Blackguards 2

 PC
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 92 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 56 out of 92
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 92
  3. Negative: 15 out of 92

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  1. Wizzleteats
    Mar 7, 2015
    8
    Excellent sequel to a great tactical, turn-based fantasy RPG. The story is much tighter in the sequel but the game does suffer a bit due to the lack of a character creator and reduced depth of play due to the decision of the developers to strip out certain features in the name of simplification.
  2. smalli
    Jan 22, 2015
    9
    I am positively suprised because Blackguards 2 has much more improved from the first part I played some months ago. The story and the new map features are very good implemented. I also like that you see some old friends from the first part. The graphics have slightly improved and the it has now a much more strategy feeling than depending on dice luck. And the conquer mode is a nice add-on.I am positively suprised because Blackguards 2 has much more improved from the first part I played some months ago. The story and the new map features are very good implemented. I also like that you see some old friends from the first part. The graphics have slightly improved and the it has now a much more strategy feeling than depending on dice luck. And the conquer mode is a nice add-on. Nicely done, so far.… Expand
  3. Gvendolen
    Jan 22, 2015
    10
    Отличная тактическая стратегия! Давно ждала продолжения и не разочарована. Боевые карты просто крутые, выбор вариантов действий тоже очень порадовал - вообще и раньше игра не была сильно доброй, а сейчас стала еще более мрачной и в целом более амосферной. Игра на русском (с субтитрами) что тоже очень круто. Еще понравилось, что главный герой это женцина - Кассия Корапия. Пошаговые бои,Отличная тактическая стратегия! Давно ждала продолжения и не разочарована. Боевые карты просто крутые, выбор вариантов действий тоже очень порадовал - вообще и раньше игра не была сильно доброй, а сейчас стала еще более мрачной и в целом более амосферной. Игра на русском (с субтитрами) что тоже очень круто. Еще понравилось, что главный герой это женцина - Кассия Корапия. Пошаговые бои, очень много тактики и никакой спешки - все как я люблю.… Expand
  4. WolfKing
    Jan 24, 2015
    8
    Very good sequel, I love the battles, love the story, its just a great tactical RPG which has all the elements you truly need, loot, customize your heroes with items and deep skill trees. Wish they made more tactical games like that. The reason I'm taking away 2 points is because you cannot make your own character, your forced to play a female hero, and for me I cant play female charactersVery good sequel, I love the battles, love the story, its just a great tactical RPG which has all the elements you truly need, loot, customize your heroes with items and deep skill trees. Wish they made more tactical games like that. The reason I'm taking away 2 points is because you cannot make your own character, your forced to play a female hero, and for me I cant play female characters as a main toon its just doesn't work in my role play world. Huge let down for me.… Expand
  5. Thornville
    Jan 22, 2015
    10
    A really good Sequel for Blackguards 1 with a bunch of improvements. Features like the new stamina bar or the mercenaries improve the strategic challenge and the dynamics of the fights furthermore. Even exploring the battlemaps makes sense now as there is now a bunch of loot to find!!! I really enjoyed the first part... but I'm very surprised about the good quality of this sequel -A really good Sequel for Blackguards 1 with a bunch of improvements. Features like the new stamina bar or the mercenaries improve the strategic challenge and the dynamics of the fights furthermore. Even exploring the battlemaps makes sense now as there is now a bunch of loot to find!!! I really enjoyed the first part... but I'm very surprised about the good quality of this sequel - especially as it was published this short after the first one. While the prequel seemed to be more focused on luck and RNG (which was kinda ok when I played it) with the second part I have the feeling that it is way more strategic. I finally feel more rewarded for being clever than for just being lucky. Furthermore I'm a big fanboy of the Dark Eye Fantasy universe and I love the whole anti hero protagonist design. I'm glad they kept this from the prequel! KUDOS @ Daedalic! Two thumbs up from my side!… Expand
  6. Aditu
    Jan 22, 2015
    10
    Totally hooked! I already loved the first Blackguards and I was so longing for this second one to be available, that I started right the moment I got hands on it. And they did not disappoint me.
    They changed a lot; above all I am really glad that they changed the to-hit-chance so that it is not a matter of luck anymore if you hit.
    The graphic style and the humor I liked in the first part    Totally hooked! I already loved the first Blackguards and I was so longing for this second one to be available, that I started right the moment I got hands on it. And they did not disappoint me.
    They changed a lot; above all I am really glad that they changed the to-hit-chance so that it is not a matter of luck anymore if you hit.
    The graphic style and the humor I liked in the first part are as great in this second part, too, and they added some new features, like the strategic map, which makes the game way more complex.
    And there are still a lot of tricky situations where you have to find your best way through. Sometimes again very challenging but lots of fun anyways. It creates this "Ha! Got it!" feeling once you resolve a situation and this means there are a lot of emotions while playing this game which is great.    … Expand
  7. Kealopian
    Jan 22, 2015
    9
    This game is really fun to play. On steam somebody wrote it's like a crossover of Planescape Torment (in the matter of decisions) and Xcom (strategic battles). The battlemaps seem to be handcrafted with lots of usable objects on them plus the fantasy setting is really cool and has a different feeling to it.

