Tyranny

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 665 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 472 out of 665
  2. Mixed: 109 out of 665
  3. Negative: 84 out of 665

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  1. janki
    Nov 14, 2016
    6
    Game has some solid content and the story is fun. It kept me engrossed throughout the whole game, I didn't feel as if the pacing was too slow or too fast, but just right.

    What is wrong with the game is the overly abrupt ending and just only after 14 hours of gameplay. I understand that the idea is to have many replays the game but it doesn't work that way. Act II is in many instances    Game has some solid content and the story is fun. It kept me engrossed throughout the whole game, I didn't feel as if the pacing was too slow or too fast, but just right.

    What is wrong with the game is the overly abrupt ending and just only after 14 hours of gameplay. I understand that the idea is to have many replays the game but it doesn't work that way. Act II is in many instances the same, you go to people or you kill the same people, the end. It just doesn't warrant enough interest to keep going.

    The game has great potential but it should have been developed for more time. Flesh out act III and it will be a solid game. At the current state, however it feels half-done.    … Expand
  2. koboldofthesea
    Nov 14, 2016
    3
    I wanted to like this game, big fan of Pillars, and I'm always open to mechanics that stray from d&d.

    The branching story idea is nice, but I don't think it is executed well. I understand the goal of creating cumulative events that eventually have various consequences. It's supposed to be more organic and whatever, but most decisions just feels meaningless. Do I kill Dumbdedumb NPC or    I wanted to like this game, big fan of Pillars, and I'm always open to mechanics that stray from d&d.

    The branching story idea is nice, but I don't think it is executed well. I understand the goal of creating cumulative events that eventually have various consequences. It's supposed to be more organic and whatever, but most decisions just feels meaningless.
    Do I kill Dumbdedumb NPC or not. Do I side with Old man I know nothing about, or Old man I know even less about, or neither. How can I begin to care...

    Wrath/Fear vs Favor/Loyalty
    These make no sense. Especially the skills you get from them and how you could have both. It is just beyond pointless. At least leave the skills out.

    Mechanics
    So this suffers from the same problems Pillars did in certain versions. The AI is RABID to get at your low survivability characters. Disengage incentive is not strong enough for it. One stupid way I have been winning every battle on PotD is to run Quill man around while 1, 2, sometimes 3 melees just chase him. It's beyond idiotic to watch, but it works, when they stop chasing, you turn around and reengage their interest.
    I know Pillars went through several iterations of tanks and chokepoint management, I expected an improvement.

    Combos are very clunky as is the rest of combat due to characters not doing anything during cooldown. They don't even try to get in position, you will need to manually move them.
    Combos are especially so, since now you have one character not doing anything even when cooldown is off.
    If the target leaves your melee range for melee combos, the combo is canceled.

    Can we just be like every other game and make auto-attacks much shorter cd or their separate cd... It works very very well...    … Expand
  3. Topfpflanze
    Nov 14, 2016
    3
    This one's another talkie, you have to read long, long (really long) texts, often virtually pointless, and instead of creating atmosphere, it creates boredom. You can't (or you shouldn't) skip the reading, because sometimes valuable information is hidden inside. Voice-overs are rare and unambitious, simply a neutral person reading the text. The graphics (isometric) is so like of 2003This one's another talkie, you have to read long, long (really long) texts, often virtually pointless, and instead of creating atmosphere, it creates boredom. You can't (or you shouldn't) skip the reading, because sometimes valuable information is hidden inside. Voice-overs are rare and unambitious, simply a neutral person reading the text. The graphics (isometric) is so like of 2003 (though there have been games with better graphics at that time). The combat is clumsy, I can't say differently, simply no fun. Technically, Tyranny is a low-end game. Can't say it's no fun to play it, but the fun is in your head and not in the game.… Expand
  4. BlueBangkok
    Nov 14, 2016
    6
    "Your choices in this game matter. Be thoughtful of your actions."
    .
    .
    .
    option 1: "kill her"
    option 2: "kill her mercifully"
    option 3: "spare her"

    Choosing option 3:
    'She picks up a rusty piece of iron and kills herself.'

    GJ Obsidian, 10/10 at "mattering"
  5. KeyboardPlayer
    Nov 14, 2016
    3
    FORTY EUROS for the normal version of a shorter-than-usual rpg?
    EIGHTY for just some digital (so - no reproduction and copy costs), pointless stuff?

    Are you friggin' kidding me?
  6. stratioti
    Nov 10, 2016
    10
    So far a very sophisticated piece of game!
    If you just liked Pillars of Eternity you will LOVE Tyranny!

    Prerequisite is to have some evil in you. ;)
  7. Chomag7
    Nov 11, 2016
    6
    First of all, I did not play it for long, merely for 4 hours, so here are my first impressions.

    First thing you're gonna notice is the, may as well just say it, the LOW BUDGET. Honestly, there are no cut scenes, just some illustrations like from a book while a voiceover speaks on top of them, as well as other fluff content is missing. Gonna compare here with Divinity: Original Sin - no    First of all, I did not play it for long, merely for 4 hours, so here are my first impressions.

    First thing you're gonna notice is the, may as well just say it, the LOW BUDGET. Honestly, there are no cut scenes, just some illustrations like from a book while a voiceover speaks on top of them, as well as other fluff content is missing. Gonna compare here with Divinity: Original Sin - no exactly some masterpiece from a wealthy company, but having A LOT more fluff content than Tyranny.

    Another thing I did not like is the complete disconnection from the game world. First of all your character is a douchebag, you can polish his douchebaggery in some situations but ultimately, you're evil as f... Also your followers are evil douchebags as well, well not all. All this makes it really hard to attach yourself not only to your character but to your followers as well, considering you're forced to be evil because the game offers little choice in the matter, and every choice can be separated between evil and lesser evil but still evil.
    Obviously if you have no issues with playing an evil character, then this won't matter to you. I'll just say this: the evil is not the kind of lighthearted evil you saw in Dungeon Keeper or Overlord, it's pretty serious and gritty.

    The combat is just as boring as in their previous game: Pillars of Eternity.

    Oh and one more thing. There is an actual metric ton of reading. Every conversation, no matter how trivial the NPC is, is gonna have the span of a novel, and most of it is just...garbage, pointless, yielding little interesting information, filler, it's like Diablo 3's pointless dialogue but very very very long.

    Did I mention the low budget? Yeah, that's a doozy.    … Expand
  8. Tytos
    Nov 11, 2016
    0
    Intro and character creation was more fun then the actualy gameplay,

    - terrible combat, there are good examples of well done tactical combat Systems in rpgs (kotor for example) but this is just lazy, unituitive and absolutly unfun
    - very little voice acting, it's like a text-adventure with terrible graphics
  9. BoredGamer42
    Nov 11, 2016
    3
    If you loved Pillars, odds are you'll like this. If you hated Pillars, as I did, you'll hate this for the same reasons. Unlikable characters, terrible combat, vast volumes of boring bombast beneath benighted banter, and a complete absence of redeeming impact in any air quotes choice.

    To be clear, I play Villains. My Fable toon had a halo of flies. My KOTOR dark lady force persuaded    If you loved Pillars, odds are you'll like this. If you hated Pillars, as I did, you'll hate this for the same reasons. Unlikable characters, terrible combat, vast volumes of boring bombast beneath benighted banter, and a complete absence of redeeming impact in any air quotes choice.

    To be clear, I play Villains. My Fable toon had a halo of flies. My KOTOR dark lady force persuaded a wookie to mad claw a twilek to the delight of a homicidal droid.. My True Neutral Baldur's Gate sorcerer treated power as a moral imperative. Sometimes, the results of evil choices in games would cause a physical twinge from pangs of real conscience, for which immediate compensation was delivered in the form of uproarious laughter.

    You'll find none of that here.

    Save yourself ~$45 and download Duamutef's Glorious Vore instead of buying this game - at least that crap's free.    … Expand
  10. Blenderhead
    Aug 2, 2017
    8
    Make no mistake this is a University level RPG game. If you haven't played an isometric RPG before, I wouldn't advise starting with Tyranny.

    First the bad stuff. The game has some rough spots, many of them technical. However, if you've played an Obsidian (or Troika. Or Interplay) RPG before, you know to expect this. The ending is very sudden--you prepare to go into battle and the    Make no mistake this is a University level RPG game. If you haven't played an isometric RPG before, I wouldn't advise starting with Tyranny.

    First the bad stuff. The game has some rough spots, many of them technical. However, if you've played an Obsidian (or Troika. Or Interplay) RPG before, you know to expect this. The ending is very sudden--you prepare to go into battle and the credits roll instead. The voice acting is very sparse. Few characters have any voice acting, and I don't recall any character who is 100% voiced. This gets most jarring when speaking with a party member who weaves in and out of being voiced as you change subjects. This creates kind of a spoiler effect, as you'll quickly learn that any character who is voiced upon initial contact is either a recruitable party member or Archon (in one case, both). Also, this game in involves *a lot* of reading. I wasn't bothered by this, but I see other user reviews that were. Lastly, some of the boss fights feel kind of cheap, either through unjustified immunities ("He's immune to stuns because you fight him alone and could just stunlock him" is unsatisfying for a game with such deep lore) or unintuitive recovery mechanics (I had to wiki what makes the Havoc suddenly revert to full health).

    Now the good stuff. This game feels like a reconstruction of the isometric RPG games that fell out of favor in the early 2000s. Combat is satisfying and the writing is excellent. This game handles moral choices in a way that seems much more realistic than usual. For example, in BioShock, you can harvest the Little Sister for a big reward now, or you can spare her for a small reward now and a much bigger one later. In Tyranny, doing good is hard, much like in the real world. You can burn the village as you were ordered to and receive the promised payment from the Archon, or you can spare it and earn the Archon's wrath for disobeying his direct order. Choices are more meaningful because you have to weigh your conscience against your rewards, as well as whether you have the resources necessary to start a fight over what you're doing with a powerful potential enemy. All the major factions are nuanced and have things to like and dislike about them--the Disfavored are disciplined but closed-minded and wasteful, the Scarlet Chorus are accepting but brutish, and the Tiersmen are idealistic but untrustworthy.

    Combat is much improved over Pillars of Eternity. Drastically fewer abilities are "once per rest." I often felt like Pillars wanted me to use per-encounter abilities and basic attacks primarily, only falling back on my class's actual specialization when necessary. In contrast, most abilities in Tyranny can be used at will once their cooldown is over. This makes it feel like builds actually matter, since you're actually deploying your handful of abilities in every fight. The modular spell system is also really flexible and probably my single favorite mechanic.

    I have heard complaints about the game's length. This game has so many branches that it should be pretty clear it's meant to be played more than once. Also, don't be surprised if it takes you 45 minutes to create your first character, given the "Conquest" prologue.

    Overall, I was satisfied with this game. It plays with the concept of good and evil and your choices mattering in ways that a lot of AAA games aren't willing to. Some choices are admittedly less impactful than others, but a great many of them make meaningful changes to the world of Terratus. The game is cerebral, but if you weren't expecting that from an isometric RPG, that's kind of on you.    … Expand
  11. gir1000
    Jun 3, 2017
    8
    After successfully completing two playthroughs I feel confident in giving my opinion on the overall quality of the game. While for me personally it has slowly become one of my top ten games, there are some flaws that would be dishonest for me to ignore. So first off, let's cover what works in this game and the features that the average player will enjoy.

    The setting: Many have    After successfully completing two playthroughs I feel confident in giving my opinion on the overall quality of the game. While for me personally it has slowly become one of my top ten games, there are some flaws that would be dishonest for me to ignore. So first off, let's cover what works in this game and the features that the average player will enjoy.

    The setting: Many have commented on the uniqueness of the setting, as it has a very late bronze age feel to it. Eschewing the atypical late middle ages trappings of most modern RPGs, the geography of the tiers and its corresponding civilizations does add a lot to the game.

    Music: I personally loved the soundtrack. The music exponentially adds to the emotional tone of the game and find myself listening to it frequently. Very well composed and congruent with atmosphere the developers are trying to create.

    Story: You'll notice that this aspect will also be in the flaws section. While it may seem contradictory, just know for now that the story at its core is excellent. From the first act where you choose the flow of the overall war, to recruiting a myriad of companions who (Kills-in-Shadows not withstanding) are all excellently crafted and fleshed out. From the fearless and blood lusting Verse, to the forever iron bound Barik, or the young but devastatingly powerful Siren, the majority of the companions you find are exceptionally constructed characters. The loyalty of the characters can be lost or gained but the reasons for each one are consistent in the sense of staying loyal to the writing. The majority of people you encounter and the choices you are presented with, do seem to carry weight. The premise of being a villain protagonist is fascinating and really drives your play style. Whether you choose Machiavellian fascist you wishes to impose order at all costs or become a monster reminiscent of Ramsay Bolton, you'll find a dark but unique journey into the realm of villainy.

    Now for the flaws:

    Text vs voice overs: Having grown up right at the time when RPGs were moving from walls of texts to fully voiced characters, I personally do not mind the amount of text in this game. That said, if Planescape Torment or the original Fallout games turned you off with the amount of reading necessary to get through even basic NPC encounters, this wont be your cup of tea.

    Combat: Personally I had no problems with the combat While it is a bit more streamlined and the difficulty has been toned down, I spent the majority of both playthroughs enjoying myself immensely. However, there is a definitely a balance issue. The game seems to favor being a brawler as magic or archer builds take substantially longer to reach a point where combat feels fun instead of being a chore.

