When this game came out it was a 5/5, as time passed and the lustre shone off it became a 4/5. Now? now it's just a 3/5. The game was a phenomenon when it first came out, but as time has passed and the tricks behind the games mechanics became clear a lot of what made this game unique and clever went away. The dozen or so failed copy cats on steam don't help. The fact that we're in a city building boon whilst we were in a rut when this game came out also doesn't help. When this came out Sim city 4 and City XXL were what this was competing with, and this was different enough for people to love it. Now we have dozens of city builders, at least a dozen directly inspired by this one. That and the many mods that outright remake it into something great make the base game little more then a shell of it's former self. It's sad to admit it, but in today's environment this game is worth it more for the mods then the base game.
This is a great game... assuming you're from Germany of from close enough to Germany to share a common cultural heritage and tradition. Look, I'll be honest here. If you're from Europe this game is probably going to hit you right in the "feels". It's a powerful dose of nostalgia to all those stories you were read or told when you were a little kid. The problem comes the further away you get from Germany, the main source of the folk tales this is based on. If you're from Europe, you're probably going to be familiar with enough of the source materiel to enjoy this, if you're not, well, the game can appear rather nonsensical. This doesn't mean the game is bad, it merely means it's made by a certain culture mostly for itself and related cultures. This is the product of people that grew up with German folktales and the target audience are frankly people with the same background or those aware of said folktales or related ones. This of course doesn't mean the game can't be appreciated by someone who has never heard let alone read The Brother's Grimm, it's just that you are unlikely to get the same enjoyment out of this as someone who has and for whom the game is pure nostalgia fuel.
Bad Dream Comma was an indie masterpiece. It unfortunately underperformed so the dev decided to take the series in a new direction. If the original game was the result of years of making smaller flash games and then collecting them all into one single great non flash package, this is the result of giving up on your dreams. The art is superior, the puzzles and game mechanics are not. If you enjoyed the first game avoid this one. If you haven't played the original only buy this one if you think the art is good enough to warrant you financially supporting the developer.
I've ever finished one Bethesda RPG - Fallout New Vegas, you know, the one made by Obsidian. Why do I start my review like this? because I've finished this game multiple times, each time with all the DLC, the expansion and all optional quests. Around 160 hours per playthrough. Now, does that mean this game is a masterpiece? NO. It just means I really, really like the game. That being said, the graphics haven't aged as well as one might have hoped, and the game still has it's fair share of bugs, but it at least doesn't need an unofficial patch like RPGs from other developers whose name starts with the second letter of the alphabet. The GOG version has the advantage of being as close to complete as one can hope considering EA's original release model and plethora of retailer specific DLCs. The price is also acceptable for a game that's this good and this old. What else can I say? I really enjoyed this game and when it comes to RPGs it's up there with Vampire The Masquerade - Bloodlines as one of my all time favourites. Again, I'm not saying you will enjoy it. I'm partial to story and narrative driven RPGs, and there are still enough exploits in the game that you can play the entire game at the highest difficultly without much of a sweat. If you're looking for the best combat experience you can find in a game like this one you will be disappointed. If you're looking for hyper realistic graphics, you will be disappointed. If you're looking for a great fantasy narrative and story set in an interesting fantasy world, then, this might be that one gem you haven't yet discovered.
Title says it all. It's not bad mind you, it's just not one of those that will make the list of memorable RPGs in the next few decades. If you like western RPGss you MIGHT enjoy this, assuming you are really into fantasy and RPGs. A decent buy if you're bored with all the other RPGs in your library an want something new, if not innovative.
