It's been a while since I made one of these, as there hasn't been that many RPG releases recently. Anyway, it's time for another rant, so I'll just get started.
First things first - it's a rather short game. According to my Steam info thingymajig it took me 11 hours to complete, and I got through about as many side quests and achievements as anyone can do in a single run. The game is very linear, so there's not a lot of places you can spend time exploring. All in all, I don't see anyone managing to squeeze out more than 15-20 hours unless they reload a lot.
That's not always a bad thing though, as the game just isn't one of those games you want to go on for 50 hours or more. This is no Baldur's Gate or Gothic. It's more like Jade Empire. With orcs. And not as good voice acting or writing, but with more interesting main characters.
Moving on.
Story and writing
It's not half bad really. There's a bit too much "fuck" here and there, but other than that it's actually pretty decent. It got more interesting as the story went on, and the two main characters even ended up being quite fascinating in the end, despite seeming about as deep as a puddle in the start.
There's also the whole "orcs and goblins point of view" going on, which is very refreshing in my opinion. I've always wanted to see their side of it, and I'm quite tired of them always being "EEEEEVUUUL" just for the sake of being evil. They're like a bad cartoon villain in most cases.
The setting and premise generally works quite well, but the design of the world is rather repetitive - far too many hallways and tunnels, not enough open world areas. I'll write more about this in the following section.
Gameplay
You almost always control two main characters - a huge orc and a small goblin. They have different strengths and weaknesses, and even on normal mode you need to use them correctly in order to succeed. Combat is not what I'd call intuitive, but it is fairly smooth later on once the characters get a certain set of skills and gear.
Both characters gain experience and level up, and you need to decide which skills and abilities to focus on. The orc can be either a tank or damage dealer, and the goblin either ranged or melee damage dealer. They can still swap around a bit no matter how you set up their skills, so it's not a black or white choice. It was actually a bit more fun than I expected to try out different skills, but it didn't take me long to figure out a rather efficient setup.
Overall, I like the combat system, but unfortunately the setup is about as repetitive as Mass Effect 2. Hallways, hallways and more hallways. And let's not forget tunnels. You can spice it up a bit by using the goblin as a scout/assassin, which does make it a bit more interesting, but it's just not enough to make it fun in the long run. The whole thing is designed for action, just like ME2, and there's just not supposed to be a lot of exploring/talking to people.
I understand that some people prefer 11 hours of action packed gameplay to 50 hours of varied gameplay (combat/exploring/talking/questing/etc), but I'm not one of them. Also, I believe it's possible to meet somewhere in the middle, the way ME1 did.
Sound
We've grown quite used to excellent voice acting and music in recent years, so this is something of a step down. It's decent compared to most AAA titles, but no more than that. I got used to the voices of the main characters over time, but the weird way-too-Hollywood-like-cursing here and there almost always sounded off. Also, certain characters you come across sound a bit odd compared to their appearance, as if the voice just doesn't fit the face at all.
Anyway, this is nitpicking to be honest - the whole cinematic aspect is not where I would've wanted them to invest more money. It gets the job done.
Visuals
Varied, to say the least. Some characters look strange, others look great. Some of the sights are great for an RPG, but since the majority of the game is spent looking at hallways and tunnels, you never really get a sense of how grand it could look if you got to see a bit more scenery. I suspect the engine and artists would've been quite capable of making stunning views if they had the time and money to do so.
Verdict
It's probably a weak 7ish to me, it's a bit hard to give an exact grade. It's certainly not a bad game. Quite good really. Excellent premise, decent story, somewhat interesting characters and overall entertaining gameplay. Unfortunately, it's held back a lot by the repetitive formula and very linear/streamlined progress.
I'll play through it one more time I think before putting it away. There are a few choices worth checking out again to see if they have an impact, but not many. It's not enough to give it a high replay value, but given I'll probably do it in less than 10 hours, it's not exactly a huge time sink.
All in all, it actually reminds me quite a lot of Gothic 4: ArcaniA, but with more interesting main characters and an even more streamlined world. It's worth playing for people who have always wanted to see the point of view of the orcs and goblins, but most others should probably wait until it's on sale or some such thing.