    Finally the story is the biggest flaw. Not the premise or the characters but the presentation. The opening act is superb and the rest of the game is very solid. The various factions are unique though all of them often venture into the eye-rolling territory of lawful stupid or chaotic stupid. For the most part though, the lesser parts of the narrative are at least passable. The choices you make also seem to carry impact at first, with some of them being downright discomforting on a personal level. Then, without giving anything away, you are streamlined into one path. The majority of your choices cease to matter and the final act of the game is so short and unsatisfying, that it is hard to believe any explanation other than they launched the a great deal of unfinished content.

    Verdict/ TLDR: A fun rpg that is definitely worth at least 1 playthrough, but given the story flaws, seemingly missing ending, and lack of balance with combat, it is not worth buying at full price. If you have money to spare then by all means pick up a copy. But if like many of us you are on a budget and have to choose games carefully, wait until the almost $50.00 price tag is permanently cut in half or there is a substantial sale on the game. 8/10: fun but flawed    … Expand
  12. Celeborth
    Jan 16, 2017
    10
    Next amazing game from Obsidian,
    The only thing that for me is kind of upsetting is that I cannot enter all areas in one play if I take particular choices. But apart from that, amazing combat and lore (really great job in storytelling and creating brand new universe). Obsidian bases heavily on their PoE engine and mechanics, I can see a lot of content being reused which is great - no    Next amazing game from Obsidian,
    The only thing that for me is kind of upsetting is that I cannot enter all areas in one play if I take particular choices. But apart from that, amazing combat and lore (really great job in storytelling and creating brand new universe). Obsidian bases heavily on their PoE engine and mechanics, I can see a lot of content being reused which is great - no point in reinventing the wheel. One minor drawback is that of the game being kind of too short (what I mean is that we can clearly see where the game could have been easily continued if Obsidian spent more money on the game). Anyway great game, and worth money and time.    … Expand
  13. Rilke21
    Dec 24, 2017
    8
    This review comes after 57 hours and two full plays through the game.

    The Good: -excellent writing, great story -interesting and fun combat mechanics -great music -good art The Bad: -short, and wee bit anticlimactic -oddly easy in the midgame (even on POTD) I'll say off the bat that the path you choose to play will greatly influence your experience of this game. I allied    This review comes after 57 hours and two full plays through the game.

    The Good:
    -excellent writing, great story
    -interesting and fun combat mechanics
    -great music
    -good art

    The Bad:
    -short, and wee bit anticlimactic
    -oddly easy in the midgame (even on POTD)

    I'll say off the bat that the path you choose to play will greatly influence your experience of this game. I allied with the Disfavoured on my first play, and took the Rebel Alliance path on my second...I FAR preferred the rebel path.

    Tyranny's greatest disappointment is oddly also one off its strengths: the game is short, maxing out at 30 hours on a completionist run. However, this allows for great flexibility in the game paths you can take, and excellent replayability as a result. I had plenty more fun on my second run, and I'm looking forward to starting a solo character for my third.

    If you liked Pillars of Eternity (I loved it myself), you should not hesitate to pick up Tyranny. But. as I mentioned in my Pillars review, if you don't have patience for reading dialogue and don't feel like using your imagination, stay away from this game.    … Expand
  14. T-Opel
    Mar 10, 2017
    10
    Tyranny is a great game that I can definitely recommend.

    The gameplay is based on Pillars of Eternity, but it is a bit tweaked up and feels more similar to Dragon Age: Origins, which I really liked. It allows pre-buffs, your character has 6 skill trees from which he/she can pick skills, and the other members of your party have their own unique trees. I was also much more engaged in    Tyranny is a great game that I can definitely recommend.

    The gameplay is based on Pillars of Eternity, but it is a bit tweaked up and feels more similar to Dragon Age: Origins, which I really liked. It allows pre-buffs, your character has 6 skill trees from which he/she can pick skills, and the other members of your party have their own unique trees.

    I was also much more engaged in the story and actually cared about other party members more than in PoE. While you are in the world where the evil side had won, don’t let that fool you. Even though you can pick one of the more or less evil main factions in the game, there is also an option to revolt and side with the rebels, and you can do much good even in this troubled world.

    What really stands out though is the replay value. Depending on which side you choose and what choices you make, you get to explore different areas and the story unfolds differently. This really makes want to experience the game again with a different faction.

    There is a LOT of text in this game, and the total play time will highly depend on whether you want to read everything or not. Personally, I found most of the text very interesting I was glad to learn more about the world, so my first play through took almost 40 hours. This really depends on the difficulty you set, the amount of text you want to read and whether you want to complete only the main story without side-quests.    … Expand
  15. sprocket64
    Dec 21, 2016
    9
    This game is the best CRPG since Baldur's Gate 2! It really grabbed me and kept me interested to the end. If there was ever a case for an episodic RPG - this is it!
    Did no one else notice the similarities to the Malazan Book of the Fallen? Kyros and Bleden Mark - Kelanved and Dancer, Archons - Ascendants, Scarlet Chorus - Malazan Marines etc...
    Great characters and companions but if I    This game is the best CRPG since Baldur's Gate 2! It really grabbed me and kept me interested to the end. If there was ever a case for an episodic RPG - this is it!
    Did no one else notice the similarities to the Malazan Book of the Fallen? Kyros and Bleden Mark - Kelanved and Dancer, Archons - Ascendants, Scarlet Chorus - Malazan Marines etc...
    Great characters and companions but if I had one complaint it is that Obsidian seems squeamish when it comes to deep characterization/relationships - one of the reasons BG 2 is superior. The companions end up a little flat. Here's hoping Obsidian takes it to the next level!    … Expand
  16. ZaPaAl
    Dec 12, 2016
    8
    Quite a fun, if smaller, game with a fresh story and lot's of dialog. Choices really have an impact here. Combat and Gameplay held my interest. Nicely done visuals. Could have had more enemy types and more equipment to have something to aim for. At the end it was basically all just for selling.

    I don't think I would have needed the spires and their upgrades. Although nice things can be    Quite a fun, if smaller, game with a fresh story and lot's of dialog. Choices really have an impact here. Combat and Gameplay held my interest. Nicely done visuals. Could have had more enemy types and more equipment to have something to aim for. At the end it was basically all just for selling.

    I don't think I would have needed the spires and their upgrades. Although nice things can be created or upgraded there, I had so many artifacts to choose from, that I had difficulties deciding what to keep and I had tons of iron, but nothing to use it on. Game has the same unity engine then Pillars, with lengthy loading times.

    I played as caster, which get's very powerful. Difficulty got totally lost on highest difficulty setting with 2 casters (cloth) and 2 unorthodox (light and heavy) tanks. To properly use all the heaps of heavy armor taking a tank character would have probably been the better choice. Ending was ok (I got a quite good ending), but this story is clearly built for a series of games. No romance, and no uber epic story line so it's not baldur's gate, but it is a nice little offspring.    … Expand
  17. FearAndLoathing
    Nov 21, 2016
    8
    As a big fan of classic RPG's, and someone who thoroughly enjoyed Pillars of Eternity, I went into this game with similar expectations. Ultimately, I felt that it was a very enjoyable trip into a thought provoking world. The first and second acts felt flushed out and complete, the third act was essentially removed from development making the end feel entirely too quick and to a certainAs a big fan of classic RPG's, and someone who thoroughly enjoyed Pillars of Eternity, I went into this game with similar expectations. Ultimately, I felt that it was a very enjoyable trip into a thought provoking world. The first and second acts felt flushed out and complete, the third act was essentially removed from development making the end feel entirely too quick and to a certain degree left you with an expansion-pack cliffhanger that was rather unsatisfying because it pertained to the primary story arc.

    Some bullet point thoughts
    - Good story, thought provoking world
    - Decisions and factions were meaningfully influenced
    - The game that follows the primary story arc in a linear manner, making decisions at point A dispositive for decisions in point B.
    - Wrath/Loyalty bars are determined separately, decreasing the kind of hard choices the game seems to want to force.
    - Lots of gear, but very few real decisions related to it
    - Great spell creation system

    Overall: Definitely worth playing, particularly if you like classic RPGs. Hopefully an expansion will flush out the ending, which as it stands is too short. Would have liked it to be more open-ended and non-linear, in general.    … Expand
  18. Smilingcookie
    Jan 12, 2017
    8
    Interesting game, but it has some flaws.

    For a game that sells itself based on choice & consequence, it could have done more. The Prologue and Act I are brilliant. Then Act II simply acts out choices you took in act I. Act III forms a conclusion where you have some choice, but not as many as I would have liked. After picking my alliances I got a few options to betray them at key moments    Interesting game, but it has some flaws.

    For a game that sells itself based on choice & consequence, it could have done more. The Prologue and Act I are brilliant. Then Act II simply acts out choices you took in act I. Act III forms a conclusion where you have some choice, but not as many as I would have liked. After picking my alliances I got a few options to betray them at key moments in the game, but at certain other key moments I didn't anymore. This felt a bit restraining. Further, your main alliance will define how other factions will be looking to you and this didn't feel natural. Even after I help a faction with everything I can, they fight me because of whom I'm allied with.

    In style and feeling it's a bit closer to planescape torment than Pillars of Eternity was. From all the old classics it feels closest to that one. Which is a good thing although it doesn't manage to reach Torment's level.

    Very interesting spellsystem with a lot of customization. Combat is ok but not great. The good thing about it is it doesn't distract too much from the story.

    Character building was not that interesting since "lore" was by far more interesting than other options in that it provides more options during dialogues. Lore is in Torment what wisdom was in Planescape Torment: the go to stat.

    Good game, I enjoyed it a lot, but not good enough to be replaying it.    … Expand
  19. Derf3L
    Dec 10, 2016
    8
    Tyranny is a solid isometric RPG, which is easily comparable to Pillars of Eternity.
    The game has the usual isometric and slightly outdated graphics. The settings remind of the Age of Bronze era. There is very little "fantasy" in the game, as most enemies are humans, with few exceptions. Forget about dragons and elves.. but still pretty captivating as it's not a common atmosphere in RPG    Tyranny is a solid isometric RPG, which is easily comparable to Pillars of Eternity.
    The game has the usual isometric and slightly outdated graphics. The settings remind of the Age of Bronze era. There is very little "fantasy" in the game, as most enemies are humans, with few exceptions. Forget about dragons and elves.. but still pretty captivating as it's not a common atmosphere in RPG games.

    The choices you make through the game totally change the outcome of your playthrough, making it very personalized. I must say the factions reputations system works very good: you are always aware of the effects of your choices and you can keep track of your reputations against any group or companion in the game.
    I believe the story is very good and it's not true you are the "evil" character, as you can take very "good person" choices to mould your story. It's just that you are in a war, therefore there won't be easy situations to solve..

    The combat is fun, they added combos with your party members, but it has less skills compared to PoE. Also keeping only 4 people in the party can be a bit limiting in terms of strategy. Overall I would say PoE combat was better.

    What dragged me down a bit was the companions: the dialogues with them are very limited because you basically have the same round of questions for each of them, with no real personalization. Also no side quests for companions...

    As I said, the game is very solid and, despite the abrupt ending, I must say it's one of the top games released in 2016    … Expand
  20. likevin96
    Dec 28, 2016
    8
    True Score: 8.1

    Pros: - Masterful world building - Steady drip of lore - Conquest mode as the prologue is genius. Really gets you into the game without doing much. - Interesting to play as the actual bad guy - Spell system is novel Cons: - Combat is awful. Actively unfun to play. Your attacks rarely seem to have weight behind them and it always feel like a mess. -    True Score: 8.1

    Pros:
    - Masterful world building
    - Steady drip of lore
    - Conquest mode as the prologue is genius. Really gets you into the game without doing much.
    - Interesting to play as the actual bad guy
    - Spell system is novel

    Cons:
    - Combat is awful. Actively unfun to play. Your attacks rarely seem to have weight behind them and it always feel like a mess.
    - Occasional lore dumps
    - Most party members are not that interesting
    - Not enough variation in equipment    … Expand
  21. EisenKreutzer
    Nov 14, 2016
    9
    Tyranny, the latest Obsidian RPG experience. And it is an experience.
    The story is fresh, fascinating and engaging. I love the world of Terratus, the amount of effort and dedication that went into the worldbuilding for this game is just breathtaking.
    I love playing as the bad guy, because in Tyranny, I get to choose what kind of bad guy I am. Bloodthirsty and ruthless? Cold and    Tyranny, the latest Obsidian RPG experience. And it is an experience.
    The story is fresh, fascinating and engaging. I love the world of Terratus, the amount of effort and dedication that went into the worldbuilding for this game is just breathtaking.

    I love playing as the bad guy, because in Tyranny, I get to choose what kind of bad guy I am. Bloodthirsty and ruthless? Cold and practical? Reluctant? Unwilling to be a bad guy at all? All valid choices.

    Choice stands at the heart of what Tyranny is. The choices you make in this game will quite literally shape your entire playthrough. There is content you will not see during your first playthrough. Whole quest-lines, important NPCs, even areas of the map, that you will just not get to experience because of the choices you make.
    And thats fine. In fact, it's excellent! Because Tyranny is made to be replayed.

    Tyranny gets a lot of flak for not being long enough, or not having enough exploration, not being an open world, not having an endless dungeon like PIllars of Eternity had and other things. It gets compared to Pillars of Eternity, which is fair since Pillars was built on the same engine by the same people.
    But Tyranny is a very different game.

    The thing about Tyranny is that it is an intensely focused experience.
    Pillars of Eternity is a grand, sweeping story. It plays out over a long time frame (I spent 114 hours completing my first playthrough), and it takes a long time to build tension and drama.
    Tyranny, by contrast, is much more narrow in scope. Tyranny is built with a pin-prick focus, it is the scalpel to Pillars of Eternitys hammer. The thing that defines Tyranny is your choices. The choices you make dictate what quests you get, what options will be available to you in the ongoing story and ultimately how the game ends. In Pillars, no matter how you play the game you will always end up following the same path. Tyranny has multiple paths, many of which exclude one another, and it all depends on player choice, You have immense agency in Tyranny, because your choices literally shape your playthrough.

