Orna is the GPS RPG Pokémon Go never was [Game of the Week]

Orna is a location-based game like Pokémon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, but it uses tried and true turn-based RPG mechanics to offer its own twist on the formula.

While I love Pokémon Go, the fact that it’s missing the classic turn-based combat of the mainline games has always irked me. I started playing Orna to help remedy this situation, and so far, it’s scratching the itch.

The game’s RPG mechanics are incredibly deep and at level 23, I feel like I have yet even to scratch the surface. That said, I’m enjoying my time with the game, and I wanted to share it so others can try it out too. If you’re looking for a full-scale guide and breakdown of Orna, check out this website or the game’s Reddit community. 

You begin by choosing a class, which includes either ‘Warrior,’ ‘Thief’ or ‘Mage.’ As you progress through the game, you’ll be able to upgrade your class into more defined roles like ‘Knight’ and ‘Archmage.’ Depending on your class, you’ll be barred from buying certain items and you’ll use different attacks.

Just like other location-based games, you travel the game world by physically moving around the real world. As you explore, you’ll come across enemies, shops and dungeons.

Enemies vary in both type and level, so be careful and make sure you’re at full health before you head into a fight.  Fighting is straight forward. You can ‘Attack,’ ‘Defend,’ ‘Flee,’ use an item or skill and finally, also use a ‘Mana’ based attack. Mana attacks typically do more damage but cost Mana. The ‘Skill’ option is how you select what Mana attack to equip.

From there, you and the enemy take turns fighting each other until one of you runs out of health points.

Shops are also fairly self-explanatory. If you see one of these pop up on your screen, you can enter it and buy potions, items, weapons and other miscellaneous things you may need on your quest. The shop’s stock refreshes in 24 hours after you enter it.

There are also more specific shops like ‘Blacksmiths’ that upgrade your gear, the ‘Bestiary’ where you can buy pets to help you in battle and a ‘Keep,’ which is kind of like a home base of sorts.

Dungeons also operate as you’d expect. You enter them and fight increasingly challenging but random enemies for higher experience and loot. Although, to get into one, you’ll need a Gauntlet Key. You can get these keys from in-game raids, bosses on the map or by purchasing one in a store.

That’s just a brief overview of Orna, and if you’re interested, half of the fun comes from playing the game and the other half come from learning about its complex systems and how it works.

While it might not look like much on the surface, Orna’s wildly deep mechanics make for hours of fun and proves that Pokémon Go’s location-based formula can be applied to other titles with great results.