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. Geralt123
    Jul 18, 2023
    5
    Unbalanced final boss fights.

    While the game itself is ok, the final boss fights (you have to do 2 fights in a row) have a horrible balancing, way too hard. I had to switch to easy mode. It was very disappointing.

    Are the devs dumb? How can you make the final fight so hard?
  2. PenetratorGod
    Feb 23, 2023
    7
    The only isometric role-playing game from Obsidian that's worth playing. After a terrible Pillars Of Eternity experience, at least Tyranny was a game I was able to get to the end and finish.
  3. theirrelephants
    Feb 6, 2023
    6
    This game is relatively (it's an RPG, so it's still a doozy) short, but was clearly meant to be played several times.

    I love the unique setting, the writing was... okay (there was no reason to have the INCREDIBLY out of place lezbos in Lethian's Crossing just so you could have lesbians in your game, obsidiots). There was also more than one occasion of a character talking to me about    This game is relatively (it's an RPG, so it's still a doozy) short, but was clearly meant to be played several times.

    I love the unique setting, the writing was... okay (there was no reason to have the INCREDIBLY out of place lezbos in Lethian's Crossing just so you could have lesbians in your game, obsidiots). There was also more than one occasion of a character talking to me about another character that I had not only not met, but WHO HAD NOT EVEN BEEN MENTIONED as if I was supposed to know who they were.

    The combat mechanics were somehow more annoying than poes.

    Also, there should have been UI scaling. I have a 4k monitor, and I had to set my resolution lower because I could barely see the buttons.

    Lastly the companions have neat portraits but they use the same ugly low budget 3d model they use for generic npc #3513 when you're talking to them, for no reason I can discern.    … Expand
  4. Pmstz
    Jan 30, 2023
    6
    Nice RPG game.

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  5. hileger
    Dec 27, 2022
    7
    лучше пиларсов лучше пиларсов лучше пиларсов лучше пиларсов лучше пиларсов
  6. Ogurechka
    Dec 20, 2022
    7
    Cool, but small and short game. The spirit of Obsidian is felt in the plot in this every way. In general, before playing Tyranni, you need to understand that this is primarily a story game, and then an RPG. Despite this, the game has an interesting spell system. But it’s has problem with clothes, it makes sense to bother in equipment only at high difficulty levels, at low ones it’s boringCool, but small and short game. The spirit of Obsidian is felt in the plot in this every way. In general, before playing Tyranni, you need to understand that this is primarily a story game, and then an RPG. Despite this, the game has an interesting spell system. But it’s has problem with clothes, it makes sense to bother in equipment only at high difficulty levels, at low ones it’s boring and pointless. Naturally, there are no complaints about the plot and forks, and despite the fact that many write that you won’t win back a good character here, this is not entirely true, you just need to be a little more cunning to understand how))) I was very upset by how the game ends, we can only hope that the sequel will come out and we will see the end. In general, this RPG is not for everyone, but she made a fuss for a reason.… Expand
  7. WanderinMelmoth
    Nov 7, 2022
    5
    Tyranny has one major flaw that drags it down: it's real-time with pause. I hate rtwp - it's a terrible concept, it was terrible in Baldur's Gate and it's terrible now.

    The basic idea is pretty good. You are evil. The question is how much so? That was a brilliant idea instead of the typical fantasy trope of saving the world. A bit short though. Don't expect an epic game here, you    Tyranny has one major flaw that drags it down: it's real-time with pause. I hate rtwp - it's a terrible concept, it was terrible in Baldur's Gate and it's terrible now.

    The basic idea is pretty good. You are evil. The question is how much so? That was a brilliant idea instead of the typical fantasy trope of saving the world.

