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FireDogy

Jan 4 @ 1:03pm

10 year break, suddenly it has DLCs - what? :O

So I haven't touched this gem in forever, clocked in on steam today to find it had several DLCs release in 2017 - Funny that I haven't heard a whiff of that at all.

Can someone give me the TLDR rundown of what happened since the game was suddenly 'revived' enough to have DLC? And a verdict on whether they're worth delving into?

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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments

Rook_

Jan 4 @ 3:28pm

Originally posted by FireDogy:
Can someone give me the TLDR rundown of what happened since the game was suddenly 'revived' enough to have DLC?

I was wondering what to write but it's such a mess I think TLDR rundown just won't be enough.
Original developers (Reality Pump) went bankrupt in 2015 and were acquired by TopWare Interactive, the publisher of 'Two Worlds II'. At one point game got the so-called 'HD Update', first single-player DLC, then second and for whatever reason developers also released multiplayer DLC (while it was already basically dead), then another (!) multiplayer DLC, then they announced there will be one more single-player DLC and they finally released it in such a disastrous state that it felt not like beta, but like some leaked alpha version (unfortunately I pre-ordered it, so I'm speaking from experience). Oh, and according to the official report from 2018 'Two Worlds III' was still in preproduction and if I'm not mistaken it was the last time we ever heard about it.
I genuinely believe this game and the idea behind such weird development process throughout the years deserve at least a short documentary as I'd love to understand what on earth was going on there.

When it comes to quality of these DLCs I think I simply copy & paste my post from similar thread made few years ago where I think I described it pretty thoroughly:

Originally posted by Rook_:
Here's how it looks in my opinion:
- 'Pirates of the Flying Fortress' - the first and without a doubt the best DLC of them all. I was about to say it doesn't add much to the original story. but to be honest, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm not sure it adds ANYTHING. But I had a lot of fun playing it (and I really mean that) and its own story is pretty cool. It's different than in the main game, I'm not sure how to describe it, but I'd say it's less serious? I mean the characters you're meeting and their quests sometimes are just crazy and I have to admit - I had few good laughs there.
- 'Call of Tenebrae' - this one is pretty interesting. It actually adds to the main story in some aspects and gives you some tips about few unanswered questions from 'Two Worlds II'. Gameplay-wise it's not as good as 'PotFF', but without a doubt is still worth playing (and the soundtrack is really good!).
- 'Shattered Embrace' - don't even bother, it's absolutely terrible. The story sucks, gameplay is just awful (the game basically turns into hack'n'slash because the amount of enemies you're fighting is just ridicoulus) and it's buggy as hell. Oh, and it's been years since the release but there's still unfixed game-breaking bug that basically makes it impossible to progress without using cheats. I had really high hopes about this DLC because I expected it to be a proper farewell to the 'Two Worlds II', but unfortunately it is just awful.
- 'Echoes of the Dark Past' - it's a multiplayer DLC (but you can play it solo), basically few maps filled with enemies but I think it's just not worth it. It doesn't add anything to the main story and I wasn't able to finish it because of the bug on the last map. And I have no idea if it's been fixed.

That's pretty much it. To make it short - 'Pirates of the Flying Fortress' doesn't add much to the main story but in the same time it is really good DLC and it's totally worth playing. 'Call of the Tenebrae' adds something to the main story and the gameplay could've been better but it's still good and if you like base game you'll enjoy it. When it comes to the 'Shattered Embrace' and 'Echoes of the Dark Part I & II' if I were you I wouldn't even bother because it's basically waste of time.
---
EDIT: Few more words about the bug in 'Echoes of the Dark Past' - one of the monsters I was supposed to kill spawned in the ceiling and there was no way to hit it. But I don't know if it's a common issue or I was just unlucky.

Long story short - if you like the base game, its gameplay etc. you should totally get 'Pirates of the Flying Fortress' and 'Call of Tenebrae' as it is basically more of the good ol' 'Two Worlds II'. And just like I wrote in the quoted post - don't even bother with 'Echoes of the Dark Past' and especially 'Shattered Embrace'.

BTW - this game-breaking bug I mentioned in 'Shattered Embrace' is STILL not fixed and I think it's safe to say it'll never be.

