Volition has never shied away from trying their hands at new genres, and Summoner is their take on a more lightweight CRPG. You get to control a party of four, whose pathfinding is surprisingly good, complete with inventory managment, skills, and spells, and being tasked with lots of quests in larger areas plastered across a world map. Conceptually, Summoner is quite similar to something like Baldur's Gate, albeit nowhere near as deep. The plot isn't particularly interesting, and even though there is plenty of lore and world building, the mundane writing makes it hard to muster an interest in any of it.
Regardless, the gameplay manages to hold one's interest just fine for two thirds of the game: The cities are large and sprawling, and you're constantly getting new quests, levels, gear, and abilities to try out during combat. There is even a level of interactivity present, as somewhat similarly to Witcher 1, you need to click at the right time to chain your attacks, with the timing window getting increasingly smaller. There is also a decent level of variety, as even stealth sections with plenty of backstabbing and lockpicking going on are mandatory parts of the game.
During the last third of the game, Summoner does lose most of its steam, however. At this point, you're only revisiting familiar locations, actual upgrades for your characters no longer happen, and weaknesses in the design become apparent. Quests often amount to "find item X," and that item usually is hidden in a remote spot or random encounter on the world map, and finding it can be difficult even when consulting a walkthrough. Occasionally, the camera can also be annoying, and the constant fights against respawning enemies are just tedious instead of challenging. Summoner is a long game, and towards the end, you just want it to end.
Still, there is fun to be had in Summoner, and aside from two crashes, I had no technical issues, either.