Recent reviews by Infiltrator

As a fan of the original, I must say that this game improves upon it in almost every way possible.

The story is pretty much spotless until now, granted, at 40ish hours, I've barely scratched the surface of the main quest, as is tradition. The side quests, where do I start.. after you play the side quests in this game, you will be spoiled, in short. Every single one of them (thus far) has been a very thought-out story that always had a "more than meets the eye" aspect to it, multiple avenues of resolving it, and different end-states as well. The few characters that return have kept their personas, Henry can be a clumsy oaf or a silver tongued thief but his character traits somehow blend into whatever you've molded him into without problems, but the entire cast brings something to the table and won't leave you indifferent.

Mechanically, the perks are more balanced, the combat isn't relying on a overly-simplified master strike and the experience in stealth/crafting/alchemy aspects has been improved. The player is forced to adapt, especially against proficient enemies in combat, you just can't beat them all with one trick like in the first game. Thievery seems the same on the surface, but the underlying punishment/wanted system has had an extensive rework. If you are caught trespassing, and you steal something without being seen on that property, you will be linked with that crime and the guards will have a nice welcoming party for you next time you drop into the town. Alchemy has been adjusted with perks that can maximize your time spent depending on how pedantic you are when it comes to potion making.

Graphically, the game is absolutely gorgeous, and the way they tell the story through cutscenes is done in a very elegant manner. From what I can tell, the engine is very optimized and aside from a few lightning glitches there wasn't a problem. Music is, again done masterfully and switches tempo and mood depending on where you are and what you do.

Sure, you still get some wonky AI reactions from time to time, but that is a consequence of a complex reactive system, and it happens rarely enough that I don't consider it like something people should consider when buying the game.

Although this review is based on the first part of the game, I will edit it after I complete it, though I doubt my impressions will change by then.

There's no other game you can get that has a better ratio of money spent per hours of fun. I got this when it was like, 2$ on sale, but the mentioned ratio would be hard to beat if it was 40$, easily.

When you spawn, you get a huge world on both sides of your character. You collect resources, start by making a shack to fend off the zombies at night with your wooden sword, and end up fighting gods in the sky on top of your mini-UFO. Everything in between is hilariously fun, the underground and above ground changes based on your progression so you have to adapt to the shifting world, it can be enjoyed in single player but with friends you are bound to make some memorable moments.

The world would be a better place if every other studio had this kind of devotion to their game. Re-logic are never stopping with updates, 13 years after this game has been released, we've had our "last" update 6 years ago IIRC, and since then about half a dozen multi-page patches that don't just fix things but add a plethora of encounters, changes, items, bosses, materials etc. If there's a list of games that I would recommend to everyone than this game would be on top of it.

This game makes me look like I have the wildest mood swings. Sometimes it works just perfectly, other times you drop out because you opened the map, or the opponent just happens to have a high ping and none of your shots connect. The developers have a perfect execution of some elements - like sound, which is absolutely perfect, but appear like toddlers when it comes to UI or balance.

Half of the guns or gadgets have been nerfed to oblivion and have been sitting useless, others have been OP just enough to make their skins sell, and then nerfed.

I can't recommend it. It's not optimized, it's buggy as hell years after release, and in the end you'll likely get frusrtrated by some aspect of it.

This a hardcore RPG with a very high degree of replayability. No handholding, you are thrusted in an alternative timeline akin to ancient Rome, you are (hopefully) a resourceful man caught in the war between the remaining houses that are at each others throats. Who and how you serve is completely up to you, which is the best selling point for this game - deceit, bribing, stealth, manipulation.. or the good old kill em all fashion. Combat is unforgiving and sometimes hard to avoid, but you can tip the odds in your favor via various skills, like alchemy, crafting etc. if you are not a full-on combat character. These skills can again come in handy when you are solving some problems and quests that might require such knowledge. Highly recommended if you want a traditional Turn based RPG with absolutely no hand-holding.

Excellent, yet short trip down memory lane. I say memory lane because this game is a love letter to the old Gothic franchise, which is obvious when you look at how the combat and faction systems work. The combat is on the harder side, but responsive and rewarding. Some minor issues I had is that the game forces you down paths that you do not necessarily want, once you've chosen one of two factions, you just have to suck it up and do what the leader says. Other than that, recommended.

I have been an avid fan of the series since the 2nd installment. The 3rd game and Planetfall were fine games but didn't grab me nearly as much as this game.

The story of the game is present, there is no single player campaign but there are several realms with recurring characters and an overarching story. It's nothing to write home about but there is a lore background to some of the characters and some of the old ones also make a return.

What's new about this is that there is a meta progression of your "pantheon" (this is basically your profile save name). As you play and finish games and campaigns, characters, both that you created and ones from the story will become potentially available as allies, opponents or heroes in your upcoming games. Another aspect of the meta progression is the capability to unlock various additions in the game, from practical ones such as traits for your empires to purely cosmetic ones such as lord accessories and visuals.

Which brings me to my next point, the game looks gorgeous - for a 4x at least, customization of both your map/realm and race is really something they spent a lot time on and it shows. You can customize your race, leader and civilizations every aspect - from physical form (like 13-15 to choose from) to traits, culture, tomes (these are schools of magic but split into many sub-sections you can mix and match basically) type of leader, alignment and so on.

As with the previous titles, there is a heavy emphasis on combat. Those who remember the combat from AoW3/PF will be familiar with the execution here, but there are many mechanical things that were changed in order to improve the pace, such as the introduction of temporary healing - which is a step in the right direction as healing in previous titles was easy to abuse.

The diplomatic aspect is more intricate but still easy to grasp, the so called free city states are an interesting and unpredictable piece of the game. They can serve as a buffer between you and a potential enemy, a way to equalize or polarize your economy (they can be traded with) or just another city for you to absorb into your warmongering faction.

All in all, I expected a lot of problems at the release as it's often customary of games with this many cogs in their machine, but I have been pleasantly surprised how polished it turned out across the field. Definitely one of those "one more turn" games to make it to my not-so populated list. Recommended wholeheartedly to both old time fans and new entrants to the series.

This is an incredibly polished metroidvania game that combines does three core things exceptionally well:

1. Awesome gameplay: your character is snappy, responsive and mastering him feels rewarding.
2. Amazing video/audio design. The art direction, animations, music.. everything comes together and makes perfect synergy.
3. A captivating story with great worldbuilding and multiple endings, along with a host of memorable characters - both friends and foes.

Honestly, I could go on, but there's no need. I tried to think of some negatives but honestly I couldn't think of anything valid.

The very core of this game is fun. I'll say that I'm mainly a pvp player, so when a game that's "just" coop hooks me like this, it just has to be something very special. Whether you like shooting, devising build/perk strategies , exploring new types of maps (the generator is excellent) every time you go on a mission or just doing stupid ♥♥♥♥ with your friends, this game has your back.
The character design/interactions is something also worthy of praise. All in all, highly recommended.

Do not be discouraged by the look of the game. This is a gem with a lot of depth, planning and variety. Very recommended for TBS veterans.

This the alpha and omega of the survival genre. The Lord of Flies of the video game industry.

The only downside this game might have is that is very punishing for new and casual players - but if you go through the baptism of fire, you are sure to come out enjoying the game for the myriad of playstyles and situations it allows.