Story-wise, the game is great. Exceptionally detailed yet sensible intrigue. If you cause innocent people to be slaughtered en masse, either you were stupid or setting out to do so. Lots of mini-games and activities to flesh out life in medieval Bohemia. You're well advised to partake, as doing so can make your character just about unstoppable on the normal difficulty setting. Game optimization is fantastic. I can run it with fully pumped graphics and ray tracing in native resolution with a RTX 3080 card in a laptop. The visual design is FANTASTIC, better than KCD and even better than Cyberpunk 2077 in places. Combat is outstanding. Lots of ranged weapon variety, but definitely de-emphasizes the stealth archer gameplay compared to peer titles. Swords are currently strongest, but this can change. Newer players are encouraged to use short swords just to utilize shields as well. Stealth gameplay is outstanding, with multiple improvements to make it even more immersive and fun, and a punishing crime system to tighten up easy access to stolen money. Characters are often sympathetic, inspiring, funny, or tragic. Friends become enemies, enemies become friends, and you might have to ask yourself some hard questions about the game's themes as you play. Overall a magnificent return to Bohemia. I feel bad for the people who put this on the shelf, because the best is yet to come!
There's a reason Sseth reviewed this game, and there's a reason you should play it. Amplitude learned all the lessons of their previous games and made their magnum opus. Like Endless Legend in space: like Civilization with much better gameplay loops. Pick it up, you'll be glad you did.
Did you like Iron Tower Studios' previous flagship, Age of Decadence? Then there's an excellent chance you'll like the early access version of Colony Ship. First things first- this is a punishing, old-school game. Simple thugs are actually dangerous, and you're not the elite hero of humanity. You can die a LOT. You're well served to start off with a "social" character, especially the pre-generated Mastermind build, and try playing the game on what is basically story difficulty. Once you get the hang of combat, you can try your hand with combat characters- and eventually hybrids capable of meeting any challenge. The graphics are quite good and detailed, and a step up from older offerings. The gameplay is great, and you'll find yourself learning a lot if you pay attention. You might not be able to win every fight starting out- but when you conquer them you'll feel like Napoleon. Even I managed it in a second playthrough- and you can have more than two thanks to considerable replayability, especially for a game currently in the first act. Story and character wise it's much more sophisticated than Age of Decadence, and the questions the game asks about faith and liberty are ones you might yourself find relevant. It's early access, so you haven't met the full range of people you'll end up making into friends- or rivals. But you can get to the end of the Factory, which provides some very interesting moments along the way. Pick up Colony Ship before the price goes up. You won't regret it.
Every character feels like a person, no matter how weak or strong, with phenomenal writing and some truly insane possibilities and replayability. One of the true RPG classics. Oh, and thanks to the Merchant's Guild for the recommendation.