First things first - it's a rather short game. According to my Steam info thingymajig it took me 11 hours to complete, and I got through about as many side quests and achievements as anyone can do in a single run. The game is very linear, so there's not a lot of places you can spend time exploring. All in all, I don't see anyone managing to squeeze out more than 15-20 hours unless they reload a lot.
That's not always a bad thing though, as the game just isn't one of those games you want to go on for 50 hours or more. This is no Baldur's Gate or Gothic. It's more like Jade Empire. With orcs. And not as good voice acting or writing, but with more interesting main characters.
Moving on.
Story and writing
It's not half bad really. There's a bit too much "fuck" here and there, but other than that it's actually pretty decent. It got more interesting as the story went on, and the two main characters even ended up being quite fascinating in the end, despite seeming about as deep as a puddle in the start.
There's also the whole "orcs and goblins point of view" going on, which is very refreshing in my opinion. I've always wanted to see their side of it, and I'm quite tired of them always being "EEEEEVUUUL" just for the sake of being evil. They're like a bad cartoon villain in most cases.
The setting and premise generally works quite well, but the design of the world is rather repetitive - far too many hallways and tunnels, not enough open world areas. I'll write more about this in the following section.
Gameplay
You almost always control two main characters - a huge orc and a small goblin. They have different strengths and weaknesses, and even on normal mode you need to use them correctly in order to succeed. Combat is not what I'd call intuitive, but it is fairly smooth later on once the characters get a certain set of skills and gear.
Both characters gain experience and level up, and you need to decide which skills and abilities to focus on. The orc can be either a tank or damage dealer, and the goblin either ranged or melee damage dealer. They can still swap around a bit no matter how you set up their skills, so it's not a black or white choice. It was actually a bit more fun than I expected to try out different skills, but it didn't take me long to figure out a rather efficient setup.
Overall, I like the combat system, but unfortunately the setup is about as repetitive as Mass Effect 2. Hallways, hallways and more hallways. And let's not forget tunnels. You can spice it up a bit by using the goblin as a scout/assassin, which does make it a bit more interesting, but it's just not enough to make it fun in the long run. The whole thing is designed for action, just like ME2, and there's just not supposed to be a lot of exploring/talking to people.
I understand that some people prefer 11 hours of action packed gameplay to 50 hours of varied gameplay (combat/exploring/talking/questing/etc), but I'm not one of them. Also, I believe it's possible to meet somewhere in the middle, the way ME1 did.
Sound
We've grown quite used to excellent voice acting and music in recent years, so this is something of a step down. It's decent compared to most AAA titles, but no more than that. I got used to the voices of the main characters over time, but the weird way-too-Hollywood-like-cursing here and there almost always sounded off. Also, certain characters you come across sound a bit odd compared to their appearance, as if the voice just doesn't fit the face at all.
Anyway, this is nitpicking to be honest - the whole cinematic aspect is not where I would've wanted them to invest more money. It gets the job done.
Visuals
Varied, to say the least. Some characters look strange, others look great. Some of the sights are great for an RPG, but since the majority of the game is spent looking at hallways and tunnels, you never really get a sense of how grand it could look if you got to see a bit more scenery. I suspect the engine and artists would've been quite capable of making stunning views if they had the time and money to do so.
Verdict
It's probably a weak 7ish to me, it's a bit hard to give an exact grade. It's certainly not a bad game. Quite good really. Excellent premise, decent story, somewhat interesting characters and overall entertaining gameplay. Unfortunately, it's held back a lot by the repetitive formula and very linear/streamlined progress.
I'll play through it one more time I think before putting it away. There are a few choices worth checking out again to see if they have an impact, but not many. It's not enough to give it a high replay value, but given I'll probably do it in less than 10 hours, it's not exactly a huge time sink.
All in all, it actually reminds me quite a lot of Gothic 4: ArcaniA, but with more interesting main characters and an even more streamlined world. It's worth playing for people who have always wanted to see the point of view of the orcs and goblins, but most others should probably wait until it's on sale or some such thing.
