I was put off from buying this for a long long time by the somewhat mediocre reviews on here but I was very pleasantly surprised. The bottom line here is that if you enjoy infinity-engine type games like Baldur's Gate and (more recently) the Pathfinder games, you'll enjoy this. The writing is really very good for a cRPG - probably the game's main strength - and continues the previous game's interest in playing with philosophical and metaphyical themes in what is otherwise your standard cRPG story, albeit set in an unusual and evocative Caribbean-type setting. As other reviewer have noted, you are dumped into a four-way political conflict over dominion of the Deadfire Archipelago and all the four sides (amongst whom you will eventually have to choose) have plausible and sympathetic reasons for wanting things to go their way - there are actually meaningful choices to be made instead of the usual tiresome 'goodies vs baddies' fare. The setting's 'Gods' (really just powerful beings) are more present in this game than the first, and the story is altogether better for showcasing their petty Greek Pantheon-type squabbling. Your companions are also very well written on the whole and it is a bit of a shame their quest lines are so short - seems a missed opportunity to spend more time with a group you'll probably grow quite fond of. The game itself is a bit too easy for its own good, which is its main flaw for me. If you've played Pathfinder: Kingmaker on anything above normal difficulty, I'd recommend cranking it up to max difficulty and even then you'll probably still find it gets a bit too easy after mid-game. The problem is partly that the game hands out experience too freely so that you'll hit max level well before you're done with the game, after which point you'll just steamroll through most encounters, making for a boring experience towards the end. Still, if you like these kinds of games this is a really fun romp that'll keep you entertained for 100+ hours!
This game reminded me a bit of Deep Sky Derelicts; it is a party-based Darkest Dungeon-style rouge-like strategy card game with RPG elements. Instead of exploring Derelicts you are a party of fantasy animals navigating through the streets and alleys of a dangerous city in a quest for revenge. The core gameplay consists of fights with guards and such, in which you play cards from your hand to have your party members take actions, gaining loot (more cards) and experience but also potentially losing health and party members, neither of which is easily replaced. The game is relatively short - a complete run through the city (all the way to the final boss) takes maybe 5-6 hours. Being a rouge-like, dying and replaying it are part of the intended experience. There is enough variety in what happens during your voyage through the city each time to keep things interesting for a while - and you gain 'experience' through runs that unlocks new character classes and abilities, creating a feeling of progression. The game is not terribly difficult though the difficulty does ratchet up significantly during several boss fights - which is frustrating in that once you've got the hang of it you're left breezing through the regular fights just to try and knock over these difficult parts. The mood is quite athmospheric (think a dark fantasy version of the Wind in the Willows) and one of the strengths of the gamer. Though there isn't any story as such and the designers clearly went for a less-is-more approach with the story (we never even really find out what you are seeking revenge for) lots of the events you encounter in your journey through the city conjure up a vivid setting. Short version: A well-made but short strategy game - I got about a week's worth of solid entertainment out of this.
This is a faithful adaption of the Games Workshop boardgame of the same name, so if you've played and liked that this one is a no-brainer. If you have not, the game is a kind of turn-based American Football with fantasy races, and with something of a focus on violent tackles over the passing game and scoring touchdowns (though there are passing-focused teams that let you play more traditional football-style tactics.) The game is quite reliant on a hefty dose of chance, with failures on various actions (tackling, dodging, passing, picking up the ball) resulting in the end of your turn and potential disaster. The strategy aspect of the game is therefore mainly about minimizing risk. The 'Campaign mode' is really something of an extended tutorial that makes things fairly easy for the player (and keeps the rules simple for the first few matches) but there is an engaging 'league' mode with the normal Blood Bowl rules where you can play in various tournaments and watch your team progress (your players get better as they acquire experience, picking up new skills - but also potentially injuries that limit them.) The main problem with the game is the relatively poor AI, which limits the appeal of single player. The AI calculates odds well enough and the games are as a result fairly tense in a moment-to-moment kind of way but it is poor at overall tactics, struggling to score touchdowns or defend effectively. I never managed to lose a game to it (though I had some close calls when the dice went against me!) One word of warning - after the first few tutorial matches, the turns are timed (ie. you get about 5 minutes to move your 11 players each turn) so this is not a game where you sit back and slowly ponder your strategy.
