Recent reviews by Rococo Princess

It is a classic for a reason. It has a compelling story and the developers adapted the Dungeons and Dragons rule set in a way where the game play did not bog down the story. That is what you pay for here, story, not staring at imaginary dice rolls. If you are a die hard Larian Studios fan and are frothing at the mouth with joy at Baldur's Gate III, you might want to skip the game. They are not at all alike. The story is pretty straight forward and most characters are written well enough. You will get your money's worth and best of all this was in an era before endless early access cash grabs. Now, that is enough shaking my cane at the youths on my lawn and rambling about the good old days. Play the game or don't it is up to you.

This game in many ways is a vast improvement over Victoria 2.....now hang on before you lynch me.

The change in military and troop movements people complain about I actually like. With all their other games micromanaging troops consumes most of the game. By creating fronts players can focus more on building an industrial society and playing around with the government mechanics. In theory, this will create a dynamic changing society that is more of a political simulator.

Unfortunately, it is not that sort of game. The player can do everything in their power to mold and shape the economy by boosting production of this or change this economic policy or import this or suppress this group ect ect....none of that meaningfully changes the game.

Sadly, nations just sit there spinning their wheels. When I look at the AI they struggle manage their nations. The living standards are low and markets are constantly groaning under the weight of the endless calculations you never feel like society has rapidly changed. Even if the governments names change, by the end of the game most of Africa is uncolonized, nations are still impoverished and none of the reforms you can implement make a bit of difference.

I like the idea of this game but the performance of the game....but like every Paradox game the longer you play the more broken and unrealistic the game becomes. When I look at the map in 1912......I usually just get bored and give up. Pressing a bunch of buttons to play around with factions and factories wears thin very fast. Then there is the performance issues. Game speed is always a problem with Paradox games with Stellaris being the worst offender but this one is right up there. Despite the game taking place over a short period time creeps by, the time to build things takes ages and reforms and crisis drag on. Sadly, this game is so hands off you just change a few settings for your country and tab out for thirty minutes. In theory, this could be a fun game, in practice you stare at a screen waiting for missions to complete and fiddling around with increasing the production on this good and that but aside from the random political events they stuffed in the game, nothing happens. Sorry guys, this game just is not fun and given how abusive Paradox is with their DLC, I think I am done here. If you really liked Victoria 2, just keep playing that and put this one on your ignore list.

On that note I feel sorry for the players who prepurchased DLC before Paradox even put it out. From what I understand, it was a bare bones release. So, here is the lesson of the day part of the review....never preorder anything from anyone.

So, this game is a bit difficult to rate because I think much of it has to do with what a player expects or hopes to get out of the game. As far as Larian Studios games go......this will probably be the first of their games I actually finish. I never really liked the Divinity games but went in with an open mind.

So, first the good. The combat at times can feel like a lot of fun. You have a few options in spells and many similar ones from the first Baldur's Gate games. With better graphics these spells really feel satisfying to use. I like how they expanded some of the classes giving you interesting choices, which can be a lot of fun now that there are multiple origins to play through and not just the "Bhaalspwan". Though, the "origins" are actually just some of the other characters they made for the game which does not suit my personal taste. I would rather play someone unique.

I do like all most all of the characters there is a variety....sort of...but much less to choose from and I have had some nice moments with them.

However, this just is not a game that lives up to all the hype for me. The characters barely talk at all. Which is even stranger when some of them suddenly confess how much they love you and adore you after saying very little. I know Larian said they wanted to do something "different" from Bioware's classic romances but honestly.....it looks more like they did next to nothing. These characters have potential but they barely talk. Now perhaps, later in further acts I can learn more. Perhaps deeper conversations will emerge but that leads to another problem...

What has always turned me off about Larian games is the combat. It really is tedious and time consuming. It has it's moments, like when you throw that fireball and get a critical hit.....but for the most part it is really boring. Too much of it is filled with these stupid "gottcha" moments. So much of it feels contrived and unfortunately, this makes up most of the game. You wait endlessly for your character's turn, dice rolls constantly go against you and in some fights you just have to keep reloading a save until you get a optimal start or you walk away in frustration. This might be a personal preference but I think combat should feel intuitive and it should be possible to finish a fight in one go. Some will rave about strategy and using the terrain to their advantage. Well, I got news for them, the best strategy, reload over and over again until you get a favourable roll. I tend to hate turn based combat in a modern roleplaying game. I much preferred Dragon Age Origins combat. Which as like many other Bioware games had great companions. Baldur's Gate II gave us memorable characters like Minsc and his adorable giant space hamster, scheming Edwin and his foolish search for power that lands him with trouble with a Nether Scrolls or a character you could even get pregnant. These characters....I like them, Wyll, Astarion, Shadowheart.....they are okay.

