Baladins is the cutest little RPG that’s disguised as a tabletop game. Its quirky art style, paired with chill vibes, makes it a great adventure for anyone to check out. But little did Dwayne and I know what our trip into the new region of Roazay would hold for us. We didn’t expect the wild, time-looping adventure that we got. As our first foray into the world of Baladins, we didn’t want to call it quits, even though it was way past our respective bedtimes.

A Globetrotting Adventure Awaited Us in ‘Baladins’ — as Soon as We Could Figure Out How Everything Worked

As our first venture into the world of Baladins, it took a few turns to get things figured out. With Dwayne starting as the adorable Pyro, and myself as the buff and masculine Dancer class, we set off on our adventure. For those unfamiliar with Baladins, it plays like a typical board game, with a few additional rules to keep the world feeling lively and exciting. We could move up to four spaces per turn. Landing on specific buildings would let us use Action Points to buff our characters and put points into any of the five available skills.

The adventure started off slowly. But as we started to figure out how everything worked, the gears in our minds stopped grinding and started flowing like a well-oiled machine. We started venturing together before realizing that splitting up would be our best bet. Sharing secrets and rumors between characters helped the story unfold. While we may have been half a map apart, we could always count on the other character to keep the ball rolling on whatever we were scheming on next.

Our first goal was to make it to the massive Castle, something we could accomplish in about two weeks of travel time. In Baladins, turns are called “Weeks”, and you’ve only got six of them before the end of the world and all time as we know it restarts. No pressure, right? Well, we didn’t know that and got incredibly confused when the character I met at the Castle said to bring him a registrar from the future. Then, it all clicked.

Roll for Initiative, and for Additional Points in Your Skill of Choice

Using this new information, we could utilize the Time Loop we were soon to experience to our benefit. While we may lose the majority of our items right before time resets, we’ve got intel. And in Baladins, that’s what matters. We could always buy more items, but we couldn’t relearn everything we had already figured out. Week 6 came and left, and we started back at the beginning in the land of Roazay once again. But this time, we were much more prepared.

I checked my Quest Log and was happy to find that all of the information we had uncovered in the first run was still there. My next turn, I went back to the castle. As I did this, Dwayne set out on his own unfinished business from the past. I handed over my Registrar and received honorary “Time Traveler” stickers in exchange. This would let folks know we were too legit to quit, right? Thankfully, our new stickers were immediately shared. I didn’t need to waste a turn chasing Dwayne down while he was a few towns over to hand him his sticker. We were ready to solve more mysteries, and things got even more interesting as time went on.

We chatted over Discord, initially feeling that the ebb and flow of Baladins may have been a little too slow for our liking. However, as we discovered the finer intricacies of the systems, the Time Loop, and the exploration, we began to appreciate this slower and more relaxed pace. Playing through so many games so quickly can be tiring. So, this was just a change of pace we weren’t completely accustomed to just yet. It was honestly nice.

Things Got a Little Dicey During Week Three in Our ‘Baladins’ Run

Up until this point, both Dwayne and I were having some pretty successful rolls. Everything we had experienced up to this point had us feeling confident in our Dice, and that nothing could go wrong. But then, it all went wrong. Terribly wrong. Our rolls went from God-tier to absolute Trash-tier in just the span of a week. Was it because we tried new characters? Or was it just terrible RNG? We’ll let you decide.

Regardless if it was just the bad luck of the rolls, or if it was just the game playing a sick trick on us, we didn’t see much success here. Trying to get the Magic Water from the cave after speaking with Bungus got us nowhere. A massive Salamander blocked our path, and neither of us was cunning or strong enough to scare it away. So, we had to end the loop early and try again. I’m genuinely thankful you can end a loop early in Baladins, because this one was going nowhere for us.

Between the falters at the Cave and trying to convince someone to stop making Statues, we reconvened. We planned our next weeks and pushed on. Were there still bad rolls here and there? Oh, absolutely. But that randomness is part of what makes Baladins interesting. It wouldn’t be any fun if we won all the time, now would it?

Our Adventure Was Long, but I Can’t Wait To Jump in for More

After completing many weeks, multiple Cycles, and feeding a nasty dragon plenty of tasty items, I have to say; I think I really like Baladins. This new region is gorgeous, fun to explore, and packed with plenty of wonderful characters. Everyone is such a joy to be around, and even when things weren’t going right, we were still having a blast.

If you want to check out the new region of Hobland? It’s a free content update available on February 2, 2025. There are a total of five new locations to visit, seven new NPCs to meet, additional quests and challenges to complete, and a bevy of new items to unlock. That’s quite a lot of content, especially if you’ve never played before.

I’m excited to dive back in once this content becomes fully available, but until then? I think it’s time to start up a new save file. I’m eager to see what else Baladins has to offer if the new region is this much fun.