Played it a long time ago, and I still think about it. That's how good it was. You have to like two things: cyberpunk aesthetics and srpgs. And I would say, in Shadowrun, but in Dragonfall specifically, both are so good that I'm sure you could enjoy this game even if you like only one of the two. One of the best games ever made.
Unless you're reading a guide of some kind, you'll need a few practice runs to know what's good and what's crap - in terms of story selections, skills and traits, gear. As I said, you need good strategy and equally good RNG. I personally enjoy this aspect; even if it makes the game pretty hard, I liked it a lot.
Nice story, very brief, but useful as to give you context about what's happening. Good gameplay too, has variety in enemies and cards, and you have some other "upgrade/tier system" to play a little bit differently if you want to. Solid game. Not that much replay value for me, but enough fun for what I've paid.
There's definitely some fun to be had with this game. It's up to personal preference if you want to overlook the obvious flaws it has. All the upgrades, especially the "Master" talent tree, are garbage. There is absolutely zero perceptible increase in power whenever you level up. Oh you wiped during the last run? No worries! You can have an extra round of 10% damage reduction! You can get +10% chance of getting an insignificant buff! The possibilies! The same applies in the "Master power" reward you get for certain encounters. Like, you do 5 more damage with one specific attack. For reference, high level enemies have around 700 hp. And also poorly balanced like I said. Not enough gold to keep up with the later campaigns. Even if you spend ALL your gold on upgrading monsters, without purchasing additional ones (which is another big problem itself, since you're gonna run out of motivation very soon), you're gonna have level 3 monsters vs level 5-6 adventurers. They're gonna wipe you in 2 or 3 rounds and not receive any significant damage.
Most of the complaints in the 1 star reviews are actually fair. It's a Diablo clone, it doesn't have proper deckbuilding elements, and so on. It's nonetheless a fun game for what it is.
I can see this game's appeal, I really do. Unfortunately, on modern hardware and for modern standards, it is simply an atrocious experience. Pressing "ESC" to open the option menu in game gives it a seizure, no doubt because of something resolution-related, and it's a good example to make you understand the level of jankiness you can expect if you try it. I think there are other problems as well, such as a disgraceful UI and sharp, unnatural movement, but nobody ever reads these things so whatever. I guess I was expecting something more like Doom or the Build Engine boys, and this just doesn't compare from a technical point of view.
... But not much else. Yes something something walking simulator, but it's not a bad thing for me. Rather, I'm glad I didn't have to get stuck doing bad stealth sections over and over. Very good story but poorly presented in my opinion. The game pushed the "Children" narrative device from the very start, and not only it's overused, it also doesn't work too well. Overall enjoyable, but a bit too expensive at the time of this review.
... And 80% other stuff that actively ruins the experience. I'm talking about the puzzles of course. I wouldn't mind them if they weren't so pervasive. On the same note, I'd say that the area design makes exploring a puzzle too. Again, too much. There are only so many chest on a ledge too high to reach that I can handle without losing my patience. It's a shame because the RPG aspect is very fun - combat, story, etc. Why not focus on that is beyond my understanding.
While it is true that the gameplay aspect is lacking, I don't think it's an inherently negative thing. What, would you have liked some match 3 minigame? A tower defense section chapter 6? The focus of the game is the story, it's a good one, well written, well voice acted, and well paced (... Most of the time, as to be fair there had been some pacing aspects that made me furrow my brows. Again, for the most part the pacing is right). Unfortunately, there is zero replay value. But I would recommend you give it a shot during a sale or a giveaway.
Gave me that sweet sweet "One more turn" feeling I wanted. The game requires you to make wise choices: if you skill issue, you're gonna end up here with a bad review and I don't think it's fair.