Last edited by Rook_; Jan 4 @ 3:33pm

FireDogy

Jan 8 @ 11:41am

Originally posted by Rook_:
Originally posted by FireDogy:
Can someone give me the TLDR rundown of what happened since the game was suddenly 'revived' enough to have DLC?
I was wondering what to write but it's such a mess I think TLDR rundown just won't be enough.
Original developers (Reality Pump) went bankrupt in 2015 and were acquired by TopWare Interactive, the publisher of 'Two Worlds II'. At one point game got the so-called 'HD Update', first single-player DLC, then second and for whatever reason developers also released multiplayer DLC (while it was already basically dead), then another (!) multiplayer DLC, then they announced there will be one more single-player DLC and they finally released it in such a disastrous state that it felt not like beta, but like some leaked alpha version (unfortunately I pre-ordered it, so I'm speaking from experience). Oh, and according to the official report from 2018 'Two Worlds III' was still in preproduction and if I'm not mistaken it was the last time we ever heard about it.
I genuinely believe this game and the idea behind such weird development process throughout the years deserve at least a short documentary as I'd love to understand what on earth was going on there.

When it comes to quality of these DLCs I think I simply copy & paste my post from similar thread made few years ago where I think I described it pretty thoroughly:
Originally posted by Rook_:
Here's how it looks in my opinion:
- 'Pirates of the Flying Fortress' - the first and without a doubt the best DLC of them all. I was about to say it doesn't add much to the original story. but to be honest, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm not sure it adds ANYTHING. But I had a lot of fun playing it (and I really mean that) and its own story is pretty cool. It's different than in the main game, I'm not sure how to describe it, but I'd say it's less serious? I mean the characters you're meeting and their quests sometimes are just crazy and I have to admit - I had few good laughs there.
- 'Call of Tenebrae' - this one is pretty interesting. It actually adds to the main story in some aspects and gives you some tips about few unanswered questions from 'Two Worlds II'. Gameplay-wise it's not as good as 'PotFF', but without a doubt is still worth playing (and the soundtrack is really good!).
- 'Shattered Embrace' - don't even bother, it's absolutely terrible. The story sucks, gameplay is just awful (the game basically turns into hack'n'slash because the amount of enemies you're fighting is just ridicoulus) and it's buggy as hell. Oh, and it's been years since the release but there's still unfixed game-breaking bug that basically makes it impossible to progress without using cheats. I had really high hopes about this DLC because I expected it to be a proper farewell to the 'Two Worlds II', but unfortunately it is just awful.
- 'Echoes of the Dark Past' - it's a multiplayer DLC (but you can play it solo), basically few maps filled with enemies but I think it's just not worth it. It doesn't add anything to the main story and I wasn't able to finish it because of the bug on the last map. And I have no idea if it's been fixed.

That's pretty much it. To make it short - 'Pirates of the Flying Fortress' doesn't add much to the main story but in the same time it is really good DLC and it's totally worth playing. 'Call of the Tenebrae' adds something to the main story and the gameplay could've been better but it's still good and if you like base game you'll enjoy it. When it comes to the 'Shattered Embrace' and 'Echoes of the Dark Part I & II' if I were you I wouldn't even bother because it's basically waste of time.
---
EDIT: Few more words about the bug in 'Echoes of the Dark Past' - one of the monsters I was supposed to kill spawned in the ceiling and there was no way to hit it. But I don't know if it's a common issue or I was just unlucky.
Long story short - if you like the base game, its gameplay etc. you should totally get 'Pirates of the Flying Fortress' and 'Call of Tenebrae' as it is basically more of the good ol' 'Two Worlds II'. And just like I wrote in the quoted post - don't even bother with 'Echoes of the Dark Past' and especially 'Shattered Embrace'.

BTW - this game-breaking bug I mentioned in 'Shattered Embrace' is STILL not fixed and I think it's safe to say it'll never be.

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed response!
That's definitely some next-level messup, sounds even worse than the Kingdoms of Amalur scandal. A true shame that the publisher decided to milk a dead horse like this instead of just getting a few competent developers to make some good DLCs. I mean, the world, setting, characters, systems etc. gives plenty of material.

I was wondering why we haven't heard more from TW3 since then, but I suppose there's a ton of WIP files abandoned somewhere together with the corpse of the IP, a right old shame.

Cheers for the DLC insights! Honestly I tried to play the main game like 3-4 games over the last 15 years or so but I just run aground. Last time I made it to the Asian city thing and that's where my journey stopped.