    Is it a traditional western CRPG? No. It has most of the trappings, but it's substance is entirely different.
    Tyranny is a game about choices. It is masterfully designed and built, and offers hours of rich gameplay spread out over multiple vastly different playthroughs.

    It's not flawless, but it is brilliant. 9/10    … Expand
  22. username1222
    Apr 5, 2017
    8
    A great game but ultimately falls short of my expectations. The start is very strong allowing you to be as evil as you like (it's the theme of the game, evil has overtaken the land) but then you get into a tedious series of fights with combat mechanics that STILL do not manage to rise to the level of complexity of a game like BG2SoA almost 20 years later. The spells are crafted by you, aA great game but ultimately falls short of my expectations. The start is very strong allowing you to be as evil as you like (it's the theme of the game, evil has overtaken the land) but then you get into a tedious series of fights with combat mechanics that STILL do not manage to rise to the level of complexity of a game like BG2SoA almost 20 years later. The spells are crafted by you, a false good idea as ultimately it's tedious and unnecessary. There are no amazing spells like conjure a demon from hell like there were in BG2 just fire, ice, etc.

    The map is gorgeous and the background and characters are well rendered and animated. The story unfortunately cuts of at what should be the end of Act 1. The second half of the game is missing and covered by a "video scene" explaining what happens with slides.

    Choice has some impact on who's alive and who's dead but beyond that it's a long corridor and what you do doesn't impact the narrative, just what town is left standing, what character is dead or serving you.

    A solid game and hours of fun, I recommend buying it. Not a masterpiece tho.    … Expand
  23. Harpasa
    Mar 8, 2017
    8
    +High quality text and dialogues. -Has some optimization problems.
    +Above avarage characters. -Can be boring for action rpg players.
    +Very good story telling.
    Conclusion: If u like Planescape: Torment etc. its a great game for you. If you dont , do not buy this game.
    Enjoy.
  24. ExpertPL
    Dec 11, 2016
    9
    Great RPG. Has a unique storyline. The engine is the same as in Pillars of Eternity. I love how the game very seriously shows what could happen if some evil Overlord would take over a continent. It's not "evil" like in cartoons or something, it's evil with shades of grey, moral problems etc.

    I like how the game plot is concentrated, it almost feel rushed, like for example movie    Great RPG. Has a unique storyline. The engine is the same as in Pillars of Eternity. I love how the game very seriously shows what could happen if some evil Overlord would take over a continent. It's not "evil" like in cartoons or something, it's evil with shades of grey, moral problems etc.

    I like how the game plot is concentrated, it almost feel rushed, like for example movie adaptations of books, but the difference being that this "adaptation" is actually 40 hours long (my play time).

    The addition of the Conquest at the beginning of the game is by far the best new thing in the concept of retro RPGs. It's something that should have been implemented many years ago, in times of Baldur's Gates and first Fallouts. The choices aren't exactly game-changers but it's an easy way of introducing player to the game world and showing his role in it.

    The "hyperlinks" are another great thing added into the game. From the first moments in the game, characters speak using in-world proverbs and refer to the events that the player may not be aware of, if so, the only thing you need to do is to hover over the sentence and the game gives you a brief description of what it is about and to what it is a reference.

    I like how the game shows big game of politics, diplomacy and law enforcement instead of a typical for RPGs adventure type character.

    The 4 paths that player can choose to follow are also good, but it's sad that they don't really affect the final act which always is the same.

    I can't shake the feeling that the developers had different idea for the whole concept of the game during the development of it as first Act works as a prologue, that is very detailed, that shows you just one small area of the game, the second Act forces you to go from one area to the other, not even tries to tell a detailed story of any of the areas, where in third and last Act there are no side quests, no lore dialogues, but just final boss fights (if you can call them that way), making the final Act look like some action game with really poor plot. I would definitely prefer all acts to work as the first one, which I consider the best of them all.    … Expand
  25. lagrie
    Mar 4, 2017
    8
    Tyranny isnt a bad Crpg and tries to be a more story based type game. The story itself is wel written and the characters are wel done. The world is interesting. But the choises arent always that deep... or have enough options. Its a must play for crpg fans, but dont expect a baldurs gate or Planescape.
  26. Soujirop
    Nov 19, 2016
    8
    So after playing it for 40 hours, I’m ready to review!

    Tyranny plays and feels pretty much like Pillars of Eternity, this is, like a modern unity engine game. The graphics are ok and slightly cartoonish which works well with the overall intention of the gameplay and the story to create a more straight-to-the-point, action-driven adventure. Artistic direction is a bit disappointing even    So after playing it for 40 hours, I’m ready to review!

    Tyranny plays and feels pretty much like Pillars of Eternity, this is, like a modern unity engine game. The graphics are ok and slightly cartoonish which works well with the overall intention of the gameplay and the story to create a more straight-to-the-point, action-driven adventure. Artistic direction is a bit disappointing even though the setting tries to be original running from middle-ages to a more iron-age, but environments are still pretty standard, sometimes repetitive, usually pretty small and lower in number unlike in others cRPGs.

    The music I believe is more noticeable and overall better played than the environment graphical design.
    As I said, gameplay is more action-oriented than Pillars, which imo is great. Everything is more flashy, dynamic, and innovative. For example there’s a spell crafting system, classes have skill trees, characters train skills by using them and not only by assigning points when leveling up, main character has unique combined skills with party members, etc. All these additions make the overly used and predictable cRPG combat style be fresh again.

    Another very good aspect of gameplay is how conversations are handled. In every conversation you will have many choices that have short, middle and long term effects. A lot of these choices vary depending on your skill level, your background, your actions during the game, etc. This kind of choices which make the game and story so fun to play, are very abundant, certainly many many magnitudes over Pillars of Eternity.

    So now the story. I’ll start saying the world of Terratus is indeed very interesting and you will quickly notice once the character creatior lets you shape (and play through) the backstory of your character. Lore is innovative and original, very entertaining and addictive to discover. I was conquered in the first couple of hours by this world at war and the mysterious Overlord Kyros that rules it. Being the fatebinder is, in all honesty, awesome, and my interest in the story never went down during the whole playthrough. Main quest is constantly there through important events, cut scenes, interesting conversations, etc. In so many other games you have this feeling of “I’m tired, I will save progress here”, which reveal main story just got a little too tedious. Never had this feeling with Tyranny.

    Party members are charismatic enough, they are entertaining to speak with and their stories are generally interesting. I really liked them all in a way, but sadly the game never lets you go deep enough with them. They clearly have less dialogue than in previous Obsidian games like Pillars, and they lack the typical side quests that reveal more about them. A pity that they are made so interesting in the surface, just for you to realize there’s not much under them.

    The ending was OK, but could have been better indeed. It was a bit rushed, predictable, not particularly epic, and very important points were left out of it. I was particularly annoyed by the fact that the mysteries surrounding the main character (you) never get to fully unravel. But the most important issue regarding the ending (in the negative aspect) is the lack of choice. In a game filled with choices, it is particularly ironic that the important closing event doesn’t offer any real variability, which also makes the "replay value" go down hill.

    Overall, Tyranny will be a very entertaining RPG experience, but one can not help but notice the spoiled opportunity to make this game the iconic cRPG it could have been.    … Expand
  27. GreyInvasion
    Nov 19, 2016
    10
    Tyranny is a true to heart Role playing experience, packed with choice. You'll have to replay it multiple times to see everything. Great story, and graphics, decent combat. Must Buy for RPG fans.
  28. supercagan
    Dec 18, 2016
    9
    I was pleasantly surprised by this game since Pillars of eternity was such a letdown.
    -Spell creation system is fantastic.
    -Choices you make till the end of the game matter. (but still no replayability...)
    -Good old school combat system.
  29. philb74
    Dec 12, 2016
    8
    I was excited to hear about this game from Obsidian/Paradox as I've enjoyed other titles they were involved in or made such as Pillars of Eternity. Also the concept sounded somewhat original and I was interested in how the choice making would progress throughout the game. I bought it on the release date and I've now had three play-throughs. Needless to say I really enjoyed it althoughI was excited to hear about this game from Obsidian/Paradox as I've enjoyed other titles they were involved in or made such as Pillars of Eternity. Also the concept sounded somewhat original and I was interested in how the choice making would progress throughout the game. I bought it on the release date and I've now had three play-throughs. Needless to say I really enjoyed it although it is not perfect.

    The combat is fun but not as varied or as tactical as pillars. There are not as many classes. The story is gripping and your choices matter a lot. There are essentially three factions you can align yourself with and missions will differ depending on which side you choose. The graphics are original but not fantastic - I was expecting slightly better. The loot is good with a number of powerful relics to collect and and upgrade system to improve weapons and armour. There are also some fun puzzles to solve but they are not overly complex and easily solvable if you search for the clues well.

    This biggest disappointment for me was the shortness of the campaign - I think it took me around 20 hours or less and I did as many side quests as I could find. I hope that any future expansions add at least the same playing time again. I'm giving this an eight score. It would have been a ten if they had added another ten hours gameplay to the game and another couple of classes.    … Expand
  30. Mandulum
    Mar 25, 2017
    8
    Five Word Review: Pure isometric RPG related joy.
    Favorite Thing: Really enjoyed the final chapter. It left me wanting a sequel. Also, the sense of choice in the game is excellent.
    Least Favorite Thing: My party members kept changing targets. I never did figure out why but it sure was annoying. Date Complete: 2017-03-20 Playtime: ~ 28h Enjoyment: 8/10 Recommendation: Yes. It    Five Word Review: Pure isometric RPG related joy.
    Favorite Thing: Really enjoyed the final chapter. It left me wanting a sequel. Also, the sense of choice in the game is excellent.
    Least Favorite Thing: My party members kept changing targets. I never did figure out why but it sure was annoying.

    Date Complete: 2017-03-20
    Playtime: ~ 28h
    Enjoyment: 8/10
    Recommendation: Yes. It doesn't break too much from the regular isometric RPG flavor but it's still quite enjoyable.    … Expand
  31. misiaczek
    Mar 30, 2017
    9
    I like the graphics, setting (no elves, dwarves and so on which is quite refreshing) and story(especially the different paths you can take and some paths being close by given choices). I think this the right direction for such games. Combat has very nice flow but the problem is that there is just too much combat. Other problem I've found is that most powerful items/abilities are acquiredI like the graphics, setting (no elves, dwarves and so on which is quite refreshing) and story(especially the different paths you can take and some paths being close by given choices). I think this the right direction for such games. Combat has very nice flow but the problem is that there is just too much combat. Other problem I've found is that most powerful items/abilities are acquired so late, that there are just few occasions to obliterate your enemies. Anyway I think it is a good game that lays foundation for next titles with same approach.… Expand
  32. DeusXCom
    Nov 30, 2016
    9
    After kind of a weak start, where you are thrown into things too fast, making decisions about things you don't know, dealing with things you don't care about (during my first day of playing I was heavily unimpressed with everything and it took some time to get me into it), Tyranny eventually turns into an amazing RPG experience.

    It's a perfect balance of dialogs and combat, there are    After kind of a weak start, where you are thrown into things too fast, making decisions about things you don't know, dealing with things you don't care about (during my first day of playing I was heavily unimpressed with everything and it took some time to get me into it), Tyranny eventually turns into an amazing RPG experience.

    It's a perfect balance of dialogs and combat, there are plenty of very nice innovations and changes, I loved the skill system, various reputations with factions and people in the world that unlocked additional skills. The Spire system was great. The combo abilities is a very nice touch.

    It's not as complex in terms of side quests and side activities as other similar rpgs, but that might have been for good this time, it's much more direct and focused on the main story which is really good and the entire journey is much more compact and to the point. A little short for an RPG and maybe a little too linear, but quality is always more important than quantity. Captivating story, interesting characters, nice unusual locations, smooth UI, it's all there.

    My only complaints aside from a weaker start, is the loot, which for a long time felt like tons of useless junk, especially in the first half and even later when you started to find some legendary items, they are often actually worse than that random junk that you found earlier. Another problem, that's starting to annoy me more and more in time is the lack of voice acting. Especially when some parts are voice acted and it works so well and suddenly a sentence later it's silent again. I know it's always been like this with these games, I know it's a question of budget, but come on, it's 2016 it's time to progress in this department. Also - no co-op multiplayer again :(

    On the other hand I was very pleasantly surprised, these rpgs tend to be very buggy and considering I started playing on release I was worried, but the game was updated with just 1 additional patch in the meantime and I haven't encountered any bugs whatsoever this time. I can't stress enough how important this is for your smooth gaming experience, not having to deal with bugs and I'm glad Obsidian took their time to polish and clean things up before release.

