Inquisitor

I'm one of those weirdos who liked the original Diablo over the later games. Reason being it felt more like a personal journey of a character learning new skills rather than just min-maxing a class build. That, and Diablo 1 had this sense of dread and isolation: nightmares plaguing citizens, evidence of a brewing biblical apocalypse. I've been looking for that feeling of wilderness and myth over flash and dash and a more customizable role-playing system for some time. Inquisitor answered all my prayers! I played it a good while and had no issues. Probably helps to play in the original resolution (which makes the text easier to read anyway). The blending of medieval piety and high fantasy tropes is original and gives a more gothic and weighty feel to magic and monsters. There's also a ton of roleplaying in this RPG, lots of NPCs to talk to and even interrogate: you are investigating heresy and murder after all. The atmosphere is THICK. Even the skill bar is a Gigeresque skeleton, the cursor a hand clutching a rosary, and spells and skills all fit into the concept of a world where faith is as important as a sword at your side (only game I can think of where you can level up in Flagellation) The creepy forests sway and music gives way often to sounds like distant woodpeckers and muffled voices. It is a genuinely unnerving atmosphere and I love it. Is it tough? YES. Inquisitor pulls no punches. This is stone age RPG rules where if you are out of mana as a spell caster you're toast, if your durability is gone your weapon breaks, enemies can permanently lower your stats, and even your skill set will effect how others perceive you. But I like that too. You are not The Doomslayer, you're a mere mortal in the midst of forces you cannot realistically confront without a lot of work and careful planning. If you can take some tough combat, poke around to find the rewards, and get immersed in the world this is a fine time!

But it is so unfair, so dated, so carelessly designed....that I could not! Don't judge me wrong, the game is beautiful: 2d design and graphs are cool, music is awesome, but to be honest, it lacks so many quality-of-life elements that even D1 and Baldur's Gate already had implemented...it totally doesn't worth your time to make any attempt to play it. Do you want to dedicate lots of time to killing the tiniest enemy on the map? Do you want to die and reload the previously saved game constantly? Do you want to walk the entire map from one place to another back and forth because there are no portals? Do you want to break your head to understand why the priest cannot use spells and use swords and daggers instead, totally sucking at those? Do you want to read endlessly conversations that are just "okey (I guess)"? Well....if you answered yes...then it's your came. Don't say we didn't warn you!

I've just recently bought Guild Wars 2 and am a part of the dota 2 beta but I find that I rather be playing Inquisitor with my free time. The game is not without it's blemishes (bugs and can be wordy) but it managed to capture the old school game vibe while adding just enough modern features for me to be very pleased. Namely great auto-saves which reduce frustration and the ability to resurrect your dog companion (I know the dog companion might not seem like a big deal but whenever my dog died in the original fallout it meant a reload). The game reminds me a lot of Fallout. I kept playing that game because I loved the exploration and choices I could make. It also has a great detective feel to it, although the perpetrators are so far pretty easy to figure out, I enjoy exploring and trying to find just one more clue to nail them. I haven't tried but the game also appears to allow you to become a heretic. If this is the case that could add a lot of replay value. Good -Enjoyable, although predictable story -Great exploration -Great replay (3 characters with slightly different stories and the ability to choose to be a heretic provide a lot of options) -Great logic in identifying characters The bad -combat can be a mixed bag (It rewards planning but you can also just potion chug through it) -1 dungeon in the first act is unbearably long -Incredibly wordy (If you are always a thorough reader this might be a deal breaker because it can be redundant, I personally read thoroughly when it is interesting but have few problems skimming the dialogue.) For me, the problems in the game don't bother me at all. If you need some tips or pointers about what to do next then feel free to go to the forums. I hope you enjoy this game as much as I do.

Obviously until people have got substantially into the game the reviews are going to be initial and therefore untrustworthy (unless they've played the Czech version of course). What I've seen so far looks great, a true old-school RPG adventure. Sure, the animations are a bit jerky but we're not playing a game pretending to be current-gen and therefore these sorts of issues are debatable as to how much it *really* matters if it's a good game...and so far the game seems fantastic! One of the previous reviewers had a point about translation, but it's pretty damn solid on the whole. A quick note on one of the reviews on here so far: Yes, it's a text heavy game, but DO NOT buy a game that tells you in it's description how much text it has if you're too lazy to read it. Sure, it's not all gold but it makes searching for information more challenging and, it could be argued, realistic.

So, what is Inquisitor? It's a game in the vein of such hybrid games as Divine Divinity, Lionheart and Kult: Heretic Kingdoms. Inquisitor specifically combines a gameplay style very much as in Diablo 1, but with much more dialogue, with a basic companion system like in the old Fallouts and a world map system like in Baldur's Gate The good: - The music, art and atmosphere. - Involved story with much attention to detail in the dialogue. - Considering the difficulty character progression and loot are also motivating. - Progressively larger towns that act as the hubs for each Act. They are substantial and for the most part well done. The neutral: - The combat. It's slow and laborious and many potions will be drunk, much equipment broken and lots of walking will be done. It fits the feel of the game, but can be tedious. - Also, there is a lot of text to read and oftentimes what people have to say in response to a mostly repeating set of questions, will be about the same as what other people said. The dialogue still accounts for context and some people express themselves differently, but the long walls of text often still make for a fairly tedious read. The bad: - The game's main problem is that the amount of combat is completely ridiculous and aside from wilderness maps there are many dungeons and many of them, especially later on, have multiple levels to them. - Additionally the story in the three Acts of the game keeps repeating itself in some ways and the mix of medieval realism and fantasy doesn't always work well. Orcs, Ogres and Lizardmen for instance simply don't fit this kind of setting and the plot is quite unimaginative for the most part. It might still be worth it for you, but just keep in mind that this is one of the most unnecessarily bloated games I have ever played. Disclaimer: I played this as a Paladin on Normal difficulty. People frequently recommend playing as a Priest as it's supposed to be easier in the late-game.