Geneforge 2

An excellent sequel building upon the systems that made the first game great, with more depth to the NPCs.

Geneforge 2 is a great sequel. Those who liked the first game will appreciate it without any doubt. At first I was a bit dissatisfied with Geneforge 2 as it was way to similar to the first both in it's gameplay elements and story (basically the same things happen in a new location). One of the biggest negatives is the fact that we already know the basic rules of the world, so the sence of wonder is way weaker here. Thanksfully, the story takes it into consideration by making you an apprentice here, so that your character has allmost all the backgroud knowlwdge about the world of Shapers (unlike the one from the original who was almost a complete outsider). Also, I find the fractions here to be a bit better, at least this time I actually found myself switching sides and joining the Barzahl, while in the original there was no second though about being a true Shaper loyalist. Also worth mentioning are new creations, whole 3 of those. Of course you can create only one after getting a lot of power, but it's definitely worth it. The pacing is another improvement. The original was way too tedious and dragged a lot in the final chunk with all the mines and turrets. This game has less of it and the ending is not that much of a chore to get through. Overall the game has a great aftertaste, surprisingly better then the original, even though the latter had a lot more atmoshere and mystery. Geneforge 2 compensates this with refined pacing and the choice of fraction being a lot more interesting. If you want some 50 hour (my first run took 50.5 hours) of great modern CRPG Geneforge 2 is for you!

It's good but it really doesn't hold up well by modern standards. And I mean technically. It's a bit of a pain to get working correctly on windows 10, there's an issue where the game lags like crazy when any text is displayed on screen. This coupled with poor resolution scaling (I played this at 4k) makes for a jerky and clunky experience. That being said a remaster is in the works and this game does deserve it because the game itself is really good. It's a continuation of the first Geneforge and is every bit as fun. The story in this one falls flat, but these game's have always nailed the sense of exploration. Overall it's good if you already own it, but I would personally wait for the remaster.

Geneforge 2 is too big for its own good. 15 hours in and not even halfway done, I decided to use cheats to turn the game into a point and click adventure just to see the story (the only reason for playing any Geneforge game). Even "playing" the game this way is still taking far, far longer than it should. I cannot imagine the time investment required to play this game through to multiple endings normally. This game was made with a toothpick and some string and copy-pasted assets; that the game requires as much time as it does with as many sloppy and infuriating design decisions as it has is just insulting. But it's Geneforge. So it gets a pass. From me. Not for you. Play up until the frustration exceeds the fun and then use cheats to see the rest through, or expect to invest at least 35 hours into this game for a single run.

Always try to buy your games on sale. I think this series goes on sale once or twice a year. This is a continuation and improvement to the first game. The story gets more personal and the mechanics are more defined. Shortcuts have consequences. This is personally my favorite in the series. This game is a turn based game Fantasy RPG just like the first one. You will need to read for context during the game. If you don't like reading you won't like the game. You generally get short scenes from the story where you and your companion will speak and you will receive details about them depending on your skills. You choose how to respond and the scene continues. Making choices with words and actions will shape your story and eventual ending. There are 5ish endings that I can remember. 3 classes to choose from like before. Cost versus content. For a one and done deal you could probably finish a single playthrough in 10-20 hours. To get everything you will need about 5 times that. This game I originally bought it on CD from their website. I first found it through Wild Tangent's game thing on PC. I bought it again here to show support for the creator and to leave a review. In total I have about 100+ hours since I have had this game forever before I found it on Steam I enjoyed the game and that is the most important thing to me.

It's old and has a little jank. If you're familiar with 90s/00s-era pc games, this will feel familiar. If you can get past those boundaries, this is one of the best-written worlds I've ever experienced. The depth of the ethical questions contained in this world is impressive, even if it takes itself "too seriously" sometimes. The lore is cool to get sucked into. The game mechanics, for a turn-based rpg, are plenty fun. Spells, summoning, combat, but also mechanics, diplomacy, clever tricks. The biggest appeal is that instead of recruiting NPCs in the world to join your party, you create mutant monsters, a mechanic which is imbedded at the heart of the sci-fi fantasy drama this game holds. There's a large degree of freedom in this game. 3 classes to choose from and 4 optional factions you can join. You could slaughter every single living creature in this game and still complete it. You could also not hurt a fly. I have mounds of nostalgia for this series. If this sounds appealing, but you can't get past the noticeable age of the graphics and UI, check out the 2025 remake, Geneforge 2 - Infestation. It's got even more content and many quality-of-life fixes.

Just as great as I remember! Each area has lots of things to do and explore, and the difficulty option makes it very forgiving if you mess up. In addition, the creation, skill point, and spell system allows for an absurd amount of playstyles, so it never gets boring. Also, the worldbuilding is fascinating and the writing is good. A great game!