Fading Fairytales Review

Fading Fairytales might be a little on the slow side, but what it lacks in excitement it makes up with charm and a fun storyline.

It's a turn-based strategy RPG, a genre renowned for not being particularly fast-paced, but Fading Fairytales really is a slow burner. Players control a team of heroes as they attempt to lift the corruption that is overwhelming the formerly happy fairytale world. This involves a series of battles against henchmen before undertaking a battle against a famous major character. There's an entertaining thematic element here, if only it wasn't clouded by slightly uninspired gameplay.

Each battle takes a while to complete. Each character is frequently given two moves to complete, either to be used for movement or offensive and defensive actions. Controls simply involve tapping where the player wishes to move, with a colored grid indicating what can be done. This colored grid can sometimes be a little awkward to see, but it does the job otherwise. Once an enemy has been nearly defeated a finishing move opens up, requiring the player to draw a line to finish them off.

There's a Delay Bar demonstrating when a character can move, with movement taking longer for those with better weapons. It's an attractive way of offering a balancing act that so many strategy games frequently require to add some challenge. On a similar note, special attacks are also available, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Mechanically, Fading Fairytales is a pretty sound game thanks to such elements as these. It's just a little too slow and grindy. I found myself wishing for a button to help me speed up combat with the character animations wearing thin quickly. Buying new equipment is just as slow paced too, with grinding often required to see results.

The pacing might improve later on in the game, but when the early stages of Fading Fairytales are so slow who can blame one for not persevering? As it's free it's more tempting, and it's certainly a charming proposition, but it lacks the panache that it dearly needs to ensnare its players.