Cedric's Quest - The Waning Ward is a free-to-play action RPG for PC where players take on the role of a wandering knight named Cedric. The story centers on relighting three failing ward-stones to reseal the Hollow King, a lich who once cheated death. Exploration takes place across a large hand-built world rendered in a cel-shaded toon style, with distinct regions including rolling hills, autumn forests, a lakeside, a western sea with a walkable beach, and northern snow fields. Four settlements provide hubs for interaction: the starting village, the walled capital Duskhaven, the coastal town Saltmarsh, and the snow-bound hold Frosthold.
Gameplay
Core gameplay revolves around real-time combat that emphasizes timing and positioning. Players perform dodge rolls with invincibility frames, blocks, and timed parries while chaining combos and charging heavy attacks. Hitstop effects and floating damage numbers provide clear feedback during fights. Enemies display distinct behaviors and telegraphs, such as leaping frogs, ranged attacks from cactoro spines, teleporting ghosts, charging dinosaurs, and area-of-effect abilities from demons. Elite variants appear alongside five roaming world bosses and a hidden ruin for additional challenges.
Progression includes XP and leveling, with a penalty of losing half the carried coins upon defeat. A day-night cycle affects enemy presence, with tougher foes appearing after dark. Gear upgrades come from shops where players buy and sell equipment, and the main narrative unfolds across four acts. Thirty-two side quests and multi-step side-story chains expand the experience beyond the central plot. An original orchestral soundtrack and reactive sound effects support the atmosphere throughout the streaming world.
Game Modes
The game operates entirely in single-player format. The primary experience follows the four-act main story that tasks players with restoring the ward-stones while navigating the living land. Side content integrates directly into this structure through the listed quests and chains, allowing players to pursue additional objectives at their own pace. No separate competitive or cooperative modes exist, keeping focus on individual exploration, combat encounters, and story progression across the hand-built environments.
World and Progression Systems
The world streams seamlessly between regions, each with unique visual styles, NPCs, and secrets. Settlements serve as bases for trading and questing, while the broader landscape encourages roaming between the home village, capital, coast, and snow fields. Combat and exploration tie together through the day-night cycle and enemy variety, creating a loop of gathering resources, upgrading gear, and tackling both story and optional content. The technical foundation uses the Rust programming language and Bevy engine, resulting in a standalone executable with no launcher, account requirements, or analytics tracking.
Is It Worth Playing?
This free-to-play title targets players who enjoy action RPGs with real-time combat, exploration, and a self-contained story. The described systems of dodge-based combat, quest variety, and day-night enemy changes provide a focused single-player loop without additional modes or online elements. Because the game remains unreleased with no user reviews available, any final assessment depends on post-launch feedback. Those drawn to cel-shaded worlds inspired by classic Dragon Quest entries and straightforward progression through combat and quests may find it aligns with their preferences once it becomes available.
