Recent reviews by Brian Sirith

Stunning graphics, beautiful music, engaging characters, story that keeps you wanting to play more, decisions that really, really matter, different povs, meaningful combat encounters, great combat mechanics. I could go on. Its just brilliant and unique and different.

And if a game can connect you so much to the characters that you're one step from crying along with them while watching the ending what else do you want?

I would write more but (a) I played this game non-stop and (b) I wanna play part 2. But I shouldn't. But I wanna. Just the intro. Then I'll stop, I swear.

Big thanks to the devs!

Almost forgot: This is a low magic game. Perfect!

Nice music and Artbook.

Great game. Worth the price. Spend a whole day on it cause I just couldn't stop playing. Seriously amazing job!

The choices are amazing and tough and you get invested in your character and his family and goals. At one point a decision of mine blew up in my face and my champion of justice / incorruptible judge was rushing about his office burning incriminating evidence. Nothing is straightforward. The story, the turns, the NPCs, it’s gripping, well written, just amazing!

Have I said it enough? AMAZING!

It has a bit of the same issue as most games of the type: If you want a specific end you got to 'plan' it. But the ending I got was -not the one I had wanted- but a good one.

I like it. Will update (gradually) till I finish.

First update: I am really enjoying the atmosphere and the whole feel of the game. The areas are dreary and you actually feel like you're fighting in the fog. But the best part is: THE EQUIPMENT! I'm a big fan of realistic looking armour and weapons and this game is just what I was looking for. Normal sized weapons, an insane variety of them, great designs, armour that fits the setting, great metallic textures. Its not always pretty -and personally I'm glad its not pretty and shiny- but it makes you feel like you're living in times past, not in a fantasy world of elves hoping from branch to branch in magical polished completely fake armour. I find the areas, weapon and armour design to be the best part of the game. I'd buy it just for that.

I'll get into more details later but not to leave the review one sided: the combat is good and enjoyable, the story has issues, mainly I'd want much, much more story.

You can have a game with bad graphics, you can have a game that crashes every 30 minutes, you can have a game that makes me want to scream. I love indie games and I will look over a LOT of flaws. BUT you CAN NOT BORE ME! I am here to be entertained!

TLDR: Boring mechanics. Boring story. Boring protagonist.

I actually abandoned the game since it got extremely boring. I was literally rolling my eyes and sighing and mumbling to myself. Before I forget: its very expensive for what it is. Anyway. To the review:

I reached the 1st attempted ending (you have to infuse your daughter with certain attributes) and now apparently I have to re-infuse her over and over till I find the correct numbers. Every time you re-infuse her -I believe- you narrow down the numbers. But gods above and below I DONT WANT TO PLAY ANOTHER MINUTEI I was waiting for it to finish.

To the point:

- The mechanics / alchemy simulator. Its simplistic and boring. Click to assign the girls to jobs. Buy some items to boost them. Fill some requests. Now... this COULD be good and fun. But it isn't. Its repetitive and boring. You get it in the first 10 minutes, then you just want to get over with it.

- The story makes no emotional impact whatsoever. With all respect to the developers as people and all sympathy to whatever they might have lived through: this game makes no point. I feel a distance from the characters... they are there, I am here and just waiting for them to deliver the next boring line. Which brings me to the writing. It may mean something to someone, it may upset someone but I felt it was written by a teenager who was asked to describe a really bad bad guy.

"She disgusts him. He takes her to the shed. He chops her with an axe. He throws her pieces in the trash."

Does that horrify you? It bores me. And that's my writing but that's the level of writing you get in game.

- The hero / villain. Let me point out here that I specifically searched for villain protagonists. I like them.... when there is something about them to like. This guy has no depth, no redeeming characteristics, evokes no feeling. He doesn't shock with his villainy. He doesn't feel conflicted about what he does. He should have SOMETHING interesting, likeable, fun? Anything at all? The man is trying to save his daughter and I feel... nothing. I'm bored.

I said that over and over didn't I? Bored. Soooooooooo bored.

