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0 In truth, Back to the Dawn wasn’t even on my radar. But after watching the trailer, it caught my eye. The game is a story-rich RPG developed by Metal Head Games. Set in prison, where we aim to uncover some conspiracies and watch our backs. Back to the Dawn is out now on Steam for £16.75, with a supporter’s pack as well. The pack costs £4.99 and comes with some fun little goodies in-game. You’ll get two posters, dice skins, and new decorative options for your cell. If you wish to buy the game for yourself, then click here.
A concrete jungle is still a jungle.
Before you jump into Back to the Dawn’s story, you’re given a choice between two characters. Thomas the Fox and Bob the Black Panther. Both have their own reasons for being sentenced to jail. I selected Thomas, as the game suggested starting with him. Each character has different stats and three backgrounds for you to choose from. That will offer some pros and cons that will aid on the inside, such as a skill that allows you to exploit people for money.
Gameplay
Thomas’s story begins with his reporting on a river being polluted, which in turn catches him some unwanted attention from the Mayor’s campaign manager. So, as a ploy to stop Thomas from blabbering, he is falsely arrested on a drug charge and sent to prison. Now, in prison, Thomas attempts to clear his innocence and reveal the mayor’s dirty deeds to the world, all before his mayoral election. That’s in 21 days! This is the key motivator in Back to the Dawn, which lets’s get to work.
Each day is split up into six segments: Headcount, work time, lunch, recreation, dinner, and lockdown. You’ll pass the time by doing any action besides walking. The game gives you the freedom to spend these segments how you want, ignoring headcount. Talk to fellow convicts to boost rapport so you can trade and uncover their stories or take on quests to earn a quick buck. There is always something to do.
Skill Checks & Skills
There are a lot of skill checks in Back to the Dawn that you will need to pass. Some are for moving heavy objects or being sneaky while attempting to steal from others. But there are a lot more. Luckily, you get a re-roll if you mess up, which has saved me more times than I can count. If you are not familiar with how dice rolls work in most RPGs, you basically get a target number you have to beat, and with the two dice, hit that number. Where in other games they usually use a D20, Back to the Dawn uses two D6 dice. Landing two sixes will be a critical success, while landing two ones will be a failure. In-game, I didn’t experience any major bonuses/consequences of getting either critical roles.
During recreation, it’s best to try to improve yourself with skills. Do this by earning XP in each given stat, like working out to earn strength, or picking flowers for agility. Don’t ask me how that one works. When you’ve collected enough XP, there are two ways to use it. Transform 100XP into a skill point or pay the cost of a skill listed. The reason for transforming XP is that not all skills are listed and can instead be found in various ways. One of the best ones I got was for keeping my cool during a situation. Which rewarded me a skill that, when failing a check, lowers the number a little. Really useful when strength isn’t Thomas’s forte.
Mind, Body, and Combat
There are major bars that the player has to maintain in order to keep Thomas well. First is body, second is mind. If either of these reaches zero, you have about a day to sort it before game over. This is what ruined my first run, as I neglected to watch these initially. There are a few ways to replenish them, but the management can seem tedious at first. For me, buying soda and yoghurt was the best way until I got skills that made things easier.
Combat is really light in Back to the Dawn, but the game gives you more freedom to trigger it. Ignoring one or two pivotal times in the story, where I think you might be forced to fight. I didn’t fight anyone. This didn’t bother me because I kept to myself in the game. But next run, I might join one of the three gangs. Now, the combat itself plays like what you’d expect from an RPG with turn-based combat. To perform attacks, you’ll need energy, which you need to waste a turn to get. The flow comes more naturally after doing a couple of rounds in the fight club. Learn more about attacks by building up your rapport with other inmates.
Graphics & Audio
Back To The Dawn features a pixel art style, though I appreciate that it’s not the kind where you feel you have to squint at the screen to make out what’s what. Vibrant and detailed, everywhere feels lively, and the characters look great and very distinctive from one another. There are also some surprisingly realistic details, most notably, the way the lights shine and reflect across the tiled floor in some rooms, as if someone were actually pointing a light at and moving through those areas. The music is also very chill and suits the game perfectly, without it fading into the background too much.
The only thing I feel the game misses is voice acting. I know it’s typical for this style of game to exclude it, but with how they smashed every aspect of making the game and characters feel alive and unique, I could only imagine the different brilliant voices they could come up with for each character.
Longevity
After 25 hours, my second run through Back to the Dawn was finished. I messed up my first by neglecting Thomas’s body and mind meter too much. So that had taken a good four hours of my time, so I actually beat it in 21 hours. But there is a lot of content here. And much of that was me trying to earn the trust of inmates just to learn their stories.
Even then, I still have to play Bob’s side of the game, which. Until then, I’ve chosen to do a new game plus and uncover even more of the prison, now that I have way more knowledge. There aren’t any collectables from my time with it. But if you aim to uncover all the secrets, I can see Back to the Dawn taking a good chunk of time.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for an excellent and well-crafted world with small RPG mechanics, then Back to the Dawn is for you. I enjoyed the premise but fell in love with the wide cast of characters and amazing storytelling it offers. Although I botched my first run, taking what new info I had made it more interesting on my second attempt. The dice rolling is fair and offers a great variety of ways to improve them. Making Back to the Dawn is a great game for beginners to the RPG genre.
Although there isn’t a lot of choice in-game, I never felt forced down a specific path. For example, having to side with someone to actually survive in the prison. You can keep to yourself and only befriend those you need to. It was great to have the deadline feel way more like a motivator. Rather than it being an actual time-restraint. Gameplay keeps you engaged, but doesn’t force you to do the stuff you hate. Which, for me, was some of the job mini-games. Bonding with the other inmates doesn’t feel like a chore, for filling their rapport bars.
It is plain to see that the devs have put a lot of love and passion into Back to the Dawn. With its various Easter eggs and references for you to find. So, in the end, screw trying to bust out of prison. I’m going to need someone to help me out with putting this game down.
That’s why I’m giving Back to the Dawn the Thumb Culture Platinum Award. I can’t wait to see what you come up with in the future!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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