L'RPG indie rétro MARDEK si svolge in un mondo ricco di lore che fonde elementi fantasy e sci-fi. I giocatori seguono Mardek, un giovane la cui mente si fonde con la coscienza del defunto mago alieno Rohoph, ripercorrendo il suo cammino dalle fantasie infantili all'addestramento nella Royal Guard fino alle missioni cavalleresche contro un sinistro consiglio. La narrazione passa da toni leggeri a zone d'ombra morali attraverso dialoghi profondi e assurdi.
Raduna una party da un vasto roster di personaggi con background, tratti e abilità uniche, poi affronta dungeon elementali vasti brulicanti di mostri, tesori da equipaggiare e boss colossali. Questa versione PC fonde i tre capitoli originali in un'unica esperienza fluida, priva delle limitazioni del browser Flash, con audio potenziato e ritocchi richiesti dai fan per un completamento totale. I veterani rivivono la nostalgia in decine di ore di gioco, mentre i novizi creano nuovi ricordi in questo port fedele.
MARDEK is a retro-inspired RPG set in a lore-heavy world that blends together fantasy and sci-fi. Its initially lighthearted story soon evolves into a deeper exploration of moral ambiguity, told through a whole lot of dialogue both thought-provoking and ridiculously silly. Build your party from a wide cast of fleshed-out characters, each with their own stories, personalities, and unique skillsets, as you romp through vast elemental dungeons filled with hordes of monsters, oodles of equippable treasures, and huge, dramatic bosses.
The story follows a fairly ordinary young man called Mardek, whose fantasies of adventure begin to come true when he finds himself sharing his mind with the consciousness of a dead alien wizard, Rohoph. The three chapters follow Mardek's growth from his imaginative childhood, through his eventful training as a Royal Guard, and eventually to his missions as a full-fledged Royal Knight. Along the way, Mardek and his allies face off against members of a sinister council of Rohoph's alien allies, who Rohoph - being the being of light and good that he apparently is - claims are evil and must be stopped.
The game was originally released for browsers in three parts between 2007 and 2010. This version combines all three released chapters and presents them without the surrounding distractions common to playing on Flash portals, to increase immersion. The music is no longer compressed and as such sounds much clearer than in the browser versions, and there have been a few minor tweaks to rare item or skill acquisition costs - all requested by long-time fans - to aid in reaching 100% completion.
Other than that, this is a faithful port of the game as it was when originally released, for maximum nostalgia.
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It's important to note that the series was originally (and rather naively) intended to be eight chapters long, though only these three were produced due to serious behind-the-scenes issues. Even so, there are many dozens of hours of gameplay to be had, and many memories to nostalgically return to or to form anew!
A direct continuation of this series isn't going to happen - at least not from me (the developer) - but the optional "OST & Extras" package contains some old notes I managed to dig up with the (rather vague) plans I had for the rest of the chapters. I know it's not the same as producing them, but it's infinitely easier!
As of 2020, I have been working on a 3D 'Reimagining' of MARDEK called "Divine Dreams", which aims to retell the story using the more-than-a-decade of personal and skill growth since MARDEK was released. You can check my website for more info (check the external links).
