D:OS2 lives for its intense fights, and that's really the main reason you should look into this game. The fight mechanics are great, allow for varying play styles, hold many surprises and are generally really fun. As for the world, the story and narration however, I find it hard to come up with a simple verdict. For the most part, I couldn't really be bothered to care about what was happening to my characters or the world at large. The overall story feels rather contrived, the pacing feels off, and most characters stay as flat as paper cuts. The companion storylines are better, but here as well, too little (or too much of no consequence) happens between encounters and revelations. All in all, I couldn't really bring myself to care about what's going on for the most part. But even then, hunting for loot, building your party and fighting demanding battles makes for a lot of fun.
First off, this is not an RPG. There is hardly a single RPG element present: You cannot build or level your character (although units may gain a rank, thereby gaining higher general stats). The only arguably RPG-esque element are (very limited) dialogue choices. As a turn-based tactics game, it is a fun game, and the combat mechanics (including laying ambushes) work very well. However, do not expect too much depth or variation: You will face only three kinds of enemy units, and basically command three different kinds yourself (plus your own character as a special unit). Difficulty only lowers or increases enemy stats. On high difficulty, you will get swamped with unnecessarily tough units. Lowering the difficulty suddenly makes you cut through the enemy as if they were cooked pasta. Still, it is fun watching your assassin springing an ambush and singlehandedly take out a whole battalion of archers. All in all, Tahira left me somewhat disappointed: It starts out very promising, hinting at an interesting narrative. But in the end, it delivers...nothing, really. You never really learn much, only get hints and bits. You fight a number of battles, listen to your companions' at times cringeworthy banter, exchange happy, distressed and sorrowful whinnies with your horse, then suddenly it's over. It' s almost as if the developers were having you on: Wanna know more about the Astral Empire, and their ancient space-faring namesake? The mysterious Light? ...anything, really? Well too bad, 'cause we're not gonna tell you. Haha. We'll only give you some bits and pieces and make you wonder what all this is about. The whole game feels more like a very elaborate proof of concept. But for all its shortcomings, I liked the oriental fantasy atmosphere, rather unique graphic design, and the combat. If you like round-based tactics games, Tahira will give you two or three evenings of moderate challenge, but it will leave you lamenting over an interesting idea not followed through.
