Desperados III’s mechanical perfection cannot save it from becoming tedious. In a vacuum, it is extremely satisfying to align the characters, all with unique abilities, to pull off a crazy chain of stealth kills. And by midway through the game, you can pull off some truly ridiculous feats. The game also seems to do a good job of adding new variables to each level, making each play out in a somewhat novel way. Add in the several bonus objectives for replayability and a neat map after each level showing exactly what you did, and Desperados III offers an appealing package.

It is, admittedly, more of a game to sip rather than chug though. Each level takes a good while to play out with tons of trial and error along the way. Beating one is satisfying, but the thought is starting another is somewhat unappealing. Add to this the brutal difficulty (including enemy placement that is punishing rather than conducive to cool moments) and a wholly uninteresting story/characters, and it can be temping to set it down for good.

Which is what I ultimately did, despite the fun I had along the way. I made it around half way through the 2nd act when I fell off and it left Game Pass. However, if you are into tactics games and can take it at a more leisurely pace, Desperados could be an enjoyable enough experience.