Tyranny

Tyranny, is fun little throwback to an older style of game. It does it well and it does it without having to cash in on a particular brand or nostalgic sentiment. It presents a brand new world in a compelling and understandable way. It showcases a much more nuanced take on being the bad guy than games tend to do. I found myself reminded more of Unrest than Baldur's Gate while playing this game and that is a good thing.

While Tyranny doesn't revolutionize the isometric role playing genre, its story, characters and progression system certainly demands attention, and makes for a fun, dark and interesting game.

Tyranny is in many ways the Hamlet of videogames. By which I mean it is a fascinating exploration of the ways in which human behaviour can descend into evil, featuring a lengthy middle section defined by delay and conversation, before everything suddenly ends in a flurry of violence and a disappointing final exchange. There is much to like about Tyranny, but the game itself doesn’t live up to its narrative strengths.

Your typical Obsidian experience sans compelling companion characters. The foundation's there for a good sequel, at least. [Issue#258, p.70]

Tyranny is most certainly a tale of two halves. The first half is immediately gripping and combat starts off a bit challenging due to the lack of abilities and options. As the game enters its second half, the plot starts to feel rushed and gameplay becomes an issue of "been there, done that." The world and lore built here are worth exploring and I anxiously await another excuse to return to this setting, but at the same time, I really hope it comes with improvements to the AI and combat in general.

Tyranny comes to a screeching, premature halt, but prior to that it spins an absorbing tale with which player actions have long-reaching consequences.

Tyranny is an excellent RPG experience that has many of the hallmarks of great classic role-playing games while still making plenty of smart choices to modernise the experience for today's audience. Refined systems and a story where choices can often have some real consequence made my time with Tyranny rewarding, despite a disappointingly abrupt ending that left me wanting for more.

Playing as the bad guy has never been so disturbing, but despite all the nuanced decision-making the underlying gameplay is never as interesting as the premise.

Tyranny is a game of many contrasts and will stir come controversy. On one hand w have an impression that every dialogue counts and we're always deep inside the main quest (even though we're doing something else). On the other hand there are many gameplay solutions that look like torn out from a much more complex game and they don't get to shine. The beginning is superb - later the game loses some of its appeal.

Tyranny is another showcase of Obsidian’s penchant for quality world-building and writing prowess, but limitations in the game’s scope and length as well as repetitive gameplay prevent Tyranny from being a must-play title even for fans of western styled RPGs. That said, it is an interesting enough experience that those who decide to undertake the role of Fatebinder will experience a mostly memorable tale of conquest and rebellion.

Tyranny is flawed, but more in the vein of a future cult classic than a failure. It's got great ideas, just not the depth to let them shine.