    One last thing: Don't think that it's important for the gameplay, but the    This game is really fun to play. On steam somebody wrote it's like a crossover of Planescape Torment (in the matter of decisions) and Xcom (strategic battles). The battlemaps seem to be handcrafted with lots of usable objects on them plus the fantasy setting is really cool and has a different feeling to it.

    One last thing: Don't think that it's important for the gameplay, but the pricing is totally fair for 30+hrs playtime!    … Expand
  8. Obsidianman
    Jan 22, 2015
    10
    What shall i say- it's simply good!
    Guys I hate you for that Naurim level but like in real life - never gave up. I did it yeah :)
    If you like turn based games this game is a must have. I like it
  9. Sjalka
    Jan 24, 2015
    8
    This is a great game - like Blackguards 1 it is a game with tough, sometimes almost puzzle like tactical combat, a nice story - interesting characters and the trusty Dark Eye levelling system.

    The arenas seem to be larger sometimes, adding enormously to the strategy and tactics feeling - as well as more interactive environment scattered on the maps. atmosphere, music and voice acting    This is a great game - like Blackguards 1 it is a game with tough, sometimes almost puzzle like tactical combat, a nice story - interesting characters and the trusty Dark Eye levelling system.

    The arenas seem to be larger sometimes, adding enormously to the strategy and tactics feeling - as well as more interactive environment scattered on the maps.

    atmosphere, music and voice acting is solid - there is no reason not to play that game, especially if one liked the first one.

