Geneforge

 PC
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 17 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 17
  3. Negative: 2 out of 17

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  1. keemt
    Jul 13, 2014
    9
    This game has by far one of the best stories of all time. It's not always perfectly told, the graphics are terrible but you get used to them, and the gameplay has some frustrations and lackings. However, this game is in a rare category as it is one of the few games that isn't actually a waste of your time--this game provides thought-provoking encounters that can change the way you thinkThis game has by far one of the best stories of all time. It's not always perfectly told, the graphics are terrible but you get used to them, and the gameplay has some frustrations and lackings. However, this game is in a rare category as it is one of the few games that isn't actually a waste of your time--this game provides thought-provoking encounters that can change the way you think about life. Other popular games are just merchandise, but this is a masterpiece.

    Pros:
    An incredibly thought-provoking story with great conflicting ideas and factions
    It's a big open-world game with great secrets and exploration opportunities

    Cons:
    Graphics, sound, music
    Not enough items, monsters, spells, abilities
    Some writing is a bit too rushed

    Length: 40 hours or more    … Expand
  2. Gzhindra
    Sep 14, 2013
    7
    The game is very ugly and suffers from not having any music. If you can get through that you will get a very descent RPG well worth playing.
    It is an open RPG not a story intense close one. Nevertheless the story is still pretty cool. You are free to go pretty much everywhere and get your buttock kicked. The fighting system is not super deep but sufficient to keep you grinding. There are    The game is very ugly and suffers from not having any music. If you can get through that you will get a very descent RPG well worth playing.
    It is an open RPG not a story intense close one. Nevertheless the story is still pretty cool. You are free to go pretty much everywhere and get your buttock kicked. The fighting system is not super deep but sufficient to keep you grinding. There are a lot of place to explore, many of them not mandatory and scraping in each corner to find a buff gets very addictive.
    Overall the game is very enjoyable. It tooks me something like 40 hours to finish the game. There are several endings.    … Expand
  3. theirrelephants
    Sep 29, 2015
    8
    I'm a bit spoiled for graphics after playing his latest Avernum 2 release with the new engine, but I still remember what the original Exile looked like, so I'm not bothered too much.

    If you're big on graphics, this is not the game for you. If you're big on a compelling RPG, but could care less about graphics or sound track (it's a vogel game, music is EVIL) then this IS the game for    I'm a bit spoiled for graphics after playing his latest Avernum 2 release with the new engine, but I still remember what the original Exile looked like, so I'm not bothered too much.

    If you're big on graphics, this is not the game for you.

    If you're big on a compelling RPG, but could care less about graphics or sound track (it's a vogel game, music is EVIL) then this IS the game for you.

    There are several branching storylines in this game, and you can end it several different ways. I myself got three different endings by saving right before the end boss and changing things a few different ways. I clocked in at 23 hours of play time from start to finish, but it's worth nothing that while the other two reviewers stated a play time of 40 hours, this is likely due to them doing the substantial servile village quests. I almost entirely ignored the servile villages, which means I didn't bother with 1 of 3 major paths a player can take in the game.

    In addition to that, I left approximately 4-5 areas unexplored. One because I couldn't get into it (Diarazad), one because it was too irritating (Powercore) and one or two because I was at the end boss and I didn't need any more xp or boosters given how ridiculous end game creations are (The Vats and another of the Geneforge side areas). I could easily see getting an addition 5-10 hours out of the content I skipped, so 40 hours may well be an accurate assessment of play time if you do EVERYTHING.

    The tactical combat is pretty solid in geneforge one, though on my playthrough in normal it is hilariously easy to abuse shaper creations as a shaper, rather than a guardian or agent, in order to bypass the usual 'impossible but possible' chokepoint areas Vogel likes to put in his games. For example, one of the bridges in the game is guarded by multiple 800hp mobs who can likely one shot your shaper, and 3 shot all but the toughest creation you can make, in addition to massive death turrets that will one shot your character if you get too close, and have over 100hp in addition to being clustered together. For comparison, 800hp is how much the final boss in the game has.

    I slaughtered everyone there with laughable ease by abusing suicide summons to kill 1-2 enemies at a time, leaving the area when my creations died, and then coming back with more. The tactical difficulty of the game drops off considerably when you realize that your creations can function independently of you regardless of where YOU are on the map, and there's nothing stopping you from sitting at an area exit and ending combat the second your creations die and booking it out of the area, only to come back and try again 30 seconds later.

    The dialogue and story were top notch, as usual, with a healthy dose of comedy here and there. Personally, I got a kick out of making serviles hate me by treating them like something you would scrub off the bottom of your shoes in every conversation.    … Expand