Nice art style, writing isn't bad. The basic mechanics, the classes, the basic gameplay loop are all good - this could be a great game. But you fight mostly harmless groups often consisting of only one enemy type, so the fights become bland very quickly. The game has a lot of potential but doesn't live up to it.
Adding RPG elements - character backgrounds and party members with their own uses and personalities - to an adventure game is great. I hope that Wadjet Eye explores this further in future titles. Unfortunately nothing else about Unavowed really stands out, with the possible exception of the UI. You can use your party members to solve puzzles but what they actually do is often quite bland. For instance, one of them is a centuries old half-jinn whose pirate queen mother taught her how to fight and you mostly just use her sword as an impromptu crowbar. The puzzles in general are usually simplistic and way too many just come down to "exhaust all dialogue options" or "find two documents to figure out code/password that blocks access to area/conversation topics". The story is formulaic and while the world has many interesting aspects, few of them are fully realized. The latter is a problem with the game's episodic case structure: since most cases introduce entirely new aspects of the world, there's rarely time to really explore them. The party members and their stories have potential but their reactions to cases are often very one-note. When it comes to the game's aesthetics, the areas look nice and the voice acting and music are generally good but the animations and sound effects are lacking. Overall, it's a game that is worth playing for its mechanical innovations but also brought down by many flaws making it less satisfying and immersive than it could have been.
Should be 3.5 stars. I got a Steam key as a gift, but if I'd bought it for 20 bucks I wouldn't have regretted it despite some disappointments. The fights are good, on average better than the original BGs were. This has always been Beamdog's strong point, and they don't disappoint. There are maybe a few too many fights that can be solved by AoE attacks, but this is a minor concern. Really good boss fights. The companions range from okay to good with Schael Corwin, the Archer, being a definite highlight. Loot is nice, unlike in the original BGs you can safely use pretty much any weapon category. Side quests can be divided into involved dungeon crawls (good) and some mini quests (often generic fetch quests, kinda mediocre overall). There is nice reactivity with regards to quest resolutions. The main plot is where the game squanders its potential. It's promising, and the antagonist for most of the game, Caelar Argent, could be good, but she's not allowed to be, because Irenicus cameos take up so much time - Irenicus interacts far more with the main character than Caelar. The resolution feels rushed, and surprise, the villain is another old IE acquaintance. Also, some clarifications regarding complaints about the game pushing an SJW agenda and all that: They are ridiculous. It's safe to say that the game takes a stand, but it does so in the most low-key way imaginable. One particularly classy review here states that the transsexual cleric "blurts out a ludicrous sex change story [...] on first meeting". The character mentions that she was born a man but transitioned to a woman when you ask her about her name. That's it. One line of dialogue. That character is involved in multiple quests. Her trans identity never comes up again. Minsc's Gamergate reference is an easter egg line that I never heard throughout the entire campaign. All these people leaving 1 star reviews are looking to be offended, many probably haven't played the game, and none should be listened to.
If "XCOM clone that replaces base building with CYOA segments" sounds like something you really must have, get this when it's at least 50% off. Otherwise, don't bother. Length: 15-20 hours. The campaign is split up into multiple scenarios, mini-campaigns of their own. Annoyingly, there is only a simple checkpoint system and no ability to save manually. Some missions have a lengthy setup stage. Having to repeat those is downright painful. Combat: The tactical combat copies Firaxis' XCOM, adding the Luck mechanic to sort of distinguish it. Luck is a stat that gives you a chance to avoid shots and can be used to pay for some abilities. Your luck pool decreases when you evade a shot, increases when you get hit. The issue is that you get shot at constantly in many missions simply because of the number of enemies. In these cases you will often have trouble paying for abilities unless you get hit. Many maps are too small, and often enough you start in a defensive position, with 10 enemies right in front of you and no incentive to move beyond getting into slightly better cover. There is no enemy variability beyond stat and weapon variations. There are no crits and it's generally easy to get 100% chance to hit, making combat reasonably predictable. Cover can be hard to figure out, though. Characters only differ in stats, advancement happens through playing cards that you assign to characters, giving a small stat boost and an ability. Card balance is bad, and several are incredibly overpowered. There's one that reduces the HP of everyone on the map to 1, and enemies don't use healing items. Between battles: Basic CYOA adventure stuff and some trading. For how long these parts take in some scenarios (you'll often click through text much more than fight), there's very little depth here. Some scenarios come with a gimmick added to the CYOA segments, like having to manage supplies. These generally have little influence on how you play, or are just outright irrelevant.