    The only thing i would have loved to see is more choices and branching story/character developement. - but i guess there needs to be something left for a third part of the franchise.    … Expand
  10. Eldryr
    Jan 22, 2015
    10
    Fanatstic turn based strategy game in a fantasy setting. Some things were changed in a very positive way. Fights are now smoother and more strategy than luck compared to the first sequel.
    Character creation is easier but complex and ambitious enough for having characters which fits on your own play style.
    Combat is more balanced, Magic inclusive so it's now a lot of fun to play this    Fanatstic turn based strategy game in a fantasy setting. Some things were changed in a very positive way. Fights are now smoother and more strategy than luck compared to the first sequel.
    Character creation is easier but complex and ambitious enough for having characters which fits on your own play style.
    Combat is more balanced, Magic inclusive so it's now a lot of fun to play this hexgrid game. Story is solid, unfortunately some minor bugs occur. Nothing bad though and I'm pretty sure they will fix them asap.
    I really love the strategic map with the city campaigns which gives you a good mixture between strategical and tactical combat and some more options.
    With all this changes for me the games is a lot of fun, challenging but not impossible and every minute worth to play it.    … Expand
  11. GeneralGonzo
    Jan 21, 2015
    9
    If you like tactic-rpgs with a focus on demanding hex battles then you are right with Blackguards 2. In contrast to the first part the factor "chance" has been reduced drastically, making the game fights more predictable. Customization and developing of the characters is deep and always transparent, making it great fun to level them up. With some choices you have in the game story, youIf you like tactic-rpgs with a focus on demanding hex battles then you are right with Blackguards 2. In contrast to the first part the factor "chance" has been reduced drastically, making the game fights more predictable. Customization and developing of the characters is deep and always transparent, making it great fun to level them up. With some choices you have in the game story, you can play the main char quite evil, reminding of a dark fantasy game. The conquest of the throne makes fun and the AI won´t let you do just ypour thing, but strikes back and tries to retake citites you already conquered, reminding a bit of the Jagged Alliance 2 map. While fighting you have now up to 10 characters to control including now mercenaries of different kind (which you can´t level up though). In addition the battle maps are much bigger now and offering real protection and heights, giving different bonuses. So you have to study the maps carefully, if you wanna win the battles and use the environment to your advantage.
    A really good tactic game with RPG touch in the background of the dark eye world, this game will tie you to your monitor for many hours! Recommend!    … Expand
  12. fumbel
    Jan 23, 2015
    9
    I already had played the first one. But the second one is more streamlined. I like the new storyline with one maincharacter and the beginning is so wonderful. The battles are now more strategic and tactical and the maps are more interactive. The skillsystem is now more transparent. Again, there some bugs, but what I have seen they had patched the game in meantime. I recommend this gameI already had played the first one. But the second one is more streamlined. I like the new storyline with one maincharacter and the beginning is so wonderful. The battles are now more strategic and tactical and the maps are more interactive. The skillsystem is now more transparent. Again, there some bugs, but what I have seen they had patched the game in meantime. I recommend this game mostly to the tactical/strategic audience with a little rpg. Good work.… Expand
  13. cottoneyej31
    May 14, 2015
    0
    More RNG, more bad design. Having the "right" skills can make a fight super easy. Having the wrong skills can make it super hard.

    RNG is not skill. RNG is not fun.
  14. SanctumRevel
    Jan 21, 2015
    4
    For a strategy turn based rpg it sure is unique in it's own way story cast dialogues combat soundtrack still for starters the graphics seem outdated mediocre to say at the least the portraits of characters is hideous the so called deep customisation is awkward and a bit confusing so many options that eventually doesnt really matter for it me i think it lacks that special something to keepFor a strategy turn based rpg it sure is unique in it's own way story cast dialogues combat soundtrack still for starters the graphics seem outdated mediocre to say at the least the portraits of characters is hideous the so called deep customisation is awkward and a bit confusing so many options that eventually doesnt really matter for it me i think it lacks that special something to keep u going maybe daedalick entrtainment should stick to puzzle adventures instead for rpg… Expand
  15. iamawesome
    Mar 18, 2015
    10
    I usually don't write reviews but this game's writing - especially in terms of main character personality - is just plain amazing. The actual gameplay is a little bit clunky but Cassia's (protagonist) witty dialogue, superb voice acting and that peculiar, deep, dark, emotional atmosphere force me to give this game 10/10. Cassia of Tenos? From now on my favourite fantasy female (anti?)protagonist.
  16. StaticSpine
    Oct 17, 2015
    7
    Blackguards 2 is more a strategy game rather than RPG. I won't go deep into mechanics: the roleplaying system became much more simple, the combat got some improvements, though not of them are useful. There is a feeling that the game was made in a hurry and not all the decisions were carefully thought out. Anyway, worth a try if you like decent tactical combat, the game has plenty.
  17. blade01
    Mar 12, 2015
    4
    Blackguards 2, what can i say?Its a mixed back.There are some changes in comparison to its predesessor.They removed most of the annoying stuff.Luck is for example not a big factor because the dicerolling is gone.For me thats ok.But there are enough problems, lets get into detail:

