Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

It has been... about 15 years ago that I first played this game. Still got a map and a lore book that was included in a set when it was released in my country for the first time. First a word, or few, of a warning. This is one of this game that when You start playing it You will either love it or utterly hate it... and I felt in love. This is not a history about technology and magic. This is a mystery story that happens to be situated in a world of technology and magic. And the mysteries that are hidden, that you can unravel as You journey throughout this world, are many and amazing. The complexity of the lore that is scattered and available to You make it one of the best examples of how such games should be made. If you are not the kind that likes to read book in games... by not reading it You are missing about half of the whole picture. It is a crime not to read, really. I walked in the world of Arcanum a few times as different characters. Every class has it's advantages, and every profession (and race) gives you different results in encounters in that world. I wasn't really fond of magical class at the time, although being a mage is necessary for completing a nasty and interesting ritual at one encounter. Do not get me wrong, I enjoy playing an elf mage (best race for magic), but an elf engineer is a bit more challenging way to play, and a little more fun, by my account. And yes, I played other races then elf. Try playing ork (halfork?), most shunned race in that world. Arcanum is a... steampunk word indeed, and in such a world a profession that can engineer things can bring you more fun then any other. Whats more it is a treasure trove for... those that like to rummage through the trash bins. Here others waste is you treasures. You want to complete your new pistol by lack a revolving chamber? Try checking a trash-bin close to the nearest newspaper boy. You might get lucky. And if You read the lore... there is only one truth: History likes to repeat itself.

Still feels like a rushed, underdeveloped game. Since most reviewers covered positive aspects, I`ll focus on the bad: Due to being based on plot twists, replay value is on par with rewatching Sixth Sense - you may end up doing it once for the sake of catching some details, but more than that is a chore. Areas are vast but mostly empty (in terms of quest density). Graphics (especially animations) are worse than in its predecessors from the same age. Combat mechanics - unbalanced like it wasn`t even playtested. Keyboard shortcuts are strange, unintuitive or lacking (try playing a thief type, or pretty much anyone other than straight click-to-hit fighter). NPCs dialogue text is imposed over the area and not displayed in another window, making it harder to read. Game is full of the 'I should not have sold that vendor trash, because it wasn`t' moments. Side-quests are fed-ex kind, very few can be solved by talking with NPCs the right way. Game is bad at self-explaining its mechanics: what does the "MSR:18" or "NP -50" mean when I equip that item and how exactly does it affect my combat effectiveness? Good luck without checking external sources. Compared to the masterpieces of the era (Fallout 1&2, Baldur`s Gate 1&2) - it is a pee-wee league game.

I first played Arcanum some 6 years after it was release, and even then I was aamzed by the complexity of the world and the amazing story. The flaws of the game - and there definitely are some, the biggest being the huge imbalance between classes (magician is overpowered, technician is underpowered) - are so decisively outweight by its qualities, I suspect I'd forgive the game pretty much anything, just to be able to follow the story (or should I say stories - many sidequest are actually elaborate adventures for themselves - I'will never forget quests like "Gnome Conspiracy", or the quests involving your companions, whose fates might actually be intertwined) and experience the joy of exploring the amazing world.

Because I've never finished it, I can't say whether or not there's any bugs or anything that make it unfinishable. My reason for never finishing it has to do with life, and not the game. Beautifully written, especially for when it was released. Great art, for when it was released. Creative magic and technology system. An amazing world to explore. If you enjoy Final Fantasy, Elder Scrolls, Neverwinter Nights, Pillars of Eternity, Divinity, and similar games, you'll probably enjoy this game. It's magic & steam punk. A bit like Shadowrun and Numenera.

Be warned: this game is LONG and SLOW. This is because the major complaints people had with Fallout 1 and 2 (this game was made with the same engine and the same devs) was the low repeatability. So they artifically inflated the game life in the worse possible way: long winded and tedious quests. Everytime you think you've made a breakthrough in the story, they send you to another filler island. The world feels progressively emptier (you can see the end areas are quite barren and unfinished, the starter areas are well done however), until eventually you grind to the end of the game. If you can stomach that and have the patience and time, this is a very unique game with some great mechanics. One of the first game to introduce crafting, and the system still holds decently to this day. Magic is also awesome and arguably superior to crafting. The possibilities are huge and the game has a lot of replay potential, if you can deal with the grindy slow sections every time you do another run. Highly recommend the community patch to clear the many many bugs the original game has.