creed marathon, I decided to try a small indie game that just got released, just to see if it was any good...well, almost 50 hours later, and I'm finally done with my small test :). Manafinder is to my surprise a RPG Maker game, but even if some might see it in a negative way, I was so impressed with what the team managed to do here. The world is beautiful and fun to explore, with a lot of side-contents, mini-games, and with a cool story to push us through. Battles are also creative, as you only have 2 characters, you and a dog. And yet, the loop is really fun. There's no MP, so you need to scavange mana stones to cast spells. There's also no weapon you equip, instead you can use them all in battles, and each of them are weak and strong against specific enemies, so you need to analyze and use the correct one. Each time you level up, you can also get a blessing from the Gods, which give you a choice on how you build your character (though by level 99, you'll have them all). You also cannot directly control your dog, but instead give him directions on how to act.
The other great thing about this game is that your choices have meaning. Like in a Shin Megami Tensei game, depending on your action, you'll end up in totally different final chapter. Fortunately, there's also a New Game + option, so once I was done with my first playthrough, I restarted a second playthrough right away to see a different path. So far, I've found three different endings, I don't know if there's more, but I was totally satisfied with what I have experienced. As for the graphics, the pixel art might seems amateurish at place, and yet, it gives the game more charm for me. The soundtrack was also good...if not a little off? I don't know how to explain it, like there's always a certain uneasiness to it, which was maybe the goal? So yeah, this kind of hidden gem is the reason why I love gaming. What was supposed to be a 30 minutes test became a 50 hours journey over 3 playthroughs. If you like small indie RPG, this one is great!
To conclude, here's a gallery for the 3 endings I've got. If you're planning to try this game at one point, you can stop scrolling and go back to the homepage. First 2 are not really spoilery, but you can stop before the third one.
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