Let me leave you with this. Out of the blue line from NPC shopkeeper who I don't even know:

'Reminds me of the day I bashed in the head of my wife and her lover. HAHAHAHA'

Oh... did you? Umm... ok... fine... whatever...

Great music.

Do I recommend it?

Yes! Yes! Oh, yes!

Its up there with things that make life worth living.

*review to come when I have enough time to give the game the appropriate credit*

Disclaimer: It will give you pain. But there's beauty in the pain. Trust me.

It's good but probably the least favourite of the Eisenwald games. The story is a medieval take on the American presidential elections... which I do not follow by choice. I kinda got the point here and there cause you gotta live in a tower not to hear of certain things but I preferred the legends and the magic feel of the main campaign to this. Basically its a lot of 'not my thing' wrapped a medieval setting.

That said: I enjoyed it. It was worth it. It didn't rock my world like the main campaign or the Road to Iron Forest.

I’d recommend it only if you played the main game and wanted a bit more exploration and combat.

:)

Absolutely beautiful story. The rest of my opinions on this game are in my main game review so concerning this scenario only:

I thought it was the best of all the stand alone scenarios the game has. Leave it for last, if you intend to play them all. There is something about this game that makes an emotional impact that very few other games make. To me at least. Its just a roller coaster of emotions. Don't wanna spoil that bit though. But really, you go in expecting one thing and then...

One of those wow-what-did-I-just-play games. Oh hell.. HUGE spoilers ahead:

You set out for the iron forest and all the time I was expecting it to be a physical place. And the game was rolling and rolling and I kept wondering when I'll get off the map. There is just one map. I don't know at what point it hit me that maybe the 'iron forest' is just an allegory (??? wrong word maybe. I suck at lit) At any rate then toward the end after -I SAID HUGE SPOILERS- after I bled to save my three brothers and then lost two off them, I'm standing waiting for the battle of my life and the incoming army is described (with pretty words that I lack) as an iron forest. It was perfect. And then your only remaining brother challenges the bad guy and DIES. And do you know what I was doing? Healing and changing equipment! Cause I was dead in the water and it felt so much like... yeah, like I watched the kid die and could do nothing. It was perfect. And when in the end you finally get the arrowhead that has been lodged and paining you through the game removed and you open the handkerchief and its an iron leaf. DAMN! Yeah! Perfect!

Will write a review after my second playthrough. But its a shame not to at least say:

LOVE IT! LOVE IT! ABSOLUUUUUUUUUTELY LOVE IT!

Isn't it great when you have no expectations but the game fulfils your wildest dreams and beyond? Good story, great companions, promising combat. And most of all: options, options, options. Larian once again does not disappoint.

That said, its Early Access blah blah. Read before you buy.

Disclaimer: I didn't and still don't care for it to be 'true' to Baldur's Gate (which I love) or DnD 5e (which I've only played a one shot). It's a great game. That's all.

2nd Playthrough Update: The above holds with a couple of things added.

1. The combat is fun but if you are doing a second run deliberately trying to build your character and tactics it fails to deliver. This of course is an EA problem. I feel there will be a lot of options to explore once more cleric domains, levels, classes, weapons and gear get added. As is... you can't optimise tactics when your opponents shoot you through solid objects etc etc. It is still fun and I will replay on the next major update.

2. IMPORTANT. The Custom PC feels like a nobody. A third wheel. You don't lead the team and honestly I don't even see WHY you are in that team. We have Aragorn, Boromir, Gandalf and you. Pippin. I chose a nobleman from BG background and no one has ever heard of me or my family. Not even other nobles from the same city. Writing fail.

I'd love playing Pippin (well, Sam actually) if I were playing with other hobbits. I'm the biggest advocate of normal, everyday, average heroes. But when I'm thrown in a party with a load of people with connections to GODS* and I'm just the boy next door AND clearly unimportant to the plot... We got a problem :P

*Yes, really. Gods... lol Gale says he was Mystra's lover and favourite and she taught him magic. If he dies the world will end! Literally! Yes, lvl 1 Gale. Bad writing for DnD 101.