    Overall, excellent, unusual RPG that can easily rank among the best in recent years, not the top5, not legendary, but really really good. 9/10    … Expand
  33. DRITZZ_ZARCON
    Jan 15, 2017
    8
    OK, I just finished the game after about 20 odd hours of game play. It definitely has a different feel to pillars of eternity which i really enjoyed, although different it is still a very good game albeit not good enough to be a great game. Everything is of a decent quality although i felt some of the maps were too small, it needed more voice acting outside of the main characters, musicOK, I just finished the game after about 20 odd hours of game play. It definitely has a different feel to pillars of eternity which i really enjoyed, although different it is still a very good game albeit not good enough to be a great game. Everything is of a decent quality although i felt some of the maps were too small, it needed more voice acting outside of the main characters, music was good but not varied enough. I'd give it an 8 out of 10 as i played it through which meant i was captured enough and enjoyed the story. POE played out as a much bigger game in my opinion and the story was the more conventional hero thing, but i guess that's what they wanted with Tyranny. I'd definitely pay £20 for it but no more. I'm now waiting for Torment to come out in February to see how that compares.… Expand
  34. moonlight_shado
    Nov 23, 2016
    9
    Awesomeness! It's like Pillars of Eternity but with much more (for me at least) immersive world and mature story. Its an adult rpg, with Tons of text so it is not for hack and slashy game fans at all. It took me over 40h to complete the game, but i really read through every line of text. Those who finish in 15h simply didn't bother with the main core of the game at all. Pillars 2 can waitAwesomeness! It's like Pillars of Eternity but with much more (for me at least) immersive world and mature story. Its an adult rpg, with Tons of text so it is not for hack and slashy game fans at all. It took me over 40h to complete the game, but i really read through every line of text. Those who finish in 15h simply didn't bother with the main core of the game at all. Pillars 2 can wait i want Tyranny 2 or some decent expansion!!… Expand
  35. Cleglaw
    Nov 20, 2016
    9
    pros:

    -innovations in this one, makes my acctual scoring to go higher. i mean quality of life innovations, they are so good. i can list them but honsetly there are too many of them to list and it will just make a wall of text. trust me on this, they have really great innovation here and there. -spellcrafting is best i ve ever seen, its so fun, so creative and so progressive in    pros:

    -innovations in this one, makes my acctual scoring to go higher. i mean quality of life innovations, they are so good. i can list them but honsetly there are too many of them to list and it will just make a wall of text. trust me on this, they have really great innovation here and there.

    -spellcrafting is best i ve ever seen, its so fun, so creative and so progressive in gameplay feel.

    graphics look really nice, animations look really great.

    -story and dialogue depth is super good and well written to hook you up hours and hours. i found myself drinking coffe and reading texts non-stop for 2 hours.

    -leveling and skilling system is not confusing yet still deep enough to satisfy. you dont struggle to get what does what like in pillars of eternity. diving in, understanding in, is easy, confy yet beatiful.

    -acctual gameplay is not short if you are like me, a guy who is exploring and diving in story. 3 full days of playing still didnt finished it... and i can totally see playing it for 2nd time after seeing so many possible choices... i mean i just realised i killed a compainon.

    cons:
    -area of affect spell or abilites, doesnt have any kind of friendly fire. this was a important part of RPGs.

    -group size is 4, which felt few to me. 6 is much better for diversity, comboes.. for like.. everything, 6 is better then 4.

    -it doesnt make sense to start the game as a level 1 player with no coins. our character is taking part in 3 years conquest before starting game.

    conclusion: this game is a must try for people who like RPG genre.    … Expand
  36. DerBomber
    Mar 3, 2018
    9
    This game is really contained, no bloated open world riddled with fetch quests. This means the game is quite short for an RPG, but most of the time spent in the game concerns important or interesting stuff. Choices you make are very important to the story, but also play out in a way that is logical and consistent with the game world and lore.
  37. jcolin
    Dec 6, 2016
    9
    If you enjoy CRPGS or Pillars of Eternity, you will enjoy this. The setting a plot are interesting and unique. There are no classes and skills are increased in an Elder Scrolls manner; they improve as you use them. This allows for an incredible amount of customization and freedom of development. A few qualms prevent this game from getting a perfect score from me. The game is too short, theIf you enjoy CRPGS or Pillars of Eternity, you will enjoy this. The setting a plot are interesting and unique. There are no classes and skills are increased in an Elder Scrolls manner; they improve as you use them. This allows for an incredible amount of customization and freedom of development. A few qualms prevent this game from getting a perfect score from me. The game is too short, the companions are too few and don't really have much to them in terms of development and there is no romance.… Expand
  38. RagingPoet
    Nov 2, 2017
    9
    Tyranny is better than Pillars of Eternity in almost every aspect, and PoE was a pretty good game already. One of the best experiences of playing 'Evil' protagonist ever made in videogames
  39. raorian
    Aug 8, 2020
    9
    This game has a lot of negatives, mentioned elsewhere
    but the best parts are 12/10, so overall 10/10
  40. Wiebe
    Feb 26, 2020
    8
    A bit short, but great story and fun RPG gameplay, nothing experimental or new, but does wat it does well
  41. Joewashere
    Aug 8, 2019
    7
    Tyranny setup is a breath of fresh air. The main character is empowered by a powerful entity and yet has to cope with the mighty Archons, the introduction is original, NPC and companions a real piece of art and the story enthralling.

    What's not to like? The combat system, RTwP, with a "new" mechanism, team skills isn't that bad, compared to recent similar games, but the enemies lack in    Tyranny setup is a breath of fresh air. The main character is empowered by a powerful entity and yet has to cope with the mighty Archons, the introduction is original, NPC and companions a real piece of art and the story enthralling.

    What's not to like? The combat system, RTwP, with a "new" mechanism, team skills isn't that bad, compared to recent similar games, but the enemies lack in variety, particularly in the old wall area where you're going to be sick of fighting. The outsourced companion's quest are also underwhelming and Obsidian treated loading screens like a piece of art, letting us enjoy it as long as we can endure it and beyond.

    Overall, if you're in for the story with a 1 month old gaming computer, you'll probably enjoy it, if you love the RTwP system, probably as well, otherwise it's going to be a mitigated experience. Still, it's probably one of the most legitimate entry, amongst the recent AAA cRPG.    … Expand
  42. tbick
    May 19, 2020
    8
    Finally, after game after game of mediocrity and over-hype, Obsidian has finally created a seriously good RPG. Tyranny combines an intriguing and well thought-out world (one that is not overly bloated and complex), a precise and topnotch dialogue system (Only twice in the game, TWICE, in a 20 hour game filled with dialogue, was there not an option that matched what I believed my characterFinally, after game after game of mediocrity and over-hype, Obsidian has finally created a seriously good RPG. Tyranny combines an intriguing and well thought-out world (one that is not overly bloated and complex), a precise and topnotch dialogue system (Only twice in the game, TWICE, in a 20 hour game filled with dialogue, was there not an option that matched what I believed my character would actually say/do. This is a genuine achievement on Obsidian part, and they have to be congratulated for creating such strong writing), and combat, that while not genre-defining, works very well, and even incorporates unique ideas (such as the implementation of rune based spell modification system).
    But, as mentioned earlier, this game only takes around 20 hours without dlc, which, for a 30 dollar rpg, is way too short. Now, while this can be excused (to a degree) due to the fact that the game is highly re-playable, with 3 to 4 completely unique story-lines (and when I say completely unique, I mean completely unique. Structure, characters, and quests are different depending on the playthrough), this does not excuse the games length. The game is too short, but not in the way most are, as the game doesn't feel unfinished or that content was cut, instead, it feels like Obsidian never tried to extend the games length; to its detriment. Each play-through needed to be at least 5-10 hours longer, but, barring that, this game is truly excellent.
    It is overpriced however, as to get your moneys worth at the full 30, multiple playthroughs are necessary, so I would wait until it is on sale. A truly quality game, and I wish to see more from Obsidian on its level. 8/10.    … Expand
  43. Kosturko
    Jun 21, 2020
    8
    The game is great and fun, but I still can't help the feeling of it being unfinished given how it wraps up.
  44. Dingo__
    Jul 27, 2020
    9
    Excellent game overall. Definitely a nice follow up to Pillars of Eternity that uses much of what made that game excellent (while implementing some changes to character stats and parry size for better or worse) but differentiates itself with it's unique world and characters.

    It's one of the first games if it's Type I really sunk time in to and solidified my relatively new love with this    Excellent game overall. Definitely a nice follow up to Pillars of Eternity that uses much of what made that game excellent (while implementing some changes to character stats and parry size for better or worse) but differentiates itself with it's unique world and characters.

    It's one of the first games if it's Type I really sunk time in to and solidified my relatively new love with this genre as well as gave me a greater insight and appreciation level for Obsidian's reputation as a developer.    … Expand
  45. storygamer
    Jun 20, 2021
    8
    Obsidian strikes again! Tyranny is an interesting western RPG with a great story and characters. For fans of Diablo and Baldur´s Gate but with new and fresh aspects. Really good in so many aspects!
  46. Bioreactor1987
    Oct 19, 2021
    8
    По началу игра не зашла, но пересилив себя я потерялся в ней с концами. Бесила боёвка, но по итогу я привык и оно того стоило. Хороший представитель жанра.
  47. Abyssal_Winter
    Nov 14, 2016
    9
    This is a fantastic game. It is going to be compared to Pillars of Eternity, but I think the writing and environment are much more fascinating. Imagine playing in the universe of Glen Cook's Black Company series and you will have a sense of the style. I am 20 hours in and maybe 50% done (level 10/11), so I am not sure where these reports of a short game are coming from? Spell system isThis is a fantastic game. It is going to be compared to Pillars of Eternity, but I think the writing and environment are much more fascinating. Imagine playing in the universe of Glen Cook's Black Company series and you will have a sense of the style. I am 20 hours in and maybe 50% done (level 10/11), so I am not sure where these reports of a short game are coming from? Spell system is very interesting. My biggest nitpick is the combat can feel a little tedious at times, and there are almost too many specials/powers. If everything is special, nothing is :)
    Overall, really good RPG; highly recommended.    … Expand
  48. ChrisMattar
    Nov 19, 2016
    10
    This wasn't even on my radar, turns out its one of my favorite games in years, and this year's game of the year. It is the best RPG in a very long time. Absolutely amazing.
  49. aboldi
    Nov 15, 2016
    9
    Very well crafted and thoughtful game. While it does feel a little rushed towards the end, both story-wise and loot wise (finding a legendary item in random barrels scattered around starts to feel a bit pointless), it really kept me absorbed throughout.

    The gameplay is satisfyingly complex, without being annoyingly micro, and the characters along for the ride are both well thought out    Very well crafted and thoughtful game. While it does feel a little rushed towards the end, both story-wise and loot wise (finding a legendary item in random barrels scattered around starts to feel a bit pointless), it really kept me absorbed throughout.

    The gameplay is satisfyingly complex, without being annoyingly micro, and the characters along for the ride are both well thought out and 'realistic', in that they will seldom sway out of character regardless of how you try to convince them.

    The story starts off interestingly, with choices making a solid, tangible difference and they continue throughout. Some things start to feel out of your hands towards the end, but they aren't too out of sync with the rest of your decisions.

    All in all a 10/10, with 1 point deducted for the slightly rushed end game.    … Expand
  50. rpgerfx
    Nov 19, 2016
    10
    The game is fun and the story is quite original for an RPG. That said, do not buy this game seeking an Obsidian experience - this is in many ways a Bioware game. Yes, there will be some Obsidian-quality writing, but most of the writing team are young devs who joined Obsidian for the development of South Park: The Stick of Truth and they have different sensibilities when it comes toThe game is fun and the story is quite original for an RPG. That said, do not buy this game seeking an Obsidian experience - this is in many ways a Bioware game. Yes, there will be some Obsidian-quality writing, but most of the writing team are young devs who joined Obsidian for the development of South Park: The Stick of Truth and they have different sensibilities when it comes to writing. It feels like Obsidian made a Bioware-game, BUT with an original twist that doesn't involve saving the world - in that regard it's still an Obsidian title. So buy this if you enjoyed the gameplay and the writing quality of Dragon Age: Origins, but wished the plot was more interesting than saving a kingdom from evil monsters.… Expand
  51. gum11
    Nov 30, 2016
    8
    Old style rpg with excellent story, choices and good gameplay. What really makes the game for me is the characters and their voice acting. The replay value is pretty big here too, as this game really needs to be played through at least twice to see all the areas and the whole story
  52. luckymanbest
    Jan 18, 2017
    10
    Давно так не увлекали игры. Ты полностью погружаешься в этот мир с его невероятным сюжетом. В этой игре все прекрасно. Для тех кто любит старые рпг с офигенным сюжетом кучей диалогов, интересными персонажами. Куча текста дает волю фантазии. И тут не важна графикаДавно так не увлекали игры. Ты полностью погружаешься в этот мир с его невероятным сюжетом. В этой игре все прекрасно. Для тех кто любит старые рпг с офигенным сюжетом кучей диалогов, интересными персонажами. Куча текста дает волю фантазии. И тут не важна графика
  53. godunow
    Nov 17, 2016
    7
    Tyranny does many things right, but feels rushed, genereric and devoid of either epic or personal feeling.

    Good and bad points: + Something different setting-wise... - ...turning out to be another Chosen One story + Lots of text... - ...that unfortunately is mediocre fantasy, pointless "lets fill this paragraph with letters" + Nice character development system - ...used only in    Tyranny does many things right, but feels rushed, genereric and devoid of either epic or personal feeling.

    Good and bad points:
    + Something different setting-wise...
    - ...turning out to be another Chosen One story
    + Lots of text...
    - ...that unfortunately is mediocre fantasy, pointless "lets fill this paragraph with letters"
    + Nice character development system
    - ...used only in boring fights (+some conversation skill checks)
    - ... supported by boring, tedious inventory management
    + Story was compacted...
    - ... but not in a way that gives you more fun per hour, rather it just cut a lot of things

    It is an ok game, with some nice ideas, unfortunately ending up as less than sum of its parts.    … Expand
  54. Renomitsu
    Nov 11, 2016
    9
    Tyranny is an isometric-view, dialogue-heavy decision-based RPG. In my opinion, it is a well-written, engaging, flexible and branching story with carefully-designed characters and poignant moments where you’ll be reminded of the gravity of your character’s choices as part of a brutally efficient, villainous campaign. If you’re an RPG player that focuses heavily on the consequences of yourTyranny is an isometric-view, dialogue-heavy decision-based RPG. In my opinion, it is a well-written, engaging, flexible and branching story with carefully-designed characters and poignant moments where you’ll be reminded of the gravity of your character’s choices as part of a brutally efficient, villainous campaign. If you’re an RPG player that focuses heavily on the consequences of your actions, as well as substantial character and story development, I highly recommend adding Tyranny to your library. The game is text-heavy, but has meaningful characters, art, and choices.

