Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

Awesome game, played it but never finished it. 2024 update - second play through, finished the game. Too easy with a diplomatic intelligent ogre with max melee/dodge. With all the party summons and the Mysterious Gem halfling army, + the 28 melee hits per round, Kerghan had no chance. Great game. 60 hours to complete.

Originale l'ambientazione steampunk, non si trova spesso nei videogiochi. Ed ha tanti altri pregi: trama curata, mondo vastissimo e quest numerose e profonde, ognuna molto sfaccettata e risolvibile in parecchi modi diversi. Unica pecca il sistema di combattimento un po' macchinoso, ma per me i combattimenti sono secondari, tanto più che si può finire il gioco praticamente senza combattere. Una piccola gemma, troppo sottovalutata.

There's so much to love in a game that dials up the most outstanding aspects of what made Fallout work: the world, the writing, the array of dialogue options and outcomes, the range of character building options. There's even a proper string quartet! Ah, but there's the combat. Yes, all those lovingly detailed technological and magical systems are fun for roleplay, and satisfying to cheese, but fighting is dull, buggy, and poorly balanced. (I've still played it more times than I can count.)

Arcanum suffered from considerable balance issues, and it was too easy to accidentally speed-run; nevertheless it was a one-of-a-kind industrial-fantasy hardcore RPG. I think with just a little bit more content, progress gating and mechanics-balancing it could have been a timeless classic.

A good game with extremely mediocre combat. Has a great steampunk-meets-fantasy atmosphere with a terrific soundtrack, and the city of Tarant is a particular joy to explore. With a bit more time in the oven to tweak the combat systems, and a bit more polish on the late game content, this could have been a fantastic game. As it stands, it's still pretty damn good.