Ertugrul of Ulukayin – Ambitious yet underwhelming Turkish action-adventure

• DEVELOPER: Tekden Studio
• PUBLISHER: Tekden Film
• PLATFORMS: PC
• GENRE: Action / Adventure
• RELEASE DATE: June 12, 2025
• STARTING PRICE: 14,99€
• REVIEWED VERSION: PC

Growing up in a Croatian household and watching Turkish TV series like One Thousand and One Nights and Suleiman the Magnificent with my mother and grandmother made me realize the beauty of the language and the richness of Turkish culture. This connection is even deeper as Croatian has many words borrowed from Turkish, a legacy of our centuries-long history with the Ottoman Empire and its cultural influence. So when I heard about Ertugrul of Ulukayin, well, let’s just say I was intrigued.

Ertugrul of Ulukayin is a game that takes you back to 13th-century Anatolia, specifically the Ahlat region. It follows Ertugrul, Turgut, and Meryem, warriors of the Kayı tribe, as they defend their people against Mongol invasion, a secretive corrupt order, and mythical creatures. All while seeking Ertugrul’s missing brother and the “Key of the World”, an artifact tied to justice or ruination.

It aims to be a cinematic third-person action-adventure with RPG elements, but it didn’t convince me it’s worth getting right now. It feels very much like an Early Access title, perhaps too early. The game is plagued with bugs, stiff animations, and clunky combat and movement. After finishing the first chapter, I was dissapointed. While it looks good and genuinely tries to charm you with its cultural elements and full Turkish voice acting, it’s simply not a complete game yet. It’s a mess.

Intriguing concept, but the story feels confusing and unclear

The core gameplay and world of Ertugrul of Ulukayin are already in place, offering a glimpse of what to expect from the full release. Early Access will undoubtedly help the game grow through player feedback. It features a semi-open world, both melee and ranged combat, crafting, and cinematic cutscenes that blend folklore with reality. While this is clearly a passion project, having played a vast number of indie games, I believe this title is far too ambitious and broadly scoped for a smaller studio.

Honestly, the cinematic cutscenes are terrible. The mouth movements don’t match the spoken dialogue. While some voice acting is good, other parts, especially when multiple characters are screaming or singing, are not. The audio itself is poorly aligned, with some moments too quiet, others too loud, and sometimes the music drowns out the dialogue. The animations are incredibly stiff, lacking any dynamic movement; everything feels pre-coded and simply doesn’t look good. The same applies to optimization. A game running at 40 FPS on “Very High Settings” is a big red flag for me.

Furthermore, most in-game scenes make no sense whatsoever. One moment you’re riding a horse through a forest, collecting plants for healing (the crafting system, by the way, often fails to work or open), and then suddenly there’s a massive stone hill? Out of nowhere, Mongols appear on the other side, and despite seemingly sneaking up on them, there are no stealth moments – just instant, illogical fighting. In the end, the story feels disjointed and poorly paced.

“The animations are incredibly stiff, lacking any dynamic movement.”

Combat feels unmemorable

I’m not expecting an Assassin’s Creed-level open world, but the game’s obstacles, climbing, and movement feel purposeless. For example, you might encounter a stack of boxes you’re forced to destroy to proceed, even when a clear path through nearby blankets is inexplicably blocked. This game would be significantly better with more freedom, rather than forcing you to blindly follow a linear story. Adding to the frustration, nothing is properly explained; you’re just thrown in, expected to know characters and relationships without any context.

Ertugrul of Ulukayin features light and heavy attacks, blocks, and dodges, with each character having special abilities. However, these abilities feel pointless; it’s unclear when or how they’re charged. The combat, while functional, is forgettable. There’s a lack of dynamic interaction. Heavy attacks must be dodged, and light attacks can’t be properly parried. Despite facing human enemies, you can’t “stun” them out of attacking. Since attacks are color-coded, and even kicking them doesn’t stop their momentum, you don’t have much combat freedom.

To make matters worse, you often face scenarios with 100 Mongols attacking you while your allies stand idle. Combat could have been great if it were more fluid and dynamic, but it isn’t. You can simply spam light attacks to win, and once hit, it’s impossible to escape damage. Currently, it’s merely functional, with special final attack scenes that look flashy but are ultimately unsatisfying, as enemies are simply “ghosted” through rather than dismembered.

“Features light and heavy attacks, blocks, and dodges, with each character having special abilities.”

Needs more work to be truly enjoyable

Chapter One doesn’t do the game justice. There’s no emphasis on crafting or side quests; you’re simply pushed through the story. Some interesting ideas, like a precise button-press mechanic, are used only several times and then abandoned. Imagine how much better a complete cutscene built around that concept could have been.

I can see that the game is packed with historical, mythological, and cultural details, with authentic Turkish voiceovers and unique characters. However, these positives are overshadowed by numerous issues. Some Mongols are bald with no hair, text is missing in certain sequences, and there are huge blocks of text crammed into one space. The negative aspects far outweigh the positive ones.

Ultimately, I don’t think this title is worth your time right now. It’s very rough around the edges, more like a vertical slice than a proper Early Access title. While it clearly aims to secure income for development, it’s an incredibly ambitious project, and I’m concerned it may not reach the quality needed to compete with other games in its genre. It’s a great passion project, but right now, it’s simply too early.

“Packed with historical, mythological, and cultural details, with authentic Turkish voiceovers.”

Review copy provided by the publisher

2.5