I have to give the game a thumbs up, because I certainly got my money's worth of entertainment. However, this game is not... great. It's good and can be better. I support the devs' vision and applaud their efforts to continue adding content. Yet I would honestly prefer a sequel at this point in the game's life cycle. There is potential in this game/format, but this game had its 1.0 in October of 2025, and despite its updates, the most common criticisms in negative reviews remain and will likely persist.
The best part of this game is certainly its combat. With a large pool of items, actions, and enemies, there is plenty of build variety to go around. I never once felt like I jumped into a new game with the same character as the last. Recent updates focused on bulking out the combat encounters with an expansion of the "contract" system and roaming enemy bands, so if grid-based turn-based RPGs are your thing, then there is plenty of content here. For modders out there, the game has a built-in engine for creating new content, but you can also dive into the files if need be. Either way, it's easy to learn, and you can tweak just about everything that exists in-game.
The worst part of the game? The story mode, I am not going to sugarcoat it, but it's servicable to learn the game... maybe, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you are hunting for achievements. It's one of the most common criticisms I see about this game, and it seems that AI was used in the writing, and how and to what extent is discussed in other reviews, so I won't retread the same ground there. I will say that there is potential in the plot, it just needs reworking. I like a lot of the ideas for the characters and the plot direction, but the writing falls short. EX: [spoiler] There is an assassin character who is recruited as part of the MSQ, but their reason for joining the party is too convenient. They tried to kill you once, by just charging you, in your room, in a populated tavern, in a main city. Because they failed their one attempt, their assassin order is now after them too. Good idea, but it happens so quickly that the pacing seems awkward. Add another attempt at your life, and it would go a long way to believability. [/spoiler] Most companions are similar in that regard. Companions are introduced, given story beats that seem to lead somewhere, and are then never resolved. On a similar note, for an RPG, there are next to no side quests. Outside of the couple of short "quests" for either Augustus or Jocelyn in the starting city, there are no more "written" side quests. The game relies entirely on the "contracts" and the player's self-appointed goals. Just to clarify, "Contracts" in this game are Battle Brother style, go here, kill this, escort "x", style of objectives. Fun for a time, but not really what I expected for a game with this much potential in its choose-your-own-adventure style game system.
Personally, the rest of the game kind of works for me, with mixed results. I think procedural NPCs are a cool idea, but they all have very similar dialogue and interactions. You click on one, get a very generic event like the NPC has lost their way or had their money stolen by a thief, and as the player, you can intervene to possibly boost your relationship with them or mess up, and their opinion of you takes a hit. It's a cool idea, but it's very shallow. It could do with some more interesting encounters, something involving higher stakes. It would be great to have dynamic rivals and friend NPCs that can make a memorable impression on a playthrough. For examples of this system done well, I would recommend examining Crusader Kings 3. Lastly, I am divided on the art. The game uses AI art for everything, from the splash screen to the character portraits, and while it's not great. The UI is also clunky at times. It doesn't affect the experience as much for a game with a focus on text. It's not game-breaking, and portraits can be changed easily with modding tools.
For more examples of story points that can be improved (imo):
[spoiler] The game starts with the player and their party coming across a magical doohickey simply referred to as the "orb." The significance of the "Orb" is explained later in the MSQ, but for the most part, the "Orb" is simply a foreboding "Orb". Without context, the "Orb" being this menacing object is kind of more amusing than anything else.
Sheela somehow coming across that one random guy who knows the prophecy about us, the player stumbling across the orb, after like a day of searching, is too convenient a deus ex machina. [/spoiler]
I am not a writer, I do dnd, and my favorite fantasy book author is Brandon Sanderson, so I am sure there are people out there better qualified to critique the writing, but if this game interests you even a little bit. Check it out, share your opinions, and support the dev.
