Overall most helpful review

Posted on: December 21, 2016

Artsuhtaraz

Games: 44 Reviews: 3

A masterpiece for adults and rpg lovers

Before I start with my review I want to make sure that you know where I come from. I played every single infinity engine game starting with Baldurs Gate and my favourite of the bunch was the breathtaking, philosophical masterpiece, known as Planescape Torment. I sorely missed the depth and creativity that i learned to love playing those games. Only a handful of games oozed a certain kind of atmosphere and left you with a sense of accomplishment afterwards. Many modern rpgs where great in their own way, but there was always something missing that I couldn't find, and that's the power of one's own imagination. Games like Tyranny, work with a lot of text and written descriptions, and leave enough room for you to create your own imaginations. A lot of breathing space for you as a player. A game, leaning heavily on it's narrative structure, opens up to YOU, to add whatever feels right within the world that you inhabit. It treats you like the creator of your own story and not as a consumer of force fed data. I had enough time for 2 playthroughs. Once as a Kyros loyal, the second time as an ally of the defeated Tiersmen. I've read several reviews where people complained the game was too short, but they overlooked the fact that this game was built in such a way, that each of your decisions would alter your gameplay, quests, maps to discover and the fate of the whole realm drastically. There may be certain similiarities, but each playthrough is different form each other. This is a game for adults, not because you play as an evil maniac serving a dictator, not because it titilates the mind with gore, combat and sex, but because it faces you with difficult decisions, that have hard, life changing consequences. Nothing and no one is black and white in ther views and actions, which gives the game a depth that most games can't even dream of. To make it short, if Baldurs Gate and Planecape Torment had a Baby, it's deserving, glorious offspring would be Tyranny.

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Posted on: December 2, 2016

mightymicroppl

Verified owner

Games: Reviews: 6

Refreshing! Also, not really 'short' as some people say..

This is actually the first review of a game I have ever written .. as Tyranny prompted me to do so. IMHO - It's one of the most refreshing titles in the last 10 years when it comes to computer RPG's (and my 'top' few fantasy cRPG picks when it comes to the STORY [as its all about the story, dug!] are PS:T, BG2, NWN2: MotB..). It's on that level, IMHO. Not sure where all the reviews about it being short come from, I'm __20__ hrs in and it feels like I'm maybe half-done (2 Spires are mine). So if I get 30-40 hours of a good story out of this, then I'm more than happy and anxiously looking forward to the next one. The plot itself and the atmosphere is as if Glen Cook (Black Company), Steven Eriksson (Malazan Book of the Fallen) and George RR Martin got together and had a baby with the Pillars of Eternity game engine. There's just so many (un)intended similarities with factions and characters of the Malazan series and the Black Company that it .. warms my heart, because I'm IN it now and I can INTERACT with those factions/characters. Characters are absolutely amazing - very convincingly written, there is an engrossing amount of dialogue you can have with your party members to learn their rich and very deep and interesting stories. I must first admit that i was reluctant at first when it comes to the combat engine - as i truly hated combat in Pillars of Eternity - but it doesn't in Tyranny. Not sure why, as it's very similar! And I'm writing this before I even finished the game, so that says something! I also ALREADY want to replay it to make different choices and see how they will shape the world and what the consequences will be! HIGHLY recommend for every _classic_ RPG nerd with a fondness for mature dialogues, morally ambiguous choices.. and much more. Go and play it. You won't regret it. Oh, and my first playthru is on 'Hard' difficulty if that's in any way relevant to what I wrote above. There were several few spots where I had to reload a couple times and rethink strategies!

