So it's not a Baldur's Gate game. It's Divinity Original Sin 3 wearing a rotting skin of watered down 5th edition D&D version of Forgotten Realms. Overall I think this game is very well made and executed generic fantasy slop catering to D&D and RPG tourists. It's probably not for you if you grew up with classics like Planescape Torment, Fallout, original Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale or Neverwinter Nights you won't find a worthy successor here. If you don't give a damn about D&D and just look for a fun lighthearted Netflix style interactive fantasy drama you gonna love this game.
So this is probably the closest thing to legendary Planescape Torment we will ever get, at least from the big-ish studio. I was not a backer so Im not gonna cry about turn based combat (which is always better than real time with pause anyway) or promises made by inExile during Kickstarter. In short it's a very good game but it's not for everyone just like it's spiritual forebearer. 90% of gameplay is reading. Combat is just a fraction of gameplay. It's an RPG not about mechanics, character builds and loot. It's a very personal story of a premade main character and their companions. If you want lighthearted, generic fantasy slop in style of Baldur's Gate 3 you won't get it here. The world of Numenera is a 100% weird fiction setting in which technology is so advanced that is basically magic so no wizards in pointy hats, no dwarves and no elves. Instead you get mutants, insect people, interdimensional beings made of psychic energy, cities built on ruins of ancient civilizations, and overall very gritty and consistant in tone setting, that is also not edgy and grimdark. The quality of writing is very good. And most importantly it's not bloated like in most new big cRPGs (looking at you Owlcat). Conversations are long but have substance and point, it's not just fluff and descriptions of what your interlocutor is looking like and doing while they tell you their whole life story before answering a simple question you asked. Why 4/5? Because in places Tides of Numenera tries very, very hard to show you that it's just like Planescape Torment. Because to get the most out of the game you must play a very specific character focused on very specific skills so just like in PS:T. There are some minor bugs here and there, graphics are nothing to write home about. Soundtrack is okay I guess (of course sounds very similar to that of PS:T). So yeah, if you like very story and dialogue heavy RPGs, or are a fan of Planescape Torment buy it on sale and have a great time. If you are a fan o Baldur's Gate 3 or Divinity series it's probably not for you.
To be honest I didn't notice any significant changes aside of the obvious running in modern resolutions on modern OS "out of the box". But hey it's still Neverwinter Nights 2 and it's still as good as ever.
