Really cool game barring some issues that come from trying to adapt Dungeons and Dragons into a video game!
Playing through this game I was repeatedly impressed by the level of creativity I could use in my approach to nearly (NEARLY) every aspect of the game and in narrative situations the game was prepared for what I did, dialogue included. It feels like playing through a tabletop campaign (for the most part) with great visuals and the world feels lived in instead of in service to the player.
Gameplay wise its a great time. I love turn based strategy games and the different ways I can approach combat situations makes each one feel unique. Sure I can just charge into battle, cast spells, and kill everyone. Or I can fly up to a high vantage point and use arrows that push everyone away to throw 4 guys off of a cliff. Everyone's seen the clips of bosses getting nuked by 500 exploding barrels or whatever those are fun BUT that's just part of it, the world is your oyster. I do however wish that the game better prepared you for all of the BIG Act 3 encounters. Each of them has a gimmick attached to them that, up until your first one, has not been something you've exposed to in previous encounters. They're not too difficult to figure out, especially if you've done big raid fights in games like World of Warcraft but the spike in difficulty does feel a bit out of nowhere. The fights are a lot of fun though, even if the Cazador fight was horribly frustrating until I figured out how to cheese it. From a roleplay perspective the gameplay didn't really open up for my character, a bard that was not combat focused at all, until Act 3. I had opportunities before to talk characters into and out of things with my high charisma but being able to busk on the streets of the Lower City was a lot of fun, even more fun when it was just a distraction for Astarion to sneak away and steal something that I couldn't steal by myself.
The game's narrative is (mostly) good. The first act establishes the Origin characters well with their own lives and stories that really feel like they existed before you came along and the big battle at the grove feels like a major turning point for your character with the subsequent party being your characters last real moment before things really kick in. Act 2 does a great job at establishing Ketheric Thorm as the big bad guy of the area, while fleshing out the conflict as you continue your journey. Act 3 is where things really feel open as you get a sprawling city packed with people, stories, and resolutions to most of your party members stories. I liked a lot of these! people confronting their abusers, learning the truth of their reality, coming to terms with their life and choices. All great stuff! I just wish the actual ending of the game held up in that regard.
The overall writing of the game is impressive as well, I was regularly surprised at what was actually put into the game and voice acted as a response to my actions. Whether its causing a mess in a store, beating people up, OR stealing an item that a character is supposed to give you and they actually notice its gone and then react accordingly. Small details that most people would look over and wouldn't make the game worse if they weren't there but they're there!
Hey the negative, its not a totally perfect game. It's limited by the system it uses and is further limited by development time and the scope of a video game. Most of my gripes come from times that I wished I could do more than the game had in it. I didn't like that if I wanted to save the Tieflings, I had to side with the Druids. I did not care about the druids but they had a big set piece that I was railroaded into, and while the later segments that also did this weren't as frustrating to me it still hurts as someone who likes to play non-combat focused characters in D&D. Skills like Disguise Self are mostly useless as you just turn into a character of a different race. Good for not taking the blame for theft or talking to a dead body but not much else. Fighting people with Non-Lethal damage rarely has any practical use beyond a handful of encounters or if you're fighting off people you stole from otherwise the game just counts them as Dead. A lot of the game does fall apart in Act 3 even if it's the most interesting act of the game. Quests that don't have real resolutions, softlocking out of certain areas that you have to look up guides on how to get to. They've fixed some stuff and hopefully the post-launch support fixes those issues. Lastly that ending is a dud, following a giant battle you get a few lines of dialogue from all the origin characters in your party that are relevant to the outcome of their personal quest and then it rolls credits. It doesn't feel like a conclusion for anyone! I got the patched in Karlach cutscene but like, Let me have a party with everyone? let everyone enjoy a final night together before they go separate ways? really odd. Hope its patched in or DLC or something? I would like to feel like my time with them is over or a new adventure is just around the corner instead of like. The DM realizing they have to work earlier than they thought tomorrow and we'll finish the conclusion next session (that keeps getting rescheduled)
Great game though! recommend it to anyone even slightly curious about it!