    Like a few games before it, Tyranny is a story-driven role-playing game makes you consider not only what large-scale decisions you make, but the means and attitudes by which you make said decisions.
    This is made apparent as early as character creation, where you make the decisions as to how, exactly, your character (an emissary of a seemingly all-powerful Kyros the Overlord) surmounts the last bastion against the uncompromising tyrant – it’s referred to as the “Conquest” portion of character creation.

    In one instance of character creation, you can choose to finish your conquest of a resilient city by forcing a peaceful surrender, or goading their queen into single combat and slaying her. Either way, you subjugate the city, but the people in the surrounding farmland remember you differently in the game’s introduction: as a merciful “Peacebinder,” or a ruthless and cold-blooded killer. Alternatively, you may choose to avoid this scenario entirely, and the people of this city bemoan the unpitying acts of one of the other Overlord’s agents.

    In-game, the core combat and dialogue systems are very similar to Pillars of Eternity, with a few new bells and whistles. In combat, actions like attacking with weapons and casting spells are taken based on recovery time – heavy armor and hefty weapons negatively affect how quickly your character acts in combat. There are defenses which prevent you from taking damage, and damage types allow you to be effective against different kinds of enemies. Using a weapon will increase the corresponding skill (this is the mechanism for combat and non-combat skills). You and your party members can work together and perform powerful combo skills – either received from the outset or gained from earning their loyalty and/or terror-induced respect.

    The concept behind much of the combat is excellent – in practice, there are hiccups in party member AI (if you always let them do their own thing), and for some players the delay between actions can be frustrating. In-battle skill choices and out-of-battle character levelling are intuitive, if a bit streamlined. For those with ample (maybe too much?) patience, it is a careful game of strategy on higher difficulties – and you might find yourself pausing combat frequently to re-assess the situation if a battle’s getting out of hand. I’m somewhere in between: some early combats felt a bit sluggish, while I enjoyed battles about a third of the way through the game.

    Dialogue is what makes this game divisive, but for me gives the game much of its charm. There is quite a bit of text in this game, and voice acting to go with a fair bit of it. But you’re no goody two-shoes or morally-conflicted antihero, as in most other RPGs: you’re a cold, ruthless enforcer, a calculating and diplomatic conqueror, smooth-talking bandit, or anything in between. For your character, the dialogue you have available to you is dependent on your character’s upbringing, their skills, the Conquest, what factions you’ve buttered up, and many other decisions you make throughout the game. If your character was an experienced Hunter before joining the Overseer, for example, you might be able to elicit information about local wildlife or make a couple of unique insights on survival in the wilderness. However, you forfeit the negotiating ability of a Diplomat, which *really* would’ve come in handy when the leaders of those two gangs decided to start stabbing each other.

    Dialogue makes or breaks the game: for me, the constant references to my history and proficiencies helped immerse me. Being able to right-click and view an entry on an old character or event I might not perfectly remember, and having party members interject in a conversation (or send it in a different direction entirely!) were both extreme positives for me. How you conduct yourself among even low-ranking members of major factions can have an impact on how the faction as a whole (or its leader) views you, and by extent can affect what areas and options you have available to you.

    In short, Tyranny’s compelling story puts you in the shoes of a central representative of Kyros the Overlord, with all of the boons your position of power brings you. There are plenty of battles to be fought, but more importantly, decisions to be made – and many of the actions you take, words you say, and people you influence aren’t simply lost to history.    … Expand
  55. djball
    Jun 8, 2018
    7
    Buy it on sale, be prepared to read A LOT, then start a new game when you figure stuff out. It's well written and the story is interesting enough, so starting over isn't a big deal. My only legit complaint, yes literally walls of text like that wall in China. The script for this game is easily as long as War and Peace with a boat load of blah blah lore that makes no sense. I can manageBuy it on sale, be prepared to read A LOT, then start a new game when you figure stuff out. It's well written and the story is interesting enough, so starting over isn't a big deal. My only legit complaint, yes literally walls of text like that wall in China. The script for this game is easily as long as War and Peace with a boat load of blah blah lore that makes no sense. I can manage about 2 hours before total burn out, but I keep coming back. Combat is sort of rare, because you're always reading, but generally speaking it's just ok. It take a very long time to find decent gear and level up, so about 25 hours of slogging before it's get remotely fun to fight. And then the screen gets busy with effects, and there is no camera rotation, "pause" becomes second nature because your team without micro will die in seconds even on a normal difficulty.… Expand
  56. ardast
    Jan 13, 2017
    10
    Another masterpiece by Obsidian. Need I say more? Go get it if you love RPG's. You won't regret it.
    Beautiful soundtrack, comic book like feel atmosphere, hand drawn backgrounds. Simply amazing.
    Peace
  57. monkeyking95
    Nov 13, 2016
    9
    I normally cannot connect with isometric RPGs (I mean I was born in 1995 for god's sake) but this one grabbed for some reason. I played through the entire main campaign as an arse-hat and now I am eager to be virtuous on my second play-through and unlock EVERY EDICT. I seriously recommend this to every fan of fantasy RPGs. I may even have to give Pillars of Eternity a third chance toI normally cannot connect with isometric RPGs (I mean I was born in 1995 for god's sake) but this one grabbed for some reason. I played through the entire main campaign as an arse-hat and now I am eager to be virtuous on my second play-through and unlock EVERY EDICT. I seriously recommend this to every fan of fantasy RPGs. I may even have to give Pillars of Eternity a third chance to impress me. If I had one gripe, I would love full voice over work though I understand the lack of it may be due to budget constraints (or maybe my game is buggy?)… Expand
  58. SkySlam
    Nov 11, 2016
    10
    Even with a few drawbacks (like the reduced party size or the cooldown spells), this is another masterpiece by Obsidian. Solid RPG spirit, lots of choices and consequences, interesting characters with a deep lore. Tyranny does not feel like a Pillars of Eternity spin-off; instead it is a fantastic stand-alone game that will hopefully spawn its own series.
  59. SolusBatty
    Nov 15, 2016
    8
    Just finished the game and it is quite a solid one. It took me 31 hours on the normal difficulty, although I read 90% of the possible dialogue as it is very well done (although it has lapses in grammar).
    I'd recommend trying this game out for its lore and if you are a fan of isometric RPGs, as the combat is good, but nothing special. The playable characters are diverse and each of them    Just finished the game and it is quite a solid one. It took me 31 hours on the normal difficulty, although I read 90% of the possible dialogue as it is very well done (although it has lapses in grammar).
    I'd recommend trying this game out for its lore and if you are a fan of isometric RPGs, as the combat is good, but nothing special. The playable characters are diverse and each of them can be played in different ways.
    I am unsure of its replayability, but I've enjoyed the first playthrough completely, although the normal difficulty wasn't challenging at all. All of this being said 45$ is a bit too much, 30$ or less would be ok, so I'd recommend waiting for patches and a drop in price. Cheers.    … Expand
  60. marc5477
    Nov 15, 2016
    6
    I liked Pillars of Eternity (hereby PoE), but I didnt love it. It has some shortcomings which have kept me from finishing the game even though I tried to play it 3 or 4 times. This is PoE lite. Shorter game, fewer character options, less gear, less companions, less story, less character development per companion, less everything. Is it a bad game? No but it is a step back from PoE andI liked Pillars of Eternity (hereby PoE), but I didnt love it. It has some shortcomings which have kept me from finishing the game even though I tried to play it 3 or 4 times. This is PoE lite. Shorter game, fewer character options, less gear, less companions, less story, less character development per companion, less everything. Is it a bad game? No but it is a step back from PoE and still has all the nuances of PoE as well such as terrible AI, atrocious camera, boring character classes and this one ads terrible targeting feedback. I dont know how many time I target something and although the target is highlighted, the skill does not trigger. It turns out that you have to target a specific spot to get skills to trigger and if you get close to the screen you can see that the icon has a line through it but if you play far enough away it is hard to discern. Further, depending on the fight, the background colors blend into the icon colors making even harder to tell the difference. You adjust to this after a while but early on I didn't understand why skills were not working and it took a few deaths to realize that I was targeting wrong. So anyway, if PoE is a 6 (by my scale), then this has to be at least 1 or 2 points less.… Expand
  61. bobreviews
    Nov 26, 2016
    2
    Illusory choices, tedious combat and the writing solidly aimed at teens make for a game with a single question - Where is the appeal? For a game sold on being evil, and making choices there is a serious lack of either. The sole choice is which of three factions will you side with, or will you go it alone? Beyond that you get locked into a series of fights, and when you're forced toIllusory choices, tedious combat and the writing solidly aimed at teens make for a game with a single question - Where is the appeal? For a game sold on being evil, and making choices there is a serious lack of either. The sole choice is which of three factions will you side with, or will you go it alone? Beyond that you get locked into a series of fights, and when you're forced to performing bad acts without any player agency there is no impact. Yes I killed all those people - Obsidian forced me to make the game continue. Whereas good games make it a choice. There is no real difference between this game and any of the other cookie cutter isometric RPGs out there.… Expand
  62. socokid
    Nov 13, 2016
    8
    The few bad reviews here actually attempt to equate Tyranny to KOTOR, which is bizarre and hilarious. (wut)

    This is a wonderful game so far. My only concern is it's length. There are a few people that suggested they finished in under 20 hours. If that is true, I will be coming back and downgrading my review.. harshly.
  63. FlashLight13
    Apr 4, 2017
    10
    Absolutly awesome game where you can create your own story. Magic is powerfull, characters are awesome, world is cool. Now I'm going to replay this game again with another character to live another interesting story!

    10/10 Killed guys
    GJ Obsidian :)
  64. Antart
    Nov 14, 2016
    9
    In RPGs is usual to have the option to be evil, but is an uncomfortable way in which you can’t avoid the feeling you are doing things wrong, Tyranny push you to the selfish way, rewarding evil actions, and the nazi-soviet artistic style makes it even more believable, but at the same time you don’t need to be necessary evil, to be evil... The art design is excellent, scenarios hand-madeIn RPGs is usual to have the option to be evil, but is an uncomfortable way in which you can’t avoid the feeling you are doing things wrong, Tyranny push you to the selfish way, rewarding evil actions, and the nazi-soviet artistic style makes it even more believable, but at the same time you don’t need to be necessary evil, to be evil... The art design is excellent, scenarios hand-made with care in each detail, the gameplay on the Pillars of Eternity line is fluid and practical to manage a squad in a top table RPG. Absolutely recommended.… Expand
  65. 4verse
    Nov 14, 2016
    9
    The good:
    - story. love it. keep it. (but see below 1)
    - lore of the tyranny world/universe (i like it much more than PoE) - choice all over the place - length. around 20-40ish hours is just right for me. - replayabilty - classless system (but see below 2) - spell crafting (but see below 3) The bad: - (1) the ending is lacking (story- and gameplay-wise). and act 3 seems rushed.    The good:
    - story. love it. keep it. (but see below 1)
    - lore of the tyranny world/universe (i like it much more than PoE)
    - choice all over the place
    - length. around 20-40ish hours is just right for me.
    - replayabilty
    - classless system (but see below 2)
    - spell crafting (but see below 3)

    The bad:
    - (1) the ending is lacking (story- and gameplay-wise). and act 3 seems rushed. if not: its too short. but this maybe cured by a good DLC
    - (1) also: some things are not very clearly explained, i.e. sometimes i had to guess whats going on. but overall the story was told quite well
    - (2) locked talent trees and therefore locked talents. i hate it, when my PC cannot learn talents, i love (like teleport (eb has it)). i see the point that locked talent trees make companions special, but id rather have a REALLY open classless system
    - some talents are not really usable (e.g.: ebs teleport is a lvl 13 talent. my game ended around lvl 13 so i used this talent twice or so at most)
    - (3) spell crafting: spells are "combat focused" only. where are invisibilty, open locks, shape change etc.? (there is an invis potion, but its not the same IMO)
    - talents/spells play no role in quests/riddles (like: use an invis spell or shape change (which do not exist) or teleport to solve a quest/riddle)
    - combat is messy (sometimes i could not click where i wanted.) - but that is not a big issue to me, b/c i always play on story mode, so i win anyways ;-)
    - some talents are useless IMO (not really an issue though. better to much than not enough)

    The ugly:
    - no exploration: areas are way to small and there are not too many of them either! that makes the world seem and feel very small. focused game play is ok, but those few small areas are too small and too few
    - loading times: are you f***ing kidding me? the first 3 times i started the game, i thought it crashed (win10 actually told me the game might have crashed). of my 30ish hours playthrough time around 5 hours were loading times. Sometimes I really did not want to go into houses or change areas b/c another 5 minutes or so of loading times. WTF?

    Overall: what a gem of a game! I love it
    "The bad"-items are no deal breaker by any means.
    "The ugly"-items on the other hand weigh a little heavier, esp. the size of the world/areas. and loading times are beyond of being beyond.

