I have a new PC, don't run any Mods and the (older) Version from Stream worked fine. This one crashes every two minutes. Took me 4 attempts to make it through the character creator. It's rather irritating, that barely any reviews address problem... Please be careful when you buy the game - and enjoy, if it works for you!
I did not encounter any gamebreaking bugs, but the gameplay is rather repetitive - especially with the delivery-miniquests. Where to go to is mostly guesswork as NPCs are constantly on the move (like in Stardew Valley only on MUCH bigger scale). If you don't have a map and guide open in a second window, it's getting overwhelming and frustrating very quick, as the ingame tracker tracks people's homes instead of people. I also highly dislike the themes/presentation (this is spoilery): Devil's contracts, human sacrifices, cults etc. are presented as a normal thing of which you as the main character are approving of and without a choice for the player compliant in. At the end of the tutorial you sell off your kin to a Fae, because the Fae wants a favour of you, which is in itself an hilarious error of logic. The game even says that the Fae will steal an orphen for you to play as, should you refuse to birth children to uphold the enslavement of your lineage. What you get is basically an unendingversion of Nick Cage's Wickerman dressed up as Stardew Valley, including Nick Cage starring as your sibling as YOU are fully on board the cult-train. I'm at a loss what the devs were aiming for here. I honestly just find this game disturbing. It's a shame, really. Gameplaywise there's much potential and many good ideas here and I'm sure there are people out there, who will enjoy the strange story-vibes (or don't think about them). I personally would not buy the game it again. For parents: Stick to the PEGI rating (12). For a change it's right in this case.
I had only played Gilde (1) before and shyed away a long time from this one due to the bad reviews. In the meantime it seems the projed recovered. I bought the game about a year ago: It runs stable, hs a lot of content and is a lot of fun. It'svery similar to the first Gilde-game. If you liked that one, you will likely have a good time with Gilde 3.
I've never been as frustrated with a game before. It's riddled with bugs and becomes unplayable in later parts. Characters can't be interacted with, dialoge goes silent, combat bugs out etc. Every new bugfix makes things worse and/or corrupts saves. I've started over four times, this is the limit of how much time I am able to invest. Contentwise, as far as I came: - It's no Baldur's Gate. In my case, this was a pleasent surprise - I didn't especially like BG and BG2 but am a big fan of Larian. For BG-fans it might be best to see this as a standalone. - I really liked how the combat is handled, especially that it's round-based, like in Divinity. - I'm split about the characters. Starting out, I hated all of them but two actually grew on me. The rest weirded me out, especially Karlach who is written like a ten-year old metagamer. Props to the voice actors though! They've done an incredible job, all of them. - The story as far as I've gotten into it (80hrs) is a mess. It's that case of "making thing confusing and complicated so that the holes don't show". As long as you don't think about it, it's fair fun. Once you get invested and try to understand it, it falls apart quickly. This was a big disapointment for me, as the other Larian Games I've played at least felt like they've been paying much more attention to logic. I also hate that the game lies to you about having choices when in it's progress your desicions are ignored. - This game is no escapism. Before playing BG3, I never was aware that this is a thing. I felt every piece of Media is escapism, regardless the topic or message. Here I got constantly confronted with topics and "people" I have to deal with at work our try my best to ignore on Social Media. I often left the game more stressed out then when I started playing. I don't quite know what to make of the game. Maybe I'm not the traget audience. That's fine, but I wish I'd known 300 hours earlier...
I own this game on Steam but bought it here a second time as the devs offered to support the Red Cross with the earnings. The game is pretty good. Most things are randomised wich makes for high replayability but also dampers with the difficulty. If you are into Survival Games and can grind your teeth around some setbacks and failure, give it a try!
Honestly, I'm not into Horror/Survival Games but biting through this one was well worth it. Combat is not the most enjoyable (or I just suck - I often suck) but story and athmosphere are one of a kind and the game is heavily focused on the latter. The soundtrack is also great and the chapter-ending-tracks are extremely well picked. Also there are a lot of Horro-Movie/Book references to enjoy if you're into the genre! If you're more a story-related-person get this game! You'll be rewarded. I'm a motion-sicky and some parts of the game as well as camera controls generally can be VERY exhausting. I had to play it in bits and often take a pause or switch with a friend in the later parts especially but it's possible to finish it. (I own the game on Steam and played with a controller. Can't say about how good the GOG version works.)
I always loved this game and it was part of the reason why I joined here. I played it with my brother when we were kids and up until a few years ago when Windows decided to not let me install it anymore I was still paying it. Therefore I was really looking forward to get this game here. It's a brilliant game up until today (just look at all the reviews!) and would surely deserve 5 stars! It really pains me to give this kind of review... Unfortunately the game does not work on my PC. It is such a shame! When I start it, I have to open the task manager first and reclick the game to get the controls to work (with a good chance that it crashes). Once in the menue, sometimes there are no maps listed and if there are, the game crashes while loading the map. Also the random map generator does not work at all. I also tried some compatibily modes but that was even worse... Out of about 25 tries I was able to load a map ONCE and that one was functioning just fine. Next time it was again a complete mess. I still want to recommand the game! It's worth a try and judging from the other reviews it's running just fine on most systems. Just be aware that it can also be unplayable.
I actually never thought that this game would be as addictive and fun as it is. It sounded almost boring in the discription but I got it on sale on a certain other website first and once I tried it, I was baffled how appealing it was. It's exactly right for relaxing a bit after work or to spend a rainy afternoon with. So I rebought it here because of the DRM thing. Baiscally you build a city from scratch, taking care of accommodation, food and welfare of your bunch of banished people in the wilderness, also managing incoming natural disasters and disease outbreaks. All inhabitants can be used for any job at any time once thery're grown ups and all buildings are made from the same two to three resources. As an addition you can build trading posts and exchange goods you have an overproduction of for more scrace goods. That's all there is to it. And really, it's a lot of fun. Especially to watch the town grow and watch people doing their jobs (f.ex. seeing crops grow on the field). The game creats a great atmosphere and really lets you relax once you got into the gameplay but it stays interesting. I also enjoy games like Tropico or The Guild but Banished is very unique and a great change in tone.