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Posted on: February 6, 2018

darkroastbeans

Games: 518 Reviews: 8

kicks over the tropes table and it works

Tyranny is definitely one of my favorite RPGs of all time. It kicks over the RPG tropes table -- and it works. It's not su much that you play a "bad guy", as that you're playing a role in a foreign conquest that is trying to bring order to conquered lands. You bring Rome to the barbarians, so to speak. This novelty opens up new possibilities for character development, party composition, and choices. The game also sports a number of unique mechanics that are all surprisingly fun and work together well to complete the experience. (I didn't discover missives -- letters to which you can answer to drive the story in different directions -- until some time into the game). Party NPCs gain both loyalty and wrath points with you, based on how you treat them and the decisions you make. These points can accumulate to unlock powers. Nothing new there, except you can cultivate *both* kinds of points if you make the right decisions, giving your party more power in the long run. Like PoE you build your home base, but it is spread across several locations, each which can host one significant improvement and many different hires. Gear, skills, and combat mechanics all play nice. Party members can take on a range of roles, depending on how they specialize. Dialog is long -- lots of heavy reading -- but rich and compelling; the voice acting is very good. The soundtrack delicious, thematic, and proper to the story and setting. My only real complaint is that, while beautiful to behold and adequate to gameplay, locations are relatively linear -- there is no real sense of exploration. Areas are unlocked as you progress, and within a given area there may be a few doors to largely irrelevant interiors (peasant homes, for example), but most buildings are closed off and NPC interactions are limited to a handful of NPCs highlighted on the map. It is a thinner version of the PoE model, really. This complaint aside, the game is well worth your time and money if you enjoy the genre.

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Posted on: November 12, 2016

