I bounced off this game hard three times. Then, after the Developer's next major CRPG, Colony Ship, came out, I was like 'this looks really neat but didn't they make that other game I never managed to play?' So I buckled up, settled in, and finally decided to accept there was a game where you could only see a fraction of the game on each playthrough.

This time, I managed to get hooked. It's brutally difficult in combat but most paths through the game don't require or barely require any (just don't join the Assassins or Guards and expect to talk your way through everything). The game itself is fairly short for a CRPG, with a playthrough lasting 10-15 hours. But each playthrough only shows you part of the picture, you see spots where other people from other paths are doing things and if you're playing that path you get to be that person instead. So when you finish up, you start a different kind of character, and see a different part of the plot.

If you find the premise interesting, I recommend starting with a Merchant or Praetor or Thief path first, as these can be done with a minimum of combat and the combat tends to be easy with friendly NPCs around. See if you like the worldbuidling and lore and skills and choice system. Even use a mod to increase your free exp if needed (there's one easily findable in the discussions). Then after you complete one of those paths, try a more combat focused one and learn the combat system. Then try to find some of the niche things in the game that require specific combinations of stats and skills and get to the depths of some of the weirdness. If you can get into it, there's enough for 4 or 5 10ish hours playthroughs or so that will largely feel very different from each other

I bounced off this game hard three times. Then, after the Developer's next major CRPG, Colony Ship, came out, I was like 'this looks really neat but didn't they make that other game I never managed to play?' So I buckled up, settled in, and finally decided to accept there was a game where you could only see a fraction of the game on each playthrough. This time, I managed to get hooked. It's brutally difficult in combat but most paths through the game don't require or barely require any (just don't join the Assassins or Guards and expect to talk your way through everything). The game itself is fairly short for a CRPG, with a playthrough lasting 10-15 hours. But each playthrough only shows you part of the picture, you see spots where other people from other paths are doing things and if you're playing that path you get to be that person instead. So when you finish up, you start a different kind of character, and see a different part of the plot. If you find the premise interesting, I recommend starting with a Merchant or Praetor or Thief path first, as these can be done with a minimum of combat and the combat tends to be easy with friendly NPCs around. See if you like the worldbuidling and lore and skills and choice system. Even use a mod to increase your free exp if needed (there's one easily findable in the discussions). Then after you complete one of those paths, try a more combat focused one and learn the combat system. Then try to find some of the niche things in the game that require specific combinations of stats and skills and get to the depths of some of the weirdness. If you can get into it, there's enough for 4 or 5 10ish hours playthroughs or so that will largely feel very different from each other