This reminded me a lot of Desktop Dungeons - the gameplay is quite different (more of a deck-builder combat game along the lines of, say, Deep Sky Derelicts) but it has the same tongue-in-cheek rpg dungeon crawler-themed vibe while remaining a puzzle game at heart. You'll probably beat it in about 10-15 hours but each dungeon run is short so it provides a nice 'coffee break' kind of experience. You send your little adventurer dude into dungeons which you then populate with rooms, loot and monsters; the adventurer moves somewhat randomly through the dungeon (but seeking out loot and monsters of their level so it is usually easy to predict/control where he'll go.) The core of the game is the combat - which is card-based but not too random because both your dude and the monster tend to have a small hand of cards making for a fairly predictable experience once you get used to the monsters' "decks." Beating monsters gets you loot (more/better cards) and level-ups (more HP) and there is a tactical side to each dungeon in building up your deck/level before facing the dungeon boss. Picking the right 'class' of adventurer for each dungeon is important as they have quite different decks and do better against certain kinds of foes. Like all these kinds of games, you'll die a fair bit early on (many of the 1-star reviews clearly gave up at this stage) but death doesn't really cost you anything and with a bit of persistence you figure out the winning strategies and then the game is actually, if anything, a bit too easy down the stretch. There is some replay value (trying out different classes, etc.) but I'd kind of had enough after beating it once. A good 'casual' game if you don't mind the difficulty curve - recommended!
I feel like the other reviewers are a bit unkind to this title, which is a very good game of its kind. This is basically a modern reinterpretation of the old 'Eye of Beholder'/'Lands of Lore' RPGs (you move through a series of grid-based 'dungeons' with a party of characters, fighting enemies and solving puzzles) but with a turn-based combat mode reminiscent of JRPGs. The story is nothing special but is very well told - and the various characters you encounter and that join your party banter in an endearing way as you are progressing through the game. The graphics and music are evocative, as is the setting, which deploys fairly standard fantasy tropes (dragons, witches, etc.) but with pleasant folktale-ish twists. The turn-based combat can be unforgiving (especially on hard) and at times requires picking the right combination of characters (only 4 are active at any one time) and equipping the right abilities for your characters to counter-act your adversaries' strategies. The 'taunt' mechanic that other reviews complain about is a case in point - several of the characters you recruit to your party have skills that 'break' taunt and certain battles are almost impossible without using these. The end battle is indeed quite difficult compared to the rest of the game (as is one of the other 'boss' battles) but otherwise the game presents a good but not insurmountable challenge. I'd say its well-balanced on the whole. All in all, I'd recommend this to anyone interested in turn-based RPGs or even JRPGs - it won't blow your mind but you'll spend 30-odd hours with it very pleasantly.
Enjoyed this game more than I expected to, given the somewhat lukewarm reviews on here. It is a Tactical RPG and has the usual 'take 4 of 8 party members on missions involving turn-based combat on a grid, level and buy gear between missions' gameplay that you'll recognise from Banner Saga, Fell Seal, Regalia, Shadowrun, etc.) Bottom line: if you enjoyed any of those games, you'll enjoy this too. Story-wise, we get a kind of dark fantasy retelling of the Arthurian saga and while the story is nothing spectacular and a fairly simple 'unite the kingdom & save the girl from the big bad' kind of setup , it is well-told for the most part (with some strange dialog choices here and there however) and will keep you engaged to the end. The gameplay is stronger than the story with the tactical experience actually pretty rich - the various party members you recruit have a range of unique abilities and upgrades that make them play quite differently to one another, and that make for different strategies depending on who you take on missions. Terrain provides another layer of tactical complexity with exploding barrels that impose various debuffs, ledges you can push enemies off and mechanics that reward attacking from behind and on high ground. The only let-down is fairly poor AI scripting: enemies with ranged attacks just stand and wait for you to come to them and melee units often use their action points to chase weak units rather than making attacks. Still, enemies hit hard and your own dudes are squishy and healing is scarce, so the game stays difficult enough to keep you engaged, especially in boss battles. The game is very linear and takes maybe 12-15 hours to beat at a fairly leisurely pace, and there's not much replay value. Still, if it is on special and you've played and enjoyed the other titles mentioned above, it is probably worth your while.
One of those rare games where both the good and bad reviews are totally accurate. The good: this is a great, well-written game in the style of Baldur's Gate which a lot of love has clearly gone in to. Main story seems to be standard high fantasy fare (but you get to become a Baron, which is a nice twist) - but I'm not all that far in so it may yet improve. The companions are for the most part well-written and both their moral positions and your own alignment choices are much more sophisticated than the standard fare (evil characters and choices are actually believable and reasonable.) The game is also properly *hard,* lets you get in WAY over your head on the open map, and the AI puts up a decent fight. You'll die a fair bit unless you turn the difficulty way down, which I enjoy but may not be everybody's thing. The Bad: the game does indeed crash all the time, and I have the supposedly 'cleaned-up' version (2.0.0). It also really struggles on older machines unless you turn all the fancy graphics way down (at which point it even starts to look a bit like Baldur's Gate!) And the interface is a bit unresponsive and cluttered at times so it is sometimes unclear what is going on and whether a particular character is doing precisely what you wanted them to. But if you can get past those flaws (not all of which are minor) there is a gorgeous game under here
