This game got dumped on by a lot of critics when it came out, and not without reason. Magic is gimpy, and the most powerful tactic by far is kicking dudes into pointy things. However, the fact remains that no game has ever made first person melee combat feel so good or so smooth, not even zeno clash. It's also one of the few games that effectively combines action and stealth gameplay, so that both approaches seem worthwhile, even using both if you've spent your skillpoints appropriately. Just do yourself a favor and don't bother with hardcore mode. It makes all humanoid enemies and possibly spiders invincible unless you knock them down and hit them with a coup de grace, which makes combat incredible tedious.