Recent reviews by Irtar

The legendary turn around of a disaster to a champion.

A sweeping story and thousands of hours of content.

Lead devs are memelords.

What more could you want?

(Dawntrail is kind of weak, naratively, but strong mechanically)

Do you like the old X-Wing and TIE Fighter series? This game harkens back to those old titles and brings them into the modern era.

Hopefully the first step in the return of the king of arcade sci-fi flight sims.

This game has been out in November of 2016.

There are still broken dialogue trees that show strings rather the proper response.

One of the major quests (Tiers will Shake) actually breaks in a way that won't allow you to complete it. I just lost my current playthrough to this particular bug and would have to start the game over to take another swing that it works this time.

This game is a horrible, buggy, broken mess and Obsidian should feel ashamed. Their games being broken messes is why I have some friends who REFUSE to buy Obsidian games after KOTOR 2 (good story, glitchy mess) and NWN2 (glitchy mess). I had thought after Pillars they would start to buck this trend, but back to glitchy messes we go!

Guess I will join them in just avoiding Obsidian games because they are not worth the trouble.

tl;dr If you are taking the time to read reviews, this game is not for you. Seriously. If there is any doubt in your heart about this game, just turn away. It will spit in your face, and disrespect you. It is an abusive mistress that will only drag in a very specific type of person.

Getting on with it...

This is probably one of the most disappointing games I have played in a long time.

I very much so enjoy the setting, and you can tell the people who made this game are very passionate about the region and time period. The world is probably the most evocative, in terms of designs, of the medieval period of any game I have played.

But this was made by a small and inexperienced studio, and it shows

It is, at this point, two years on and the game is STILL a glitchy nightmare. I have seen horseless riders, AI having problems pathfinding around a fort, and so much more.

If the game is working, it is ganky. The melee combat breaks down entirely the second it expands beyond a duel. I have had my character spin around in circles while I desperately was trying to change to a target I had been focusing and then get my twirling ass kicked into the mud on multiple occasions.

The game has no respect for your time with its horribly outdated save system. The attempt to limit your saves, in theory, exists to avoid save scumming but in practice leaves you entirely at the whims of the random encounters of the world. Will you run into a simple poacher who just wants you to leave his kill alone? Or a band of plate wearing brigands who won't stop until you, your loved ones, and THEIR loved ones are dead? Who knows? Roll that dice and see if you lose the last hour of your life over something you have no control over.

This game has a very specific target demographic. People with an obsession for Medieval Bohemian history who enjoy games with more bugs than Bethesda games with nothing but time and a deep enjoyment of getting gang banged by roving bands of bandits.

Is there enough people in this demographic to make a game? Apparently. It's done well.

But if you aren't in that demographic, it is probably best to steer clear.

It's an interesting game that evokes memories of Populous 3.

The tech tree I think still needs a lot of tweaking before release. (Electricity before medieval tech is weird)

There is still some pacing issues that I think need addressing.

But the game is shaping up to something that is, at the very least, unique and nostalgic all at once.

A game that blends military, industrial, and diplomatic strategy in a time period rarely visited by other games.

An important lesson in the very rarely heard of scourge of Anarcho Liberalism.

Everyone's favourite simulator of religious bigotry, genocide, and incest.

10/10, would Deus Vult again

Very much shows an old school design aesthics in terms of control and UI.

Some may be into that, and if you are you will enjoy it. I however found it tedious 30 years ago and still find it tedious today.