The problem with this game is Larian's interpretation of the board game it is based off. Too much of the dice rolls and myriad of combat elements from the table top game turn it into a slog. Players will spend more time roleplaying as a table top player.....rather than a fantasy character. There is not enough story and too much random number generating for my taste and that is really what turns me off. Roleplaying games are about luring players into a world that feels real, seems to have real consequences and makes the peculiar politics and lore feel alive. Instead, Larian created a game that feels artificial and souless from the on set. I feel no connection with this story or the characters because the game and it's execution constantly reminds me they exist for my amusement. They do not feel like they have their own ideas and agendas like in Baldur's Gate II and that really kills the game for me.

I will keep at it and see if it gets better. Sorry Larian Studios, you guys seem like a fun bunch to play a round of table top with but your video game just was not for me. However, to most players who just want to have a fun time exploring story. Stay away from this game. I actually agree with the developers with other companies when they say this game should not be the standard for future roleplaying games. It has a messy narrative, there is few tutorials, developers seem to assume players will know all the ins and outs about DnD tabletop. Baldur's Gate II was a modified version of the tabletop game that focused on story. because the developers of that game remembered they were making a computer game. Baldur's Gate III is a over all bland weak story with a few bright spots mired by a nightmarish combat system and that does not make for a "Game of the Year." not for me at least.


So, this is an update on the state of the game as I have muddled through a pretty barren and subpar story so far. This game should never have been approved for release in it's state. By the end of Act II the game flies off the rails and doubles down on the broken combat system. Despite offering very little experience, enemies get stronger and way more numerous. This drastic ramp up of difficulty compounds the major issues already present in the game. There is no tutorial that explains any of the mechanics, no companions offer help or strategies and do not be fooled by the Larian Studios cheerleaders on the forums. They might like suffering through a convoluted dumpster fire but if you just want to enjoy a story and get to know the companions......forget this game. Later in the game nothing particularly interesting develops. I got so sick of wasting my time sitting waiting for imaginary dice to determine my fate that I just abandoned the story entirely.

What surprises me so much about this game, is how they have managed to get game sites like IGN to give this game rave reviews despite the game being abandoned in such a broken state. From what I heard they even plan DLC and moving on to a different game. It looks like the higher ups are breaking out the champagne while the the players are left with this dumpster fire.

This is not game of the year. It is not even a functional computer roleplaying game. All that functions in this game is the introduction which was all anyone could play for the last few years anyway.....the rest does indeed go as the only really interesting NPC in the game Raphael says....goes to hell.

A fantastic game if you like historical novels, characters and courtly intrigue. Well developed characters with a few exceptions. It can be a bit punishing at times when it comes to moving your way through various factions in the story, particularly toward the end but building influence with the characters in romances seems a bit too easy. Speaking of the romances, I love them. Great dialogue but they are way too short and repetitive. This is not to say they are bad, but once you go on a "date". You tend to just repeat it until you navigate to the end of the romance arc, which just means staying in their favour until the end of the game. The game has many endings to explore but I did feel disappointed at the end as it seemed to be rushed and did not flesh out your relationships or give you time to reflect upon the choices you made. IF the developers can polish the game and add more flavour here and there it will be a masterpiece. All and all I would still recommend it to anyone who loves history and stories.

