Tyranny is definitely one of my favorite RPGs of all time. It kicks over the RPG tropes table -- and it works. It's not su much that you play a "bad guy", as that you're playing a role in a foreign conquest that is trying to bring order to conquered lands. You bring Rome to the barbarians, so to speak. This novelty opens up new possibilities for character development, party composition, and choices. The game also sports a number of unique mechanics that are all surprisingly fun and work together well to complete the experience. (I didn't discover missives -- letters to which you can answer to drive the story in different directions -- until some time into the game). Party NPCs gain both loyalty and wrath points with you, based on how you treat them and the decisions you make. These points can accumulate to unlock powers. Nothing new there, except you can cultivate *both* kinds of points if you make the right decisions, giving your party more power in the long run. Like PoE you build your home base, but it is spread across several locations, each which can host one significant improvement and many different hires. Gear, skills, and combat mechanics all play nice. Party members can take on a range of roles, depending on how they specialize. Dialog is long -- lots of heavy reading -- but rich and compelling; the voice acting is very good. The soundtrack delicious, thematic, and proper to the story and setting. My only real complaint is that, while beautiful to behold and adequate to gameplay, locations are relatively linear -- there is no real sense of exploration. Areas are unlocked as you progress, and within a given area there may be a few doors to largely irrelevant interiors (peasant homes, for example), but most buildings are closed off and NPC interactions are limited to a handful of NPCs highlighted on the map. It is a thinner version of the PoE model, really. This complaint aside, the game is well worth your time and money if you enjoy the genre.
