Tyranny

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This game is awesome. Love the gameplay, world, factions, etc. The framing of the story is so cool: You're sent into a region as part of a conquering army, so you start off the game as one of the main "bad guys". I really don't see that too often, so it felt super fresh. My only gripe is that later in the game it felt like I was stuck on certain paths, and where many RPGs give you an off-ramp, this one seemed to lack them at times. Without giving any major details, one situation that I came across was when I was given orders by faction A (who I had been aligned with up until this point). I didn't like the order and assumed I'd be able to deny it or at least be given an option to split from the faction. If you aren't aligned with faction A, you can handle the situation entirely differently, but because I was given that order it locked me in with that faction. About 30 minutes prior, there was a random encounter with a member of this faction where I saw a "betray faction" dialogue option, so I loaded a save before then to arbitrarily betray them at that point. By doing this, the game put me on an independent path. Many other RPGs would've given me a dialogue option during the conversation to leave the faction, or at least later on let me choose to ignore the orders and be kicked from the faction. That all being said, these were minor annoyances and the game more than makes up for it

★★★☆☆½ Finally, a CRPG where being evil isn’t just an option—it’s the whole point. Coming from the makers of Pillars of Eternity, I expected Tyranny to be a solid CRPG experience—and I wasn’t disappointed. The premise is fantastic: you’re not the scrappy underdog for once—you’re the herald, general, and judge for an almost omnipotent force hellbent on conquering the world. His/her? generals are near-godlike themselves, and you can choose to work with them, betray them, or carve out your own path. It was a blast to roleplay as a true badass. Unlike most RPGs where the "evil path" feels like an afterthought, Tyranny puts it front and center, and it’s incredibly refreshing. It stacks up surprisingly well alongside games like Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment—high praise—and honestly, I wish the developers would make a sequel. I’d love to meet my lord, nemesis, god... whatever she/he actually turns out to be. The gameplay and combat are a lot of fun, and there are some really clever mechanics. One highlight is the spellcrafting system, which lets you create and tweak your own spells—definitely recommend playing a spellcaster your first time through. Melee builds are perfectly viable too, but the magic system is where the game really shines. That said, there are some balancing quirks. Certain stats are just way more valuable than others, no matter what kind of character you’re building, and the skill progression system (where skills level up through use) is unique but rewards a bit of early-game min/maxing if you’re into that sort of thing. Conquer first, ask questions later. The story is great overall, but some of the choices you make can feel a little less fleshed out than they should be—especially compared to the depth of the worldbuilding and premise. All in all, if you like CRPGs and have even a little bit of a dark side, Tyranny is absolutely worth your time.

- Я могу бросить шлем в МАРКА?! - .... *сохранение* Я БРОСАЮ ШЛЕМ В МАРКА - .... - ох черт, ему это нравится! -... он... он дает мне этот крутой магический офигенский наруч? ох черт....

Very good game Variative playthourgh, tons of dialogs filled with game lore, solid crafting spells experience, great music and performance

This game reminded me of the original 'Baldurs Gate' games. It's very traditional and linear. You do have to make choices which will affect the course of the game. Combat is real-time with pause, which I always find gets very confusing when multiple characters are fighting multiple enemies. The inventory system is a mess. Overall its OK, nothing special.

God I love this game. I wish they'd made more. The combat is so fun, the spell casting is incredibly unique. I remember when this game came out, I was so excited, and it really lived up to the hype. Please make more!! I love Pillars more, but I miss this! It was such a cool world! *Edit* This game is soooooo good please make a sequel. More things that I love: the paths system. I don't think I've ever seen a CRPG that makes your decisions matter quite like this one. There's four paths you can take through the game, depending upon who you ally with. All of them have different goas and quests and interactions. Even different places you go. Missives, it's a fun little way to get more lore, and to make little decisions about how you interact with the other important characters while you do so. It really helps flesh out your character's personality. The way you level up, with skills gaining experience from use and your overall level increasing with your skills. It's incredibly cool. It means if you use a skill a lot, you'll be better at continuing to use that skill a lot. Why don't more games do this?! The random encounters as you travel. Reminds me a lot of Dragon Age and I love it. Loyalty and fear, and gaining those with your companions (as well as the corresponding ones with the factions) and how it changes the way they interact with you. Instead of just one axis of "do they hate or love you", you can have them be extremely loyal but also terrified of you. Really adds more depth to your relationships with them. The music. It's amazing. That's it. And the combat. I love the lack of classes, the flexibility, the way you can do anything and be anything. The talent trees let you specialize, but you can specialize in multiple ways in multiple things. I've played and loved Pillars and Pathfinder (I literally have a Pillars of Eternity tattoo), as well as many other less well-know CRPGs, and Tyranny really holds up to even the big names. I also think the fact that you're not the good guy is part of what makes this game so good. And that's coming from someone who always picks the nicest choices in any games that have them. I really do want to explore this world more.