Playing through this game I was repeatedly impressed by the level of creativity I could use in my approach to nearly (NEARLY) every aspect of the game and in narrative situations the game was prepared for what I did, dialogue included. It feels like playing through a tabletop campaign (for the most part) with great visuals and the world feels lived in instead of in service to the player.
Gameplay wise its a great time. I love turn based strategy games and the different ways I can approach combat situations makes each one feel unique. Sure I can just charge into battle, cast spells, and kill everyone. Or I can fly up to a high vantage point and use arrows that push everyone away to throw 4 guys off of a cliff. Everyone's seen the clips of bosses getting nuked by 500 exploding barrels or whatever those are fun BUT that's just part of it, the world is your oyster. I do however wish that the game better prepared you for all of the BIG Act 3 encounters. Each of them has a gimmick attached to them that, up until your first one, has not been something you've exposed to in previous encounters. They're not too difficult to figure out, especially if you've done big raid fights in games like World of Warcraft but the spike in difficulty does feel a bit out of nowhere. The fights are a lot of fun though, even if the Cazador fight was horribly frustrating until I figured out how to cheese it. From a roleplay perspective the gameplay didn't really open up for my character, a bard that was not combat focused at all, until Act 3. I had opportunities before to talk characters into and out of things with my high charisma but being able to busk on the streets of the Lower City was a lot of fun, even more fun when it was just a distraction for Astarion to sneak away and steal something that I couldn't steal by myself.
The game's narrative is (mostly) good. The first act establishes the Origin characters well with their own lives and stories that really feel like they existed before you came along and the big battle at the grove feels like a major turning point for your character with the subsequent party being your characters last real moment before things really kick in. Act 2 does a great job at establishing Ketheric Thorm as the big bad guy of the area, while fleshing out the conflict as you continue your journey. Act 3 is where things really feel open as you get a sprawling city packed with people, stories, and resolutions to most of your party members stories. I liked a lot of these! people confronting their abusers, learning the truth of their reality, coming to terms with their life and choices. All great stuff! I just wish the actual ending of the game held up in that regard.
The overall writing of the game is impressive as well, I was regularly surprised at what was actually put into the game and voice acted as a response to my actions. Whether its causing a mess in a store, beating people up, OR stealing an item that a character is supposed to give you and they actually notice its gone and then react accordingly. Small details that most people would look over and wouldn't make the game worse if they weren't there but they're there!
Hey the negative, its not a totally perfect game. It's limited by the system it uses and is further limited by development time and the scope of a video game. Most of my gripes come from times that I wished I could do more than the game had in it. I didn't like that if I wanted to save the Tieflings, I had to side with the Druids. I did not care about the druids but they had a big set piece that I was railroaded into, and while the later segments that also did this weren't as frustrating to me it still hurts as someone who likes to play non-combat focused characters in D&D. Skills like Disguise Self are mostly useless as you just turn into a character of a different race. Good for not taking the blame for theft or talking to a dead body but not much else. Fighting people with Non-Lethal damage rarely has any practical use beyond a handful of encounters or if you're fighting off people you stole from otherwise the game just counts them as Dead. A lot of the game does fall apart in Act 3 even if it's the most interesting act of the game. Quests that don't have real resolutions, softlocking out of certain areas that you have to look up guides on how to get to. They've fixed some stuff and hopefully the post-launch support fixes those issues. Lastly that ending is a dud, following a giant battle you get a few lines of dialogue from all the origin characters in your party that are relevant to the outcome of their personal quest and then it rolls credits. It doesn't feel like a conclusion for anyone! I got the patched in Karlach cutscene but like, Let me have a party with everyone? let everyone enjoy a final night together before they go separate ways? really odd. Hope its patched in or DLC or something? I would like to feel like my time with them is over or a new adventure is just around the corner instead of like. The DM realizing they have to work earlier than they thought tomorrow and we'll finish the conclusion next session (that keeps getting rescheduled)
Great game though! recommend it to anyone even slightly curious about it!