Is this a good or bad game?

[Darmaniac]

The game looks awesome to me. I do appreciate games like this where you get old school graphics , top down view and all.
Is it party base or you only play one character?
Is it like Baldurs Gate or more action oriented?
Why the mixed reviews damnit? Players need to understand that a game might not please them but will please others so if you don't enjoy them, thumbs down is dumb. Put a thumbs up for those who will enjoy it.

[Gienah Corvi]

It's a good game I'd say. It's solid. It's more action oriented similar to the first Divine Divinity, though it's not a full on arpg/dungeon crawler like Diablo. The gameplay loop is pretty good though, easy to lose hours playing it since it's pretty fun. Though it's not a very long game overall, you can easily rush to the end in 15 hours or so, but take your time and go up to 30+ I imagine.

The environments are very well done, I think they're better than Pillars of Eternity 1 & 2 for example.

It's party based once you get companions. You can choose which of the 4 companions that are available per alignment and choose two to go into any fighting arena (think mission) with you. Each companion has their own quest to complete as well.

As for reviews, well Steam reviews are just like or hate, no middle ground. Plus people that have a problem tend to be vocal about it whereas people that don't have a problem with something tend not to be vocal about it.

[texhnolyze]

It's a good game, really solid RPG with unique some takes not commonly seen in the genre.

[Eldacar]

It's amazinOH WAIT

:D

[holy-death]

Originally posted by Darmaniac:

Is it party base or you only play one character?

You play as a single character, but friends can play online with you or you can use AI-controled "sidekicks" (you don't really have much control over them though, and you need to find the AI companions first, too).

Originally posted by Darmaniac:

Is it like Baldurs Gate or more action oriented?

Action oriented. Think: Diablo/Sacred + Dark Souls.

Originally posted by Darmaniac:

Why the mixed reviews damnit? Players need to understand that a game might not please them but will please others so if you don't enjoy them, thumbs down is dumb. Put a thumbs up for those who will enjoy it.

Reviews are not mixed, they are Positive (74%).

But you really have to like how the combat plays and accept the fact the game is closer to Dark Souls than Baldur's Gate in terms of how RPG-y it is. Otherwise you can end up being disappointed.

I will be adding my own thumb up today, becaue I was having a blast playing Alaloth during this and the previous weekend (I don't have much time to play on regular days), despite some minor annoyances.

The minor annoyances in question (for me, I am mentioning them specifically if they might end up being a deal breaker for someone else):

- If you want to hear the Narrator you're forced to enable music.

- Quest log not having all the informations you need, meaning you can end up not being able to finish the quest if you don't pay attention to what NPC is saying or forgot it after returning to the game a week later.

- Other Champions are immortal and will harass you non-stop when you get all the Crystals. They aren't that difficult to defeat, but having to kill them over and over is annoying as they ressurect after 3 days.

- The hidden repair equipment button in the crafting tab(!). I didn't feel the need to craft anything (most stuff I found or got from quests is better anyways), which is why it took me so long to find out there is an option to repair equipment outside of crafting benches in the dungeon locations.

- Sometimes (mostly during intermissions when you enter a location for the first time, but this is true for some "lore" NPCs as well) the exchanges are too verbose. I like the idea of giving the player the feel of what a given location is, but they are trying too hard to provide information to the player at the expense of making the whole exchange believeable. The result is that these scenes sound artificial/fake, like a poorly executed play.

- In case of larger enemies it can be hard to judge the distances, and they can attack VERY fast (trolls, for example), which can hurt a lot.

- You have to go to the inn to manage your inventory. Considering you can't get attacked in a city/town/village I find the need to go to the inn just to unload my inventory or change my items to be a needless busywork.

- The AI companions can be helpful/useful, but I found them to be more of a distraction for enemies than something I am grateful for. In short; don't expect them to play tactically.

Things I like:

- The combat. There is plenty of playstyles that change how you approach the fights. There are also many skills, weapons and armours to pick from. It can also be quite demanding, even on the beginner difficulty (you have to win the game in order to unlock a harder mode).

- The world. It feels like a combination of Tolkien's traditional high fantasy with some elements from the Game of Thrones and for all its fault with the writing, it gives the world some sense of history and cultural identity, even if the delivery does not always land.

- Vorastel the Dice Game. This one is quite neatly executed, allowing for some strategy in a game consisting of - essentially - random dice rolling. It is also a nice way to make some money, outside of raiding the dungeons.

- The visuals are fantastic. The game gives me the Sacred vibes in 3D and the loading times are nigh-instant (although I have also a very strong PC, so your milage may vary).

- I adore the tabletop-y map. It is a joy to simply look at. It also has some nice functions that help you find locations (atlas of locations, I think it's called).

Frankly, I think I will just put all of the above in my review, because it sums up my thoughts on the game quite well.

[LuRaZ]

I agree with everything that is said above, and this really is a good game. Not perfect, but definitely good. I am now playing end game and I am really having fun with gearing (upgrading, crafting, finding materials, enchanting, leveling) and doing end game dungeons. These end game dungeons are really though.

[evertonhero]

yep definetly worth playing!

[TrevorRPG]

My GOTY