I'm going to give my review from the perspective of a modern gamer who has had a little exposure to classics, but has his own insight on older design decisions. First, and foremost, this is just an assumption, but this feels like their first attempt at an AD&D videogame, but I could be wrong. When I popped in, I've chosen a Mage, generalist... and built them with great constitution, intelligence and wisdom. I have no knowledge of AD&D and its rules, as I said, this is from a gamer's perspective. My character and his party of 5 other people have been getting their arse kicked around sunday by all of the lower level creatures, and I just barely left the friendly arms inn. On one note, I like that difficulty and danger, because it really shows the danger of the Sword Coast, and I feel it adds to the experience to have to be extra cautious of what you fight. On the other hand, however, the game feels like it hates me and any strategy I try to devise that isn't "use magic missile". Apart from the seemingly over-difficult gameplay (am I really going to have to tone down the difficulty from normal over this?), the interface shows its age. In an older time, difficult RPGs with somewhat frustrating interfaces were much more accepted, since it was still a newer thing. I dislike the camera system, the hotkeys, the movement, and quite a few other things. The difficulty of the game, along with the interface which hasn't aged well, can easily throw some people off. So why not 1 or 2 stars? It really, really feels like it was a first attempt at a 3D AD&D RPG, and again, I could be wrong. However... it certainly wasn't bad! Currently I have issues, and I've been thrown off this more times than I can count, but the mystery of the story and what will happen next bring me back to try the game again and again. I'd say this is difficult to get in to, but not a bad game, hence my 3 stars. I recommend Neverwinter Nights as a somewhat modern alternative, but it has its own problems.
Occasionally I stalk GoG for some releases I don't know about, never really write reviews because I don't seem to have the knack for such, that and sometimes I might accidentally spoil something. However, having found this game by luck on GoG, a lot of nostalgia hit me. It wasn't Baldurs Gate that was an influencing RPG in my past, nor was it Ultima or the like, but rather, it was this RPG right here that set my standards for the future. Unique characters, unique areas, an interesting story and lore to discover, a bit of a difficulty jump at the beginning as it's quite difficult to start, but you'd just be amazed at how everything just gets so much BETTER after the rough beginnings. You truly turn in to the hero you are supposed to be. Graphics wise, game's doing pretty well, especially in the gore department. Gameplay mechanics are acceptable, except for a sometimes fussy movement AI and picking up items (I always did have fun messing with the funky AI). On sound, I have to say that voice acting, ambience, and music does very well. What really won this game over for me was the different take on magic. The idea of hex stones, the fact that magic is actually MAGIC and not some toy Magic Missile cop-out. Magical lore and even just the magic itself was a strong basis for Soulbringer, in my opinion, and I loved it. Thanks for getting this gem on here, GoG. :)
