I just knocked off my first Tyranny play-through in 36 hours. It wasn't bad!
This is much more accessible than Pillars of Eternity; simpler fights with a much more grandiosely woven story. If i had to describe it in a nutshell, I'd probably just say it was a confluence of Pillars (engine, attribute system, general combat feel) Dragon Age: Origins (only four characters maximum in a party; can have some conversations with consequences ) and Game of Thrones inspired military conquest or "power-fantasy" themes with a slightly more cartoon-ish aspect. The skill system was an unusual combination of "improve by use" and essentially class-less talent trees.
The "evil has won" hype tag was definitely overdone as expected, as there are ways to subvert the establishment in the game if that is your choice. I would also hasten to mention thematic connections to the Avadon series which also more than adequately gave the player the ability to role-play a diligent "lackey" for an over-arching sometimes questionable superpower (the Pact) in a similar and sometimes more nuanced way than Tyranny does.
Unfortunately the game does come somewhat crashing to a sudden end. I couldn't believe how short Act 3 was; quite farcical really how it was all hastily cobbled together in the end after the lengthy Act 2. That was probably one of the big disappointments in what was otherwise a fairly decent game full of an interesting array of choices.
Other reviewers have celebrated the spell system for its rewarding experimentation, but I never really got too heavily into that side of things in my first play-through. Curiously, my character didn't trust Eb or Kills-In-Shadow ('offed 'em both!) nor had Sirrin for any time. Thus, there's a good deal to look into for a replay.
I think I'll try taking out all of the Archons next time in a Path of the Damned run.
Final party: (sided with Disfavored)
Main PC used the defender talent-tree and focused upon melee/shield.
Verse (Kind of like a less insane, practical evolution of Shar Teel; became my duel wielding rogue/archer)
Barik (Walking Tank of Lummox+10)
Lantry (I liked this witty mysterious fellow! Focused him on preservation/healing mostly)
Pros:
- Reasonably compelling story - I often wanted to keep playing at night, to make another important choice (Hello 4 am!)
- Interesting factional interplay (balancing/gauging alliances etc.) and well layered world lore. (I liked being able to quickly read on the background of concepts/key groups)
- Invites replays to investigate more role-playing perspectives from second major side.
- The companion Wrath and Loyalty system often made me question my choices - would I have enough allies to survive? Good depth to companion conversations (largely player initiated)
- Artefacts are interesting and useful (reminiscent of soul-bound weapons from PoE) as were party combo's unlocked from party interactions.
Cons:
- Probably the worst combat path-finding I've encountered in an isometric cRPG (which is ironic given there's only 4 party members)
- Too few party members to choose from; simply not enough party variety for my desired depth.
- Weakly ushered in and overly short Act III
- Spire upgrade system lacked vigorous impact (I played on hard) I had over 25-30 iron rings unspent with nothing really left to buy or upgrade…Didn't need the forge due to item saturation in the game world from exploration.
- Over the top voice acting at times gave the game a slightly silly tone (Voices of Nerat was just plain ridiculous, reminding me at times of the Dark Knight from Beyond Divinity)
Feel free to comment and add your own reflections! I'd definitely be interested in hearing what type of character Watcher's here built the first time around.
This is much more accessible than Pillars of Eternity; simpler fights with a much more grandiosely woven story. If i had to describe it in a nutshell, I'd probably just say it was a confluence of Pillars (engine, attribute system, general combat feel) Dragon Age: Origins (only four characters maximum in a party; can have some conversations with consequences ) and Game of Thrones inspired military conquest or "power-fantasy" themes with a slightly more cartoon-ish aspect. The skill system was an unusual combination of "improve by use" and essentially class-less talent trees.
The "evil has won" hype tag was definitely overdone as expected, as there are ways to subvert the establishment in the game if that is your choice. I would also hasten to mention thematic connections to the Avadon series which also more than adequately gave the player the ability to role-play a diligent "lackey" for an over-arching sometimes questionable superpower (the Pact) in a similar and sometimes more nuanced way than Tyranny does.
Unfortunately the game does come somewhat crashing to a sudden end. I couldn't believe how short Act 3 was; quite farcical really how it was all hastily cobbled together in the end after the lengthy Act 2. That was probably one of the big disappointments in what was otherwise a fairly decent game full of an interesting array of choices.
Other reviewers have celebrated the spell system for its rewarding experimentation, but I never really got too heavily into that side of things in my first play-through. Curiously, my character didn't trust Eb or Kills-In-Shadow ('offed 'em both!) nor had Sirrin for any time. Thus, there's a good deal to look into for a replay.
I think I'll try taking out all of the Archons next time in a Path of the Damned run.
Final party: (sided with Disfavored)
Main PC used the defender talent-tree and focused upon melee/shield.
Verse (Kind of like a less insane, practical evolution of Shar Teel; became my duel wielding rogue/archer)
Barik (Walking Tank of Lummox+10)
Lantry (I liked this witty mysterious fellow! Focused him on preservation/healing mostly)
Pros:
- Reasonably compelling story - I often wanted to keep playing at night, to make another important choice (Hello 4 am!)
- Interesting factional interplay (balancing/gauging alliances etc.) and well layered world lore. (I liked being able to quickly read on the background of concepts/key groups)
- Invites replays to investigate more role-playing perspectives from second major side.
- The companion Wrath and Loyalty system often made me question my choices - would I have enough allies to survive? Good depth to companion conversations (largely player initiated)
- Artefacts are interesting and useful (reminiscent of soul-bound weapons from PoE) as were party combo's unlocked from party interactions.
Cons:
- Probably the worst combat path-finding I've encountered in an isometric cRPG (which is ironic given there's only 4 party members)
- Too few party members to choose from; simply not enough party variety for my desired depth.
- Weakly ushered in and overly short Act III
- Spire upgrade system lacked vigorous impact (I played on hard) I had over 25-30 iron rings unspent with nothing really left to buy or upgrade…Didn't need the forge due to item saturation in the game world from exploration.
- Over the top voice acting at times gave the game a slightly silly tone (Voices of Nerat was just plain ridiculous, reminding me at times of the Dark Knight from Beyond Divinity)
Feel free to comment and add your own reflections! I'd definitely be interested in hearing what type of character Watcher's here built the first time around.
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