    A bit short though. Don't expect an epic game here, you should beat it within 20 hours, which isn't long for an RPG. The devs argued with replay value, but I still think 20 hours is too short and replay value is not valid for everyone. Hence 5 out of 10. It just made the "average" mark.    … Expand
  8. BoomerZoomer
    Jul 19, 2022
    7
    sidequests in this game feel like main story quests in any other CRPG same with any locations and i think this alone tells a lot

    But every combat encounter is you hacking enemies to death no tactics involved after throwing few buffs in
  9. Umadbro
    Mar 22, 2021
    7
    It's short forgettable and unfinished but not the worst thing you can pickup.
  10. bancandrei
    Jan 24, 2021
    6
    The good: The setting. It feels fresh, meaning there is a lot to discover and a sense of wonder and excitement, what fantasy should be.
    The bad: The combat. This really drags. Anyway, real-time with pause just seems to me like the worst of all worlds. Some people complain about too much text in this game, I complain about too much combat.
    The ugly: It's really weird that it has some    The good: The setting. It feels fresh, meaning there is a lot to discover and a sense of wonder and excitement, what fantasy should be.
    The bad: The combat. This really drags. Anyway, real-time with pause just seems to me like the worst of all worlds. Some people complain about too much text in this game, I complain about too much combat.
    The ugly: It's really weird that it has some voice acting for some characters for some lines. Just go all in one way or another. All text for an old school cRPG is not that bad.    … Expand
  11. KarolP
    Jan 2, 2021
    7
    Complex, interesting and even quite complicated (at the beginning) story, with plenty of decisions to make. Most of them connect with some consequences, but not every is justified. World's creation is quaint, but its cut into little pieces with loading between them (which are definately too long). Fight looks the same through whole game, especially enemies are boring. Audio would beComplex, interesting and even quite complicated (at the beginning) story, with plenty of decisions to make. Most of them connect with some consequences, but not every is justified. World's creation is quaint, but its cut into little pieces with loading between them (which are definately too long). Fight looks the same through whole game, especially enemies are boring. Audio would be evaluated nicely, but most of dialogues do not have their voice actors. Through whole game we are sentenced to digging through the text, what would be okay in that kind of the game (it is really full of story background feature), but IMO more dialogues should be readen. Graphics style is attractive at first, but many locations are repeteable. Their look is nice only in far shoot, after zooming it is not that great. Character models are poor.

    Despite some worse moments during campaign (Old Walls are more than boring), I am pretty sure it is exciting game for fans of classic RPGS with isometric projection.    … Expand
  12. 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
  13. Grahl1
    Aug 23, 2020
    6
    Tyranny excels in all areas, except in actually presenting any challenge to the player. Pretty much the standard these days. A great movie, a mediocre game. It's what sells, I guess.
  14. ErhanCeylan123
    Jul 17, 2020
    7
    Unsatisfaying final act and ending,short game time for a role-play game.Some game choices are not make sense.
  15. Tarantula001
    Oct 23, 2019
    7
    A solid traditional RPG, but gives you the opportunity to play from the villains side, while not mind blowing, it's not boring either, good value for money.
  16. 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
  17. kiki78
    Jul 20, 2018
    7
    Has interesting story, pretty cool choices of rp. Story and writing wise its pretty cool.
    BUT
    Performance on high end PC is super bad, considering how cheap graphics looks, not even talking about animations. I wonder why obsidian uses this atrocious engine, in PoE, Tyranny, Deadfire - bad performance, cannot rotate cannot anything with camera, only zoom, slow loading, etc etc. UBER    Has interesting story, pretty cool choices of rp. Story and writing wise its pretty cool.
    BUT
    Performance on high end PC is super bad, considering how cheap graphics looks, not even talking about animations. I wonder why obsidian uses this atrocious engine, in PoE, Tyranny, Deadfire - bad performance, cannot rotate cannot anything with camera, only zoom, slow loading, etc etc. UBER atrocious combat AI just made me want to alt+f4 so many times, even worse than PoE 1. FFS!!!!!!! And many times feels like (or even worse) than some android game.
    What kept me going (same as PoE) is nice writing, good characters and story, and interesting rp choices. Because of this i give 7/10 - but honestly it should be probably 4/10 for whole quality feel.

