I was a bit lost in the very beginning and put the game down for a bit, but once I picked it up again I got hooked. The turn-based battles allow for surprising depth of play - you can use the environment to your advantage in various ways. Playing in turns gives you a chance to think about your next move and plan battles more than "hack & slash" real-time combat. You start with a party of two and can choose who you control. As you play, you can pick up extra party members up to a maximum of four. Eventually you might have to ask someone to leave your party, in order to add someone else! Different members of the party have different qualities so you can build your party to get the strengths you want, or need for a particular section of the game. The story gives you great freedom to explore and never gives you the feeling you're on fetch quests. The story unfolds as you are exploring, moving around, fighting enemies, and finding clues, keys, locations, and various objects. I'm looking forward to a second playthrough and seeing how different decisions will affect the development of the game.
