Never mind that the story is really just a flimsy excuse for you to gawk at attractive people and kick orcs in the groin; never mind that the game has a really hard time running on modern hardware; never mind the mountains of jank you'll encounter; Dark Messiah of Might & Magic is a game you should try out simply because there's no other action game I can think of that oozes with so much charm and creativity despite all the things I previous mentioned.

Throughout Dark Messiah, you'll find that the typical ways of engaging with enemies and challenges are often ineffective: instead of spamming enemies with arrows or melee attacks or fireballs, you'll discover that it's often more effective (and a lot more entertaining) to kick them into a pit, or to drop a barrel on their head from the roof, or to cut a rope, causing a chandelier to smash into them. The level design is built around teaching you these weird little ways to game the Source Engine, and hours of fun await as you giddily watch various creatures ragdoll around the map while planning an even more ridiculous way to dispose of the next foe. Platforming, usually a nightmare in any first-person action game, is surprisingly managable in this game, mainly because the game lets you clamber onto a surface that you barely missed. Exploration is mostly rewarding, with very few exceptions. Around most nooks and crannies are hidden goodies that help you in combat, and the dopamine rush of figuring out there's a hidden area without the game overtly hinting at it can be quite satisfying. The same goes for most of the game's challenges: Dark Messiah has that old-timey respect for the player; in most cases, the game will let the player experiment. Most oddball ideas I've tried in my playthrough have ended up working, with some trial and error; the game at no point blocked me with invisible walls or forced me to do things the "right way" unless I failed an objective.

Now that I've thoroughly gassed the fun parts of the game up, it's time to warn you about the negatives. The game is a very linear experience, apart from the different builds you can make (only some of which are viable; the game heavily favors melee over ranged and magical combat). There are a few story choices, but the consequences are mainly cosmetic, since the story itself isn't all that deep or meaningful. Although the smaller levels are quite navigable, the game's larger dungeons are quite easy to get lost in. The worst offender is the game's final area, a huge map where you can easily miss optional objectives if you're not careful. Itemization is mostly uninteresting: better gear = number go up, with a few exceptions.

Overall, considering how cheap this game is, you could do a lot worse than spending about 10 hours kicking stuff in a surprisingly reactive environment, and experience one of the most unique action games of the mid-2000s.

This could be the greatest game I've ever played. ... If I can keep it running.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2830060155

A great example of a game with amazing gameplay brought down by a story that, at best is just okay, and at worst is downright terrible.

Still recommend playing it if you can sit through the story.