    P.S. its about same with deadfire, using still again same crap unity engine, with all problems, even worse performance, slightly better AI (that must have been real coding challenge). Just makes me wonder why, obsidian, why...    … Expand
  18. 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
  19. RMDsilva
    Jan 21, 2018
    7
    Good, but not fantastic...
    Unfortunately, it's a game that promises a lot but doesn't really deliver much.
    It's Pillars of Eternity - slightly refined, with a worse story. My main issues with it is that the premise of "Evil has won" don't really affect you that much.. the main "paths" are mostly cosmetic with some very 2d villains. You feel a lone actor against a bizarrely passive    Good, but not fantastic...
    Unfortunately, it's a game that promises a lot but doesn't really deliver much.
    It's Pillars of Eternity - slightly refined, with a worse story.
    My main issues with it is that the premise of "Evil has won" don't really affect you that much.. the main "paths" are mostly cosmetic with some very 2d villains. You feel a lone actor against a bizarrely passive world.
    Don't promise choices if choices don't matter - don't build up ambience that doesn't deliver.

    However! On the positive side, companions and the world itself are pretty interesting creations - it's actually a shame we don't get to explore it that much (unless the DLCs hold more..?).
    Combat was also fairly pleasant, even though I managed to get through it with a useless lead character (leadership ftw?).    … Expand
  20. 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.
    -
    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
  21. SanctumRevel
    Jun 17, 2017
    5
    After a considered amount of time and thoughts about this game i can say for sure that there is a lot of misconseption surounding this game first it would seem that this game is a choise driven altering game,, but it's really not most of the choises the game forces you to choose one or the other after that it s kill her spare her and other useless dialogues it has a very good consept ofAfter a considered amount of time and thoughts about this game i can say for sure that there is a lot of misconseption surounding this game first it would seem that this game is a choise driven altering game,, but it's really not most of the choises the game forces you to choose one or the other after that it s kill her spare her and other useless dialogues it has a very good consept of being a tyrant and enjoyng to do so as one and at the same time it s over before you know it it felt to me more like early access game… Expand
  22. VoxMare
    Mar 16, 2017
    5
    Разочарование.

    Очень жаль, что люди, которые причастны к Торменту, Вампирам и Аркануму(Боярский, как я понял, перешел к Обсам так раз во время разработки Тирании), к первым фолалутам -- выпустили такую лажу. Может, в Обсидианах уже и не осталось былой гвардии? Или у былой гвардии не осталось сил? В любом случае, все очень плохо. К огромному моему разочарованию это игра исключительно    Разочарование.

    Очень жаль, что люди, которые причастны к Торменту, Вампирам и Аркануму(Боярский, как я понял, перешел к Обсам так раз во время разработки Тирании), к первым фолалутам -- выпустили такую лажу. Может, в Обсидианах уже и не осталось былой гвардии? Или у былой гвардии не осталось сил? В любом случае, все очень плохо.

    К огромному моему разочарованию это игра исключительно рпг про болтологию. Причем болтологию скучную -- это не Арканум и не Тормент, никаких интересных диалогов в игре нет. Выжить реально исключительно по проторенным дорожкам построения билдов. Уникальности нет, ролевая система куцая, боевка все такой же ад микроконтроля. Проблема с вещами, как в какой-нибудь дьябле. Теперь она больше напоминает тормент, чем балдуру, но в торменте был классный оригинальный сюжет+вариативность. Тут лишь оригинальный сюжет+вариативность. И без классных диалогов.

    И да, игра хороша бывает порою, но я не могу воспринимать такую боевку после ДОС. Если в ДОС2 будет похожая вариативность -- то Тирани заведомо проиграет ей.

    Когда обсидианы проводили промо-кампанию по игре о ЗАВОЕВАТЕЛЯХ, поневоле ждешь хорошие бои. И когда пиарят создание заклинаний -- ждешь возможность их лучшего использования. Тут этого нет. Игра о завоевателях --обычная рпг и мы никакой не "вершитель", мы такой же мальчишка на побегушках, только с гордым именем.

