Beautifully written and how they implemented the walkthrough into the game is brilliant.
Season 1 is decently long, has choices that matter, and is quite funny. I'll definitely be buying the complete series when it is available.
I bought it with the content DLCs so this review reflects the complete experience. I came into it wanting a long, Stardew Valley-like experience and that is exactly what I got. The thing is, when I finished it, it felt like there was a lot more I could do (didn't reach the bottom of the dungeon, didn't fully automate production, didn't fill the cemetary with bodies) but I had reached the end of the plot content so I had no more sticks to chase. I had more of everything than I knew what to do with it and there was really no point in continuing. The end of the game teases going to Town but sadly doesn't actually take you there so I assume that's where Graveyard Keeper 2 (if it is ever made) is going. I admit, I looked immediately to see if that sequel existed and sadly it does not. TL;DR: if you like relatively relaxing chore games like Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley, give this a go. The graveyard element of it is just a unique twist to the genre's mechanics that is very well done.
This game surprised me. It's semi-open world, first/third person adventure game, with an occassional fourth wall breaking dialog line and a lot of player choice. If you've played the first Deus Ex, it's a lot like that, but instead of being about nanites, it is about vampirism. Not the cheesy kind of vampirism either; instead it focuses on the concept of what would the modern world be like if there were vampires about. The Masquerade is fundamentally about preventing humanity from declaring all out war on vampires. It makes sense and I like it. Wish I played this game a decade ago.
Contrary to the highest voted review here and much to my disappointment, GOG has not fixed the timing bug in the game. That said, it seems to be relative to the Xbox 360's clockspeed of 3.2 GHz. My system and my friend's system are both about 4.0 GHz and we had to slow the game down by 21-22%, respectively, using Idol Ninja's Bezier speed test and Power Tools. I also used Gentlemen of the Row's patch to fix the crashing bugs in the plot. I also replaced the default music files with those sourced from the Xbox 360 versions because the PC's sound was horribly lossy and sounds awful. Further, this game only supports local LAN for multiplayer. We used Hamachi to play on VLAN. The game itself is still 5-star but the fact it takes a lot of time to make it work the way it is meant to work on modern systems docks it a star. I really wish Volition, Deep Silver, or GOG would give this game some much needed TLC. It's one of the best games ever released but it has aged poorly.
The campaign is quite long (Steam says I put 106 hours into it but that includes the Japanese Incentive which I don't believe is included here), the combat is challenging, and I believe it has some replay value based on gameplay alone. In short: There is a world map where you take over control of joints, premises, and constructions and built legit to not-so-legit businesses. The main purpose of this is make money and affect your wanted rating. Should you engage in combat (sometimes it is scripted to), you are taken to a turn-based map where you either try to complete the objective and escape or simply slaughter all enemies and be crowned the winner (think X-COM in the 1930s with police and gangsters instead of aliens). The combat isn't as deep as X-COM but it gets the job done. Other reviews said that there are no opposing gangs that try to take over the world map and this is true outside of The Japanese Incentive. In the Japanese Incentive, the opposing gang can usually be rushed, combat carried out, and you can carry on with the mission objectives without the gang causing problems; however, some maps prevent this by scripting (e.g. one has the wanted level increasing ridiculously fast until you complete an objective). Yes, it is somewhat repetitive. No, it didn't stop me from playing. Yes, I wish it had more end-mission balance. No, the game is not easy starting out in most missions (reminds me of the difficulty curve in Tropico 3/4). What it will ultimately boil down to is whether or not you like this style of game. If you do, by all means grab it. If you don't, don't. Please note that most of the "helpful," critical reviews are almost two years old. My experience is based on a play through probably a year after the game was launched (bugs patched, DLCs added, etc.).
And not just the game, there's literally volumes of backstory that the game alludes to but doesn't give you in its entirety. I have literally beat this game five, going on six times, and I'm likely to beat it a few more times to explore other possibilities. I've also spent days (literally hundreds of 11" x 8.5" pages) reading a *summary* of the backstory. Yes, yes, there are a few bugs remaining to be squished and the long loading time can get annoying but it's shortcomings are well worth overlooking to see the grand scheme of things. I can't wait to get my hands on future titles from Interdimensional Games.
