So I'm a person who never, ever buys games at full price. I deal hunt constantly. There are few exceptions. One of these is Failbetter. The Sunless series is unique and beautiful. Others complain about "slowness," but that's only because they don't understand what the game is. It is slow, but its slowness is for a reason. It builds tension. It forces you plan. It makes your decisions matter in a way that modern slot machine inspired games just don't. This isn't an arcade shooter. This is a disjointed choose your own adventure set in one of the most unique universes ever concieved in gaming. The writing isn't just superb for a game; it's superb in itself. If this were a book, I would demolish it in a sitting, but it's better than that: It's a book baked into a starship sim. This game series is unique. I bought it at full price because I want the devs to have my money, and -again- I'm a total skinflint. I'd pay them more than just the $25 if I could. This game is unique in the way that Planescape: Torment or Undertale are unique. There's just nothing out there like it, and it is an *experience.* While this game is better than Sunless Sea in practically every way as a game, I would still recomend starting with Sunless Sea. Why? Because it's absolutely beautiful and weird in its own right. Would I recommend this series to everyone? No. Absolutely not. If you hate reading, don't like difficulty, or prefer constant action from your games, avoid this. For everyone else: Get it. Get it now. Not sure which game to start with and you only have money for one? Well, do you like Joseph Conrad, cosmic horror, and Gulliver's Travels? Get Sunless Sea. Do you like Verne, starships, and steam trains? Get Skies. Do you not mind a less slick experience? Start with Sea so you don't spoil yourself, then get Skies. I'm very rarely in love with a game. I'm an older man. I don't get excited anymore like I did when I was a kid. This makes me feel what I used to feel.
It's a great RPG, but the optimization is a joke. Load times can take upwards of 10 minutes if you're using an HDD
If you are between the ages of 9 and 14 you might actually enjoy this game. I, however, am an adult, and will be rating this game from the perspective of an adult. While I enjoyed the actual tactical combat to a degree, the writing itself can only be described as adolescent. This is incredibly sad for me, by the way. I am a huge Star Trek TNG fan and there are so few games that allow you to captain a ship like this out there. For me to pass on a game like this really says something. The writing really is just that god-awful. When I say the writing is adolescent, I mean it literally appears that a teenager wrote this. You could hop onto any number of websites dedicated to the scribblings of tweens and teens and find writing that's about on par with what you'll find in this game. From numerous grammatical mistakes to annoying anime tropes (the PC's favorite phrase seems to be "... ... ..."), the text ends up being absolutely cringe-inducing. These aren't the worst offenses, however; the absolute worst part of the writing has to be the amateurish characterizations and the forced reactions from the PC himself. The characters are all incredibly bland overdone anime tropes. A ship's XO should not be crossing her arms huffily like a teenager to the CO's orders. In fact, everyone acts like a teenager in this game, except for the actual teenagers who act like small children. When the characters aren't huffing and puffing over whatever teen drama, they're reacting like emotionally unassailable robots. Did your homeworld just get blown up unexpectedly? Oh, you're fine? You're not in shock or anything or depressed or horrified that your entire family's just been vaporized? You're just ok? Everyone's ok with this? Seriously? Developers who actually know what they're doing will tell you that writing emotional reactions to events for the player is a huge no-no. These devs should be attempting to make me, the player, feel something. Telling me what I fell doesn't actually do this. On the contrary, it's quite jarring. Seriously, whoever the devs hired to write this garbage is either a child or an actual, literal moron.
This iteration of one of the best games in gaming history is THE version to get. If you do not get Beamdog's version of PS:T, you will be futzing with mods for up to an hour or more and won't have all of the quality of life upgrades that Beamdog's version has. There is nothing at all wrong with this version of the game. The primary reason for the bad reviews is that Beamdog once included a trans woman in one of its own games. You read that correctly: A certain segment of gamers are still so angry about a years-old trans character that they are *still* attacking this developer. There are plenty of developers who have horrible, violent, hateful worldviews that they actually defend (Vavra, Wardell, etc.), but the instant a developer includes a minority character they lose their minds. Most of the bad reviews are from gamergate types complaining about Beamdog. Please keep in mind that gamergate is an organ of the fascist alt right that seeks to push women and minorities out of gaming spaces. The SPLC has classified Gamergate as a hate group. Beamdog has done nothing wrong and hasn't made any questionable design choices at all. This is a political attack on Beamdog because they pose a threat to the fascist worldview. Gamergate will *pose* as a "reasonable" middle ground, but once you pull back the curtain, and actually look at the hatred they spew on their websites and forums, it becomes apparent what they really are. Beamdog gave us a much-needed update of one of the best PC games in history. I'd recommend buying it at full price if you don't already have a copy of PS:T. If you do and you intend to replay the game, wait for a sale.
This game has not evolved much at all from the old Wizardry titles it's based on. Wizardry 6, 7, and 8 are vastly better than this complete mess of a game. Graphics: 2/5 Some are nicely drawn, but there are no animations. Sound: 2/5 It has music and sound effects. Can't say much else for it. Interface: 0/5 This is where things start to get bad. Really bad. Do you see all of these reviews and comments complaining about the interface? You're probably saying to yourself, "Oh, it can't be that bad. I can deal with it." Sure, you can deal with it, but you could also deal with NWN 2's interface. It really is roughly that bad. Inventory management is a nightmare. It's your typical ugly JRPG nested-menu crap, except in this game you are required to select all sorts of roundabout options just to equip, trade, pick up, etc. items. Everything feels like a chore. I'm giving it a 0/5 because, while it has an interface, it would be better off if it didn't. The game would literally be better if you could not input commands. That is how bad the interface is. If you had to restart your PC in order to exit the game so you could return it to the store, that would actually be better. Gameplay: 2/5 Horrendous. There are a number of interesting status effects, and character creation is a lot of fun, so it gets a couple points there. Outside of that, the game's just awful. The ability to look at your map requires inventory space. You purchase maps at the store in order to be able to see where you are in the game's (boring, uneventful) mazes. Plot and dialog: 0/5 NPC dialog just consists of cardboard cutouts talking at you when you bump into them. They only have a few lines of uninteresting dialog. The plot is forgettable. It's the same old same old you've come to expect from every garbage-tier JRPG (of which there are hundreds, if not thousands). Again, while plot and dialog exist, the game would have been better if they didn't. They only serve to annoy. They drive you away.
I have this on Steam. I've been playing blobbers since the 80's. This is the best one I've ever played. It's not open world like some (Might and Magic) but the story and characters are *vastly* better, and the combat feels more engaging. The paths you can take in the plot branch and branch and branch and your actions have weight. Do you spare an enemy? Do you steal that piece of tech? Do you choose to steal these medical supplies from a colony? Your actions will all shape how the story unfolds. Plus, it's straight scifi! Not only are your own characters given personalities, but even the enemies feel like they have personality. Most have a small blurb written about them. More amazingly, the corps you work for can all be contacted, talked to, and explored. They each have their own interesting liaisons and the corporations themselves all have character of their own. The best part is that it's all fun and engaging to read. The devs have a great sense of humor and a good eye for characterization. If you want an RPG with choice and consequence, secrets to find, and a fun and enfgaging story, get this. It is worth *more* than full price in my opinion.