    Тут плохо почти все. Неудобно контролировать группу, счетчик хп врагов просто ужасен, сюжет скучен(тормент, где же ты :с), нет минусов от отрицательных отношений с напарниками и фракциями(да! На это положили болт, даже если вы будете врагов всех и вся, у вас все равно будут бонусы!), орда бесполезных шмоток(просто иди в ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ с этим шмотодрочем), у которых даже характеристики неудобно сравнивать, невзрачная ролевка, которая продалась всем этим казуалам под "качка навыков под ваши действия", выпнув логичные и точно выверенные системы, магия, на которой акцент, уныла до безумия, где уровень хотя бы Магики, я не говорю о DOS уже. Враги -- люди, люди, непонятные пятна, люди, люди. Ужас.

    А напарники? ОНИ ЖЕ УНЫЛЫ! Ну, ок, Барик еще возможно неплох в своей задумке, но все остальные это просто ужас. И опять я вспоминаю Тормент, где были такие яркие личности, как раскаившийся суккуб, логичный рыцарь хаоса и летающий череп, или Арканум, где был забавный Вергиллий.

    Нельзя сказать, что плюсов нет, конечно же. Тут и красивая картинка, и классное создание персонажа, и не самый худший мир.. Но как же я разочарован всей этой игрой. Это просто дно по сравнению с любой другой рпг, из тех что я назвал в данном обзоре. Если вы изголодались по жанр -- лучше купите AOD    … Expand
  23. C-Pu
    Feb 28, 2017
    6
    Does Tyranny live up to the standards that Pillars of Eternity set before it?

    Personally for me, the combat was one of the redeeming factors of this game, as it can be really brutal(i played on path of the damned difficulty), having to micromanage your party and try to get right characters to do the right things, tanks to taunt enemies away from your casters, casters to use heals and CC    Does Tyranny live up to the standards that Pillars of Eternity set before it?

    Personally for me, the combat was one of the redeeming factors of this game, as it can be really brutal(i played on path of the damned difficulty), having to micromanage your party and try to get right characters to do the right things, tanks to taunt enemies away from your casters, casters to use heals and CC the heavy hitting enemies, and damage dealers to well... kill the correct enemies or focus fire. Theres plenty of customization as all characters gain "talent" points after each level, allowing you to build them as you see fit, and a correct build for each character goes a long way if you are having trouble with combat.

    The same goes for spells, each and every spell can be customized to your liking, adding bouncing effects to CC spells, increasing radius of effects or such. Want to make your fireball spell cast two balls or even add frost effect to them? You can do that, and plenty more. And all characters can use spells, except the most advanced ones ofc, as they require a really high lore skill that is primarily found on mages.

    Later though, the game became really easy and i was surprised that even on PoTD difficulty, i was just mowing down huge groups of enemies and barely even getting wounds or damaged. So either it was me equipping my party correctly and using correct combo abilities or spells, or there could be a balancing problem, where the game is really difficult early, but gets super easy later. Even the bosses became pushovers(and btw, there aint many epic bosses just so you know). This happened at around level 13 mark, which is pretty far into the game.
    Sirin is OP btw... just sayin >.>

    For me though, the major problem was the story and the games length, and lets just be frank here. This game is NOT on par with PoE in terms of story, writing and quality. The main story is pretty much this: you are a puppet of a major **** theres 2 **** factions and they are both big ****s to everyone and each other. You can either side with one of the ****s and stay loyal to the major **** or kill all of them and try to throw the major **** off his/her throne. Theres a lot of politics involved and warfare. Sadly, when you feel like you are midway through the game and its starting to get interesting, the game just abruptly ends, suggesting that either this game was initially thought to be much longer, and they just didnt have the time to finish it, OR the ending is just a plain sequel bait. There is never any reveal of the major **** here, as he/she doesnt exist in this game, even tho he/she is referenced through out the entire game. The main antagonist is not even in the game... really?

    Theres not even side character stories that initially were hinted at. Many of your party members have troubled pasts that could potentially be fixed or explored. Like Bariks armor as an example, theres even dialogue that suggests that at some point you could maybe be able to help him remove it, but no such thing ever happens and its just kinda forgotten after a few pieces of dialogue. They just get a small mention at the epilogue, "Barik lived with his issues" mkaayy then game... missed opportunity.

