I wanted to like this so much.

As someone with no familiarity with D&D, the rules and mechanics are poorly explained. From the very character creation screen you're given little about things like spell slots, sneaking, and other important mechanics related to the classes. This makes it tough to build a good character.

Once you start the game, you get *some* degree of explanation as to the turn based system and the dice rolls, but not much. There's a steep learning curve, which normally I would be willing to forgive if the rest of the game is good. But it's not. Some of the mechanics are also annoying, mainly spell slots to me. I start with a grand total of three. So I get to cast a spell three times (!) between Long Rests, which advance time and can't be done at whim. Get into two fights in a row, or a situation where you need a spell? Hope you didn't burn your spell slots! The time mechanic I mentioned is another annoying thing. It's very easy to get locked out of content because time advanced and you failed a quest, another thing the game is bad at explaining.Because this type of game is all about the story and writing.

Other party-based RPGs I've played have been all about wanting to learn more about the world, the story, the stories of the people you travel and fight with. Even if the main story is weak, an RPG can compensate with a well-crafted world and good characters. This has neither. If you don't choose one of the pre-made characters (which robs you of that character as a companion), then you get pretty much no backstory for your character other than a single sentence about having been a noble or a soldier in a past life. As for the pre-made characters who you can recruit, none of them are very compelling to me, although I have yet to get to know them too well. They range from hateful (the gith) to edgy (vampire elf and half-elf cleric) to dull (wizard).

The lore of the world isn't expanded enough either, another issue for those not familiar with D&D. Illithid play a major role. What are they exactly? Who are the gods? What's the lore difference between all these races? What's the history of this world? We get little to nothing on any of this.

On the subject of story: the dice mechanic has many of the same problems Disco Elysium had, in that a bad roll can lock you out of content with a failure. To me it's bad design to prevent a player from accessing content purely because of bad luck. In an actual tabletop game, the GM and players can find ways to get around bad rolls, a player can think of a new approach and the GM can tailor the story around a particular failure. The limits of this being a video game means that a failure is just that: you failed, you don't get that bit of the story. Guess you'll have to sink time into another playthrough to see that.

And finally, the third act of the game is unfinished. Despite having been in early access for years, they rushed the ending from many reports: glitches abound and there's a good deal of cut content. The ending has been described as "Mass Effect 3 pre-patch" levels of bad. I can't speak to the third act personally as I have yet to reach it, but this is what many reviews hold.

I hope you read this. I simply don't get the praise for this game. I loved Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Pathfinder, Divinity, and other party-based RPGs. I don't get the love for this.

I wanted to like this so much. As someone with no familiarity with D&D, the rules and mechanics are poorly explained. From the very character creation screen you're given little about things like spell slots, sneaking, and other important mechanics related to the classes. This makes it tough to build a good character. Once you start the game, you get *some* degree of explanation as to the turn based system and the dice rolls, but not much. There's a steep learning curve, which normally I would be willing to forgive if the rest of the game is good. But it's not. Some of the mechanics are also annoying, mainly spell slots to me. I start with a grand total of three. So I get to cast a spell three times (!) between Long Rests, which advance time and can't be done at whim. Get into two fights in a row, or a situation where you need a spell? Hope you didn't burn your spell slots! The time mechanic I mentioned is another annoying thing. It's very easy to get locked out of content because time advanced and you failed a quest, another thing the game is bad at explaining.Because this type of game is all about the story and writing. Other party-based RPGs I've played have been all about wanting to learn more about the world, the story, the stories of the people you travel and fight with. Even if the main story is weak, an RPG can compensate with a well-crafted world and good characters. This has neither. If you don't choose one of the pre-made characters (which robs you of that character as a companion), then you get pretty much no backstory for your character other than a single sentence about having been a noble or a soldier in a past life. As for the pre-made characters who you can recruit, none of them are very compelling to me, although I have yet to get to know them too well. They range from hateful (the gith) to edgy (vampire elf and half-elf cleric) to dull (wizard). The lore of the world isn't expanded enough either, another issue for those not familiar with D&D. Illithid play a major role. What are they exactly? Who are the gods? What's the lore difference between all these races? What's the history of this world? We get little to nothing on any of this. On the subject of story: the dice mechanic has many of the same problems Disco Elysium had, in that a bad roll can lock you out of content with a failure. To me it's bad design to prevent a player from accessing content purely because of bad luck. In an actual tabletop game, the GM and players can find ways to get around bad rolls, a player can think of a new approach and the GM can tailor the story around a particular failure. The limits of this being a video game means that a failure is just that: you failed, you don't get that bit of the story. Guess you'll have to sink time into another playthrough to see that. And finally, the third act of the game is unfinished. Despite having been in early access for years, they rushed the ending from many reports: glitches abound and there's a good deal of cut content. The ending has been described as "Mass Effect 3 pre-patch" levels of bad. I can't speak to the third act personally as I have yet to reach it, but this is what many reviews hold. I hope you read this. I simply don't get the praise for this game. I loved Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Pathfinder, Divinity, and other party-based RPGs. I don't get the love for this.