NightHornet

Games: 302 Reviews: 27

First impressions

Since the game has just been released, I obviously haven't been able to get through it entirely thus far, but for all you RPG fans (myself being one) I figured it could be helpful to know what this game is about in making a decision whether you should buy it or not. Hopefully, what I'm about to write will prove sufficient for you to make a more "informed" decision. Lets start with the basics (You may skip these, two paragraphs, they're more to help you understand my judgement upon Tyranny and what I specifically took note on): I have a very specific definition of what an RPG is and not all computer games labelled as such fall into that category. To me, important aspects of an RPG are the ability to craft your own character (not necessary by character creation but by making ACTUAL choices in game), have at least SOME influence on the story that unfolds and AT LEAST decent writing (both storywise and while putting NPCs into the game). To that end, the so-called JRPGies (RPGies originating in Japan) are a separate genre for me, since for the most part (with some exceptions) they are linear and not heavy on character creation (doesn't mean they're bad game mind you - just not what I call RPG). Similarly, hack & slash type games (Diablo being the prime example) are also a different category. With that in mind, I'm pleased to say that, from what I saw, Tyranny DOES fall into my RPG category. You start the game as, basically, every other RPG - by creating your own character. There are no races nor classes per say, but you do get to choose your gender and origins (somewhat similarly to the first "Dragon Age" and "Mass Effect"). The origins are presented to you in written form and from the 8 you are given to choose from, EACH will affect your options in-game; for example - if you choose a Diplomat origin, you're more likely to implement diplomacy in your conversations (duh), while being a soldier gives you more knowledge of the battlefield. Often these new conversation options are more than cosmetic. The origins themselves also determine your playstyle somewhat (think of them as equivalent of classes). I would venture that there are two origins that correspond to the most wide-spread classes in "common" RPGies: fighter (meele warrior), ranger (ranged warrior), rogue (a stealthy individual) and a mage (for spells). After you choose your origins, you adjust your atributes and skills. There are 6 attributes overall and, much like in "Pillars of Eternity", the game advices you which ones are favorable to you, dependable on your previous choices. Skills, on the other hand, are mostly combat-oriented (like wielding two weapons, a blade and a shield or spells from specific domain). You pick two of the bunch and these choices provide you with certain talents (more on that later). Once you choose a name for your character, you can either get right into action or get through a "conquest" mode. The Conquest mode is, again, similar to origins from the first "Dragon Age", only it comes down to choices: at every step you are given two situations and in ONE of them you make a decision that will somehow influence the game later on (usually it comes down to siding with one of the armies in your master's legion). These influence may warry - for example if you shown an act of kindness to the people you were conquering, the rebels may look at you a bit more friendly... or, if you choose one side in a dispute between armies, you may gain favor or even a PHYSICAL reward from them, but likely the other side will not be so pleased. The Conquest is separated into three parts, each providing you with 3 choices still. Furthermore, after the first part (which describes you and your allies taking the first bastion of the Tiers), you have to choose where you go next and only the choices from that region will be given to you. Similarly, after the second part, you again choose the region to which you travel, so completing every, possible combination of the Conquest part of the game will that A LOT of time. And, since it DOES influence the gaming experience, it should help with replay value, if only by little. I suppose now would be a good time to present you with some backstory. A great evil has arisen... and don't bother arming yourself to stop it, because it's already too late; Kyros the Overlord has already conquered all of Terratus (the land the game takes place in). The only, small bastion of resistance being the Tiers - a small pennisula divided by various tribes and it is that very land that you HELP to subdue in Conquest part of character creation. So, basically: evil -1; good - 0. If you wonder how Kyros managed to take the entire world as his own, know that he is a powerful enchanter who can create Edicts; basically spells of immense power. He can, literally, summon city-destroying storms, bring plague to wide land... anything. In a way, he's a force of nature. Still, he has amassed a large legion of soldiers to do his biding, sperataed into various armies, each generaled by an Archon - beings of great power themselves. Two armies do stand out from the crowd: The Disfavored, how value loyalty and honor and spent much time training their elite few... and the Scarlet Chorus, who are made from prisoners - a huge horde of inexperienced and poorly-equipped warriors that flood their enemies with numbers. The proper game begins when you, a Fatebinder, servant under Tunon the Adjuster (basically a right-hand man to Kyros) are sent to the Tiers with an Edict that is meant to end the rebellion that has sparked in the region. Since the Disfavored and Chorus prefer to bicker with each other rather than defeat the rebels, once in effect, the Edict will KILL every being in the land (you included) if the insurection is not squashed in a timely manner. Have a nice day ^^' One way or the other, if you wanna survive, you do need to handle the situation. Whether you only aid the two armies of the Overlord or can side with the rebels I do not know (too early in the game), but be assured that, at least at the start, you're more likely to be forced choosing lesser evil rather than good, if you prefer to follow "righteous path". Lets get to the gameplay than; one of the basic statistics in game is your reputation (as GTA2 have put it: "respect is everything" :D). Generally, by your actions, conversations and even Conquest intro you can gain or lose favor or wrath of various factions within the Tiers. Commonly, your choices will be looked upon with favor from one, while displeasing another, so you will either need to pick sides or try remaining neutral, though the latter is not always possible. Besides, influencing how the factions view you is beneficial - if you gain enough favor or wrath of one faction, you'll gain a special ability for you to use. Just remember that, by the looks of things, it is unlikely that you can gain enough favor of ALL factions to unlock these abilities in one playthrough, speficially since most factions detest one another. Similarly your companions (this is a party-based game, like "Baldur's Gate", "Planescape" or "Pillars...") have certainly loyalty towards you (which you can influence in the same manner as factions), also providing abilities if these statistics are high enough. The abilities mentioned above are generally called talents (told you I'll get back to this ;)) and work somewhat similar to their equivalents in "Dragon Age" or "Mass Effect" series: most seem combat oriented and after use have a certain cooldown time before you can implement them once more. Some