    This game is approximately 20-30h long compared to PoEs 60h+, but one thing to say tho, is that the game CAN be replayed to possibly change some of the outcomes. But i cant say much about it, because i didnt bother to replay, as many choices are superficial at best. And yes, i save scummed to test. Id rather spend 100h to complete the full game and everything in it, than complete a 50h game and do most of the same things again that i did before. Personal preference i guess...

    Theres also some technical issues still present, that havent been fixed after PoE. Such as long loading times, pathing problems, AI not registering ability uses, and theres also some bugs that may not allow you to finish some quests etc.

    Also, i just couldnt help but roll my eyes like a hundred times during some of the dialogues, as the game constantly wants to remind you, that this games world is ruled by matriarchy social system. Most of the important characters are also female. And just to be clear, i have no problems with this setup or lore, but the writing was just so poor and it made me feel as if the writer wanted to inject his/her own political beliefs into the game. Thats not good, especially when it comes out forced. It immediately takes the player out of the experience when you are confronted by real life agendas in a game, that many use to escape from reality for a brief time.

    In the end, the game is ok, but it just doesnt live up to the standards that PoE set. It improves on combat and AI, but fails in other departments, such as telling a compelling, complete story and keeping you invested in it.

    So if you want a good dose of CRPG where you get your moneys worth, get Pillars of Eternity or better yet, wait for Divinity: Original Sin 2.    … Expand
  24. everin
    Feb 6, 2017
    6
    TIER 3

    + Very interesting worldbuilding -- culture, locations, set pieces, and rules to magic all have compelling elements that excite and drive the player forwards. + The branching storytelling feels good on a first run-through (though my other concerns push me away from any subsequent playthroughs). ? The gameplay is basic and serviceable. The exploration doesn't at all try to build    TIER 3

    + Very interesting worldbuilding -- culture, locations, set pieces, and rules to magic all have compelling elements that excite and drive the player forwards.
    + The branching storytelling feels good on a first run-through (though my other concerns push me away from any subsequent playthroughs).
    ? The gameplay is basic and serviceable. The exploration doesn't at all try to build on the genre, in fact feels tacked on after the fact. The combat is alright.
    - Regardless of how interesting the world is, it's all delivered in mostly bland exposition. It seems the writers at Obsidian are more interested in building out all the extra details and far less concerned with delivering those details in a meaningful way to the player -- a style of writing that isn't even defensible in novels.    … Expand
  25. 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
  26. BaddoSpirito
    Dec 3, 2016
    7
    Starts excellent, ends weak. The world setting is pretty original and the game starts out really good in terms of story and dialogue which I think is the most important part of an rpg. Unfortunately, the story feels very rushed and shallow after the first 6-8 hours. The story could have been far better if they spent more time on it.

    The combat/character mechanics are similar but    Starts excellent, ends weak. The world setting is pretty original and the game starts out really good in terms of story and dialogue which I think is the most important part of an rpg. Unfortunately, the story feels very rushed and shallow after the first 6-8 hours. The story could have been far better if they spent more time on it.

    The combat/character mechanics are similar but somewhat different from Pillars of Eternity. I would say they are ok. The main problem I have with the mechanics is imo, mages and leather armor are overpowered. This makes replays less enjoyable if you are playing on higher difficulties.

    Overall I would recommend it. I think most rpg fans will enjoy at least the first playthrough which takes around 12-16 hours. It just feels a bit disappointing because this had the potential to be so much better.    … Expand
  27. Thilus
    Nov 30, 2016
    7
    TL;DR, a decent game which I'm rating slightly higher than Pillars of Eternity. It manages to fix some of PoE flaws, while developing a bunch of its own. Just another average RPG, seemingly suggesting that the era of AAA isometric role-playing games is slowly coming to an end. Very minor spoilers ahead.

    Pros: + Story - some say it's rushed at the end (maybe a little), but I liked it.    TL;DR, a decent game which I'm rating slightly higher than Pillars of Eternity. It manages to fix some of PoE flaws, while developing a bunch of its own. Just another average RPG, seemingly suggesting that the era of AAA isometric role-playing games is slowly coming to an end. Very minor spoilers ahead.

