One of the BEST RPGs in years
OK, so strong title - you're probably wondering how this is justified?
So let me ask you: how many times in a game have you needed to retrieve an item that you need, and thought: why can't I just get my shady buddy steal it for me? There are these orphans I'm teaching - surely they can be turned to crime (and then steal it for me)?
Or you have explicitly built your character as a "talker" and not a fighter, but it turns out you need to get something from a dangerous part of the forest? Have you then thought "why can't I get someone else to do this?" Or, if I do have to go there, why can't I spend a few coins to hire this bored mercenary to go with me?
Well all of these things (and more) are possible here - this game has at LEAST as many different ways to approach ALMOST all quests that the original FALLOUT did, and possibly more in some cases.
And this is all BEFORE we get into the fact that you have three initial archetypes - each of which has not only different starting skill options but also additional/different interactions in the game.
Then there's the choice of "job" you can take (part-time, you're actually a noble but you need money because reasons) - again three options, and each provides different quests that you can only do for that job (you choose only one "job" throughout a single play through).
Plus there are a ton of side-quests, including stuff like convincing the local orphans to start a thieving gang (who then ask YOU to give quests to THEM - seriously this makes so much sense it's bizarre other games don't follow this sort of logic).
But I haven't actually touched on the story yet, and this is another reason for the high rating: it presents a semi-realistic (albeit more "enlightened") version of history, in that your country is a fictional one in the 17th-18th century, and it was at war with the Republic of Venice (who despite this being the enlightenment period are not as "socially forward-thinking" as Rulsthen, your country). Since Rulsthen couldn't compete on equal footing against mighty Venice, they went for Necromancy - that is, three generals did, one of which is your father. But now your father is dead, you're back in town, and trying to figure out what happened, and how to help your ailing mother.
At this point you're presented with an ancient tome, and you only want to read the one bit about a certain potion to help your mother. But as things develop, you find the book contains other helpful bits - which you need to decipher (or have help with) as you go, and bit by bit you delve into sorcery until... well this is a minor spoiler but also very obviously the main draw of the game: you command some undead.
And by "command undead", I mean you initially go through painstaking rituals to raise skeletons - but the only limit to the size of your army is how many skeletons you can find to raise. Of course you need to do this without being busted by the townsfolk, so for most of the game you're being very sneaky and cautious - there's even a "reputation gauge" for every faction (military, workers, etc) in addition to personal rep for each character (where this matters).
Of course there are a bunch of unmarked side "quests" - basically you choosing to delve into local dungeons (with your undead), looting things, finding more dead things to raise, also finding some "other" things which I won't go into (but they're very useful and powerful), plus some additional spells (which admittedly are for the most part not very useful except at the start, as the most useful "spells" are those that allow you to control your minions).
Speaking of minion control - you'd think that controlling an army around 50 skeletons and zombies would be tedious - and it is if you choose to control them yourself - but you reach a point where that isn't necessary, and you can instead use a simple "mass control" spell - where it "activates" a bunch of undead depending on your mana (which increases as you gain in power naturally), so it doesn't take long before you just choose something like "send as many minions to the closest enemy to me as possible starting from the minions closest to the enemy), push the button, and then laugh maniacally as your undead horde rips the enemy apart!
Sure you "lose" a lot, but it's not like you don't have enough - and between fights you just raise the "dead" minions again (plus later on, recently-deceased enemies), and off you go once more!
In addition to all this, there are multiple romance options - ranging from the random shag in a dirty bar backroom to more "serious" ones where you go on actual "dates" - and despite me personally not normally caring one whit about "romance" in RPGs, these are generally done well enough for me to go through them.
On that note though, there are some negatives: a number of potential partners seem ridiculously eager to get into your pants/panties, it's quite absurd (even if you are a noble and they're lowborn).
And unfortunately, despite all the many options the game presents you with for most of the game, the latter chapters definitely feel a bit "rushed" plot-wise, with much less agency to them. There are also one or two points in the plot which seem to come a bit from left-field - without spoiling too much, a group of people will suddenly want you in their "group" irrespective of their "general factions" feelings towards you, which I think was necessitated by the plot but not fleshed out as well as it could have been.
But over all? This game is fantastic. It's set during a time period that's not explored often (generally the world is "low fantasy", so while undead are a thing and you have SOME magic, it's incredibly rare and considered a bad thing), you end up controlling HORDES of undead minions (and with relative ease due to the added "mass activation" spell), there are even romances and what amounts to friendships in addition to the other intrigue, there are other actors who will "help" you, there's the requirement to actually "research" the book of necromancy (at least for some of the rituals - there are some that are conveniently revealed when you need them due to the plot)...
As the game goes on, there's even this gradual "changing" of your character - after your initial forays you will find that ghosts are visible to you in many places, and they're often talking to you... or taunting you... or trying to mess up your "date" by enticing you with "more power"... in one large scene, ghosts will actually talk to you while you're talking to other people (who don't see them), and it's actually rather easy to accidentally respond to the ghosts while talking with others (who can't see them) - which can get awkward fast...
Oh and one more thing, which seems to be a rather unique way of dealing with the whole "my character can't do this challenge" - apart from the game more often than not providing a bunch of different ways to overcome various challenges - many of which may not be obvious at first - you're also allocated a number of "points" you can spend to basically "add to" any stat that you're short on (that you need for a challenge). While none are mandatory, there are definitely some challenges that are worth solving since in those cases you can't get the best rewards - so this allows you to do that, a bit each chapter (these points refresh fully when a new chapter starts). It's not completely without flaws, but if you mostly "role-play" your character well, these bonus points allow you to get through various bits (potentially for bonus goodies).
So... if you're still here reading this, then you won't be afraid of the quite chunky amount of dialogue in the game (though it IS voiced, there's some reading on top)....
Basically you get: replayability galore; political intrigue; optional romance options; CONTROLLING VAST UNDEAD HORDE.
This is probably the most undermarketed game I have ever seen anywhere. Just get it, for the sake of all that is good about RPGs.
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