    Lessons learned: Dump PoE and focus on Tyranny    … Expand
  66. shto_delat
    Dec 9, 2016
    4
    Designed with the same engine as Pillars of Eternity, Tyranny has a somewhat better written story, but inherits same frustrating game mechanics as the previous title. A lack of overall polishing is also obvious.There are many dissapponting (near game-breaking) moments, which are worth mentioning:

    - Completely unbalanced combat. a)Mages and archers are really useless throughout the    Designed with the same engine as Pillars of Eternity, Tyranny has a somewhat better written story, but inherits same frustrating game mechanics as the previous title. A lack of overall polishing is also obvious.There are many dissapponting (near game-breaking) moments, which are worth mentioning:

    - Completely unbalanced combat.
    a)Mages and archers are really useless throughout the game, since they nearly always get rushed by enemy fighters. With 100 points in bows, I felt easier to use a two-handed weapoin in combat (starting with only 30 points in two-handed), and each time it was more effective than bows. The mage I was travelling with, Lantry, managed to learn some 'cool' sigils only he could learn, but he still didn't contribute to the combat as much as simple fighters;
    b) Some archons (e.g., Bleden Mark, Tunon) are easily killed in 'auto-pilot' mode. Some mobs easily blow your party out. Absolutely no logic.

    - Sometimes, the enemies or your party members will run in circles to catch each other. Sometimes, you can employ absolutely stupid strategies to win a battle, For instance, with only 2 characters (one with ranged weapon) you can defeat the archon of war by simply having one of them run in circles, while the other will fire arrows at the enemy. The AI is very poor.

    - Stupid, boring dialogues. NPCs keep repeating same things over and over again. And when you think you've heard them saying the 5th time about some petty issue, which you don't care about, they will mention it again.

    - The Favour/Wrath, Loyalty/Fear system. The concept is interesting, but you will soon find that following strategies to win favour or loyalty from NPC will prove useless, since sometimes there is no logic about how these stats are adjusted.

    - The second half of the game had a worse story than the first one. It's almost like someone felt tired and not in the mood to write somethin decent.    … Expand
  67. szszsz
    Nov 16, 2016
    7
    this is by far the most uneven rpg games ive ever played

    it has amazing potential, interesting lore, cool characters, great spellcraft, nice skills, very climatic 'conquer' mode, all the small things like 'hyperlinks' during speech, etc - 10/10 but at the same time its just look incomplete i dont mind lack of cutscenes, voice acting, and other 'nowadays' stuff but the game gives    this is by far the most uneven rpg games ive ever played

    it has amazing potential, interesting lore, cool characters, great spellcraft, nice skills, very climatic 'conquer' mode, all the small things like 'hyperlinks' during speech, etc - 10/10

    but at the same time its just look incomplete
    i dont mind lack of cutscenes, voice acting, and other 'nowadays' stuff
    but the game gives you an opportunity to play your role yet the execution is poor most of the time

    SPOILER-FREE EXAMPLES (made-up but with the sense of actual gameplay):
    lets say that a farmer asks you to find his cattle, you go and find it, yet because of reasons you decide to kill his wife on a way back, once you go back to the farmer he talks hostile mouring his wife, but as soon as you mention saved cattle he becomes happy, starts cheering and celebrating and forgets about the bad things
    or
    youre told to take part in huge battle between good guys and bad guys, HUUUUUGE battle - you get there and theres 5-6 ppl on both sides, you kill all the baddies (normal weak troops), epic win, bards start creating songs about you, etc

    its still very playable, ive sunk into the world and lore
    but at the same time it is so fresh and it might have been perfect, if didnt lack polishing and sometimes common sense
    hope PoE II will learn from tyranny's mistakes    … Expand
  68. NieuweGassie
    Nov 13, 2016
    8
    A very strong RPG with a great plot, amazing visual design, but slightly flawed combat.

    From the moment you start the game you get the chance to create your character, but also shape the main villain's conquest! Did he take city A or city B? And how did he take it? Did your character play a major part in it? Or were you more sympathetic to the conquered? It's a very interesting    A very strong RPG with a great plot, amazing visual design, but slightly flawed combat.

    From the moment you start the game you get the chance to create your character, but also shape the main villain's conquest! Did he take city A or city B? And how did he take it? Did your character play a major part in it? Or were you more sympathetic to the conquered?

    It's a very interesting balance of Good and Evil, though you can be either. You are basically playing a wandering judge, you have the power to settle disputes in His name, or defy him by breaking the law (which will have severe repercussions). Thing is, you are ultimately serving the evil overlord, so you will have to make some really tough choices if you want to be a 'goody two-shoes'. The bad guy won, so what are you going to do about it? If you're someone who is trying to make the best of things then you'll have the most interesting experience, because it's impossible to satisfy everyone. If you serve your master well by remaining true to the law, you will piss off the Overlord's servants who only care about their own interests and glory.

    The combat system is where the game slightly suffers. Party AI isn't very smart, and attempting to control each party member individually by turning off said flawed AI, is too much of a chore and unintuitive. They'll often get stuck, and some party members simply don't know what to do with certain weapons. Thankfully, this is somewhat mitigated by the fact that *your* character, the one you always control yourself, can and will be much more powerful than your party members, so you don't have to rely on their AI too much.    … Expand
  69. Skulb
    Nov 14, 2016
    8
    This is very similar to Pillars of Eternity. In fact it is basically a sequel to that game. The combat is the same, a new version of the Stronghold is present, the same system for organizing your groups is there, the inventory is the same, etc, etc. But in my opinion it is much, much better. I completely lost interest in PoE during my first playthrough for a variety of reasons, and neverThis is very similar to Pillars of Eternity. In fact it is basically a sequel to that game. The combat is the same, a new version of the Stronghold is present, the same system for organizing your groups is there, the inventory is the same, etc, etc. But in my opinion it is much, much better. I completely lost interest in PoE during my first playthrough for a variety of reasons, and never returned to it. But I am having no problems sticking with Tyranny. The premise is more interesting and original, and the problems are less prevalent than in the first game. There are still excessive loading times, but not as many tiny two-story houses to explore. The gear is still somewhat uninteresting for the most part, but you can craft some nice stuff to make you forget about that. The combat is improved from when I played PoE, because lo and behold it actually has AI scripts; a baffling exclusion from PoE on release.
    And above all the "Stronghold" is not a pointless time waster like it was in PoE. If you haven't played either I would recommend you skip PoE and get Tyranny instead. if you for some reason liked PoE then you will love Tyranny because it is just far better.
    Unlike the disappointing first effort from Obsidian at reviving isometric party RPGs, Tyranny is a real contender to unseat Original Sin as the leading game available in the genre. At least until Original Sin 2 comes out. Meanwhile, Tyranny really is great in almost every way; only dropping down from a perfect score because of the ridiculous loading times and other minor issues. Personally at least I could live with them this time around. The only significant negative is the decision to go with four man groups in a game like this. It is just too few. Other than that, buy this game if you like RPGs.

    Pros:
    -Good reputation system.
    -Atmospheric graphics and sound. Original visual style.
    -Plenty of content, although some of it seems a bit optional.
    -AI scripting. Only mentioned because Obsidian previously didn't know that you need this in a party isometric RPG.
    -Improved and a lot more interesting Stronghold function.
    -Great characters and interesting story.
    -LOTS of text.

    Cons:
    -Meh leveling. Minuscule stat upgrade each time, one weird and usually situational talent chosen and off you go! Doesn't matter which three buttons you click when leveling. Just click three and keep playing.
    -Meh spell system. Create-your-own-spell gone bad, and more likely to inspire people to play exclusively with melee characters than anything else.
    -Long and frequent loading screens. Back to the C64 days with Obsidian!
    -Extremely meh gear. Endless trash recycled through your PoE-weird inventory. 20 hours in I had found one interesting item, and that was a bow. I didn't even use bows.
    -Fiddly combat system, pathfinding problems and some persistent need to babysit characters. Not near as bad as PoE was obviously, just because of the AI scripting.
    -Plenty of trial and error with rune-based puzzles not requiring logical deduction of any kind. Just click everything in sight and hope you get things done somehow.
    -Four man party. For a game of this type this really is a big negative. Your ability to tank things is already severely limited, as it was in PoE. In a four man group any casters will be instantly open to attacks on every pull, and you will spend a lot of time running around in circles with them while waiting for your other characters to finish other enemies off so they can come save you. It is bad. The game needs either five or six man groups or lots of summoning spells.
    -LOTS of text.    … Expand
  70. DelMann2
    Nov 29, 2016
    9
    An impressive piece of work. Perhaps not as deep as far as story goes compared to Pillars of Eternity but regardless a must have for anyone who still enjoys the cRPG style of gameplay.

    And while the story seems to be shrunk a little, it still has a way of pumping you up, giving you shivers and maybe even evoke stronger emotions.
  71. jseph1234
    Dec 20, 2020
    8
    I really love this game and premise for it so that i can be as evil as i want to. The Story AND RPG flavor of it is first rate and its from Obsidian Studios!
  72. Nomac69
    Mar 19, 2022
    10
    I played this game on a whim and it's one of the best games I've ever played. There's no other game that drew me into the rich lore and story than Tyranny. Hoping for a sequel.
  73. Istio
    May 13, 2022
    8
    good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good good
  74. night4
    Nov 12, 2016
    5
    Edited as I've played more now. Had to lower the score, unfortunately.

    I really, really wish I could give it an 8 or 9, but there are a few things holding it back. It feels unfinished, overall. First: Maximum group size is 4, not 6. I strongly dislike this. It feels more like Dragon Age than Pillars of Eternity. For another, 4 doesn't really feel like a group to me. Also, you    Edited as I've played more now. Had to lower the score, unfortunately.

    I really, really wish I could give it an 8 or 9, but there are a few things holding it back. It feels unfinished, overall.

    First: Maximum group size is 4, not 6. I strongly dislike this. It feels more like Dragon Age than Pillars of Eternity. For another, 4 doesn't really feel like a group to me. Also, you cannot make your own companions.

    Second: You're forced to make "important" decisions immediately without any knowledge that will help guide those decisions.

    Third: Combat is "simplified" over Pillars of Eternity. This means it's more boring, unfortuantely. And the AI is bad. Companions with spells/abilities and the perfect opportunity to use those spells/abilities will simply auto attack even though it's a massive decrease in damage.

    Fourth: Why is "Fast Mode" so hidden? It's painfully slow sneaking without it. Also, sneak has built in cooldown, so I can't just pop in and out of sneak to be sure I'm detecting hidden items.

    Fifth: LACK OF INFORMATION. Perfect example is "Magefire." Nowhere can I find information on how much damage it does, what increases that damage, how often it ticks, how partial ticks are handled, etc. The in-game encyclopedia just says "burn damage over time." Not helpful. This is just one example of many.

    Spell creation and the skill system are the game's best features. However, spell creation gets really tedious really fast. Every time my Lore skill goes up by 5-10 points, I have to remake ALL my spells to take advantage of the increased Lore.    … Expand
  75. georgio
    Nov 27, 2016
    9
    First as a disclaimer, I have just beaten the game for the first time: on the hardest difficulty after several character restarts. With that I hit 73 hours of gameplay according to steam.

    Now the good: - Storytelling is top notch - Lore, setting and dialogues are superb - Spell crafting is fun Passable: - Combat system. After you turn off the AI and play with autopause    First as a disclaimer, I have just beaten the game for the first time: on the hardest difficulty after several character restarts. With that I hit 73 hours of gameplay according to steam.

    Now the good:

    - Storytelling is top notch
    - Lore, setting and dialogues are superb
    - Spell crafting is fun

    Passable:

    - Combat system. After you turn off the AI and play with autopause settings it gets better.
    - More item variety earlier would not hurt

    Bad:
    - Nothing

    Also to add I am spoiled gamer and it is hard to keep my attention. Tyranny managed that. Some people claim to run through the game in 11 hours. I cannot imagine it. I had to talk to everybody, read everything and run back to places I visit to unlock other options. I fell in love with the game and its captivating storytelling. There are still some things to improve but Obsidian definitely moved the right direction from PoE.    … Expand
  76. Renovatia
    Nov 26, 2016
    4
    I like the graphics - though it's not up to today's standards at all - but there's so much to dislike. First of all the presentation of the stats is so confusing. I couldn't tell, for example, whether my first companion "Verse" was a damage dealer, a tanker or something else. Also the stats on weapons makes it hard to tell whether it's an improvement or not. Then, there's the lack ofI like the graphics - though it's not up to today's standards at all - but there's so much to dislike. First of all the presentation of the stats is so confusing. I couldn't tell, for example, whether my first companion "Verse" was a damage dealer, a tanker or something else. Also the stats on weapons makes it hard to tell whether it's an improvement or not. Then, there's the lack of sound. This game is quiet, instead it offers you walls of text. It never ends, and breaks the immersion. After reading so much text, I lost situational awareness, as in, not knowing what the heck I just read. After ages of total silence and more text I gave up n this game.

    Here's an example without spoilers: a group of enemies rush at you, you're ready to fight and mentally prepare, but then the game halts abruptly... you first need to read tons of text. By the time you're done reading and possible have taken the wrong decisions during the conversation because your mind is set to battle already, you forgot you were in a battle and need to re-adjust.

    Don't get carried away by the high user score. These are fanatics talking (bless them). I consider myself a hardcore RPG person, but this is a little bit too much.

    Here's the summary:

    + For Die-Hard Isometric Game RPG fans only
    - Endless Walls of Text
    - No Sounds (almost no voice acting, no atmospheric sounds either)
    - Confusing (or messy) Statistics
    - Weird, Bad, Fighting Mechanism
    - Overall Boredom and Immersion-Breaking

    Conclusion: for the die-hard isometric RPG fan only. Other RPG fans have no business looking for this game    … Expand
  77. IJL711
    Nov 13, 2016
    8
    This was just the kind of addicting game that I've been looking for. It's certainly not a perfect game but it's enjoyable never-the-less.