    Visuals:Ok to good.Its not a Far Cry but if it is enough to not look bad.When it comes to the visuals its    Blackguards 2, what can i say?Its a mixed back.There are some changes in comparison to its predesessor.They removed most of the annoying stuff.Luck is for example not a big factor because the dicerolling is gone.For me thats ok.But there are enough problems, lets get into detail:

    Visuals:Ok to good.Its not a Far Cry but if it is enough to not look bad.When it comes to the visuals its the same game as Blackguards 1.Thats ok but some improvements would have been nice.Youve seen nearly everything already in the first game and i dont like that.The spells look ok, some even nice.The characters look ok, not good.Nothing stands out, nothing suckz.Solid game when it comes to the visuals.

    Sound:Mixed back.I dont like the music that much, its realy dull.I know that is a personal preference but its my review ;) The voiceacting is most of the time good to great.Especially Cassia the main protagonist is realy well made.The combt sounds are not realy good.For example when an archer shoots at you, you parry it with a shield that doesnt sound.....powerfull.A shame, but its ok.

    Gameplay:Mixed bag too.You have some new features and some of these features are not well implmented.The silent legion for example.They fight for you in some battles and at first they are not that strong but after some time they become far too powerfull.The assasin for example dishes out damage like nothing, the battlemage casts powerfull spells in a row.My maincharacters are not that powerfull and the engine is not made for this kind of unbalance.You can see that in the defense battles.The AI is stupid on its own and they attack really dull, pathfinding is not really a strong point for the AI too.Because of that the defense battles become annoying really quick and they are far too easy.Most of the gameplay is simliar to Blackguards 1.If you like the first game, youll like the second too i think.

    Technical issues:I had problems on some maps.The minions get stuck and the round will not revolve correctly.That ends in a situation where i have to restart the map.That happens only on the maps with "the creators".I dont know what the problem is or why that happens.Other problem i had on one map with the last creator:There are insectoid archers on the roofes.When i enter the doof to the roof the insectoid will move some hexes and my character cant move out of the door.Again, i had to restart.Happend too often, that is a malus for the endscore.I had bugs in the dialogues.You can enrage Naurim or you can do the opposite.I tried to calm him, the game bugged out on me and gave him the wrong bonus.That is a no go since i dont know if that influences the story.

    Conclusion:Blackguards 2 is an okayisch game with technical issues.The story is not that interesting.The first game got a better story and some of the characters are not that interesting in the second game.Naurim is not the naurim i liked for example, hes not even funny anymore.Blackguards 2 is a solid 5 or 6, but because of the bugs i had its a 4 in the end.If you like Blackguards 1, buy the second game too.But dont think that they made big improvements.If there are any they are small.    … Expand
  18. mweagle
    Jan 27, 2015
    2
    This game was high on my expectations-list but they failed misarably.
    The good things are that the gameplay is nice and tactical. Good RPG elements too.
    But where does it go wrong? Well, to start, the graphics have not improved a bit in the year of development. It basically looks like a changed copy of BG1. That's not by definition bad, but it shows a lack of innovation and    This game was high on my expectations-list but they failed misarably.
    The good things are that the gameplay is nice and tactical. Good RPG elements too.

    But where does it go wrong?
    Well, to start, the graphics have not improved a bit in the year of development. It basically looks like a changed copy of BG1. That's not by definition bad, but it shows a lack of innovation and improvement.
    Second bad thing is the lack of speed-adjustment. Especially with larger battles, that can take up to 30+ minutes, the battlespeed is just low and the game will become incredible boring. Animations can be slow and remove any pace from the game to a point where it just gets frustratingly dull.