This would be closer to a neutral review rather than a negative one. However, I still would not recommend it to anyone who played Crusader Kings II. Now, that is out of the way, let me also deal with another point. I did not vote this down because it lacks the sheer content of Crusader Kings II. It is perfectly fair to compare this game to it's predecessor upon release because I am taking into consideration how the game will evolve from here. So, what is wrong with Crusader Kings III? It is a sequel but feels more like an off brand copy of the second game. It has less content, less traits, less schemes, and over all less to do than Crusader Kings II upon release. Regardless of rank or title, every game plays exactly the same but things are much easier. You can get the titles you want faster than Crusader Kings II, alliances are more obvious and who will join what wars is pretty easy to weigh before hand. Crusader Kings III, is an attempt to make lightning strike again in the same place, but this is the third try and nothing interesting of note happens. Perhaps, the development cycle of Crusader Kings II just went on way too long and nothing they put out would really feel innovative.
Keeping all that in mind, this is not a bad game. If you found Crusader Kings II interesting but too complicated or time consuming this might work well for you. The game goes out of the way to hold the players hand and show them how to play. It is very safe, generic and certain to be a financial success. I just do not like it. The events in court are lacklustre. Rather than a chain of events, where you as a child, miraculously survive several assassination attempts only to have your regent burst into your room with a sword screaming "Just die already!" Instead, we get new innovative story lines like, there are not enough servants in the court so your heir is going around with a dirty diaper. Now, perhaps I just have not found the really amusing events yet but it seems mundane drudgery of the Middle Ages is the fare here. Not wild, unique, schemes by crazy characters fit for a soap opera.
So, since the role-play aspect is pretty bland, as a player you tend to focus on politics, dynasty building and ultimately striving to establish that empire. Should be pretty easy right? Like I said, Crusader Kings III easier than Crusader Kings II. Well, obviously the developers realized they had dumbed things down a bit too much and that is where "Confederate Partition" comes in. What is that you may ask? If you played Crusader Kings II, and do not recognize it, that makes sense because it did not exist in the last game. Basically, the default succession in the game magically creates any eligible kingdom titles out of your lands upon your death and divides it up among your heirs. You cannot change this succession type, it is the default. So, upon each succession unless you create an empire title, your realm will shatter and implode, every single time. Remember what I said of the repetitive and bland nature of the game? This is where the developers doubled down on that idea. Since the game lacks any of the interesting events and mischief you and your vassals could get into from the earlier game, they had to give players some sort of challenge. Their answer is shoehorning a particular type of succession that actually did not exist for much of Europe in this time period. Your realm implodes every time upon death. no message, no listed reason it just happens. I suppose this is supposed to give the player a sense the game is dynamic and evolving. In reality, your kingdom has been torn apart by an arbitrary limit imposed by the developers to give the illusion of organic game play but in the most boring, contrived and repetitive way possible. Eventually, I figured out a the way to avoid this is just rush for an empire title every time but by then, I just did not care any more. The actual game play is just too boring to make this tedium worth it.
In conclusion Crusader Kings III is safe, easy, it gets the point across. In the example of your heir with a dirty diaper, it makes a clear point: you lack servants but to be honest, this discovery is not really interesting. You can wait ten years for Paradox to bust the game under a burden of content, or you can just go to Crusader Kings II, buy it on sale and save yourself a lot of money and wasted time.

A lot of people are complaining about the population changes or defending them and I see both sides of it. What I think strikes me more, however, is the fact that this expansion, is more like a step backwards. This includes the "expansion" and the free patch, because they really are part of the same package deal as they relate the game quality. So, we should not think that by separating them in our minds, that players can judge their quality more fairly. There are no new concepts here. The first contact mission we always had, now just has more steps. While it is nice, the novelty wears off quickly. The change for pops while perhaps needed, means the game runs smoother but the overall game experience is slower. What I means is, you sit and wait, and wait, and wait, and wait......you see the problem? Lag is gone but the same problem remains. Stellaris is a long waiting game, where the micromanagement has gotten arguably better but sadly I feel this is not an expansion. All of this could have been added in a free patch. The new espionage system is not all that new unfortunately, it is a long drawn out first contact mission. Intelligence gathering is just a new hurdle to slow down the early game and it only adds perhaps a handful of new events to make the early game more interesting. This gets to my final and perhaps most important point, and the problem with further expansions in Stellaris. This expansion adds nothing new to make it worth the price.
Looking to the future, I think Stellaris will just undergo more scaling back of existing systems to compensate for lag and more "immersive" roadblocks to slow down the early to midgame in the hope players do not realize this has all been done before and let us be fair, we are now approaching fifth year since the original release of the game. The game is getting old, and no tweaks and "new" additions will change this. I have a wonderful time playing Stellaris with my friends and I will keep playing for a few more years I am sure, but I think it is time to wrap things up and end the DLC cycle for this game. Players love to re-experience the nostalgia of when a game felt fresh and new and we, the players keep buying DLC even when it ends up tasting stale and we regret it. Further additions to the game are not real growth or development, it is stagnation hidden behind new coats of paint and fun new cosmetic designs. As I conclude, let me focus in on what the problem is with Nemesis, and the game as a whole. I just paid Paradox, to play the same game I bought years ago, and they added fun new pictures to go with slightly different missions. Paradox is just doing what they think is their job and I commend them for the effort and work but it is time for me, the consumer to let old ideas rest and move on. My recommendation for other fans of this great game? Move on.

