Torment: Tides of Numenera

The game could have been nice, but: - The game is much too short. 30h when you did every side quest and read every dialogue is not reasonable for an RPG game. - The maps are cramped. The maps should have been twice. - The turn-based crisis events were no fun at all. When there are 10 enemies then it takes ages until you can click again. - There are major bugs in the crisis system. Often the game becomes hard locked, when your move is illegal for no obvious reason. One challenge I had to restart three times. - The little voice acting there was was bad. Everyone but Erritis. - The game has no soul. I won't remember the any of the companions, or the setting. - There is no final boss fight. The game lacks a final chapter. - Calling it a spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment is simply false advertisement.

Have played this game for around twenty hours now and there is still so much content left to do, so I am very pleased with my investment. So far so good. The writing is smart as one would demand from a Planescape game, and it is also a definitive upgrade to the original game in terms of graphics, game-play etc and so on. The pacing of the game can be slow at times, so if you are a modern gamer who is not used to reading lots of text you need to give it some time to get used to it. Trust me it is worth it. Personally I enjoy this style of game as you have to put thought into which options you choose rather than spamming option 1 to be "good" or dialogue option 2 to be "evil" like some other RPGs are guilty of. So far have not encountered any useless grinding or fetch quests, and the characters have "personality". Also no politics or anything that would break world immersion either. To say that I am grateful for inXile for producing this game is probably an understatement, because after playing the disappointing monstrosity of Siege of Dragonspear, my faith has been restored that a developer can take a classic RPG title like Planescape torment, and produce a quality modern successor to it, while still being faithful to the elements that made the original game so good. Its probably too early for me to say whether its as good as PST as I have not reached the ending yet, but I am happy with what I have seen so far. Definitely worth buying the game as there is a lot of quality content here, and the developers are worth supporting as I am eager to see more content from inXile.

I'll make it short : This game is awesome, it is a worthy successor to planescape which will be remembered as a classic. What ? Ok, maybe a bit longer then. You must understand that, yes, this game has his flaws, combats aren't very tactical and the game is still a little buggy (not that much, and some fixes are already on their way), but the core of this game is simply amazing. Never since Planescape had I play a game so beautifully written, filled with so many choices and solutions, even the smallest quests can lead to interesting developments later on. I'd like to tell you more, but to be honest, I simply lack the vocabulary to explain it correctly. And the companions, oh god, you know, one of the biggest complain I heard about Pillars of Eternity was that its companions wasn't memorable enough. Well, you won't here that about this game, believe me. Like Morte and Minsc, I'll always remember Erritis and Rhyn. I must also mention the settings, the world of Numenera is awesome, it's weird and unusual, but it is definitely one of my favorites, do check the tabletop if you're into that, you'll love it. Simply put : In a few years from now, you will remember this game as fondly as Planescape today. And if you didn't play Planescape yet... well, if you're not afraid to read and wish to experience a amazing game that understand that what makes a good RPG isn't stats or gear, but a good story with choices, consequences and memorable NPCs, go get it, immediatly, you will not regret it.

The game is awesome, i love the turn based combat system which allows some very brainy and calculated plays (i really felt to mention this as a top commenter is crying and posting about this everywhere). It allows a better mix between strategy and H&S , therefore win a combat it's not as much a matter of reflexes and speed as it is the quality of your decisions, furthermore it fits the game pace. My rate for the combat system is 4 stars, it's really solid but it doens't outstand like the first two chapters of Fallout. The graphic, is chaotic, organic and pleasantly extravagant. The locations give you a sense of a whole and are rich of details, there are plenty of odds thing you'll notice looking around too. It is not the fundamental strength of the game (3d imo beats isometric if you are a genius in doing it), but for its originality i rate it 4 stars. The quality of the writing is probably 5 stars or so and the immersion 4,5 (Mass Effect 1, that's a full 5 stars for immersion imo). This type of roleplay games allowed me to learn so many unused English words (as my main language is Italian) and they almost always excel in doing it, after few minutes you have been playing you feel portrayed in unforgettables imaginary sensations in a manner which is smooth like the breeze. Every pg has his unique conversation and you'll have a quite good number of choices to take, able to shape your game destiny. The writing style is not as witty as his big brother Planescape but it's blunt and malicious in the right away. It makes it feel edgy. What i didn't like about the game is its shortness, the small amount of companions you can adventure with, the quantity of names and civilisations appearing in the storytelling and that you eventually end up looking in every corner of the map for objects or pgs you could have missed. My final rate is 4,5 but i will just put 5 to counter balance the negative votes. I really wish it was longer... i crave for more brilliants, forgottens games of this kind and possibly much cheaper than this. How long am i supposed to wait for a sequel?? Let's hope for an expansion.

Sounds familiar? That's because what made PS:T amazing was definitely not the combat system, and in that sense this game truly is a 'spiritual sequel'. The story is extremely well written, and at certain points shines quite brilliantly in ways that PS:T also did. However, the weak spot that does difference it from PS:T is the companions. A couple of them are refreshingly interesting, but they mostly pale in compasion to PS:T's or even Pillars of Eternity's (and there were some bland companions there). The intricate, intimate stories of grief and love that make PS:T's companions so alluring gives way here to a few characterizations that never really connect with the player as strongly - there's really no big loss if you miss their stories for the most part. That said, the world-building is first-class, not in a sophisticated videogamey 'environmental storytelling' manner but in a much more traditional, text-and-image-based form. Every detail to be examined builds upon what you are looking at, and just like in PS:T the rather brilliant alien visual designs team up very well with descriptions to give your imagination a platform for sheer speculation. To me, this is what made PS:T such a pleasure to explore, and Numenera does it justice. It also experiments with literary ideas that PS:T didn't, like an entire environment that is also a character (and perhaps one of the most interesting and engaging in cRPGs), and it does so with such commitment that there's at least a few quite rewarding incidental characters in every scene. In a way, such a lavish attention to detail did sometimes compensate for the lackluster companions. Sometimes. Just as a final remark: if you loved PS:T but do not really mind not getting PS:T 2 (people who attached that expectation to this project haven't enjoyed Numenera at all, but not so much because of what it is, but because of what it isn't), get this game! Take your time, enjoy the massive readings, and let your imagination fly.