    First and foremost is the story. While it does rely on some old tropes and doesn't reinvent the wheel, it does take an approach to the rpg story that we don't often get; the evil side. You work for "evil" from the start and have to carve your path    This was just the kind of addicting game that I've been looking for. It's certainly not a perfect game but it's enjoyable never-the-less.

    First and foremost is the story. While it does rely on some old tropes and doesn't reinvent the wheel, it does take an approach to the rpg story that we don't often get; the evil side. You work for "evil" from the start and have to carve your path from there.
    Having said that, the game does a very good job of making you wonder if what you're doing is truely bad or if it's good; there really isn't a true "good" or "evil" action in the game. A lot of the characters have their own justifications for their actions that seem perfectly reasonable given the circumstances in which they are embroiled. Even still, it can be difficult to make some decisions that are either terrible or you have your own idea and you wish you could implement it (but you said the wrong word two dialogue options ago).
    The problem with the story (and problably, but just in case, spoiler warning) is that it just kind of...ends. It is very clear that there either is or should be more to it. You can tell that it's coming, but you hold onto the hope that surely it doesn't. We certainly want our resolution of the story. That being said, a proper resolution feels like it would take another full game.

    If you've played Pillars of Eternity, then you already know the score with the combat. Now, I don't know if it's possible but I never figured out how to change the hotkeys for combat... Either way, this takes a lot of pausing, issuing commands, starting for a second, issuing some more commands, etc. ad nauseam. If you want go go go combat, then it is not for you. However, if you like to stategize and coordinate or if you're impartial then it IS for you.

    Long story short, I really like this game. I've played it through once and I intend to play it through at least one more time, possibly more.

    Pros:
    -Dark but engaging story with fleshed out lore
    -Choices have a lasting impact and may haunt/aid you down the road
    -Strategic combat

    Cons:
    -Story abrubtly ends in what kind of feels like the middle
    -While companions have their own stories, they just kind of follow blindly as long as you say the right thing once or twice    … Expand
  78. jakovsky
    Nov 11, 2016
    10
    A Masterpiece.

    I'm only 5 or so hours into it, yet the writing alone of Tyranny makes up for whatever other flaw i could find (if any).

    It's like Pillars of Eternity but like, in better. And with a friendlier UI.
  79. SH1
    Dec 10, 2016
    8
    Good points:

    * Combat mechanics * Story makes you want to play it multiple times. * Classic RPG * Cool magic system * Nice 2D art in an isometric setting * For some reason this makes me want an HTML5/WebGL multiplayer version, where you can choose your faction from the ones in the story. Why not a 10? * Story has loose ends. I guess you have to leave something for Tyranny 2    Good points:

    * Combat mechanics
    * Story makes you want to play it multiple times.
    * Classic RPG
    * Cool magic system
    * Nice 2D art in an isometric setting
    * For some reason this makes me want an HTML5/WebGL multiplayer version, where you can choose your faction from the ones in the story.

    Why not a 10?

    * Story has loose ends. I guess you have to leave something for Tyranny 2 (which I will be buying if it comes out)
    * Not sure how crafting worked.    … Expand
  80. StormCrow
    Nov 15, 2016
    10
    This is really an excellent game. It's good to be able to play a bad guy who is not just a psychopath, like many other RPGS, the story and context are really interesting, the branching narrative is really efficient, and the Conquest mode at the beginning is really interesting. This is a game where you really have to make important choices, you can't do everything at the same time at all.IThis is really an excellent game. It's good to be able to play a bad guy who is not just a psychopath, like many other RPGS, the story and context are really interesting, the branching narrative is really efficient, and the Conquest mode at the beginning is really interesting. This is a game where you really have to make important choices, you can't do everything at the same time at all.I also like very much the fact that the game is classless (which does not mean that you don't have to specialize your characters), the relationship system with the companions and the factions, and the magic crafting system. Really a hit for me. And it's really replayable.… Expand
  81. cakrit
    Nov 27, 2016
    2
    I really wanted to like this game, because Paradox has made a couple of my favorite games of all time. Unfortunately, it was impossible. It was neither the tons of dialogue reading that destroyed it for me, nor the boring characters, I really don't care about these things. I only care about gameplay and that's where this game really comes short. After breezing through the initial,I really wanted to like this game, because Paradox has made a couple of my favorite games of all time. Unfortunately, it was impossible. It was neither the tons of dialogue reading that destroyed it for me, nor the boring characters, I really don't care about these things. I only care about gameplay and that's where this game really comes short. After breezing through the initial, excruciatingely linear campaign, I found myself finally given a couple of options. Go for the library, or to some other place, I didn't care much for. The library seemed interesting, killed everyone easily, until the last floor, which the enemies summarily wiped with my remains, time and time again. Gave it up, thought it was a silly mistake by the devs, who hadn't learnt anything from the Bethesda series, so I went another way, to a town with a single way to wherever I was supposed to be going. Low and behold, another unbeatable party, kicking my arse. I don't know what this is supposed to be and I don't really care. I always play at a normal difficulty first, to get a feel for the game. This one sucked and it didnt really make me want to try again. Fighting a battle three times is enough for me, unless I play a rogue-like game, which this definitely isn't supposed to be. Other than the weird, unexpected difficulty, there really wasn't much to keep me interested here. Weird power ups with timers, spells that take ages to cast, some kind of base building crap that is supposed to give you advantages, they mean nothing, unless you're having fun kicking arse, in an RPG. I never had any fun with this, so 10-20 hours of my time is all it was worth.… Expand
  82. Neravarine
    Nov 15, 2016
    9
    Its a good game, not as gr8 as Pillars of Eternity, but pretty good in its own right.
    I am personally not fan of that type of graphics, and even if combat system and character development are similar to PoE, I like "typical D&D" character dev/spells/classes etc etc, like NWN,PoE, and older stuff.
    Example: I hated Legends of the Sword Coast coz its character dev, which is very similar to    Its a good game, not as gr8 as Pillars of Eternity, but pretty good in its own right.
    I am personally not fan of that type of graphics, and even if combat system and character development are similar to PoE, I like "typical D&D" character dev/spells/classes etc etc, like NWN,PoE, and older stuff.
    Example: I hated Legends of the Sword Coast coz its character dev, which is very similar to Tiranny.
    The story is good, and the UI is awesome, I like spellcrafting but still, I would pick PoE system any time.

    I like the game in general, the only rly negative thing that I have to say about Tyranny is .....loading..smallzone..loading..smallzone...loading.    … Expand
  83. Mad_Monk
    Nov 15, 2016
    9
    This game is great. I enjoyed Pillars of Eternity, but this is much better. Just about didnt get it...so glad I did. The story is great and the UI is terrific...really enjoying the rich atmosphere of the world. The opening sequence really captured my attention. So often I buy games and stop playing them quickly...this one pulled me in and hasnt let go...about 12 hours in so far.
  84. Fuzi0n
    Dec 7, 2016
    3
    TLDR: Worse than Pillars of Eternity. Atrocious systems design and combat. Baldur's Gate Trilogy still does it better in every thinkable way. Obsidian learned NOTHING.

    The setting is very interesting, but the combat, systems design and gameplay in this game are just atrocious. Gameplay in Pillars of Eternity was only mediocre, but somehow Obsidian learned nothing from making that game    TLDR: Worse than Pillars of Eternity. Atrocious systems design and combat. Baldur's Gate Trilogy still does it better in every thinkable way. Obsidian learned NOTHING.

    The setting is very interesting, but the combat, systems design and gameplay in this game are just atrocious. Gameplay in Pillars of Eternity was only mediocre, but somehow Obsidian learned nothing from making that game and made Tyranny even worse. Combat is so sluggish, boring and not tactical - all you really do is spam abilities and wait for them to cool down. The systems design is probably the worst and most uneven I have ever seen in an RPG... have the people who designed this ever even played a CRPG or PnP RPG before!?

    3/10 but only because I liked the setting.    … Expand
  85. defjux23
    Nov 10, 2016
    10
    My expectations for this game were really high because of devs Obsidian and Paradox. As usual, they deliver yet another solid RPG. Similar to Pillars of Eternity, but looks and plays even better. Also, an awesome setting and concept with "evil won".

    RPG binge inc. 10/10
  86. Mercent
    Nov 17, 2016
    10
    Pro:
    1. Gritty, dirty and true to the setting (a Bronze-Iron age civilization).
    2. Your choices really matter. Choosing different dialogue options will affect the end game. 3. The music is epic. 4. Game length. Many complained that it is too short. Not at all. It ended just when i have had my fill. Unlike PoE, i actually managed to finish Tyranny. Con: 1. Some enemies are just a    Pro:
    1. Gritty, dirty and true to the setting (a Bronze-Iron age civilization).
    2. Your choices really matter. Choosing different dialogue options will affect the end game.
    3. The music is epic.
    4. Game length. Many complained that it is too short. Not at all. It ended just when i have had my fill. Unlike PoE, i actually managed to finish Tyranny.

    Con:
    1. Some enemies are just a pain in the A**    … Expand
  87. Hexen-Slayer
    Sep 11, 2020
    5
    So... Obsidian made another BALDUR's GATE. I personally never was a fan of the COMMAND & CONQUER style combat system with optional pausing. Either go turn-based or go DIABLO-style. TYRANNY offers more of the same. Sure, this time you supposedly play the "bad guy". OK... what really sucked in BALDUR"S GATE / ICEWIND DALE / NEVERWINTER NIGHTS was that you never really were given a realSo... Obsidian made another BALDUR's GATE. I personally never was a fan of the COMMAND & CONQUER style combat system with optional pausing. Either go turn-based or go DIABLO-style. TYRANNY offers more of the same. Sure, this time you supposedly play the "bad guy". OK... what really sucked in BALDUR"S GATE / ICEWIND DALE / NEVERWINTER NIGHTS was that you never really were given a real choice - choose the "good" option and get experience or choose the "evil" option and get no experience, be under-leveled and at a major disadvantage.
    TYRANNY has some serious issues:

    1) Devs: In TYRANNY you have so many choices! And they matter!
    Really? I never could tell! You spare someone - they either kill themselves or attack you and you are forced to kill them anyway. Brilliant!

    2) TYRANNY main campaign takes about 20 hours to complete. Compare that to PILLARS OF ETERNITY (40 hours) or BALDUR's GATE II SHADOWS OF AMN (70 hours!) and that is just pathetic.
    Devs: " But it's designed to be played through again!
    Sorry, that is not acceptable. Multiple playthroughs are a bonus and not an excuse to put out a short campaign.

    3) Time limit. The first quest has a time limit. If you're like me and you want to explore every nook and cranny in this type of game that can be an issue. This is a serious faux pas!

    4) Combat is bland. I already mentioned my personal dislike for the COMMAND & CONQUER-style combat system. That aside, in TYRANNY you'll encounter mostly two enemy types: humanoid armored enemies and humanoid unarmored enemies. The unarmored enemies take less damage from bludgeoning weapons but are susceptible to bladed weapons. With armored enemies it's the other way around. You will constantly get the prompt "weapon ineffective", so you'll constantly be switching between two different weapons. Oh, you only have swords? Well, you're screwed then!

    5) With a game this short, surely they have all dialogues fully voiced! NO! Just as in PILLARS ? BALDUR's etc. only a few lines are spoken, then you have endless novels to read. If I want to read, I have tons of books here.

    I'll give the game a plus for the setting (Bronze-like era) and the conquest theme. It's not a terrible game by any means, just average. With so many games with the same engine out there, PILLARS 1 & 2, BALDUR's GATE I & II, ICEWIND 1 & 2, PLANESCAPE... this comes just as yet another BALDUR's clone. Therefore I give it a 5 out of 9 (AVERAGE).    … Expand
  88. Thazari
    Dec 3, 2016
    3
    Initially it looks quite interesting, but unfortunately the game remains very linear without offering meaningful choices. There is a complicated spell crafting system and item upgrade system, but by the time I started to use these, the game was already almost over. It just feels like the initial part of the game has a lot of work to it while the mid and endgame is completely rushed. ThereInitially it looks quite interesting, but unfortunately the game remains very linear without offering meaningful choices. There is a complicated spell crafting system and item upgrade system, but by the time I started to use these, the game was already almost over. It just feels like the initial part of the game has a lot of work to it while the mid and endgame is completely rushed. There are nice dungeons in the early part of the game, but for the last part, you can just walk into the areas you want to conquer and there's no dungeon at all, just walk in and get what you want. There are very few sidequests so you're bored very quickly with nothing to do. There aren't even any random encounters to test your new items/abilities on besides the few scripted groups that you are meant to encounter on the road.

    The combat is sluggies and unresponsive, skills have very weird ways to activate them, which often make you think your character is going to perform an a skill you want, only to wait for 10 seconds to see them do nothing because the order wasn't processed because you didn't click the icons and targets in the way you're supposed to do (it doesn't inform you that you did it wrong either). In the early/mid game all items suck, and in the end game you get many artifacts and other cool stuff, however there's noone left to fight to actually put these cool items to any use.

    All in all I finished the game in less than 8 hours and don't feel the need to replay it, making it poor value for money.    … Expand
  89. Voyou
    Jan 31, 2017
    5
    TL:DR: A great first act, yet I'll never finish the game as it turns into frustrating mediocrity.

    Mechanics-wise, don't expect a miracle as this is reusing the hopeless PoE engine. There is an improvement on the skills side, while a few bad concepts are added. Combat is still a boring grind, a tactical wasteland and a repetitive filler. At least the pain is attenuated a little, as the    TL:DR: A great first act, yet I'll never finish the game as it turns into frustrating mediocrity.

    Mechanics-wise, don't expect a miracle as this is reusing the hopeless PoE engine. There is an improvement on the skills side, while a few bad concepts are added. Combat is still a boring grind, a tactical wasteland and a repetitive filler. At least the pain is attenuated a little, as the team is smaller and the AI competent (when not screwed by the buggy path-finding.)