I played this game many years ago when it came out on a disk in a box, back when people used to do such a thing. When Europa Universalis IV came out I eagerly jumped in. I had for quite some time imagined Europa Universalis IV to be superior in every way and jumped on the endless DLC treadmill like everyone else. However, over the years, Europa Universalis IV has become a bloated mess. The endless DLCs meant you constantly have to deal with half baked systems and run them on a game engine that was not aging well. There are many complaints about the DLC policy already so I will just get to the point. After I picked up this game on sale I thought it would be an inferior experience but even with only a few DLC's this game has more depth than it's successor. This game is punishing especially in random events, dice rolls and just bad luck. It is definitely harder than it's successor but I am surprised to say better. Most events in Eu4 are ripped right out of Eu3, any systems added in Eu4 that actually improve the game are further complicated by the mess of half finished and broken systems that never get patched. What Eu4 has become is a zombie Frankenstein monster with everything but it cannot figure out what it wants to do. Eu3 is old, it has bugs but it is truly what I would call a grand strategy game. Hey, even if you end up hating the game, it is cheap and requires hundreds of USD less to get the full experience than Eu4. If you are unsure about Europa Universalis, this is the one to try.

I preveiously rated this game down mostly becasue of how backward changes that were implemented in the much derided Common Sense DLC had essentially made the game unplayable. The various reasons for this was the fort system, it is an old failed idea that blocks armies from entering provinces with forts or even going around them. This was an attempt to stop blobling. Or the wild expansion of AI and players at unhistorical levels. In actuallity Common Sense not only fails to do this it just makes the game so horrible to play it is like going to work on a stressful day for free. The main issue is the AI is so ineptly designed your allies can not make use of these forts or even seem to understand they are there. Often your armies will march in circles just becasue you commanded them to alter course only to be smashed by the approaching enemy you tried to get them to avoid. Combine that with a rotten diplomatic system where the AI could not pen a reasonable treaty offer even if some one wrote everything verbetium for you and you have a miserable headache brewing.
Wars are now tedious and just sloppy as the fort system drags them out and stability falls when ever you reject one of those insane proposals the AI does not seem to understand are not acceptable. All the while you go bankrupt and just give up game after game after game. When you combine this with the broken path finding it just really means you are going to waste several hours in a pointless mess that leads to frustration and ultimately you come to hate a game that has given you countless hours of pleasure for you and your freinds.
This sounds rather grim for a recomended reveiw yes? Well all this mess I mentioned can be avoided by buying this game and everything up until Common Sense. Previously I had assumed once the free patch changes your game and adds in new feautres you did not ask for and do not work you were stuck with it. However there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel. The whole mess with forts and out of control AI can be avoided by simply selecting the version of the game right before the Common Sense patch. This is very important, in the Eldorado patch there was little that was ruined the grand strategy of diplomacy, espionage, countless hours of scheming to over throw the king of Denmark as Sweden and set your people on a course of European conquest are just with in your reach! By all means purchase all the content up until the Common Sense patch you will spend hours with freinds plotting and scheming, will you unite Gemrnay in 1553? Will you take the fight to England on their shores as France in 1444? Or just kill all those cheese obssessed poufs as Brugandy and rule everything from Holland to Britiany!
What makes this game up to El Dorado patch addictive is the challenge and the tempting lure of world dominance, regional power and the gambles for colonial empires, dynastic power struggles. Even sending your explorer to finds some coffee becasue people in Amsterdam love the stuff is exciting! This is with out a doubt the greatest strategy game I have ever played and would recomend everything before the Common Sense Content to everyone. When you purchase the game simply click on properties and select the earlier version and disable future patching. The version I am running is 1.11.4 Old version. This is what worked best for me but based on the content you purchase you may like another version. I just can not recomend anything beyond this version because the game simply ceases to work and by the sound of it Cossaks, Nos Mare and any other DLC they released after Common Sense those are broken as well. I would avoid them but that is up to you. For the mad meglomanic king in each of us who wanted to rule the world....or perhaps the quiet patrican of an Italian Republic like Venice who will be content just with rulling it's wealth this game is for you.

