Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness

I can't possibly recommend this game. The bugs make it barely playable (even looking at the character creation screen will overwrite your existing save files, etc.) You'll be much better off playing either of the Pathfinder games, or the Pillars of Eternity games. Shame, I backed this game so I've been waiting to play it for a while.

As of 09/05/21 At this point, the game is pretty basic. Decent foundation, but little depth. Currently has about 15 hours of gameplay. Quests are quite simplistic and don't appear to have a greater effect on the world. The load times start out...tolerable and become insufferable. I don't have a terribly new computer but a solid SSD and CPU.

Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness is the first videogame by a new indie studio and it charmed me in the... main menu atmosphere already with the hand-made background and greedy music theme imitating a cynical laugh. With forgivable "indie flaws", this videogame is a heartwarming experience I've been waiting for more than a decade if I don't count Enhanced Editions of IE engine games. Story and RTwP combat are great after Act 1. Tutorial wasn't my favorite but it isn't overly long. The UI and 2D art are particularly eye-catching for those who enjoy games like Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition and Pillars of Eternity. 3D models are slightly less detailed than Pillars of Eternity but some armors and weapons are actually better! Just the overall quality has some glitches for 3D models but this is something totally forgivable. Some quests are especially immersive, while others are great for collecting valuable loot and XP but don't contribute to the world too much. Music themes are beautiful. All in all, definitely recommended!

Take the classic formula of Baldur's Gate and give the engine an update and that's what you get with Black Geyser, except for all the ways that Black Geyser goes in its own direction and does what it wants. NPCs that reflect the world they are in? Check, and to change things up, you only have a party of 5 this time instead of the stabdard 6. From an elf celebrity sorceress to a guy cursed to revive every time he dies, no one feels standard or typecast here, and you have the option to bring the people you aren't using along for the ride to use them later. Handy stuff. Overworld map? Check, right down to the city districts each being their own area. This might seem like an anachronism, but it was a pleasure to see a kingdom's capitol teeming with citizens and soldiers and sentries active in a time of war. Houses were there for the sake of being explored, there were different inns and shops because the place would warrant them, and everything contributed to the sense of this place being the heart of government rather than a castle being run by three maids and a dog. This might be an acquired taste, but I loved it. For the new stuff, there's a group feat system that changes based on how often you change your crew or how often you use the same people. It's a small addition that gets a lot of mileage, and I can't wait to see what they do with it. Where Black Geyser falls a bit short is in everything that is under develpoment. Loading times, class depth, quest completion, bugs, these are all things that the team are ironing out by the week. Despite the team's reticence during development, their update schedule has been excellent. For what it is, Black Geyser is well worth the purchase price. I can't wait to see the finished product and its new mechanics (the Greed system, especially), and I'm looking forward to getting as much mileage as possible out of this new world and story. If you're into Baldur's Gate but wished it was modernized, don't sleep on this title.

The game is just brilliant. It has an excellent graphics, interesting plot and gameplay. There are not many games like this nowadays. Many thanks to devs for working over the years to create this game for us.