    Story-wise, it starts with a boring conquest phase where I make random decisions on a map, but the expected payoff is worth it, as choices I will forget (due to minimal involvement at this stage) will inject some life in my future interactions. Then the play begins, and the fun. The world is palpable in the first act, along my discovery of people's motivations and personalities. This culminates in excellent three-way conversations with two Archons. And I continue choosing who lives and dies as I explore, like a partial and magical Judge Dredd.

    The writing style is also similar to PoE, slightly irritating in its affected pomp (maybe we are are dealing with a would-be Gongora here,) a bit too artificial, but palatable. My issue is that they still haven't figured out how to distillate the lore visually and organically instead of dumping it in rebarbative blocks. With the exception of the coloured links, which are pretty neat.

    Then I move to Act II and freedom of play disappears along with common sense. My interest dwindles fast. The first time I stumble on fake dialogues leading to a slaughter-only resolution, I delay my approach, look for other entry points with that mercenary faction. There are none. The second time, with the Unfavored, I resent it. The third time, I start positively with the Sages due to past choices, and yet there is no possible arguing, only another blood bath, and I'm proven 100% how poor the storytelling truly is. I'm not a judge that people try to use anymore, I'm your regular hack n' slasher from a 1992 RPG.

    As I said, it's not only my freedom which has disappeared, it's any trace of intelligence. While I thought I made an alliance, I have in fact changed my master, abandoned my role and forfeited my prerogatives. I am offered to betray that alliance a couple of times, but with not one speck of a valid reason and absolutely no benefit, tactical or otherwise, at such moments. In fact, I can only betray by telling my ally face to face. Who does that ? And which moron writes such drivel ? When I am willing to betray, or not even betray but show my independence while talking with a 3rd party, no option available, nada zip naff all, only more boring combat. Writers drop the ball once again and the result is lame. Not to mention the game tries hard to make you deviate from a subjugated path that makes sense (the opportunity is rare, hence the appeal of the game) into the banal anachronistic teenage fantasy of super-heroic independence. The expected subtlety is not here.

    You know enough to decide. What follows is a quick list of annoying points, but none of them had me quit: the story did.

    - When it comes to the common rule of defecating on the heads of stealth players, Tyranny is exceptionally guilty. Loads and loads of scripted events unhide you and make you run to a bad spot to listen to a nobody you only hunt to kill. Mechanics-story mismatch at its best. Plus, you can't sneak after a fight has started.

    - The loot is even worse than in PoE. Long lists of useless numbers to compare (who cares about 1 point in Parry when you already have 150 ? ) Objects usable by 1 named character only (no reason given because there can be none.) The inventory is poor, terrible when it comes to merchants. The spells suffer from the same inanity, but at least they became useful since PoE. Spellcraft is dreary (itemised to a ridiculous fault) but spells are good indeed.

    - Tons of junk, such as consumables, forged artifacts inferior to regular equipment, upgrades only valuable for 1 character's armor, pointless combos and minute effects, useless camping equipment not treated as regular inventory (there's no need to ever rest.) puzzle-spell parts, and so on. On this subject, pen & paper RPGs have always intended to sell extra compendiums of things, hence the design of Feats and such annoyances. Video game don't have this excuse to replace creativity with random combinations of smoke and mirrors.

    - Fake replay value should be blamed mostly on players, since many beg for it. The fad won't last. Still, this particular implementation is unsatisfying, as a lot of content seems closed to each character. That might work for a short game, but not here. Instead, only a minority of side quests should be restricted. Pretty much all maps and NPCs should be accessible to everyone, with only the objectives, means and dialogue options being different. In Tyranny's act 2, I constantly feel I'm being cheated.    … Expand
  90. Juniperus
    Nov 11, 2016
    10
    Another masterpiece by Obsidian. I'm so greatful and happy, that this Company brought back these kind of Games. Thank you Obsidian!
    This is why PC is, and always will be, the best choice for adult gamers.
  91. ASTALONTE
    Nov 14, 2016
    8
    This is a great game where you work for the bad guy. It s simple, direct and no too long. But at the same time it has that essence of the genre where you role pay and read countless nice texts. JUST a step below POE because I would like to have seen more exploration and a bigger final act
  92. Kronos362
    Nov 15, 2016
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Absolutely a gem. Great story and masterful world. A fair amount of reading and needs a lot of concentration, but it's worth the effort. I personally think a step up from pillars at least in terms of epic scale.… Expand
  93. CaptainChaos
    Jun 16, 2019
    10
    I'm 70 hours in and I have no idea how far into the game I am, but I'm ready to rate it.

    I could criticize that there was WAY too much reading in the beginning, that the combat seems to often reset to FAST mode which is the exact opposite that it should, that I often got lost in objective or place to go, which was annoying, and that there was WAY too many talents and abilities to ponder    I'm 70 hours in and I have no idea how far into the game I am, but I'm ready to rate it.

    I could criticize that there was WAY too much reading in the beginning, that the combat seems to often reset to FAST mode which is the exact opposite that it should, that I often got lost in objective or place to go, which was annoying, and that there was WAY too many talents and abilities to ponder (I do love choice but that was ... overwhelming for no real purpose). However, the writing, graphics, story, and overall fun was enough to just give it a just do. If there is a Tyranny 2 hopefully they can simplify some things without dumbing it down like Dragon Age 2.

    Once the spell casters got some levels, I was surprised that how four of them could basically take down anything without too much of an issue. I found the combat characters to take far longer to actually put things down. Once your Lore hits 100, you have 4 AOE spells constantly mopping up mob after mob. Once you get closer to 150 Lore your spells just rock the house. It's so much fun and gorgeously rendered.

    BTW, although it took awhile for me to understand, I so heart the spell system creation. It's so much fun to experiment with crushing anxiety area of effect spells or how many variations of flame this or that you can have. Bonus: Adding fire to my frost spell. That's just icing on the cake.    … Expand
  94. Gelaos
    Feb 7, 2019
    8
    Tyranny excells in storytelling, lore and characters (Voices of Nerat for example). Also the moral choices and overall treatment of "good and evil" concept feels lot more realistic than in other RPGs.

    The game felt oriented too much on action and fights. Basically every quest had at least 1-2 enemy encounters. I wanted to solve most quests in a diplomatic way but in 4 out of 5 cases all    Tyranny excells in storytelling, lore and characters (Voices of Nerat for example). Also the moral choices and overall treatment of "good and evil" concept feels lot more realistic than in other RPGs.

    The game felt oriented too much on action and fights. Basically every quest had at least 1-2 enemy encounters. I wanted to solve most quests in a diplomatic way but in 4 out of 5 cases all options led to a fight. The combat mechanics aren't great and it got boring pretty early, AI's not great either.

    The character development offers lot of ways for character building but I didn't have to think much about stats and skills and still got through 80 % of my game without any trouble. The UI could be better. Also, I didn't need any item management and the most of the good and powerful items are acquired too late in the game.

    Tyranny can't compete with other isometric RPGs like Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights, but it's still a good game. But when I compare it with other modern "RPGs" (DA: Inquisition, Witcher), it's a gem that reminds me of the good old classic RPGs of early 2000's.    … Expand
  95. laertan
    Feb 7, 2020
    8
    Close enough to DA:O & PoE, but still different. There are two fractions, there are many outcomes of early decisions, plot is awesome, dialogues are well written. Hope developers will continue this story!
  96. ScathachPreach
    Dec 29, 2020
    10
    One of the most underrated, yet best RPGs out there.
    Playing a rising star from the evil empire is different than your average RPG story. Your choices matter and shape the ongoing conflict and end of the game in various manners, and there are ways to play a lot more humane than one might think. It's beautiful, and the dialogue is written really well.
  97. S3XU4LH34L1NG
    Jan 23, 2021
    8
    A very enjoyable crpg with an incredible story - really outstanding and unique - bogged down a bit by minor bugs and clunky combat. I recommend the hardest difficulty (potd). Playtime ~ 50hr

    +great story way above the genre average +great dialog, lots and lots of choices, skill checks etc. +multiple unique playthroughs possible +beautiful backdrops and effects +spell crafting system    A very enjoyable crpg with an incredible story - really outstanding and unique - bogged down a bit by minor bugs and clunky combat. I recommend the hardest difficulty (potd). Playtime ~ 50hr

    +great story way above the genre average
    +great dialog, lots and lots of choices, skill checks etc.
    +multiple unique playthroughs possible
    +beautiful backdrops and effects
    +spell crafting system
    +you rly feel powerful towards the end of the game
    +innovative intro sequence that is achnowledged trhoughout the whole game
    ~item, skills and classes are just ok
    ~character models are just ok
    -majority of companions are garbagio
    -majority of the dialog not voice acted
    -skill checks require very low stats and are therefore trivial
    -insanely frontloaded difficulty
    -bugs in quests, spells, skills
    -description of stats and skills is kinda confusing
    -badly optimized    … Expand
  98. plastus82
    Nov 13, 2016
    1
    After pillars I expected something much better then this. I dont like spells system, i dont like flat characters, story is poor to :/... tu much dialogs, and they are to long and arent writen to good. What else... items in game, collecting them gives no fun at all - they have no soul. Till this day i remmebr when found armor made of human skin in BG2. Sorry this is not the game that i wasAfter pillars I expected something much better then this. I dont like spells system, i dont like flat characters, story is poor to :/... tu much dialogs, and they are to long and arent writen to good. What else... items in game, collecting them gives no fun at all - they have no soul. Till this day i remmebr when found armor made of human skin in BG2. Sorry this is not the game that i was expected.… Expand
  99. ShinsFortress
    Mar 5, 2019
    3
    A slight (overall) improvement on Pillars of Eternity but the result is simply not good enough. T vs PoE (very similar style of game but different setting/story):-

    So glad I got this in a sale because the few improvements (visuals, plot concept) are wiped out by technical issues (why does a basic non-3D game like this have such long load times?!), sluggish combat that feels like    A slight (overall) improvement on Pillars of Eternity but the result is simply not good enough. T vs PoE (very similar style of game but different setting/story):-

    So glad I got this in a sale because the few improvements (visuals, plot concept) are wiped out by technical issues (why does a basic non-3D game like this have such long load times?!), sluggish combat that feels like turn-based its so awkward (but still not as bad as PoE), inferior (for the most part) companions to the players protagonist and...

    Worst of all we now have a new entry in my personal top ten most disappointing video game endings. A damp squib of an ending. If not a full-on Outro I expect a decent wrap-up that took more than five minutes to write, *expletive deleted* even the much older game (different developer etc.) Dragon Age: Origins did the Ending better.    … Expand
  100. albertpross
    Oct 3, 2017
    7
    Tyranny is like a Christmas present with skull wrapping paper. When you first see it, it's really surprising and different but as soon as you peel away the exterior it is just another god damned sweater.
    -
    It's not a bad game. It's not a great game. It's worth playing once. But a huge opportunity was missed here. Tyranny is everything stereotypical about every isometric RPG you've    Tyranny is like a Christmas present with skull wrapping paper. When you first see it, it's really surprising and different but as soon as you peel away the exterior it is just another god damned sweater.
    -
    It's not a bad game. It's not a great game. It's worth playing once. But a huge opportunity was missed here. Tyranny is everything stereotypical about every isometric RPG you've ever played only it let's you pretend your a bad guy... for a while anyway.
    -
    -1.) Evil is skin deep. Stereotypical RPG "morality" decisions repainted with quasi-evil text boxes. You just get to choose some flavor text. Occasionally there are some clever options but mostly its exactly the same thing you've seen a thousand times. Expect every predictable this or that, one or the other, forced game-logic decision you've ever been pigeonholed into. Tyranny is nothing if not plebeian in it's RPG cliche predictability.
    .
    -2.) Evil is magical. Combat is incredibly unbalanced. Magic dominates due to the core game design. You have the amazing options of choosing between a party of four mages or three mages and a tank. You CAN play differently if you really want to. You can also cut off your head to prevent a headache. There is too much combat in this game and mages make it all far too easy.
    .
    -3.) Evil is just another word for good. The game was sold as something completely different than it is. You are NOT the minion of an evil overlord and you have no choice in the matter. There are four "endings." Having played through three of them, they all appear to be the same ending, only with slightly different flavor. It isn't even as deep as Fallout 1's different endings. Now, the paths to get there do offer some different options and missions, so it isn't a loss. But ultimately every path leads to the same destination, not just the same ending. Your choices are chaotic evil good guy, lawful evil good guy or paladin-esque good guy.
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    VERDICT: Tyranny is not a bad game, but it will pigeonhole you into gamy decisions which lead to predictable uninspired "consequences." Tyranny is everything good, bad and cliche about isometric RPGs... wrapped in skulls. I'd recommend it to old-school isometric RPG fans and absolutely nobody else.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

71
#71 Best PC Game of 2016
34
#34 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016
37
#37 Most Shared PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 67 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 54 out of 67
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 67
  3. Negative: 0 out of 67
  1. RPGamer
    Apr 4, 2017
    70
    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.
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  2. PLAY! Zine
    Feb 20, 2017
    90
    If you are tired of same old fantasy setting in RPGs, you will absolutely fall in love with Tyranny. Another great isometric RPG from Obsidian.
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  3. games(TM)
    Jan 27, 2017
    80
    It may sound like the weight of the game’s criticism lies too heavily on its story, but that’s where Obsidian has decided to focus its efforts. It doesn’t do anything to ultimately spoil what is a great classic-style RPG, and should be considered if you enjoyed Pillars Of Eternity but wouldn’t consider classic RPGs your typical sort of gaming experience.
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