Massive Chalice
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''Massive Chalice'' is a
turn-based tactics Turn-based tactics (TBT) is a sub-genre of strategy video games. They are turn-based simulations of operational warfare and military tactics in generally small-scale confrontations as opposed to more strategic considerations of turn-based strateg ...
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for
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,
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,
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and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
by
Double Fine Productions Double Fine Productions, Inc. is an American video game developer based in San Francisco, California. It is a first-party developer of Xbox Game Studios. Founded in July 2000 by Tim Schafer shortly after his departure from LucasArts, Double F ...
, which was funded through
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
. The project leader of the game was Brad Muir, who previously led the development of ''
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''.


Gameplay

The game switches between two modes: Strategy, in which the player makes long-term decisions and watches the years roll by, and Tactical, in which the player commands a team in turn-based battles against enemy forces. In Strategy mode, the player decides which tasks the Chalice will spend its small amount of spare energy on, while also dealing with problems that arise in the kingdom's population. While the player waits for projects to complete, the Cadence will regularly attack. Usually they attack multiple parts of the kingdom at once, but as the Chalice can only send a team of heroes to one location at a time, the player must decide which battle to fight to keep Cadence corruption from spreading too much. As the player's character is unable to leave the palace, they must send heroes to fight the Cadence. Though these heroes are attuned to the Chalice, allowing them to survive contact with the Cadence, they are not immortal, and so a crucial part of Strategy mode is establishing bloodlines to breed future generations of heroes. The player can retire a hero to become regent of a noble house, and arrange a marriage to a hero from another house. Newborn heroes inherit some genetic traits from their parents, as well as personality. While same-sex couples cannot have children on their own, the Chalice can find babies in the kingdom who are attuned to it to be adopted by a noble house. Such children have their own genes but may still inherit personality traits from their adoptive parents or during training. Heroes initially belong to one of three classes: Caberjacks, who wield battering-ram-like "cabers"; Hunters, who use giant
crossbows A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic Elastic is a word often used to describe or identify certain types of elastomer, Elastic (notion), elastic used in garments or stretch fabric, stretchable fabrics. Elastic may also refer to: Alte ...
to attack from a distance; and Alchemists, who use weapons resembling bladed lacrosse sticks to throw explosives or attack up close. Children inherit their parents' class; if the parents are different classes, one of six hybrid classes results (depending on which class is the regent parent). As heroes age, their statistics change; for example young heroes are faster but not as strong or smart as others, while very old heroes may be slower and weaker but much wiser. Heroes may also develop new personality traits from their experiences. If a distinguished hero dies on the battlefield, their personal weapon may become a Relic, a magical artifact that is passed down to younger members of their house.


Plot

The player takes the role of an immortal ruler defending their country from invasion by a monstrous army known as the Cadence, whose touch is deadly to most humans and who leave magical corruption in their wake. They are aided by the titular Massive Chalice, a magical artifact whose two personalities advise the player. The Chalice can "cleanse the Cadence from this world", but needs 300 years to build up magical energy first. The ruler holds out for 300 years, then fights off a huge enemy assault on the Chalice. After winning this battle, the Chalice admits that it cannot destroy the Cadence, only temporarily banish it, and that the process of doing so will both shatter the Chalice and kill the ruler. The Chalice assures the ruler that they've bought humanity more time, and hopes that it will be reforged before the next war. It's implied that the ruler has repeatedly gone through this, each time being resurrected with amnesia to fight the Cadence again.


Development

In May 2013, ''Massive Chalice'' became the focus of Double Fine's second Kickstarter campaign, after ''
Broken Age ''Broken Age'' is a point-and-click adventure video game developed and published by Double Fine. ''Broken Age'' was game director Tim Schafer's first return to the genre since 1998's '' Grim Fandango'', and was released for Microsoft Windows, ...
'' (formerly known as ''Double Fine Adventure'') in 2012. The Double Fine team had learned from their mistakes on the first Kickstarter and opted to not show as much exclusive material to backers, as this created a rift between the backers and non-backers, as well as members of the press. The ability for same-sex marriage was added to the game after a number of backer requests. Brad Muir stated that backer input before development was one of the advantages of Kickstarter, since a feature such as this might not have been thought about until the game was almost completed, which would have made it harder to implement. The game was originally expected to be released in September 2014 until it was delayed. The beta version of the game, a backer reward, was released on October 21, 2014. It was released on
Steam Early Access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release development cycles, such as pre-alph ...
on November 11, 2014. It was released for
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
on June 1, 2015.


Reception

''Massive Chalice'' received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
. ''
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''
gave the game a six out of ten, calling nation management "simple and sterile" while writing, "''Massive Chalice'' is both beautiful and approachable, somewhat rare qualities in the genre...By mid-game, what was novel and enticing becomes a slog". ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...
'' called the title "rough around the edges, but hard to put down", criticizing its graphics, lack of attention to detail,
user interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine fro ...
, and lackluster soundtrack, while praising its compelling gameplay. ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...
'' recommending the game, writing, " your enjoyment of Massive Chalice will depend largely on your willingness to meet its bigger ideas halfway. Most notably, you need to accept that it's more about making the best of a flawed hand than building a perfect system", noting that the experience was tough and called the title "a huge return to form" for Double Fine. ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' criticized the game's inability to give the player's decisions weight, saying, "As much as I enjoyed its aggressive brand of tactical combat and interesting enemy types, there are too many unpredictable variables outside your control, and too much happening to too many quickly aging, mortal characters for this tactical game to feel like decisions matter". ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
'' criticized the poor AI and called the combat "well-executed but insubstantial", while noting that the bloodlines concept was by far ''Massive Chalice'''s greatest feature. ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' similarly praised the game's eugenics experiments, combat, lighthearted tone, while criticizing its art style and heroes for lacking personality and its inability to express important information to the player. ''
Shacknews ''Shacknews'' is an American video game journalism website founded in 1996. It that publishes news articles, reviews, and cheat codes. History ''Shacknews'' was founded in 1996 by Steve Gibson. The website, originally named 'Quakeholio', was ...
'' lamented the steep learning curve, lack of a cover system, and amount of factors left to chance, while lauding the bloodline system, tactical gameplay, and ending. Despite the mixed reception, the
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...
nominated ''Massive Chalice'' for " Outstanding Achievement in Game Design" during the 19th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.


References


External links


Official website

Official blog
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