After the critical intrigue generated around the computer game adaptation of The Witcher, along with the maverick box office success of movies like Night Watch, it comes as no surprise that we’re now looking at another re-engineering of Eastern literature for the Western world. Hard To Be A God is from the pen of Russian novelists, the Strugatsky Brothers; a harsh sci-fi/fantasy tome of Biblical proportions from 1964 – and the game of the same name appears to capture the essence of this cross-genre epic in impressive style.

What’s interesting about Hard To Be A God, the novel, is the huge amount of fan fiction that’s followed in its wake and continued the canon of the Arkanar world and its inhabitants. This new game from Burut Creative appears to follow in this worshipful trend – further expanding on the universe created by the Strugatsky’s and paying sincere homage to the classic Russian literature. From the outset, fans of the book will thrill to see the world of the Arkanar beautifully realised, and brought to vibrant, chaotic life. Clearly this is a work of dedicated fan fiction – respectful to its progenitor and mindful of its duty to continue the story in reverential style.

Rather than adopting the role of the novel’s main protagonist, players are placed in the greenhorn shoes of a secret agent from Earth – fresh from the Academy of Secret Intelligence and ready to infiltrate the perpetrators of the Arkanar civil war. Careening straight into some spicy hack’n’slash RPG action, the difficulty level itself seems to act as a taxing tutorial – almost a trial by fire, after which you’ll either be physically and mentally defeated or have rapidly climbed the challenging ranks and be ready to change this virtual world.

The rapid onslaught of aggressors is a difficult first hurdle to vault, but also highlights a very significant aspect of Hard To Be A God’s play mechanics. Brute force and ignorance isn’t a viable tactic, but a quick footed and quick thinking spy can find their way around Arkanar quite adeptly by employing their wits. A game that actively requires an amount of analytical intelligence on behalf of the player is a bold development decision, but feels to pay off very quickly. Legging it from the many wolves, bandits and thieves littering the chaotic land doesn’t lead to the incessant, unending chases seen in so many free roaming RPGs. Enlisting the help of an official guard is one of the many interactive possibilities available, and really helps a fledgling warrior find their feet.

Taking to horseback also helps until you’ve garnered enough experience and money to upgrade your abilities. Once the levels start to accumulate, the constant threats become much more manageable and combat a lot fairer. A variety of medieval weaponry is available, with expected mouse button controls for performing the moves (including a personal favourite of attacking enemies while they’re down). There does seem to be a tendency for characters to edge forward during attacks, which can cause a bit of confusion amid the scuffle, but the camera allows for zoom controls which do clear matters up nicely.

That said, Hard To Be A God seems to be almost a bird-eye-view game, and while this does grant a concise outlook of the immediate area, there’s a tendency to feel a little blinkered. Being able to scan the horizon while zoomed out would have been an appreciated option, though eye-level is achievable (and recommended) during the regular, intensive combat.

The air is suitably infused with medieval, alien-esque sound effects that grant a distinct sense of presence in this recognisable, yet agreeably foreign land. Likewise, the music seems to be keyed to the game; moving from tense and expeditious during dangerous scenes to tranquil and sombre at explorative moments. Very fitting to the epic scale of not only this particular game, but the impressive lineage it draws inspiration from.

There are the usual niggles that tend to accompany preview copies which, if fixed, certainly won’t cause any consternation in the finished product. In the case of Hard To Be A God, most of the cracks in the paintwork do smack of unoptimised, unclean code that will be rationalised before release. Slow loading times and a heavy system load both seemed slightly disproportionate to the game and its visuals, while some of the graphics look a little rough around the edges. Being a PC game, these are likely to be fixed before relese or during an early patch, so there’s certainly no points lost at this stage.

With its promise of non-linear gameplay (which, again, is very evident from the start with the roaming nature of exploration) and a novel-quality storyline, rich in the lore of its inspirational heritage, Hard To Be A God looks set to become an RPG favourite. There’s a lot to like in this intensive, expansive realisation of the Strugatsky Brother’s vision for genre fans and story fans alike. The steep learning curve might harrow the casual gamer, but those who like a fantastical challenge and are armed with stalwart perseverance should keep both eyes on this absorbing digest of stimulating Russian fantasy.