This looks like an attempt to bring Pharaoh (and its sister games) into year 2020. Game looks like it is not optimised, with mechanics that do not work in intended way. I predict that in the final form it will be very taxing for the hardware, even on low settings, but before it it will need a lot more working hours and testing hours to be playable on a level that will be enjoyable. For now I will stay to "original"/old sisters of this one.
First and foremost.... This game can be very frustrating to progress the story. Think carefully if you really want to feel a lot of irritation, cos if you will play it you will be irritated. That is not optional. This game is, in general, a very good game. It is very enjoyable game and the story lines are, in my opinion, very immersive. The secrets and puzzles are also very good, although not as challenging as it could be. The fight is alright but there is one point that can make it frustrating at times.... And here the good points turns to bad. What makes fights in this game frustrating... and turns this game impossible to complete, or makes impossible to go thru even first obstacle/puzzle is the movement scripting, character path finding. The method used in this game is for the character to go were you click. Everything would be perfect if the script would work as it is supposed to do.... but it is not working. Do not know who made movement programming for this game, by he have not done a good job. He did a good job for a regular dungeon crawler, while this game with those kind of puzzles need pinpoint accuracy movement and the shortest, unobstructed path for progressing the story. This game DO NOT HAVE IT. You can spend 1 minute for the first obstacle, if you are lucky, or you can try and try and try... and like me you can spend nearly an hour (!!) to unlock one door to progress with a story. This is infuriating. The character go were I want it to go, only to bump into something that script define as obstacle and make the character TURN AROUND and loose precious time that you need to make progress possible. For the game to be fully enjoyable, either the movement script should be completely remade, or the rolling stones puzzle should. At the price it is sold on GOG, if it is not retailed, it is absolutely not worth your health. Buy something that have movement adequate to the needs of puzzles included in it.
It has been... about 15 years ago that I first played this game. Still got a map and a lore book that was included in a set when it was released in my country for the first time. First a word, or few, of a warning. This is one of this game that when You start playing it You will either love it or utterly hate it... and I felt in love. This is not a history about technology and magic. This is a mystery story that happens to be situated in a world of technology and magic. And the mysteries that are hidden, that you can unravel as You journey throughout this world, are many and amazing. The complexity of the lore that is scattered and available to You make it one of the best examples of how such games should be made. If you are not the kind that likes to read book in games... by not reading it You are missing about half of the whole picture. It is a crime not to read, really. I walked in the world of Arcanum a few times as different characters. Every class has it's advantages, and every profession (and race) gives you different results in encounters in that world. I wasn't really fond of magical class at the time, although being a mage is necessary for completing a nasty and interesting ritual at one encounter. Do not get me wrong, I enjoy playing an elf mage (best race for magic), but an elf engineer is a bit more challenging way to play, and a little more fun, by my account. And yes, I played other races then elf. Try playing ork (halfork?), most shunned race in that world. Arcanum is a... steampunk word indeed, and in such a world a profession that can engineer things can bring you more fun then any other. Whats more it is a treasure trove for... those that like to rummage through the trash bins. Here others waste is you treasures. You want to complete your new pistol by lack a revolving chamber? Try checking a trash-bin close to the nearest newspaper boy. You might get lucky. And if You read the lore... there is only one truth: History likes to repeat itself.
