Massive Chalice is a matter of taste, really - and I love it. First off: it is minimalistic in many aspects. Graphics are pretty simple, but focussed on what matters, and well fitting with the game's general atmosphere. Character classes are only a few, but they are complementary. Same for the enemies: every type of enemy is unique, there is no 'stronger version of X', but they all hurt you in a different way and should be dealt with differently, so they already provide a lot of variety. Also the world is not very deep: small, stable maps, little background information, just enough to convey the game's feeling: gloomy, almost desperate and definitely unforgiving - fitting perfectly with gameplay... Gameplay is tough. What is lost is lost forever: buildings, heroes, entire bloodlines. Not only due to battles, but also due to general corruption and aging. And you probably will lose more than a handful. Many of your decisions are final (some might be fatal), sacrifices are often necessary. Some things enemies do to you won't heal (like aging). Additionally, you have to think about whether you want a hero to fight, to train others, to procreate or to speed up your research. Sometimes it is hard to keep the balance, sometimes you dedicate too much to the future and get overrun in battle. Suck it up and do better next time - or fail completely, might happen. That tough gameplay and somewhat minimalistic approach make the game enjoyable for me: you quickly get into it, no need to read anything before, just start playing! Nevertheless, it becomes brain-teasing because of the options you have. You always need to anticipate what you will need when (now or in 100 years) and most of your resources are limited and fragile, so: think! Good news is: due to the simplicity of it, the mistake of oversight is relatively low. Instead of being drowned in details, you can anticipate what will happen approximately. Actually, you have to. That's why I love it, even if others might not.
If you think: "Politics and games don't mix", you shouldn't downvote a game for political reasons*, in the first place. If you want an awesome, easy to learn & hard to master local multiplayer fun game: get it! (Especially if you're not afraid of "the other sex".) Controls work perfectly fine, so far I noticed no glitches etc., and the pixel art is very well done. I'd say the graphics look much better/clearer/smoother in game than in the trailer/screenshots, which made me hesitate for a moment. Even in singleplayer mode the levels are fun and quickly become quite challenging, never boring. The "Ascension" singleplayer is rather short however, and you'll miss a lot of features if you don't get the expansion. The way the expansion is "advertised" in the game is a bit annoying, though (It shows you some features and says: "Only available in Dark World"), and I seriously considered 4 stars for that reason, only, but then again: you can call "Ascension" a great game already... if only the expansion wouldn't make it so much better. ;) *) In case you don't know who Anita Sarkeesian, the reason some people downvoted this game, is: a feminist criticizing sexism etc. in video games, but also pointing out some examples she considers good. People mainly dislike her because, 1) she said she doesn't like video games / consider herself a gamer on a few occasions, but acted as if she was a gamer on other occasions, 2) some accuse her of having made up (death) threats and insults against her (might be in at least one case, although she's unlikely to have made up all of them), 3) she seems quite disrespectful of many gamers and things many gamers like - for clearly stated reasons, however: sexism & disrespect towards women in popular culture. I hope this sheds light on some of the votes/comments here: Sarkeesian might have pointed out some important issues, she might have made some bad mistakes concerning her self-advertising strategies - but what is clear: this game is awesome!
