Obsidian and Paradox have crafted a gem of a world and built in some deep, interesting lore. The character dialogue is also interesting. Sure, your standard fantasy tropes are here, but they are done very well. It is definitely worth, at least, one play through. Where the game loses stars is in its combat, AI, and inventory management systems. The combat is limited and gets pretty repetitive. The AI has poor tracking and gets stuck often. The UI could use some work and it can be difficult to keep track of weapons and items in the late game. These issues were beyond frustrating and had me considering quitting. I might have quit, if not for wanting to see how the story developed. Finally, it is a short game, which did not bother me as I do not have decades to invest in CRPGs anymore, but your preferences may vary. I hope Paradox continues the franchise. Review note: Copy obtained through other service.
I think this holds up with some of the best Tim Schafer games, such as Day of the Tentacle, Monkey Island, and Grim Fandango. The artwork is beautiful, the story is succinct and interesting, the puzzles are coherent. There are some minor pacing issues and not much replay value, but it was enjoyable. My wife and I played it together over the course of a few evenings and greatly enjoyed it. Review based on ownership through another digital store.
There is a lot to say about this game with a limit of characters. The game has game-breaking bugs, it was rushed, it "requires" a mod to fix some content. Personally, I do not think the Restored Content Mod is required. I found that installing it still results in an occasional crash and a required restore to a previous save. Much of the content added has repetitive, boring gameplay and lacks any focus (probably a reason it was not included in the official release). With that said, it does complete some interesting dialogue with companion characters. The official game plays as a companion piece to the first Knights of the Old Republic and expounds upon the story there. Gameplay is similar. If you enjoyed that game, this should be no different. It also shares many of the tedious travel issues of that game, annoying errand quests, and navigation issues (the player controlled character can get stuck on objects often). Unlike the first KOTOR, the sequel lacks a narrow narrative. There is a lot of narrative lore that is discussed across 12 companions (I believe the first only had 9). Honestly, it is just too much and a lot of it is either not interesting or not fully developed. Moreover, the game forces many of the companions on you that it feels more restrictive than the original. If you can forgive this, there is an interesting villain and main story here. Pros: Interesting story arcs / some companions are interesting and its enjoyable learning about them / you can choose to participate in mini-games this time (swoop bike racing still sucks, but now you can avoid it!). Cons: Bugs / tedious, obtrusive, confusing, and sparse maps / buggy combat system / some quests lack any guidance (you need to walk around and talk to every random NPC and hope it progresses the story). Obsidian/Black Isle have and do make great games. I am sure this would have been amazing if not rushed. KOTOR 2 is just average for the time it was released in my opinion.
In full discretion, I received this for free from GOG. Thanks GOG! DA:O is a classic Bioware game in the spirit of Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic. Anybody who played KOTOR will recognize the play style, the character interactions, and gray morality choices. Your player controlled character will be accompanied by three companions that can be automatically controlled based on a behavior set or micromanaged when the game is paused. Overall the story and game mechanics are interesting and enjoyable. The game does suffer from some heavy back tracking and lack of quick movement some areas. There are also some pretty tedious puzzles (though they are mostly side quests that can be ignored). I cannot judge the game too harshly based on this, though since these issues were common in crpgs of the time. I also experienced a number of sudden crashes in graphic intense areas if my settings were too high - namely Deep Roads and end game areas. DA:O is worth the price on GOG and I would have happily paid for it, though I enjoy the free giveaways. The Ultimate Edition includes all DLC and the expansion and should provide many hours of enjoyment. I look forward to EA finally giving up on Origins and the rest of the DA titles coming to GOG.
This was one of my favorite adventure games as a child and still stands up to the best Lucas Arts and Sierra adventure games. To keep it brief, it is worth the price on GOG. With that said, it is not a good as I remember. The story, the voice acting, and the music are still great. What I realized is that I have less patience for moon logic puzzles (only a few in this game compared to many LA titles) as an adult, especially when some of them are quite buggy, which I won't discuss here to avoid spoilers. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the game and played through all three paths - I was just more frustrated when I first played it as a kid.
Full disclosure: I was a Kickstarter backer and fan of the QFG series. Hero-U has gone through many changes since it's original Kickstarter campaign to become more of an homage to the QFG series. This meant some of the ideas from the original roguelike were scrapped. Instead we get a full-fledged QFG-like game. For the review, I will do my best to remove the fan goggles. Pros: Interesting world building, well designed characters, and logical adventure game puzzles. Cons: Limited exploration constrained by day/night/class schedule, clunky fighting interface, some bugs and animation hiccups. Conclusion: While the game is not perfect, it is an excellent continuation of the world built in QFG and a worthy successor. The game has some replay value as the time system definitely does not give you enough time to explore everything in a single play through. I am hopeful the game will be a success since I think the Coles have learned a lot making this and have some excellent ideas to expand upon. If you like adventure games, give this one a chance.
I received Oxenfree from another gaming service and have not purchased on GOG. As the press material states, the game draws a lot of inspiration from 80s teen dramas and horror films, like Poltergeist. I found the game mechanics similar to walking adventure games, like Gone Home or the Witness. If you are looking for more of an "old-school point-and-click," Oxenfree probably won't satisfy. If you are looking for an interesting narrative adventure with slightly different endings based on dialogue choice, it is worth the money to try. The story is a gem, the game is beautiful, and the voice acting is excellent. I give it three stars because the gameplay just wasn't compelling enough for me for a repeat playthrough.
Unfortunately, I receive an OpenGL not available message. I have tried a number of solutions online, but none have worked. Unfortunate, but I am giving it a three based on previous play through in my childhood. It would be nice to revist this game and hopefully an update will remedy this issue soon.
You probably noticed a good amount of 4 and 2 star reviews. Jotun is a mixed bag. It is obvious that the creators poured their hearts into this game. It is atmospheric, beautiful, and the combat system is well designed. The game is set into worlds that each contain about two stages and a boss fight. There are few enemies and each level/maze contains environmental traps that you must navigate. The pacing is slow, but I never felt bored as some reviewers mentioned. I did; however, feel a little disappointed when most wrong-turns in the game were simply dead-ends. Most boss battles are not very difficult as each boss follows a predictable path and there are multiple ways to defeat them and the power-up items are a little too powerful. Jotun is worth the play through, but I am not sure there is enough for a return visit. I am happy with the game, though I must mention, I received a free copy on GOG. Having experienced the game, I think I would feel comfortable paying the $15.
