The Great Whale Road is a story-driven adventure, and you start the game by being elected as the chief of your clan. All the people in your clan get killed by the enemy, and during a visit to the pilgrimage the chief warriors are attacked and killed. Thus you are the one who is left to save the rest of the people and also build an army to fight back and avenge the dead. Being the chief of your clan, you need to focus on rebuilding your clan. Your job is to gather the warriors and avenge your people.
Story driven:
During the game, you can visit various towns, and you can watch your warriors rowing and travelling on the boat. The game has a well-written story, the characters have a great personality, and there are also choices you will have to make in the game for which you will have to face the consequences.
Simple and limited Gameplay:
Overall, the game has a very simple premise, and it is also very simple mechanically. It is one of those games where it is more about the story and not about the gameplay. The gameplay is quite limiting, which gives it minus points. You will have to manage your clan; you can go to different towns and buy or sell things from there. As the chief, it is your responsibility to make sure that the village survives the winter.
The gameplay includes managing the clan, travelling and combat. But on the whole, the gameplay does not have enough depth. One of the main reasons behind this is because you do not have many choices for weapons and armours. You also don’t have animations, so you basically have static images fighting against each other which make it boring, and it is not something which an RPG player would be looking for.
In the game, you are not allowed to navigate anywhere you like; you will only have the follow the storyline. So basically it is more like watching the story unfold instead of you being able to engage in the game actively.
The game is executed well, but there is not just enough in this game. Be it in the resource management or the combat skills or weapons, there is not enough, and this leaves you wanting for more. The game has a great story, and if you are a person who is more interested in the story than the gameplay, The Great Whale Road is the one for you.
Verdict:
The Great Whale Road is a god game if you have the patience to go with the flow of the story. The gameplay does include village management, combat, warriors, weapons, travel etc. but when you look at the final product, it does not easily excite a regular RPG game player.