"Create the hero you want to be... so long as your hero looks like one of four ugly portraits and has one or two abilities" badly optimized, even with the director's cut. ugly graphics. almost zero customization options. Way too easy, simplistic gameplay. Seriously, I would not be surprised at all if they outsourced this to Digital Homicide. This is actually the worst RPG I've ever played from a "professional" studio.
Let me put it this way: Every time I thought this game couldn't get better, it got better in unexpected ways. I've lost count of how often I've unraveled into a fit of laughter or gasped or the number of times my mouth's dropped open in disbelief. I'm not exaggerating. This game has been my life for the past several weeks, and I'm an older, pickier gamer who just doesn't get absorbed like this anymore. This is what a true Planescape, Fallout 1, Undertale, etc. successor should look like. It's weird, it's hilarious, it's thoughtful, it keeps you guessing with its vast array of plot threads, it's real, and when it's too real it pulls back quickly so as to not exhaust you with emotion. If this isn't the best CRPG ever made, it's in the top three. The writing is incredible. Masterful even. There are a few typos here and there, but the pedant in me doesn't even care given the quality of the writing. I'm the sort of person who advises you to always wait for a sale. Never put money down for a game today that you could get in a few months for a fraction of the cost. This is not one of those games you wait for. This is one of those very rare games you gladly pay full price for - and honestly, $40 is an absolute steal.
They chose about the cringiest, most basic paint-by-numbers neckbeard writer for their plot, and they think it's a selling point? They thought the guy who specializes in narratives for 13-year-olds is a good fit? Wow. Just wow. I mean, it shows.
you'd think after years of working on it that it'd be worth a buy. nope. want to build a base into a mountain or underground? too bad. everything despawns. interested in exploration? have fun with like a grand total of six or seven planet types, all of which look incredibly similar anyway. want to get into fun dogfights? yeah nah. combat sucks. and there are still so many bugs. and everything this game wants to do, elite, x3 TC, etc. all do better. forget it ever existed. it sucks. my god it sucks.
pay 20 extra dollars for the Terran Khanate! MOO1 and MOO2 are still the only MOO games worth playing.
You can throw your money away however you want. This, however, is just disengenuous. They're basically selling you horse armor for almost ten dollars and acting as if it's some kind of charitable donation.
This is coming from the target demo: an oldschool 90's fps player. Pros: The guns feel great. The graphics options are plentiful. The progression system is just ok. Cons: The levels are poorly designed for what they're trying to be. They're bad enough that I thought they were procedurally generated at first. Games in this genre live and die by their map design. This one loses most of its stars just for that. Seriously. Get Ion Maiden (Ion Fury?) instead if you want a build engine callback.
there are very few redeeming qualities here for PC gamers. this is something you'd want to play on a phone or tablet while in a waiting room. you don't even have a character on screen that moves around, you just click empty spaces. it's really dull. i don't mind games where you have to manage rng, but this isn't designed well enough that management is a real possibility.
I played their games as a kid, so maybe I'm a little biased, but I'm also a massive consumer of games. I own hundreds on both GoG and Steam and play only the most interesting titles for more than a couple of hours. This game has me utterly hooked. I think about it when I'm in bed. I think about it when I'm at work. I love it. I'm not a big fan of Harry Potter, but it has that kinda vibe. You're in this ancient castle, managing your time, taking classes, learning about the other characters around you, and exploring. In my current playthrough I'm trying to solve a mystery by finding and exploring hidden passages, while leveling my skills through a use-based system, sort of like Oblivion, or a lot like the old QFG games if you've played those - except now grinding endlessly isn't part of the game due to time management. It's a lot of fun. Oh, and if you're worried about time as a resource: it stops when you do, so you can plan out your next move. time only moves when your character moves or takes an action. It's a really great system. The Quest for Glory series was lightning in a bottle. It combined the best of adventure games with really interesting RPG mechanics. That was over 20 years ago. Now the Coles have apparently been paying attention to developments in game design, because this takes those old mechanics and brings them into the modern age. I'm not saying the QFG series doesn't hold up well - it does, actually. It's probably the only Sierra series I can still play and really enjoy for more than just nostalgia. This game, too, is more than just nostalgia. It's one of a kind. I really recommend it.
