Is it really worth 20 smackers?

I read a review stating that it was a bit too hardcore.

but the review also, inadvertently revealed that it was also very deep and heavily detailed.

You mean this game: http://basiliskgames.com/eschalon-book-i

There's a demo you can try. It certainly looks interesting. I've heard mostly good things about it, and I've been wanting to try it myself, but I've got a lot of other games to play first.

And for reference I've been reading the user reviews on Gamespot.

If you liked single-character RPGs like NWN or Geneforge, or if you were really into games like BG/IWD or Avernum because of the sheer vastness of the world and the things you could see and do, then Eschalon is right up your alley. I like it a lot because of its depth, but the one thing which turns me off about it is that it relies primarily on solo gameplay; I've always appreciated the strategy that goes with having a party of characters to use during an adventure.

Basilik games has a peculiar way of delivering patches to their games too. Their patches are only for the specific copy of the game you have and can only get it from them.

I bought both Eschalon Book I and Book II and felt they were well worth the money. Good fun and very well done indie games.

I also have this game on my wishlist. Looks good although I am still waiting for a deep discount before I grab it.

To be more specific, you have to re-DL the entire new version of the game. They don't deliver a 'patch' per se. Each update requires you to re-DL and install the game over top your old one. I believe you can still use your old saved games though.

I bought both Book I and Book II and consider them both well worth the price. There are demos of both games available, so you can see if the gameplay is something that appeals to you.

While I bought both Eschalon I and II because I liked them, there are some negative points a new user might like to know (Just my 2c, though. I'd advise anyone to play the demo):

1. The game is made by an indie developer. It's nice graphic and music-wise, but not on par with recent commercial releases. I don't care for this, but some might.

2. It's a true oldskool RPG, meaning you'll have to think about what sort of character you want to play before spending your skillpoints. If you spread them to much, you'll have a chance of not being able to finish the game. (Because of your undeveloped character)

3. You control a single character (not a party) whose walking speed is rather slow. The first game especially can feel tedious at points because of this.

4. I found both games a bit bland story-wise. Plenty of things to do etc. But still...

The demo ran too slowly on my laptop. And this is a game which apparently doesn't skip frames, so the gameplay actually happens in slow motion. Just walking across the map was intolerable.