Cross of the Dutchman
Cross of the Dutchman
Cross of the Dutchman, développé et édité par Triangle Studios, est un jeu d'action et d'aventure sorti le 10 septembre 2015 sur PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Mac et Linux. S'appuyant sur le moteur Unity, ce titre indépendant classé également comme RPG plonge le joueur dans l'Europe de l'Ouest médiévale, en Frise, à la fin du XVe siècle, pour retracer l'histoire véridique de la légende populaire Pier Gerlofs Donia. L'intrigue dépeint la vie paisible de Pier et sa famille bouleversée par l'invasion des légions saxonnes, poussant le personnage à rassembler des paysans pour résister aux oppresseurs et devenir la figure du « Cross of the Dutchman ». Le jeu propose une expérience brève, affichant un temps de parcours principal d'environ deux heures et demie et une complétion estimée à trois heures et demie, pour un prix de 6,89 euros.
L'accueil critique est mitigé, avec un score Metacritic de 59 et une note agrégée de 57. La presse a salué certains aspects du titre : Softpedia y voit « une leçon d'histoire amusante » séduisante par ses sources et son visuel, tandis que The Escapist note que « l'apparence cartoon peut tromper, mais il n'y a pas pénurie de violence » dans cette rébellion paysanne. De son côté, un joueur sur Metacritic décrit une « courte aventure du XVIe siècle avec éléments d'ARPG isométrique », proche selon lui d'un prologue plus que d'un jeu complet, et un avis Steam positif évoque « une histoire prenante mais un gameplay pauvre » avec un monde « plutôt joli ». À l'inverse, un retour négatif sur Steam déplore un « jeu d'action trop court », mal optimisé et entaché de bugs persistants, incluant une phase d'infiltration problématique.
Médias
Avis des critiques et joueurs
Critiques de la Presse (Metacritic)
« Cross of the Dutchman is a fun history lesson that not only attracts through its source material and the alluring visuals but also through the simple yet entertaining combat. You'll have fun learning about the story of Pier Dosia while rampaging through Saxon soldiers in medieval Frisia. »
« The cartoony appearance might throw you off, but there's no shortage of violence in this retelling of a folk legend's homegrown rebellion. »
« For all of the faults that can be pointed out, there is a great game here. The combat starts flawed, but becomes rewarding. The stealth sections were annoying, but contrasts well with the combat and highlights it more. The story isn’t handled in the best way, but leaves the player wanting more. »
« While Cross of the Dutchman doesn’t offer much innovation in terms of gameplay, Triangle Studios still manages to infuse a great deal of originality and heart into their small but feisty game which, while short, is packed with life. »
« Cross of the Dutchman is pretty simple but we found fun in its simplicity. Still, it ends when it starts getting interesting, so we hope a hypothetical sequel could make things better. »
« The game is not for everybody, but we as a Dutch website really enjoyed the story from Frisian history. This is the most fun a history lesson can get. »
« It's low priced, it has a charismatic protagonist, a good story and it's also very intuitive. Unfortunately Cross of the Dutchman is a very repetitive and uninspired brawler with a short campaign and bad stealth sessions. »
« Cross of the Dutchman is fairly average in most respects, but that’s not to say you can’t have a good time while playing. »
Avis des Joueurs (Metacritic)
« A short XVI century adventure with elements of the isometric ARPG. More like a prologue to the game than the game itself. Works fine on Ubuntu 18.04 (AMD Ryzen 7 2700X + Nvidia GTX 1080 + QHD + 32 GB + Intel SSD; Notebook with Intel HD Graphics 4400 is not enough) There are some issues with resolution autodetection on multimonitor configuration. »
« tl;dr buy it I got this game, which was totally unknown to me, for 0.20€ in a Mystery Key sale. My first thought: "Oh , another useless indie game I'll never play". But then, I noticed the game was Mac compatible, despite what I expected. I gave it a shot. What came after, you all know. Hours came and went away, and I enjoyed this little wonder during these goddamn hot June nights. The best 20 cents I've ever spent. PLUS: the devs included Frisian language. Hell yeah, it's the first time I see a local language in a game. And I love it. »
« Purchased the game for my kids. They were very entertained while playing the game. I decided to try it out myself and I have to admit, it is a really fun, yet short experience! You definitely get your moneys worth, I could have paid up to $20 for 2 cinema tickets (excluding the food) for a 1 hour and 30 minute experience or purchase the game: $7,99 for about 5 hours fun! Some of the critics are complaining that the game is too short, but I don't believe they ''analyzed'' the price-tag of the game. There are many inferior games that charge even double! To summarize: awesome story based on historical events, pretty basic but solid combat system and beautiful art and soundtracks! »
« Was one of the initial backers of the failed Kickstarter campaign, was very pleased to see that the game was still coming out on PC, Mac & Linux. I bought it for my Linux device and have completed the game twice now. Very solid experience, nice dialogues and some funny moments from time to time! I enjoyed having to explore all kinds of chests hidden in the game, which is totally my thing. The game wasn't to hard, but still I died a couple of times and was caught during some stealth missions. The sound matches the overall style of the game, something I also enjoy during gaming! »
« Purchased the game on Steam during the first week of the launch with a nice discount. The game took me about 5 hours to finish and get all the achievements. The game also offers nice Steam features like Steam Trading Cards, which is always nice to have. The game tells the story of Pier, a local hero from the Netherlands. I am from the Netherlands and never heard of him before, but now I want to know more about his history! You can find a lot information about him on the Internet, stuff that you actually also encounter during the game! The combat is basic, but very enjoyable when you fight off multiple enemies at the time. I highly recommend this for players who want a casual experience (small RPG elements) and enjoy hacking, slashing and destroying Saxon soldiers! One last advantage was that the game is available in many languages. Normally I don't enjoy playing any game in my native language, but this one felt great! »
