This game has my strongest recommendation. This is the best port of a very story heavy JRPG. It begins the 2nd story arc of the series. You can technically begin the series with this game. However there is one plotline with returning characters from the previous arc that will not be anywhere as meaningful to you if you have not played the Trails in the Sky arc. The combat is turn based and enjoyable. The characters are memorable. The music is AAA. There are in-game achievements and new game+ to encourage multiple plays and the story is fun enough you'll probably want to. There is a second game in this arc that completes this arc's story (Trails to Azure) which will be released in early 2023. You will need to play that game too in order to fully appreciate how good the plot is. But this entry does not leave you on a cliffhanger of feel incomplete on its own. I can't recommend this game and series enough. Once you get hooked you will be obsessed with its characters and world.
Want some fun, possibly co-op arcade shooter action that you don't have to think too hard about? This is that game. Plays great on Linux, recognizes my PlayStation gamepad, and makes me smile when unlocking a new "Bro"
Slain has a very attractive pixel art in the style of a dark fantasy heavy metal. I've been playing on Linux and it runs perfect. Everything is smooth. The game is punishing. Combat feels like Actraiser but with a Ghouls and Ghosts/Ninja Gaiden level of difficulty. Fortunately each level has many checkpoints so you only have to learn a small section at a time. I play about 10 minutes, get frustrated, stop. Return later and reach the next check point or two. Repeat. It's fun when you learn how to beat a section and frustrating until you do. But mostly fun.
I like the writing and concept. Though the voice actors are not amazing. The graphics are very smooth and everything looks great. I'm curious how deep the full game is, but what's shown in the demo looks very polished and fun.
The game is a must play for any JRPG fan. The gameplay is some of the smothest and best in the series. The characters are all interesting, likable, and well written. The music is AAA. The story: The story is exceptional. However it is divided into 2 parts. To fully appreciate how great this game/story is you do need its second half (Tales of Azure) which will be released in 2023. Both are long complete games but the story is just so big it had to be told across 2 games. It is also very much worth playing the Trails in the Sky trilogy before this one. There is a significant plot line in this game that involves massive spoilers for the previous games in the series and finishes a big part of the plot for those characters.
This game is significantly better than Kingmaker. It is more polished, easier to learn, prettier, & has better story/characters. The music is very good although some tracks are a little short. The spell effects are outstanding. The characters are mostly very interesting and have good voice actors. IMO the biggest thing this game lacks is more voice acting. Divinity Original Sin 2 was fully voiced and that made the game so much better. The lack of voice acting in this game can make it feel like work to play. If you are tired, trying to read tiny text to follow the story is not fun. It's work. Another problem is that the game has long load times when entering areas. The environments are nothing special by today's standards so I consider the long load times unacceptable. Apparently this game has spyware which is terrible. My advice is to block the executable from having internet access in the Windows firewall or run the game as a user with no internet access if on Linux. Normal combat in this game is done very well in both turn based or real time mode. The combat you do with armies however is a poorly done and not fun. Unless you are a huge D&D fan, this game is nowhere as good as DOS2 particularly in terms of presentation & accessibility. But among D&D games, I believe this is currently the best one.
If you've completed Trails in the Sky you really don't need a review you likely already bout this because this game picks up just a few hours after the cliff hanger ending of the first game. Honestly this is barely a new game. It's really the 2nd half of the first game. But they are so massive that it's not surprising they were split up. If you haven't played the first Trails in the Sky game you CAN NOT play this. It would be like walking in to the last half of a movie and having no clue what's happened. So you should know what to expect from this game. Combat has barely changed other than it being harder. The characters are largely the same. You'll see most of the same places you saw in the first game. The graphics and music are 95+% the same. But like I said this really is just the 2nd half of the first game. You'll be playing it for the continuation of the story and to learn more about the mysteries started in the first game. It's a longer game than the first and more difficult but totally worth it. But honestly if you played FC you already know all you need to make a decision about this game.
I tried playing this game several times and quit because it seemed like a boring grind at first. It is a slow burn for sure. But I tried once more and this time it clicked for me. You really need to finish the prologue chapter before things begin to come together. This is an epic story with great characters, mystery, and world. So much happens. You'll constantly be surprised who the bad guys really are. Enemies will become friends. The game is pretty massive and is way deeper plot wise then it may seem at first. It's a bit like Naruto in that way (if you are familiar with the anime). Here are a few suggestions for getting the most from the game. First search out what you need to add the Japanese voice acting. It makes a big difference having the voices even if you need the subtitles to understand it. Next find the BGM folder in the game and replace the ogg files of songs you don't like for ones you do. Most of the music in this game is great but I personally dislike the battle music which you'll hear a lot. You may want to replace that with music you prefer instead. And finally I suggest following a guide because there are tons of missable things in this game and it will make your experience smoother without spoiling anything. I almost missed out on this series and am so glad I kept giving it a chance because once you get hooked, this will be probably be your #1 or #2 JRPG series of all time. For reference I really like the early Final Fantasy games, Grandia, Skies of Arcadia, etc. but this probably tops them all.
I really like this game. I don't like Baldur's Gate or Pillars of Eternity but I like this game. I think it may be because the graphics are excellent for an isometric RPG and it is fully voiced. Or it may be because the characters and writing are both excellent without being overly long winded and boring. This game takes itself more seriously that DOS:1 and has WAY more interesting party members. That's the biggest improvement made in this game. The combat is turn based, deep, and well done. I think the difficulty spike between explorer mode and classic ramps up a bit too much IMO though. There are lots of ways to play from character/class choice, to single/multiplayer, mouse and keyboard or controller. Currently the game does have some flaws. The Quest Log is fairly broken. It's easy to have quests not complete or have them continue to update despite them already being finished. So, don't a nice clean Quest Log. Still, most of the things this game does it does very well. It's not as cinematic as Dragon Age or The Witcher due to it's dropin multi-player support but it's the single best isometric turn based RPG out there.
I originally played BG&E on the XBOX and did not expect too much from it, but WOW what a great little game. The thing that stands out the most is the amount of polish this title has. It's evident a lot of care went into crafting each part of this game. The graphics and sound are wonderful. This game has a lot of heart. The writing and art design makes this game something special. It's at times both emotional and genuinely funny. The game play too is actually quite excellent, mixing light puzzles, driving, fighting, and a surprisingly effective stealth element. The games weakest point is definitely combat. It doesn't take much skill and basically boils down to locking on to an enemy and hammering on the attack button. But everything else is borderline stellar. This is an immensely charming title I think all should play. BG&E and Metal Arms are my to most favorite games that most people seem to have passed by. Don't be one of those people!
