I'm somewhat confused by the mediocre ratings for this game. Yes, it's buggy at times, and if you're particularly unlucky on your saving throws you might even encounter something game breaking. 'Save often, save early' was always good advice for any kind of RPG and it's somewhat sad that this translates into the state of the software nowadays, but you gotta cut the developers some slack. This game is - at it's current state - in far better condition than other major RPG players like Skyrim or Cyberpunk were at the same time after their initial release. I have not encountered anything that really hinders my joy and that could not be undone by a quick reload. So most of the time, at least for me, this game works. And when it works it works brilliantly. The story and speed of progression is amazing. After 50 hours I am right in the thick of it, with lots and lots of adventures still in front of me. The difficulty spike is rather hard, even compared to other CRPGs. Personally I do not like all the 'meta-gaming' you have to do in order to suceed even on a normal difficulty, and the game misses out on some quality of life features. You better come prepared with scrolls and potions in order to do some buffing in the early hours of the game (hence you practially can't rest after every encounter). Still, the fights are so far very fair and square, with of course some rather difficult ones in between. I don't possess a deep knowledge of the ruleset and often I simply do not understand how things work in detail (why the f*** can't I hit that damn ghost?!), but mostly I get around. The Crusade mode starts out slow, but turns out to be a nice change of pace from your adventuring lifestyle. To me the installment of MC as leader of the crusade felt believable and sure makes for some fun roleplaying mechanics. Overall I recommend this game without any hesitation to anyone who likes CRPGs, especially if you've played and enjoyed Kingmaker.
The beginning is tough. Tougher than anything else I've played in recent years. The good news is: every seemingly impossible fight can be turned around in your favour with just some minor spells, potions or abilities. For example in the first part of the game you will have to fight trolls. Lots of trolls. I didn't really have an issue with the fights prior to the Troll chapter, alltough a lot of resting was necessary to venture forth. The trolls are heavy hitters - so you do not want to let them hit you! Use spells to slow them down or immobilize them completly (web works wonders!) shoot them down from afar or have your highly buffed frontline tank hold them off just a few more seconds. I found that there are ways to deal with enemys like that again and again. There always seems to be some trick - you only have to fight yourself through the countless spells and abilities in order to figure out the right ones. But this is something that reminded me of good ol' Baldurs Gate (the game is based on the free D&D License so you have LOTS of similarities, only the lore is completely different as far as I can tell) As time goes by and you progress further into the game, your party will become stronger. Much stronger. But even in the endgame I find myself in a challenging fight every now and then. The story is unique in that you have to build your own kingdom. It's also interwoven with a very neat storyline, making you expand more and more into the world that surrounds you. The companions could be a bit more interessting, but I was fine with them. From a technical point of view I didn't have any issues except for long loading times and occasional sound issus which could be resolved by restarting the game. I can really recommend this game for anyone who is willing to put in a bit of work - or at least doesn't feel ashamed to turn down the difficulty (which you shouldn't be, it's supossed to be fun after all). The settings are VERY customizable in that regard.
If you've recently played Banner Saga like me, finished it in like 10 hours and after a not-so-different 2nd playtrough you were disappointed because you've imagined a game that would react on your decisions far more, King of Dragon Pass could be a true gem for you. It's really, really unique in its replayabilty. It has some minor flaws, but they arise by the game design so you either like them or dont. What I didn't like was that it's sometimes very random (especially when making those god quests) and the fact that you can save and reload allows for easy "cheat". And you'll properbly feel that the game forces you to, because it can be hard and unforgiving.
Postal2 is so many things, and most likely you've heard them all: brutal, politically incorrect, sociopathic, enforcing people to go bezerk, and so on and on. But one thing that really isn't said very often is the simple fact that Postal is a nicely handcrafted game. The world is fun and free to roam, with some barriers in the beginning, but very lovely designed. You can go literally into every house and do some stuff there, most of all wont fit any purpose other than satisfying your sardistic urges, but it's there. Add the humor of Postal that even Uwe Boll couldn't complety ruin, and you're having a over the top FPS that makes Saint Row look like his little sibling.
This is a masterpiece of storytelling, it's story will get you addicted! I just bought it because of that fact and - even going in with high expectations - I was not disappointed. The game of course has VERY much text to read, and I have to admit, that on the first evening I ended my first 4-hour-session with a bit of headache, simply not used to reading that much on a laptop screen. But already the next day I literally SOAKED every phrase out of this game.