I love Europa Universalis IV but this new content is just broken, war fare leads to bankruptcy nearly every time, fortresses take too long to seige and when you receive absurd proposals the game thinks is fair and reject them you take stablity hits. I love this game but Common sense adds nothing valuble to the game experience that is interesting enough warrent putting up with broken path finding, fortresses that can not be besiged, broken AI enemies and allies that do random and perposterous things, I have not seen any of the real peace time mechanics regarding parliment or religion that was advertised but that is only because dealing with warfare is so frustrating now it makes you want to smash the computer. I regret buying this at all. Perhaps the peace time changes are interesting but the warfare and AI changes need to be removed entirely before this game will be functional again. Paradox is a great company for strategy games but this time they made a serious error. I am looking forward to improvements or complete restructuring of the whole content but if not I will just look for another game. The game is fantastic otherwise just do not ruin the exeperience with the Common Sense.

Previously I recomened this game for various aspects like game play, roleplay and the fact that it was actually free, With the advent of Elemental Evil or as some call it the "Great Unbalancing" or the "End of Faerun" I can not recomend it to anyone that wants a free roleplay experience that can be played in a reasonable time with out paying large sums of money. The latest patch has removed nearly every feature to earn astral diamonds or currency you earn to purchase things in game or even to get Zen to buy things from the shop where people spend real moeny. Yes it used to be things many people bought with money could actually be bought with in game currency if you had enough patience. Invokes which used to give you 1,000 now only give you 250 if you are lucky. Some of the high quality gear on the exchange can cost nearly one million astral diamonds. To make matters worse many quests to earn astral diamonds have been removed. Many of the dungeons with the best equipment can not be entered until level seventy.
Why does that matter you ask? Well the game used to be only until level sixty. In the latest module there is much hype about the "amazing paladin" and how it will save Faerun from the Elemental Evil and how they will add ten more levels to game experience. There is just one problem existing classes already fufilled the role the paladin is supposed to play, There is a cleric, there is a tank and there is a warlock which drains health. The paladin is just a cleric in a tin suit with too much power. So how did they make this class relavant? First all methods of healing have been destroyed. Regeneration, lifesteal, potions, companions, spells from clerics ect all wrecked. Many spells that used to heal you now only give you a small chance at healing you. What does this mean? With out a highly skilled paladin in your party you will die over and over and over again. Also remember if you already played the game before Elemental Evil you worked hard to earn the best equipment for you experiecne after level sixty. This was now a waste of time since your characters will die at every turn. Everything to keep the game functional now relies on the "Oathbound Paladin" or as most call it simply "Over Powered" This healing tank in a party is the only way to do anything in the game now. Potions, clerics, self healing abilities all useless. If you try to level up to seventy now I pity the poor souls that struggle to get to that point.
You will hear how this balancing was put in place to strengthen tanks, encourage diverse parties and improve game play. Well if that was the goal you could also say dropping an atomic bomb on Neverwinter will improve the scenry. Frankly it is a lie and most will not realize it until the dust clears and everyone makes the grisly discovery Neverwinter has become a silent graveyard for adventurers that died everytime they turned a conner. This module has nothing to do with game play. All the other classes have been thrown off a cliff with a rock called Elemental Evil tied to their neck and left to figure out how to swim on their own. You will not be able to level up by yourself if you want, you will not be able to get anywhere in the game with out purchasing booster packs and buying Zen to get the best equipment is the only way to do anything in this game in a reasonable time. I have played this game for over a year and I am sad to say all my work and money I spent was a wasted effort. Do not beleive the hype Neverwinter is not a free to play game in any sense of the term. It is a pay to win game that now only favors the PvP experience. If you want to do something else like level up and spend time with freinds in a party where everyone has a role. This is not the game for you. If you have more money than sense and love to smash other players while marching around as the most over powered class have at it while you can, this game will not be up for much longer with all the people leaving.