Eschalon: Book II

 PC
User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 25
  3. Negative: 4 out of 25

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  1. LucidDream
    Sep 7, 2013
    7
    Eschalon book 2 shares many of the same strengths and weaknesses of the first game. I will not repeat everything I said in my review of the first game but in short I thought that character creation was great with many different skills and attributes, including place of origin and religion, which all make a difference. The weakest aspect of the game is still the combat, which still tends toEschalon book 2 shares many of the same strengths and weaknesses of the first game. I will not repeat everything I said in my review of the first game but in short I thought that character creation was great with many different skills and attributes, including place of origin and religion, which all make a difference. The weakest aspect of the game is still the combat, which still tends to require patience more than strategy for the reasons I explained in my review of the first game.

    There are also several aspects of gameplay that have been improved compared to the first game though. In particular, non-combat skills are more important than in the first game since there are many traps, locked doors, chests etc. that require use of non-combat skills. All these can be dealt with in multiple ways. The addition of optional hunger and thirst and deterioration of weapons and armor as well as a foraging skill to find ingredients to make potions from also contributes to making this a better game than the first.

    The story is still nothing special. The introduction of sci-fi elements to the story does nothing to improve it.

    The best aspects of the game are probably the detailed character creation and the process ofl levelling up your character and developing the many skills that are available.

    I would recommend the game to anyone who liked the first game and to old-school rpg fans who have already played the many better games in the genre.    … Expand
  2. dyspeptic
    Sep 26, 2015
    5
    In a market saturated with indie games that are actually really good, mediocrity is not worth paying for. Unfortunately, that is all this game can really offer you--even though it wanted so badly to echo Fallout or Baldur's Gate. Simply saying that the game is like the classics doesn't make it a classic, especially if there is no "soul" to the gameplay/abilities or even theIn a market saturated with indie games that are actually really good, mediocrity is not worth paying for. Unfortunately, that is all this game can really offer you--even though it wanted so badly to echo Fallout or Baldur's Gate. Simply saying that the game is like the classics doesn't make it a classic, especially if there is no "soul" to the gameplay/abilities or even the story/characters. I simply had to make myself get through it, and in the end I have more complaints than I have compliments for the game.

    (+) I happen to like turn based RPGs and this one fills the niche without trying weird genre-crossing stuff. I would like more (good) new games in this style.
    (-) The attempt to make the world feel "big" mostly happened by having huge maps with very little in them. As a corollary, walking from place to place is a chore, even with the "fast travel" option.
    (-) Except for mages, each class will probably only have access to a single combat ability, which means that combat is mostly using your weapon to bash/pierce/shoot the enemy repeatedly while using potions.
    (-) The difficulty scaling is screwed up. I played it on "hardcore" (with no plans to replay) after abandoning a "normal" game with the useless ranger class because there is essentially no difference between the difficulty settings.

    The bottom line: I got it randomly through a GOG.com promotion, but I wouldn't have paid for it otherwise, and neither should you.    … Expand

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  1. RPG Fan
    74
    Instead, I'll say that it means well and may appeal to a breed of old-school gamers. All others, stay away or take my warning that enjoyment will vary.
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