On a Mac. UI is so glitchy the game is effectively unplayable. I can't even finish the tutorial because I can't get the cursor to accurately select the walls I want workers to excavate. Like, the simplest, first step, and it just won't do it. Shame, because the atmosphere, look, feel, is exactly what I wanted.
I tried. I really, really tried. But this game is somehow too detailed in all the wrong ways, and not detailed enough in the ways that would make it fun. Real time combat in this kind of game is dumb. I don't want to watch a game playing itself. I want to feel like I have some actual input in what's going on. And I want to feel like I have ANY actual control. I want to feel like my choices matter. But the combat choices I DO have are all pointless, counterproductive, or actively useless. Combat is over too quickly to use 90% of my abilities, or I'm never, EVER in a position to do any of the more interesting things. Oh, I can play a rogue who backstabs? But stealth mechanics are terrible. Oh, I can play an all powerful wizard? But most of my spells have areas of effect that render them functionally useless in combat. Oh, there are complex rules about damage reductions... but I can't honestly tell if they make a difference beyond certain PAINFULLY obvious situations. Oh, I can play a fighter! Because I LOVE just clicking on an enemy once and spending the next 5 minutes watching the combat animation. The pinnacle of tactics in this game is blocking a doorway and drawing enemies to you. That's it. That's how you win every fight. You're welcome. And no, you won't get to use most of your spells or fancy abilities doing this. So 90% of character building is pointless. And all that lore and backstory and writing? It's so busy telling me how awesome the world is, it forgot to actually let me have any real effect on anything. Nothing changes as the story progresses. It's all grimdark, quippy shallowness. Seriously. I tried. Dozens of hours. And it can be diverting for a while. There's nostalgia. Hey! It's like Baldur's Gate! That's NEAT! But there's no depth.
I genuinely had fun, but as a lot of other reviewers have noted, once you've gotten past the second dungeon, you've basically seen everything the game has to offer. The item selling mechanics are basic. Most of the menus seem pretty useless. And the town you're helping to build and develop just doesn't have a lot going on. I will probably play this again. It's genuinely fun. But it is not a deep experience.
This game isn't perfect. But it is damn fun. The tactical combat reminds me of a better, more polished version of Ogre or FFTactics. It's hard, and it's meant to be hard. You have to build your characters right in order to succeed. If you like that kind of game, then this is something to really sink your teeth into. If you don't... if you want something more casual, then maybe not. Even the easiest difficulties of this game can offer a challenge. And the hardest difficulties feel like the computer's cheating, unless you know exactly what you're doing. The world is absolutely delightful. It's like someone blended the high fantasy elements of Tolkien with the goofy whimsy of a JRPG. The overacting is endearing. The humor is surrealist and enjoyable. And the quest lines often include fun little asides or sub quests to flesh out the world. That being said, it really isn't perfect. The inventory system sucks. The crafting system feels largely pointless, or kinda broken. And the story loses steam toward the end, But despite these rough edges, it's really quite an enjoyable game.
Okay, so I loved D:OS. Multiple play-throughs. Lots of fun. This... not so much. People apparently love this game. You do you. There's a lot of content, it's pretty detailed, and if you just want "REALLY BIG GRIMDARK" written by an angsty teenager, hey, go nuts. But me? I'm pretty disappointed. 1: Combat routinely begins with enemies on high ground and in prepared positions. This doesn't feel like difficulty. This feels like an AI cheating to make combat feel "harder." Even when I can sneak up on enemies and pre-position, my characters DON'T EVEN JOIN THE FIGHT. I have to toggle each character individually into combat by jumping around in my controls. Otherwise, they stand around scratching themselves while the leader gets slaughtered. 2: The companions are impossibly arrogant. All of them. The whole world seems populated with jerks. In the first town, everyone I meet is evil, or just fantastically selfish. All guards are torturers and gleefully commit unspeakable acts of violence. Their main opposition seems to be a bunch of criminal thugs. And even my allies belittle and insult me at pretty much every opportunity. I quickly find myself asking... can I just light everyone on fire or what? I can? WOW. Okay, you win points there, Larian. But since I like playing honorable heroes... Do I save all the evil jerks who spit in my face as thanks? Or do I give in and burn the world down? 3: Pathing for companions is terrible. If there's any kind of ladder along the route, at least one member of my troop is suddenly overcome with crippling anxiety. "OH NO! RUNGS!" Then they run screaming into the wilderness before I can stop them. They turn up in an unexplored part of the map, ambushed by enemies inexplicably hanging out in series of elaborate fortified positions. Why are they there? WHO KNOWS! 4: The quest journal is pointless and arcane. What am I doing? I have no idea. Even worse, I don't know why I should care. And that's really my biggest complaint.
MAC PLAYER. Yes, this game plays. No, it isn't perfect. WOW are there some wonky bugs. But it is playable. Now. That was not always the case. As to the actual game... Do you like the Pathfinder tabletop role playing game? Do you have a basic understanding of the rules of said game, and the kind of strange, arcane terminology regular players (you know them by the Cheeto stains) will bandy about? Do you know the difference between a Sorcerer and a Wizard (and do you have lengthy arguments with your friends about which one is better)? THEN HERE'S AN AWESOME GAME THAT YOU WILL LOVE! Do you like RPG's (even if you don't know pathfinder itself) and really want a crunchy, detailed character building experience that can take hours all by itself, followed by a steep learning curve as you figure out how to do combat? Do you want a game where you actually have to read the glossary of terms sometimes just to figure out what the hell your character can do? HERE'S AN AWESOME GAME THAT YOU WILL LOVE! Does all of the above sound terrible and boring? Run. Seriously. Do not buy this. You will be sad (and probably more than a little cranky). The story's no worse than some of the weird stuff regular tabletop players will experience. The companions are fun and interesting (if a little stereotypical in a couple places) and the overall effect is very "tabletop translated to a video game." If that is your jam, this is a pretty good game.
It's not worth the money. Even discounted. If they ever give it away for free, sure, give it a try. That is the only time I could recommend acquiring this DLC. The missions are tedious and generally unrewarding. I don't seem to be able to save in the middle if I have an actual life and have to step away to go do something else, and the content is literally the worst parts of Career Mode. But on steroids. Seriously. Load up Science Mode. Download some mods, and actually have some fun with this game. I genuinely regret even spending the money to purchase this, since it seems to have utterly no impact on the KSP experience I want to have.
