In Summary: This is a great, well-written game that should be played by anyone who enjoys CRPGs. It surprised me much like Divinity 2 Original Sin as a game that can stand beside Baldur's Gate 2 and other Black Isle classics. Also, judging from other reviews and friends who enjoy it, the replayability is off the charts. Get it!!

It is by no means a perfect game. I encountered only a few bugs, but the two things keep it from the 10/10 for me: the Crusade (mini)game and encounter balance.

It's a diluted Heroes3 minigame that quickly loses its challenge after your generals rack up some spell levels. It is therefore not worth the amount of time that you have to put into it. The only thing it achieves is convey the slow and dredging process of mounting a military campaign, which I guess has some narrative merit. Still, it's a very weak aspect of the game. I understand that you can automate it in the options, but I haven't tried that out.

The encounter balance is not too bad, but you might run into hard walls when facing certain monsters. There are enemies that are clearly overtuned, while others might feel like a pushover. Fortunately there were not that any of these during my Core difficulty playthrough, but those that were REALLY left a sour taste in my mouth. I'm sure around 10% of my playtime is reloading.

But yeah, despite these flaws, it is still a great CRPG and definitely worth your time. What's more, it's bursting with build options so the amount of strategies that you can do are just way too many to count. And judging from the achievements that I've missed... yeah, it's a full package.

Recommended :)

In Summary: This is a great, well-written game that should be played by anyone who enjoys CRPGs. It surprised me much like Divinity 2 Original Sin as a game that can stand beside Baldur's Gate 2 and other Black Isle classics. Also, judging from other reviews and friends who enjoy it, the replayability is off the charts. Get it!! It is by no means a perfect game. I encountered only a few bugs, but the two things keep it from the 10/10 for me: the Crusade (mini)game and encounter balance. It's a diluted Heroes3 minigame that quickly loses its challenge after your generals rack up some spell levels. It is therefore not worth the amount of time that you have to put into it. The only thing it achieves is convey the slow and dredging process of mounting a military campaign, which I guess has some narrative merit. Still, it's a very weak aspect of the game. I understand that you can automate it in the options, but I haven't tried that out. The encounter balance is not too bad, but you might run into hard walls when facing certain monsters. There are enemies that are clearly overtuned, while others might feel like a pushover. Fortunately there were not that any of these during my Core difficulty playthrough, but those that were REALLY left a sour taste in my mouth. I'm sure around 10% of my playtime is reloading. But yeah, despite these flaws, it is still a great CRPG and definitely worth your time. What's more, it's bursting with build options so the amount of strategies that you can do are just way too many to count. And judging from the achievements that I've missed... yeah, it's a full package. Recommended :)