(Note: This review concerns the original version, which I acquired before it got updated to the 25th anniversary one, and which you apparently still get when buying this.) Point & Click adventures are near and dear to my heart as a genre, but this one simply doesn't cut the mustard. The protagonist is obnoxious, unlikeable and borderline mean-spirited, and not even in dark humor kind of way, which just about kills a greater part of the joy one might get in playing. The story is riddled with long conversations of absolutely unfunny dialogue that makes your eyes roll at how hard it tries to be witty and oh-so-jadedly breaking the fourth wall, as if a game programmer asked his teenage son who likes Terry Pratchett to write the script. The puzzles are fine, with a couple of real clever ones (in the game's wacky wizardry context, of course), and the more obtuse one here and there, but way too many feel way too random, such as [SPOILER] getting a wallpaper catalogue as a completely impromptu reward for your good roll of the dice at a table of role-players, with no indication whatsoever that you might gain something out of it and not even a hint of any type of catalogue or book to be had in that situation [end SPOILER}. I'm fine with whimsiness, oddball logic and lateral thinking, but stuff like this is just poorly thought-out. I experienced two graphical glitches, one of which forced me to restart, which is frankly unacceptable for such an old game that is considered to run "excellently" on SCUMMVM. There was also some fiddling necessary for the subtitles and voiceovers to match, but the voice acting sounded too grating to be worth the effort, no matter how slight. In the end, this is just not a good game. And, by the sound of it, the anniversary edition killed even its detailed pixelated charm, so just don't bother.
The Secret of NIMH meets the Lost Legends of Redwall, and the result is a lovingly crafted castle you'll end up knowing like the back of your hand, exploring every nook and cranny, in an enchanting anthropomorphic fantasy world with a dark edge and bits of sly and well-executed humor. Ghost of a Tale is a gorgeous game, and the world is interesting enough for you to want to know more about it. Unfortunately, the stealth aspect ends up being more of an inconvenience as you explore than an essential element, and some items are rather obtuse to find, as one of the previous reviewers stated. An ability to take notes on the map would have been tremendously appreciated, as it's rather hard to keep track of all the doors, chests and trunks you've yet to open because you haven't the specific key. The lack of voice acting and JRPG "typed in text" for dialogues in a game with otherwise impressive production values is also a bit jarring, but the story is well written, and the characters are either likable or amusing, and some even have hidden depths to them. This is a game to explore and savor, not to blindly follow the questlog and check off items. Its ending screams "sequel", so here's to hoping it does come to pass. If this was the product of pretty much a one man team, I'd be very interested to see what could be achieved with more resources.
That's just what this game is about: Letting the player have fun, enjoy himself and not stress out. Gameplay is quick and fluid, the charismatic protagonist's quips and banter keeps you entertained throughout the story, leveling up is consistent and your point allocations are flexible and reversible, and you can readjust the difficulty on the fly. Boss fights can be won via attrition, respawns are very forgiving for those occasions in which your enemies do get you, and the only lulls in the nonstop action are when you head back to base to re-equip and re-spec, and decide whether you want to play a bit of tower defense, assign missions to your lieutenants, or send your pet chimera on loot-bringing hunts. One of the big problems I usually have with Diablo-esque games is how lonely they feel, but having a sharp-tongued ghost companion did away with that. The variety of enemies and scenery ensures your senses never go on autopilot when you're mowing down wave after wave of nasty critters, and the visual design of the world is distinct and imaginative, and makes you want to explore as opposed to just go out searching for mobs to destroy. The only flaws I can point is that the voice acting suffers quite a bit in the second part of the game, when the world suddenly becomes jarringly populated with Americans, and in which they also slightly overdo the whole "breaking the fourth wall" shtick. The wheel selection in the inventory is fiddly (tried two different controllers), and your companion doesn't always follow the behavioral patterns you specify. But those are just minor quibbles. It's not the best game I've ever played by any stretch of the imagination, but it kept me well entertained throughout and everything felt just right in duration, narrative flow and character consistency, and it gets five stars just for that. Get it, play it, and enjoy it.
This one is 4 and a half stars, really. And that's only because details like the chests in baffling areas and the respawning of monsters in the exact same spots - even bosses - feel very game-y, and the reasons for why you can't swim (there's this water monster that renders you unconscious and sends you back to shore) or why most of the hub city is empty and has houses that can't be entered (the dragon has people scared) feel a little too much like cover-up excuses. Also, sending you on a repetitive fetch-and-collect quest on the verge of finishing the game is frankly in rather bad taste. But that can hardly be held against the game, really, when faced with the sheer wealth of options, fun and adventuring it provides. Not a single crash or glitch to be seen, no bugs I could find, a heart-pounding soundtrack, a very interesting take on ye-olde-dragon-rises-up-to-wreak-havoc trope, and combat the likes of which you won't find in any other RPG, action or otherwise. All this in a fairly large world that beckons you to explore, practically begging you to try out the myriad of build options in it. This was a home run by Capcom, and a flawless console-to-PC port to boot. The one spoiler-free thing I can point out to those who will try this out for the first time is: Make sure you've already done everything you wanted to in the world before you go face the dragon. Things get irrevocably changed once you do.
