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. 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"
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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.
  9. 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
  10. Pmstz
    Jan 30, 2023
    6
    Nice RPG game.

    +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  11. DreamCore
    Nov 13, 2016
    5
    If you like reading walls of text, then by all means this is for you. There is so much to read in this game. Text, text, text. Did I mention there's lots of text in this game? At one point I was stuck in text dialogues for 15 minutes. I mean seriously, I thought I bought a game and not a bloody book. If I wanted to read this much text I would buy a book, not a game.

    Most of the    If you like reading walls of text, then by all means this is for you. There is so much to read in this game. Text, text, text. Did I mention there's lots of text in this game? At one point I was stuck in text dialogues for 15 minutes. I mean seriously, I thought I bought a game and not a bloody book. If I wanted to read this much text I would buy a book, not a game.

    Most of the dialogues doesn't have voice overs (Pillars of Eternity had by far more voice overs) either which forces you to read all this damn text or you wont have a clue as to what's going on. What's more annoying is that many conversations have mixes of dialogues with and without voice overs which is super annoying. Same with the "painted" cut-scenes. It's like they had to leave out voiceovers because of a very limited budget.

    About five hours into the game it is all completely linear without any choice or side quests whatsoever (hopefully that will change).

    Vertict. Don't buy if you don't want to spend hours and hours of reading text...    … Expand
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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?
  17. 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
  18. 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
  19. Mies
    Nov 12, 2017
    4
    As a big RPG fan I was looking forward to play this game. However, the first 2 hours felt like someone was explaining the complex political structure of a country, wherein I could not really relate to the story. Everything has a rich history and it seems important to know this for a full game experience. The fact that it’s story-rich is nice, but I felt completely lost in anAs a big RPG fan I was looking forward to play this game. However, the first 2 hours felt like someone was explaining the complex political structure of a country, wherein I could not really relate to the story. Everything has a rich history and it seems important to know this for a full game experience. The fact that it’s story-rich is nice, but I felt completely lost in an incomprehensible story. As a result the countless blocks of text that have more references than an average Wikipedia page do become annoying and hard to get into.

    Another problem I have with this game is the combat system, which is real-time, but I felt like it would be way better to make it turn-based as it is not clear what will happen when. The auto-pause option does not provide an equal experience to that.

    As a final note I'd like to say something positive about the game and that is that I did appreciate the rich and worked out possibilities for character developing. And as a whole the game seemed a lot better than its “precedent” ‘Pillars of Eternity’.    … Expand
  20. teedeedubya
    Jan 22, 2018
    4
    It's not just like pillars of eternity ... at all. It's short, incomplete and unbalanced. It has the makings of an amazing game and has a great story. A generally unexplored perspective that leaves the player at a cliff hanger.

    I'm just going to go down the list of all the reasons on why you shouldn't play/buy this game. - it's short for an RPG and even shorter when you consider the    It's not just like pillars of eternity ... at all. It's short, incomplete and unbalanced. It has the makings of an amazing game and has a great story. A generally unexplored perspective that leaves the player at a cliff hanger.

    I'm just going to go down the list of all the reasons on why you shouldn't play/buy this game.
    - it's short for an RPG and even shorter when you consider the price at release
    - the classes are insanely unbalanced. I won't say which because "spoilers".
    - there's a tiny number of side quests.
    - Additionally, there are no side quests exploring your companions unless you purchase the DLC. Admittedly, there's quite a bit of dialogue that one can choose to have (AND SHOULD) to understand them better.
    - the spires were either an afterthought or incomplete. It's so obvious it hurts.
    - despite how this game is advertised.. It's fairly linear.
    - Complexity and difficulty were lacking.
    - First playthrough was 18 hours and I tried to stretch it as far as I could. There's some replay value to this game and I'll probably do it again just to explore the other major faction. But judging by the first playthrough, I doubt it'll add much value.
    - It felt like they were trying to pull an EA. And by that I mean, release an unfinished game and make more money off of several DLCs. I thought Paradox was better than that. 0_0

    I don't know how this got a 7.8... It doesn't deserve it, tops this is a 6 out of 10.

    There is some good in this game.

    - I enjoyed the story.
    - I enjoyed the thought of using the spires.
    - I loved the companions and their back stories. I hated how EA, eerrr I mean, Paradox didn't' exploit that.
    - I enjoyed the concept of archons and what role they played in the world.
    - I love RPGs in general.

    Don't buy this game.    … Expand
  21. 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
  22. 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
  23. lastcorn
    Mar 7, 2017
    4
    Tyranny promises a game where you can play as a bad guy, a Judge Dredd type of character who's the judge the jury and the executioner. But what you really get to be is everyone's fetch boy.
    The world is somewhat interesting it's a shame you get to visit almost none of if, only some dungeons, camps and small villages.
    The story is shallow and rushed with an ending that's merely setting    Tyranny promises a game where you can play as a bad guy, a Judge Dredd type of character who's the judge the jury and the executioner. But what you really get to be is everyone's fetch boy.
    The world is somewhat interesting it's a shame you get to visit almost none of if, only some dungeons, camps and small villages.
    The story is shallow and rushed with an ending that's merely setting up for a sequel.
    Most characters are uninteresting and some of the companions are almost something you'd read in a fan-fiction.    … Expand
  24. Mizuiro
    Apr 25, 2019
    4
    Very boring game. Too much politics and names and kingdoms everywhere since minute one so you are overwhelmed and don't give a **** about the game lore. Gave up about 6 hours later, never ended it.
  25. TruthSeaker
    Aug 15, 2023
    4
    The begining of the END for Obsidian.
    Pointless experiment.
    Terrible combat, extremely short, awful visuals.
  26. 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
  27. 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
  28. PowerGamer
    Jan 13, 2021
    3
    Low quality, soulless, garbage RGB.
    Maybe something that would have been just meh in 2005, certainly not anything special even by 2016 standards.
    At least I got it for fee from Epic games.
    Nothing like "Pillars of Eternity", save your time and money. Too many better RPGs to play.
  29. 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
  30. 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
Page:

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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
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