It will feel very dated and difficult to play at first, but if you stick with it, you will have a great time. I kind of wish they would remaster it. Modern Controls and a few QoL changes would definitely make it more accessible.
The short and skinny of it is that this game IS good. However, it is far from the groundbreaking masterpiece so many claim it to be; and possibly the worst sequel to any game I have ever played. I put 300 hours in and do believe it's worth its price tag. 2.5 out of 5 If you would like the long version. Well then, hoo boy, buckle up buckaroo. The combat is turn-based and is very familiar of the X-Com series. Not bad by any means. However, this type of combat can be a SLOG. Especially given the developers propensity to overcrowd the battlefield. I played on the hardest difficulty, and while not very challenging, your enemies are given more health and defense compounding the already slow combat. The game doesn't have a pause button. Why? No idea. The narrative is by far the weakest aspect of this game. Suffering from poor pacing, dialogue with all the quality of a YA novel and a story that is convoluted, contrived and nonsensical. A huge step down from its predecessors. There are a few instances with particular companions that the quality of storytelling is elevated, but those few moments are drowned in mediocrity. The previous tale has been so grievously retconned, that it is a wonder they even made it a sequel. If they didn't want to be faithful to Biowares games, then just don't make a sequel. Instead, Legacy characters are dragged out and defaced for absolutely no reason and events are re-written poorly. Companions and relationships aren't done very well compared to other games in the genre and can be very buggy. The long rest mechanic is used to advanced subplots and is poorly implemented, making it easy to miss chunks of story. I personally disliked the Narrator. It was the most immersion breaking thing I have ever encountered in a CRPG. Nothing should be telling you how YOUR character is feeling in a slow. ASMR. drawl. Pretty con heavy and I could go on, but I'm running out of characters. So. It was disappointing, but still engaging enough for 300 hrs.
