Helam: A Stripling Warrior Quest Video Game

The Book of Mormon is the word of God. Now would be a good time to go read it.I found a used copy of this game at a thrift store near me, and for 5 bucks, I couldn't pass it up. I took it home and booted it up on my PC. As a side note, this game is compatible with Windows 10 and supports monitor resolutions up to 1920*1080 for any curious buyers.The game describes itself as an action-packed adventure roleplaying game, which is technically true. You engage in turn-based battles, gain experience points, and upon leveling up, can allocate skill points into one of the game's three battle options: Attack, which increases base damage dealt, Charge, which grants a temporary boost to damage dealt, and defense, which reduces damage from incoming attacks. There are collectible relics and healing items, as well as a few "side-quests" which typically involve running around the area until you find the highlighted portion of the minimap. The game is short, being roughly 4 hours long from start to finish even if you do all of the non-required quests and exploration.The story is set in the Book of Mormon during the book of Alma (particularly the portion that has come to be known as the "War Chapters"). The protagonist, Helam, sets off to find his father's killer after his village is attacked, slowly uncovers a conspiracy within the local government, and defeats a corrupt judge. Now, this sounds a lot cooler than it actually is. In reality, we briefly meet his father's killer while tracking down a kleptomaniac monkey and then never see or even mention him again. The whole story of the Kingmen and the Freemen is something that mostly just happens to Helam, and the identity of the corrupt judge is blatantly apparent from the moment he appears during the first section of the game. You have companions, but again, they mostly just follow Helam on his quest because the RPG nature of the game requires party members, rather than because they believe in him or have any personal motivation to do so.The graphics are OK, but other than the distinct mesoamerican art style, there is nothing to set this game's presentation apart. Gameplay is simple, and only uses the mouse and the left mouse button, which makes it feel like a game made for mobile devices rather than a computer or game console. This makes sense, though, as most of the developer's works are apps for mobile devices.Overall, this game exists as an interesting proof of concept that the stories of the Book of Mormon have value for artistic interpretation, rather than as a groundbreaking game that everyone needs to play. I'd love to see more media that explores the unique setting of the Book of Mormon, and if experiencing this game gives people the inspiration to do it, then it is well worth your time. This is not a great game, but it may one day inspire one. In the words of Orson F Whitney: "We will yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own. God’s ammunition is not exhausted. His highest spirits are held in reserve for the latter times. In God’s name and by His help we will build up a literature whose tops will touch the heaven, though its foundation may now be low on the earth."P.S.: Always level up Helam's attack skill (the red one) and Naomi's charge skill (the yellow one) when you level up. Defense is a nearly useless skill as it only works if the enemy is attacking at the same time (which is mostly random chance). If you do this, your characters will be so powerful that won't even need Hem (the third member of the party) by the time you get him. Just use Naomi's charge a time or two at the start of the turn, then attack with Helam for the rest of the turn, using charge again as needed to keep damage up. It's really that simple.