Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

I've played all of them - all the golden age RPGs (Baldurs Gate 1&2, Fallout 1&2, Planescape Torment , Icevind Dale, temple of elemental Evil, etc etc) and also many of the new ones (Torment Tides of Numenera, Pillars of Eternity). If you look on how the game is on the surface Arcanum is probably the worst of all: "so many bugs", "such a terrible combat balance and AI system", "how clunky", "what an outdated graphics"... But if you scratch below the surface just a little bit Arcanum is second only to Planescape Torment no doubt. Some of the unique aspects that makes it so great: - incredible variety of dialogue options and choices/implications dynamic giving an amazing sense of freedom and strong replay value - very good story, great cast of charachters and a large and amazing world (without spoilering too much there are steampunk cities, fallen reigns, remote wild islands, hidden towns of various nature, lots of totally optional locations) - very original (altought not very simple) technological vs magickal system, with broader implications than one may think initially Like Torment, there are no other games like this, and maybe there will never be... Just save often (some of the bugs are really annoying) and have fun...

My new favorite game -Excellent story -Godlike soundtrack -Well aged graphics -Great voice acting -Virgil my beloved Also Thanks for the free Banana Bread recipe.

Say what you will but you will never forget your time in Arcanum. Indescribable charm, magic vs pistols or hand grenades what? Orcs on the assembly line? Flamethrowers? It was far more fun to play as a techie as the list of things you could craft was ambitious, want a robot follower? You got it! How about a flamethrower? Sure just bring enough fuel. What if you can make your armor heal you? Why not! The list goes on and on. But being a cool mage was possible too. Oh who am I kidding, I cannot give justice to this game, you have to play and see for yourself, but... you have to love isometric games, I understand that graphics can greatly enhance the immersion into your character i.e. Bioshock, but then it is a thinking man's type of immersive story driven game, reflexes play a minor role in here.

This is really good RPG but it's "little bit" unfinished, hehe. It's, as people already pointed out, unfinished gem. Maybe you'll like it, maybe not - but you really want to try it. Please, for the first time just play it as a mage - it's easiest that way. Or pure melee fighter. Yes, I know that you want to play as gunslinger - it's logical (this is steampunk game). But as I said, this is unfinished and unbalanced game... gunslinger is just much much harder for inexperienced player. Play that way 3rd time :) And of course do not play the game without Unofficial Arcanum Patch by Drog Black Tooth (Current Version: 2.0.2 (June 11, 2020))

First of all, disclaimer: This is in the running for my favorite game of all time. I will gush a bit in this review, but I'll try to be helpful. Arcanum is one of the most flexible games of its kind. It's open world, both in the sense that there's a big field where you can run around doing sidequests if you want to and in the much more enjoyable sense that your character can make decision about how you want to shape the world and see the setting respond to those decisions. Character creation is incredibly flexible, with all skills and abilities open to all characters (though magic and technology have an interesting tug-of-war going on). Your stats have definite, visible impacts on how the game world responds to you (having a low intelligence in particular makes for a hilarious game, though it's not a good choice for your first playthrough). With one exception, the quests and encounters are beautifully written. Your companions have opinions and agendas of their own (though their decisionmaking is mostly limited to "stay" or "go"). The game's various factions, companies, prominent citizens, and farmers will remember past interactions with you. Best of all, each objective you have allows for multiple coherent solutions. It's that rare game where you can encounter an enemy and fight them, join them, hire them, or engage them in philosophical debate, and any one of those routes can lead to a win. That being said, the interface is, not to put too fine a point on it, almost two decades old as of 2019. You will feel that clunkiness, as other reviewers have said. If you have played any isometric game from this time period and enjoyed it despite its age, though, you will definitely love Arcanum.