Recent reviews by Advent

This is the first game I've ever reviewed on Steam. And I have a ton of games. Make of that what you will.

There's a lot to unpack here so let's get right to it.

The positives:

-Did you like Tyranny/Pillars of Eternity/Divinity, but felt that the combat got in the way of the roleplay elements? Then boy oh boy, this game is for you. I like roleplay. WoW, Pathfinder, DnD, Dark Heresy, even Fallout New Vegas. This game has immersed me in a way that few others have, and made me feel invested not only in my character, but the world around me. This is -the- roleplaying experience on Steam, and if you are drawn to that at all, this game is for you.

-On that note, writing and voice acting are phenomenal. Characters have depth. Even the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥-ish ones, some of whom develop into at least partially sympathetic figures throughout their arcs. In addition to this, there are few, if any, 'one off' characters. Everyone has a story to tell, and are treated as people, and not just plot/quest objectives. People are realistic. Even the racist ones. Especially the racist ones.

-The music is stellar. Especially when setting the mood in a location or for a character. And speaking of mood, this game does a great job of setting the mood.

-Choice. Choice choice choice. Choice in your build. Choice in how your character responds to events. Musclebound meathead that brute forces his way through things? You can do that. You can also be the sensitive social wizard who seems to always say what needs to be said. Wanna be socially inept but a walking encyclopedia of the supernatural? You can do that too. I am on my first playthrough still and I am already considering my next character's build to see how events unfold differently.

The negatives: A lot of these are smaller complaints but they still warrant mention.

-This game's weaknesses are on the technical side. Of the nearly thirteen hours I've spent playing, probably an hour of that has been spent replaying previously covered territory thanks to crashes or glitches. The game's auto save only seems to cover major events, so having to restart without a recent save hurts (manually save your game constantly!) This especially sucks since a lot of longer conversations/travel time aren't considered important enough for the auto save.

-This game was pretty clearly made for a specific audience. If you need lots of combat/action, or detest reading most of your game, steer clear. This is absolutely not the game for you. That isn't judgment by the way, that's just the nature of a pretty niche game like this one. There is physical conflict, sure, but it isn't the bread and butter of the game, and you gain experience via tasks and roleplaying.

-On the subject of voice acting, it is top notch. Personally however, I always find it jarring when role playing games like this one utilize voice acting for what feels like only a quarter of the game. Going from hearing a character's voice in one conversation to having to read other conversations is somewhat immersion breaking.

-Also, a very minor gripe: if you are looking for a customizable main character, they aren't here. He's a dude, he's white, and you can't really change his back story. Is that a problem? Not in my opinion but if you wanna play as someone other than that, you're kinda S.O.L. The consolation prize here is that you can turn that dude into anything between a fire spitting communist or the absolute pinnacle of lunatic fascist, so there's that.