You come for the smut (pun intended) and stay to see where the story is going. It continues the story of Treasure of Nadia, hitting a lot of the same notes and themes. You get to see some old characters again as NPCs, puzzle design has been improved a bit and crafting is a lot less of a hassle now. If you liked ToN, you'll enjoy this.
Played it for the first time recently due to recommendations. Used the Plus Patch on top of the Unofficial Patch that comes with GOG. The game creates a brilliant, brooding and atmospheric world. The early 2000s graphics still hold up pretty well in giving you that cozy and clear look. Hub areas and interiors are designed with care and attention to detail, the voice acting is superb, the writing is solid and excellent at times. Animations are pure jank, combat is barely serviceable at best and a nightmare at worst. The game absolutely shines while letting you talk to NPCs, explore the nocturnal city life and just get lost in the world. Unfortunately it was quite rushed back then, and while the patches restore a bunch of content, the final two quests of the main story focus on the absolute worst part of the game, the combat. Giant mazes, full of enemies you simply want to avoid so you don't get dragged into tedious, awful combat. Paired with some needless boss fights and dozens of enemies it sucks the fun out of the game, no pun intended, and brings down the overall score from "masterpiece" to "great with caveats". The shapeshifter boss is probably the worst boss I've seen in a video game in a long time, absolutely asinine amount of health, stunlock mechanics, adds and terrible animations. You can perpetually circle the boss while attacking sporadically and probably look at 10 minutes of mind numbing aggravation. Multiple clans and many dialog options as well as multiple endings invite multiple playthroughs, but I don't know if I will want to stomach that dreadful last part of the game again. The other parts of the game are stellar, even though you can tell the parts that were rushed. Still holds up today.
Yes, it's janky. Yes, Thorton sounds like a douche more often than it should be intended. Yes, the game was more ambitious than it needed to be, but this is a true gem. Thanks GOG for bringing it back.
