And the potential is high. This game is very obviously an rpg down to its very roots. If you're into that sort of thing, you'll be happy. If not well, you still might be happy, if you give it a chance. There are a few quibbles that betray its early access state, but all of those can, and I suspect will be improved. The world feels a bit flat (no pun intended) as of now. Needs more unique architecture, paintings, carvings, just things in general to make it feel like its own unique world with a history. The UI has a plain and economic aesthetic, which is fine, but it can be improved as well. Items need to be grouped better, it is time consuming looking at different vials of potions in which 2 may be "ingredients" and the others healing potions etc. Combat is the strong point as of now. Spells look nice, the camera randomly dramatically zooms in for some attacks, you can tell this is where the developers have spent the majority of their time. The three dimensional aspect of combat adds a lot of tactical depth. Watching those reptilian soraks climb and cling to walls, knowing my characters can do no such thing was a pleasant surprise, and had me re-thinking how I was going tackle the situation. Maybe the weakest point as of now is, things need to be explained more, and better. Most of us have played plenty of crpgs, but that doesnt mean we've all played this specific version of D&D. My cleric couldnt cast spells because he lacked a free hand, yet the game started him with a mace and shield. No explanation given. I found an option to turn that off, so I did. I wouldve rather had this wrinkle explained and then worked around it, not just disable it. Much more spell explanation is needed in the future. Also for a game this expensive, with an apparent price increase at full-launch, this needs to be a 40-50 hour game at least. But the bones and roots for a great rpg are here. For classic rpg gamers, this could be one you wont want to miss out on.
Crpgs are my favorite game category of all time. Baldurs gate, Fallout, even tactical-types like Jagged Alliance top my all-time list. As a slightly older gamer, Realms seemed like a natural fit, and I had read a fair amount beforehand about how hard and detailed it was, even among the genre. You can spend a solid hour creating and crafting your party, but I didnt mind. You can spend another hour researching how and what skills will be needed or useful. I didnt mind. You can spend even more time researching spells and their effects.. I think you see what I mean by now. All of these things are welcome in a hard-core old rpg, if done well, but they just arent. After hours of slogging through the actual game-play, the low-budget and admitted inexperience of the developers becomes glaringly apparent. The ideas and mechanics werent implemented in such a way to compliment each other, or even work at all in some cases. You will spend much more time fighting your inventory managment than you will actual enemies. Starting in the first dungeon, after finding a couple treasure chests and winning a few battles, you will have to treck back to town to sell what youve found, partially because you wont have room for it, but more so because you will be so weighted down, fighting becomes impossible. Quickly you have enough money to get the best starter armor and equipment, but the designers cleary didnt have this mind, because a full armor-set means even your strongest warrior will be weighed down to the point where they will not be able carry anything else in their inventory and still be effective. The designers werent expecting you to get full armor until youve leveled up a couple times and increased your strength. This hardly helps in any case, early on your spellcasters will fail nearly every spell barring a few. Battles with 10 enemies, all of them as strong as your best warrior are common early game. Again- ideas good, execution not so much. Your mileage may vary.