    Even that would not get this game a 2 from me. So why the 2?
    Because of the amount of (game-breaking) bugs. The game is very unstable, even on my rig (which is quite up to date). Freezes occur too much to be incidental. Characters sometimes vanish during battle, some parts of the battlemap are badly reachable with the camera, which can only tilt. This has gotten me in a couple situations where I could not reach certain points of the map, since they were hidden behind walls and I could not possibly see them.
    AI is also horrific. 30% of the time, enemies just run from A to B to A to B to A and stop. Enemies get stuck next to cover, being stagnant for the entire battle. Enemies will try to run through your character, making them run into you and make you restart the fight, since they did not implement a simple timer in the turns.

    But the absolute worst is that there are missions (for example Adamant Fort 2) which are not only extremely boring and frustrating, but can also get you at the points where you cannot proceed anymore. The mission is designed in a way where you depend on the enemy movement in order to be able to win. If the AI was decent, you would have no chance at winning this mission and you would be stuck at the game. When developers put things like this in games and are not fixing issues that were also in the first BG, then it shows a complete lack of skill in making games. This game is nice when it's free, but not for $30,-.    … Expand
  19. LD9000
    Dec 7, 2015
    3
    Ridiculously frustrating. Without an ability to grind AP, the player is tossed into some retarded fights which will do nothing but frustrate the player.

    I'm talking about the "get 30 crystals" mission and the Adamant fight. I honestly don't know what kind of retarded game designer would come up with something like this: lets make sure all enemies would be fully healed each turn. Lets    Ridiculously frustrating. Without an ability to grind AP, the player is tossed into some retarded fights which will do nothing but frustrate the player.

    I'm talking about the "get 30 crystals" mission and the Adamant fight. I honestly don't know what kind of retarded game designer would come up with something like this: lets make sure all enemies would be fully healed each turn. Lets make sure there are infinite respawn of enemies, and lets give the enemy caster a bunch of slow/paralyze spells. Now run through this gauntlet and make sure you dont get surrounded by enemies that you cannot possibly kill. That would be fun- about as fun as being r*ped in the *ss!!!

    How about - lets repeat the same kind of bullsh*t full heal at each turn fight, give caster a bunch of slow spells and put an infinite respawn of sand monsters that can one hit kill (knock off) your heroes off the map as you run through some maze? That would be fun!!!

    Seriously, this could be a good game, and I enjoyed it until I was forced to go through these missions...    … Expand
  20. Maximvz
    Nov 10, 2015
    8
    A sympathetic game of grid skirmish battles. It's story is what amazed me the most ; all the voiced dialogues are great and it will all make sense at the end of the game. Heck, it's even better than the average movie Hollywood produces these days. The theme of playing anti heroes is a refreshing perspective as well.

    Story aside, the gameplay is fun and hard enough. Playing the game    A sympathetic game of grid skirmish battles. It's story is what amazed me the most ; all the voiced dialogues are great and it will all make sense at the end of the game. Heck, it's even better than the average movie Hollywood produces these days. The theme of playing anti heroes is a refreshing perspective as well.

    Story aside, the gameplay is fun and hard enough. Playing the game blind is what will make it fun ; a second run might become easy however, when you want to experience the good instead of evil walkthrough. I suggest it to anyone that likes those kind of games.

    Points deducted for :
    -unable to spin the camera
    -allies come with some skills distributed and no way to reset their skills
    -a longer ending with more animations would've been nice
    -too short ( and that is also a good sign, in a sense )    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 48 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 48
  3. Negative: 1 out of 48
  1. RPG Fan
    Apr 21, 2015
    75
    An intriguing protagonist and art style can't save you from long battles and artificial content.
    Read full review
  2. Games Master UK
    Apr 11, 2015
    69
    The actual gameplay, consisting mostly of combat strung together by an overland map, is unfortunately rather less exciting. [Apr 2015, p.79]
  3. Dealspwn
    Mar 22, 2015
    70
    Blackguards 2 delivers more brutal hex-based strategy and environmental puzzling while refining the original formula in several smart ways. The more open yet focused campaign, propped up by a fantastic central character who's as evil as you want her to be, makes for a satisfying if punishing experience.
    Read full review
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