are area of effect, others concentrate on a single target. Every now and than (when you gain a level most commonly) you can get a new one, but some have requirements you need to meet. In that regard, they work the same as skill trees in later entires of Diablo series. Some are passive, some enhanced a talent you already posses etc. Again, discovering them all (as some groups of talents are dependable on the skills you picked at the start) is something that will require much time. Conversations are also important part of the game and are done in a similar manner as those in "Pillars..."; your response option depend on various factors - your reputation with the factions, level of your skills and abilities, your origins. There's a lot of reading involved (think "Planescape: Torment" and "Pillars of Eternity" level), so if you generally prefer all-present voice acting (like in "Mass Effect" series for one), this will certainly NOT be to your liking. Your choices do take effect in the story - some immediately, others later on but from what I saw thus far, I dare say that most decisions you make will, eventually, come back to either aid you or bite you in the butt. This should be a fun fact that should also help the game's replay value. Experience is gain in a peciuliar manner - see, as your level in skills raise, so does your overall level. And how does your skill raise? By actually USING them. For example - every time your use your Athletics, your expertise in that area will go up. A similar idea, from cRPGies, was used in "Dungeon Siege". You can train is at least some of the skills (I imagine, at one point or the other, you'll find trainers for each of them), though that requires money to use and can only be done a certain number of times per overall level. The system itself, while vast, is decently described. Mind you, I prefer such system to be intuitive (D&D based cRPGies are best examples of such) where you don't need to dwell to much into the mechanics to enjoy the gaming experience. To that end, Tyranny has a downside as there's really no going around such informantion. I ravel in the fact that I'm given so many talents to choose from, allowing me to create a more unique character (Specializations in "Dragon Age", for example, barely gave me the feeling my character stood out in comparison), but I would wish there was less mechanics behind them. The inventory system could also use more work; you can get used to it in time, but to me it's very unintuitive and unnecessarily complex when often you have to make several clicks just to compare two sets of equipment and the first time visiting a merchant can be a VERY confusing experience. The battles are okay and those who played "Pillars" shouldn't have any trouble adjusting to it (the lack of proper tutorial for all the game mechanics is a bit of a downside here, considering how many mechanics there are... while you can just click on an enemy and leave things to fate, as in "Baldur's Gate", it is generally not advicable). Heck, I was immediately struck with realization that, when it comes to execution of that area of gameplay, they're essenatially the same game. The world is crafted in detail - not just the graphics, but backstory as well. Those that like learning of the setting will find Tyranny rich in lore. Sadly, learning of it isn't done as nicely as in "Mass Effect" and resembles reading a history book. An interesting history book, but a history book none the less and not everyone might enjoy "dry facts" approach. The graphics are an updated version of "old school" RPGies, much like "Pillars..." were; I imagine your opinion on that matter will be the same as it was in the previous, Obsidian title. The "cutscenes" are done in a cartoon-like graphic which may not fit the decisively dark setting of the game, but I do think they turned out marvelously and are a pleasure to watch. Overall I believe the fans of "old school" RPGies as defined by me in the second and third paragraph of this review won't be disappointed. While I'm still not sure about free-roaming the world nor if the game has a linear plot, you can definately influence the happening before you, so this is AT LEAST "Mass Effect" level of you making your hallmark on the story. The system is rich, if not particularly intuitive and if you like spending time in statistics, deciding what will work best for you, you'll deffinately enjoy that part of the game. Those of you that lean more towards hack&slash titles may get discouraged by this element on the other hand. The story itself and characters are intriguing and this is coming from a guy who generally DISLIKES playing an evil character (and in this game you really can't be all good), so I'd think that's saying something. I do expect to be entertained by these, two factors as I continue my experience with Tyranny. There are some, minor issues that held my hand from giving this game 5 stars: more than in most western RPGies I felt that this is a game (due to a massive chunk of mechanics behind the system and "dry facts" approach to lore) and had a harder time in "losing myself" in this world ("Mass Effect" series or "Planescape" presented me with no such problems). There's also a learning curve when playing for the first time... technically that should be expected in an RPG, but it felt too much, considering how much RPG I actually play (generally, I believe myself to be pretty familiar with the genre, both on PC AND pen&paper). RPG fans, who don't mind reading (if you got through "Plansecape" without getting tired by its chunks of text than you should be fine) should enjoy this title in my opinion. Those are lean more towards action RPGies or even hack&slash should take off AT LEAST one star from the score i gave as, while there are fights (turn-based, mind you) and the system itselfs puts large emphisis on it, there's much more to be done outside of battlefield than in common action-oriented titles. At least that's what it seems from the first, few hours I've played. Hope this review helps all you, RPG fans in making your decision. If you require extra data, you can feel free to write me; I'll try to respond in a timely manner.

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Posted on: December 17, 2016

emeraldeye14

Games: 77 Reviews: 3

Enjoyable despite the abrupt ending

I really enjoyed this game, even more than I enjoyed Pillars of Eternity. Paradox and Obsidian come together beautifully to bring this morally challenging story to life. I quite enjoyed all the characters and companions, flaws and all, and genuinely had to pause to think through my actions and the possible consequences they may have. Cause and Effect are very strong in this game, every action causing some kind of consequence, be it relatively minor as the way a basic NPC responds, to allowing what parts of the world you are able to visit. Multiple play throughs are a must in order to see the whole game which greatly lengthens the game. In my first play through I have spent 59 hours in order to explore every aspect of the game open to me which makes it well worth the price (and there were still some artifacts and researches I did not complete). The only let down was the rather abrupt ending. Without giving anything away I was looking forward to one major battle but the game was instead wrapped up with an epilogue detailing the final consequences of your actions. It does pave the way for DLC though which is very exciting. Looking forward to more from this world, just hope I can continue playing my Fatebinder.

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