This JRPG combines 2 things I thought impossible: it's set in 15th century Slovakia where you play as an alcoholic knight and it's only a few hours long

Felvidek key art featuring the main character, Pavol
(Image credit: Jozef Pavelka)

Felvidek developer Jozef Pavelka has somehow zeroed in on basically everything that excites me about video games. Anything that takes a swing outside of the popular norm immediately rockets up the chart labeled My Interests, and a self-described JRPG that just so happens to feature a knight with alcohol problems in 15th century Slovakia with an unusual, grainy aesthetic and gameplay ripped out of games like Wizardry is... well, I'd say that counts as exactly that.

"Find out what unlikely events take place in this alternate history region of Slovak Highlands," the game's official description reads in part. "This land is ravaged by Hussite pillagers and Ottoman spies while surreal horrors dwell in the dark." And it's up to Pavol, the aforementioned alcoholic knight, and the party he gathers to set things right again.

Trying to describe the game using words alone doesn't quite convey its beauty. Anyone that finds themselves raising an eyebrow of curiosity at the above really owes it to themself to check out Felvidek's trailer:

But it seems like I'm not alone in finding this particular combination of flavors to be interesting as the game was only released at the end of March on Steam and has already gathered nearly 350 reviews. Even better? It's currently sitting at a strong "Very Positive," with 98% of those reviews being pro rather than con.

Honestly, the movement and overall aesthetic reminds me of the Trogdor video game from the Homestar Runner folks, which itself was just a parody of the King's Quest games. There's just something about the entire package that really speaks to the kid in me that desires to play nothing but somewhat clunky PS1 RPGs, and you'd better believe Felvidek is one I'll be keeping an eye on going forward.

If you're looking to try something that isn't set in 15th century Slovakia, there's always our ranking of the best JRPGs to play.

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Rollin Bishop
US Managing Editor

Rollin is the US Managing Editor at 12DOVE. With over 16 years of online journalism experience, Rollin has helped provide coverage of gaming and entertainment for brands like IGN, Inverse, ComicBook.com, and more. While he has approximate knowledge of many things, his work often has a focus on RPGs and animation in addition to franchises like Pokemon and Dragon Age. In his spare time, Rollin likes to import Valkyria Chronicles merch and watch anime.

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