    Pros:
    + Story - some say it's rushed at the end (maybe a little), but I liked it. The lenght is ok (around 30-35 hours), but I'm guessing Obsidian left something for upcoming DLCs or possibly a next installment (depending on sales).
    + Main character development - I like the fact that you can get quite powerful, and it feels. In PoE you were a character of legend, yet everybody kicked your butt at every turn. Here, you can get powerful enough to smother every opposition, even though fight still seem challenging at times (difficulty level Hard and above).
    + Being bad - it is the centerpiece of this whole game. In other games being good or bad means that you have to act like a boy-scout or a complete douchebag. You never get to be truly malicious, unless you take high-school standards and consider bullying others an act of evil and not misguided duchebagery. In Tyranny being evil means what it should, like you're doing your job for a steel-fisted tyrant. That is good.
    + Spell-system - Very cool. You combine runes to create your own versions of spells. Playing as a mage, I really had fun with this.

    Cons:
    - Only 4 character party - Why?! Apart from the fact that there are only 6 NPC playable character in the game, I see no reason to make the party so small. BG had six, PoE had six, and here we have four. What's worse, neraly all characters are pretty bland. I remember Planescape: Torment had only 6 NPC characters, but they were so brilliantly written that it didn't matter in the least.
    - No freeroaming - That ticked me off. You can only get to new places by receiving a quest. You cannot just wander around the map, because... we, f*** you, that's why. Also, during one gameplay you won't be able to visit all the places at once. For example, I played with a mage and there was this Burning Library, a place where a lot of arcane knowledge is stored. I though, allright! I'm gonna leave that for dessert. Then the game cut me off, and I couldn't go to the Burning Library no more. I mean, WTF?! It's not like it burned down completely. Even the neding said it still burned. Damn.
    - Skill dihharea - There are just TOO. MANY. SKILLS. You have 5-6 skills from leveling up. 3-6 skills from your companions. 6-10 skills from fractions. Even more skills from your artifacts, and then there are, of course, spells. All in all you have a s**tload of skills, and you won't be using more than 20% of them (excluding spells, because those you craft yourself to you liking).
    - Boooooring item system - What is this - Diablo 3? You find so much useless junk I just can't believe it. The loot system is just slightly better than in PoE, but it is still pretty bad. And don't get me started on those artifacts. They are often worse than regular stuff. What the hell?! I remember finding a +2 sword in the first Baldur's Gate - genuine excitement. Here, after I find an artifact, I ask myself why do I even bother looking at its stats for the hundreth time.

    I originaly gave PoE a 7/10, and I thought about giving this game an 8, which would place it in the green zone, but even though it's slightly better than PoE I just can't force myself to do it. Seven it is. You might like it, you might not, but it's certainly worth a look.    … Expand
  28. Teleman
    Nov 19, 2016
    7
    Having finished this game recently, I have to change my perfect 10 score to this. My enthusiasm was all about this game being a real successor to classical text based isometric rpgs. Having a good fantasy setting also effected my original 10 score. The only problem was that I was too quick to review this game and here are the glaring reasons:

    - Combat is good at first but as you play    Having finished this game recently, I have to change my perfect 10 score to this. My enthusiasm was all about this game being a real successor to classical text based isometric rpgs. Having a good fantasy setting also effected my original 10 score. The only problem was that I was too quick to review this game and here are the glaring reasons:

    - Combat is good at first but as you play through the ai involved in it is even dumber than classic rpgs such as nwn, bg etc. You can exploit the stupidy of ai to a point that it feels cheesy and disconnecting you from the world. One example would be the aggro ranges. Which is mostly individual. You can have two other enemies still having conversations while the other half of the group attacks you just because you are in range. Don't even get me started on the sorry and disfunctional "stealth" system.

    - Story is up to a point amazing. All of a sudden everything takes an abrubt and absurd turn where all of the unique mechanics introduced in this game feel unnecessary and novel. Some of the mechanics are not even implemented at all and just there for the sake of being there. The story takes a riddiculous turn as if the whole story is finished by a 10 yr old who does not know how to create relatable connections or general consistency. If your read the bleach manga then you probably understand this. I don't want to spoil the story but you can only understand this if you finish the game.    … Expand
  29. 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
  30. 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
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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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