After all these years Blood Omen is still gorgeous. When I first played it I was like 7 or 9 and I didn't understand a thing about the game mechanics and the plot. Now I appreciate the story (here it's still kinda unpolished... raw... we have to play the other games of the saga to understand how beautiful it is), and all the possibility we have to kill (or evade) in gruesome ways all the types of enemies. The only complaint: Repel is really really really OP (especially with chaos armor). So, if you want to enjoy the variety of items and spells, I would suggest to limit the use of Repel and try some other tactics instead. A bad feeling: the 2D graphics allows to enjoy the game a lot, even after all these years have passed; now that I'm going to engage with the other titles, I fear that the 3D graphics aged worse. But plot and narration themselves deserve all the hours that I will spend on them.
I enjoyed every moment, every kill, every curse shouted when the guards' viewcone became red. Step by step, every mission can be concluded with patience and perseverance. That's a good point for a game: to play well you don't need to acquire techniques but only learn to wait.
I began to play with great expectations... I loved Dungeon Keeper, and the idea of something similar amazed me. But... it's all too sudden. You don't have time (nor tips, nor help, nor anything) to understand how the game works, Food's rotting. Ok, I need a smoker or a fridge... but how can I build them? Don't know. Not a hint. Ok, I'll restart game with only skeletons. Food's always low. Now I need metal. The only metal stones in map are near some evil tree. Ok, I need to research something before I can cut them and reach the metal. How to research it? Don't know. Not a hint. There's no way to see a construction tree or to understand what to do with what. That's exhausting and frustrating. Probably one should read an online walkthrough to understand well the game dynamics, but online walkthroughs exist for when someone's stuck, not for the base mechanics of a game. And that's for me a huuuge con.
I loved the art, the backgrounds and the cute stuff of the world. It teleport you in a funny and relaxing land drawn by fantasy. But, for a 4 hours game, it's boring. The mechanics are pretty much the same all along the game, enigmas and foes are ridiculous. Story predictable, bosses - personification of fears, FEARS - not disturbing at all. They... well... they sing all the time. That doesn't give any motivation. It's like the developers didn't know if create a game for for adults (see the story and the references to mind's chemistry and physics) or for childs (see everything else). And the bird. I hate the bird. Shut her up.
