newtmonkey wrote on 2025-06-07, 17:58:

Tyranny I've had this one in my library for some time but never really spent much time with it. It's a party-based isometric RP […]
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Tyranny
I've had this one in my library for some time but never really spent much time with it. It's a party-based isometric RPG with real-time combat, and having now completed a bunch of similar games, I decided to give the game a shot. So far, it's pretty good. The most interesting thing about the game is the setting; basically, the evil empire has conquered the world and you are a high-ranking cog in the machine. Even so, you have a lot of leeway in how you approach each situation, as well as several factions to ally with, so you can roleplay everything from a loyal enforcer to a rebel.

I'm not sure what to think about the combat so far. I'm finding it more difficult than either of the Pillars games, but it might be because there's far less combat than those games, and nearly every battle is basically a boss battle. The game has a really cool spell crafting system that sort of brings Morrowind to mind, and even early on you have a lot of options to create cool spells.

It's very focused on story so far. You quickly pick up your first three party members just by following the story, and they are all definitely pretty unique. My favorite so far is a soldier who's had his suit of armor fused together around him. In some ways, it really feels like a better spiritual successor to Planescape: Torment than the cargo cult mediocrity Torment: Tides of Numenera.

So far, so good! I'll probably be focusing on this one for the time being.

Tyranny is one of my fondest modern RPG experiences, I had a blast with it. The companions are really interesting, the world is very immersive and you have quite a bit of agency. I am really curious as to what kind of a path you will carve in that world.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-06-10, 13:37:

DudeFace wrote on 2025-06-10, 13:13:

you got through that pretty quick considering its a massive 4 disc epic

My playthrough clocked at 56 hours, per the in-game time tracker.

That said, I likely missed most of the optional content, since I didn't find the gameplay particularly engaging. Meaning, I rarely bothered with exploring non-plot related areas. Also, I started playing Lost Odyssey a few days before first posting about it here, and I had almost completed disc 1 by that time.

50 odd hours is about normal for the average square enix game, being that lost odyssey is on 4 discs i expected it to be much longer, i guess the discs must be filled with side content and fmv's.🤣

xcomcmdr wrote on 2025-06-10, 18:02:

It pretty much is. It's the pretty much the same team as the old Final Fantasy titles (ie. FF6)

now that you mention it, i think ive heard that before.

appiah4 wrote on 2025-06-11, 08:22:

Tyranny is one of my fondest modern RPG experiences, I had a blast with it. The companions are really interesting, the world is very immersive and you have quite a bit of agency. I am really curious as to what kind of a path you will carve in that world.

I wasn't expecting much going in, but it's awesome so far. It's got the story/world hook I was looking for but never found in the PoE games (although I really did enjoy the first PoE, and the second game to a lesser extent), and of course it goes without saying that it's much more interesting than Torment: ToN! I'm playing as a Kyros loyalist siding with the Scarlet Chorus, but I'm already thinking of what kind of character I'd like to play as next time, which is surely testament to how good this game is. It's a shame it apparently didn't sell that well.

Tyranny
Wow, I just cannot stop playing this one. I'm partway through Act II, and I'm 17 hours into the game. At this point, on the default difficulty level, the game is unbelievably easy, but who knows? It might get more difficult later on. More importantly, who cares? I'm having a blast exploring the world and carving my way through it.

The spell making system is still great, and it's a ton of fun after gaining some levels and increasing my lore stat to go in and upgrade all my spells with better effects. It's a really clever solution to keep old spells useful throughout the game.

If I have to complain about anything, it's how juvenile some of the writing it. The absolute worst part so far was when you observe the two heads of the main factions arguing. These are "archons," who are humans or entities who originally had very "human" abilities that basically become magic as they gain followers who believe in their abilities. In other words, becoming a living legend actually gives you real magic. It's a very cool concept, but it's handled very poorly here. The two archons are written like edgy teens trading insults back and forth, and it diminishes both of them and the entire concept of the game (though with the recent development of two of the most powerful men in the world, both of whom have obtained amazing power through influence and belief, bickering back and forth on Twitter, the game might actually be quite prescient).

Anyway, I could definitely see myself replaying this years from now just to try a different character and choosing a different faction, probably on a higher difficulty level. I don't know if I like it more than PoE yet, but I'm definitely enjoying it more than PoE II!

Surprisingly for myself, I purchased and started playing the Windows re-release of Gates of Skeldal, and I think it's pretty good.

I've never been much of an RPG player, back in the 90s I wasn't aware of Daggerfall, and Might and Magic games were only a rumour and a bunch of screenshots in a gaming mag borrowed from a classmate. I believe people compare Skeldal to Lands of Lore, but anyway, it's the usual grind but it feels fun I guess. I have to say I'd be literally lost in the woods without the automap this game thankfully has, because the faux 3D perspective is drawn in such a way that confuses me a lot, even with the compass directions.

So I finally went back and wrapped up Final Fantasy XII: Zodiac Age. I wrapped up Pharos, did as much optional content as felt fun to do, bounced off a few especially odious espers and hunts, and then wrapped up with the final boss.

I still really love Final Fantasy XII. I think I loved the original more, with it's more open ended license boards. I know people complained that it makes every character feel samey, but I liked the control and freedom it gave me. And I still absolutely love the world they built. I'm also deeply impressed by how much value the localization adds. Every nation and tribe speaks with unique accents in English, where as the Japanese version had no accents. Also various tutorial texts are rewritten to not break the 4th wall in the English version. It's really impressive.

That said, it's still a beautiful mess of a game. You essentially chase McGuffin after McGuffin to no consequence what so ever. Most of the story happens in cutscenes countries away from where you currently are, involving characters you've never met. The game opens with this framing between each chapter where the memoirs of one of the side characters is read. It gives the story, such as it is, a bit more weight and context. This narrative device is dropped towards the end of the game. And the ending just feels so random, like they were out of time and just needed to wrap shit up. Fuck it, giant sky fortress! But also, it has basically 3 rooms and then a final boss fight. Whatever.

All in all, still absolutely love this game, it's weirdness from development hell aside. I think the world and the characters really make it work despite itself.