Dark Messiah of Might & Magic

I recommend this game on the caveat that you're on Linux or older Windows versions such as 7 & that you're using the Unlimited Edition Mod to give you all the goodies from Xbox and fix many bugs. Combat is obviously one of the main focuses of the game. It's a lot of fun once you figure out the mechanics of combat but it can be frustrating at first as many enemies are just damage sponges until you get better weapons and upgrade your skills. Once you do start upgrading and getting your build fleshed out and mechanics down it gets really fun. You can throw objects, kick, use things like fires, spikes, & heavy objects to take enemies out and of course attack with your weapons. It's an extremely complex and admittedly imperfect system that was well ahead of it's time. The story is decent enough and the voice acting is a bit campy but in a fun slightly over dramatic way. The maps are another place where this game really shines in my opinion. Each map is full of little secrets and goodies to find tucked away in obscure nooks and crannies. Also traps that work against and for you if you're creative. The cons of this game are that it can at times be pretty janky to get working even on the likes of windows 7. On Linux I've had little to no issues running it using Proton 9.0.4. It's also in general got a fair number of bugs, mostly related to physics collision and asset loading I believe. Many bugs are fixed by using the Unlimited Edition Mod which is why I recommended it above. All in all I recommend giving this game a try if you can get it to work and can tolerate some jank.

При отличной для своего времени физике и зачатках классной боевки, Мессия сильно страдает от скудного сюжета и утомительного бэктрекинга по запутанным локациям. Картинка, как мне показалось, слабо использует потенциал движка Source, а пафосный саундтрек сразу же выветривается из головы. Самый смак - это периодические баги скриптов и капризная оптимизация.

biggest issue is the missing 5th ending. sareth is a true harem lord with magical good girl leanna and the loyal lustful demon girl xana. that's assuming xana is even a woman. demons be doing crazy butt stuff ngl.

Великолепная игра.. отличный и затягивающий сюжет, чего только стоит одна верная спутница-суккуб Xana (Зана).. с ее страстным стилем общения.. Хоть и немного устаревшая в графическом плане, но все равно смотрится отлично с движком Source. Строго рекомендуется к покупке, ознакомлению и прохождению.

Ein Klassiker, der auch nach 20 Jahren noch zeigt, dass eine gute Kampagne, gut geschriebene Figuren und optimiertes Gameplay jeder modernen Grafikorgie den Rang ablaufen.

Приятная ностальгическая игра. Проходится быстро, боевка даже по современным меркам достойная, исследовать мир по настоящему интересно. К сожалению, приключение очень короткое, да и игра на современном железе идет с постоянными вылетами. Впрочем, на картах gtx все идет без нареканий, ради классики можно и прикупить

Here I am, 20 years later, realizing I never reviewed this title. It's okay though, the review system didn't exist when this game came out. Look, the combat system isn't the best today, but for the time it was outstanding. For that matter, I really don't think there are many titles that did the combat as well as this did. Aside from the typical hack and slash and timing your blocks, you can creatively use spells and techniques to disrupt your enemies defense instead of just going straight at them. Or, if you want, you can just go straight at them. Your choice. It has skill trees for all of it.