...and you should enjoy this game just fine. As others have said, it's very much style over substance, but that doesn't make it any less a delightful little story. Gorgeous to look at and pleasing to the ear, this is Daedalic's attempt at capturing a wider audience, but it can't exactly be called "commercial", as it makes far too many references to the previous game to be fullyaccessible, and isn't exactly your run-of-the-mill happy Disney tale. Oh, and for any other Linux players out there, my version (Ubuntu 16.04) experienced the occasional freeze and slowdown.
At first, the "storybook with battle set pieces and occasional point & click" feels amateurish, as did the at times choppy transitions between game and cutscenes, as well as a few audio issues and repeated lines of dialogue (played the game in German). But The Dwarves slowly grows on you, based as it is on a quality fantasy series with a fairly refreshing concept centred on that eternal understudy of fantasy - the dwarf - and it does a pretty good job of conveying the epic atmosphere of the few battling against many. Also, while you might be frustrated at first at the characters' erratic movement in battle, and how it hinders strategic positioning, it actually feels very realistic - as it were - and different from most other games, and you learn to compensate with their special abilities. Great soundtrack by Benny Oschmann, as usual, and, speaking about the music, props to the devs for making sure there was a way around an immersion-breaking part of the game involving music and a certain German power metal band. The Dwarves isn't a deep game, and also rather short, which, if you haven't read the novels, might make you feel like you barely got to know many of the characters. But it's solid, has good production values, is well written and vivid, and makes for a bite-sized satisfying experience.
Pillars of Eternity has it all for an Infinity Engine veteran craving a proper CRPG experience: A fantasy world with a reasonably novel campaign setting concept, great writing (yes, you *will* be reading a lot), nice tactical combat, a long story, and all of that with visually appealing bells and whistles. It's a great-looking game, and has the content to match, even if a lot of it is very bare-bones and mostly inconsequential (your stronghold and reputation, for example). Where it falls short to the point of faltering is its third act. All tension dissipates, and the narrative thread unravels, as anything other than just following the main quest to its conclusion very much feels like filler - and not particularly interesting filler at that. Also, it's narratively top-heavy towards the end, and kind of expects you to really care about characters you barely met or heard about throughout the game, as the quest pacing is very uneven unless you just follow the main storyline; it's nice to not have a linear adventure, but you also have to somehow make sure you don't dilute the player's investment in their character and the things they're supposed to care about so the story has an actual impact. Another low point are the companions, whose stories are very short, and just not that interesting or satisfying. There's some effort there, but I could barely bring myself to care for any of them. It doesn't help that the voice acting in Pillars is... well, not exactly bad, but mediocre to the point I just put the voice volume to 0. American accents can absolutely be done in fantasy, but everyone sounds so blase and uninterested, it's like the developers went to a local Punxsutawney watering hole and had some of the local patrons read the lines in exchange for a couple of cold ones. Three stars is a bit harsh - it's very much a three and a half for me - but a game in which I find myself sighing at yet another trash mob during the final stretch kinda deserves it, I suppose.
It was with great surprise that, one day, I saw this game pop up on my list. The devs did well by those who purchased Shadows: Heretic Kingdoms, and that alone deserves words of praise. As for the game itself, it's more of the same (with some tweaks), which can be good or bad, depending on how you felt about the previous chapter. Me, I was most definitely satisfied.
This game was so much fun at its time, and still is. It's Duke Nukem's Asian cousin nobody speaks of and seldom invites for Thanksgiving, and the best mindless, lowbrow pixellated shooter out there.
All credit where it's due. This ridiculously small development team managed to craft an engaging, complex RPG. The story is unconventional and doesn't hold your hand, the worldbuilding is solid, the engine and rulework does its job, and the ending is surprising, to say the least. Also, it was great not being the Chosen One for once - even though you *are* special. That being said, it has some egregious flaws: - While the world does react to your actions to some extent, all NPCs are one-and-done affairs, such as a man who, after relaying to you the information he's supposed to, won't even acknowledge the death of his brother. - Precious few NPCs to interact with. Most of them are merchants or people you have no reason to speak with ever again. - Your companions have little more life and personality than companions you create. - Controls can be wonky or unresponsive at times (Linux version) - Some abilities are borderline useless, only useful at the beginning and completely disregarded late-game, or only usable is precious few situations. Still, while I found myself losing interest and just wanting to be done with it at the later stages, this game managed to draw me in and was faithful to its old-school roots. In the end, a satisfyingly enough experience, but one I might have been annoyed with, if I hadn't bought it on a sale.
