Geneforge 3

still good

nearly 60 hours of great and entertaining story and enjoyable gameplay. The gameplay is much better then the 2nd and the hit chance is much better then 2 not perfect but greatly superior to the second. Much of the mechanics are done so much better then the second and is a great innovation to the prior geneforge. I liked the interface and inventory's new apperance however the new inventory system is a bit of a double edge sword, while have the ability to hold infinite carry weight(still have ap reduction) but have limited inventory slots can make carrying trips a little to common.
Final Review
days spent selling junk/ inventory slots

I never understood why you have to make games so hard you have to use only 1 strategy to beat the first boss and know the game like the back of your hand, or you can just reset your game and follow some internet guide. This is a tactical RPG, not a world championship...

I have the latest version of Windows, and this was super disappointing. Certain features like dialogue and info screens, as well as picking stuff up, were incredibly slow to load in and out. I couldn't even save at all because it was so slow and glitchy. I got up to making my first creation and gave up because no one wants to play a game that runs like this. Can't even save. Sad that a Gameforge game is practically unplayable.

this game has no freaking music, and a really bad ui

The Geneforge series is absolutely amazing, and this is my favorite of the entire series!

I genuinely don't know why this one has earned the reputation of being the weakest in the series. The island system is often criticised, but in my opinion having the world map split into these discrete regions, each with their own distinct themes, really helped give the game a sense of progression. Unlocking a new island was a great feeling-- simultaneously a satisfying achievement and a worrying step into the unknown. The only real downside of this system is that backtracking is more time-consuming, but the amount of loot you get from being thorough with quests and exploration more than makes keeping a hoard somewhere unnecessary.

The story of Geneforge 3 is just as complex and compelling as you can expect from the first two entries-- despite there being only two major factions down from four in 2, the interplay between them is far more nuanced. "Choosing a side" can be said to be the theme of the game, and in this game that takes the form of the culmination of every action you take, not merely swearing an oath to a faction leader and doing a series of tasks for them.

Additionally, this game has many small technical and graphical improvement over the first two entries in the series that make it feel like a proper sequel rather than merely another game in the same universe, something Geneforge 2 (as much as I loved it) lacked.

Ultimately, Geneforge 3 is more than worth a play. Don't take the complaints to heart-- even if some feel it's the weakest entry in the Geneforge saga it's still far from weak, and many characters from 3 become or remain important later in the series. Geneforge 3 has the same heart and soul-- the ever-present danger, oppressively bleak atmosphere and murky morality-- as any other game in the series, and if you loved the first two you'll love this one too.

I played this game years and years ago and fell in love with the immense depth of story and features it has. All this time later it's just as strong as it ever was. Of the five entries of the series, three of which I've played nearly to the end (I've never quite figured out how to totally beat any of them - these games are wicked challenging!), I think this one best represents the design strengths of the series.

There is a massive world to explore with these games, and with this one in particular. I love the creature creation and management systems especially, which is what I think differentiates this game from other RPGs and puts it above. This series also exemplifies how 90's and early 00's graphics are timeless, and how graphics always have been and will be secondary to excellent gameplay.

I highly recommend getting all the games in the bundle but beginning with this one, then moving on to either 1 or 4 (4 is essentially a continuation of 3, with even more features).

Geneforge 3 is more of the same in the Geneforge Series with minor differences that are both good and bad. The story follows their same premise of a Shaper in-training starting out in some small remote area, learning for the first time of rebels and geneforges and fighting their way through a long series of locations and picking a side.

In this particular installment one of the bad things is that you are more limited in choice. While the previous games offer 3 or more faction choices this game really only offers 2. You can be pro-Shaper or Pro-rebellion and it leaves almost no room to ride the fine line in between. Unfortunately, I really preferred riding that fine line. I love to do quests for both sides, listen to both sides tell their story, get to know both sides and then at the end either remain neutral or pick the side I felt most in-tune with. The problem is this game really forces the decision and it does it fairly early on. Making those decisions locks you out of so many of the other factions interactions and makes it very difficult if not impossible to really explore all the map areas.

The map areas are another change for the series. While normally you get one large map that you explore one area at a time, this game gives you 5 different islands. In some ways I like that as you felt a small sense of completion at each island, but I also really disliked it when it came to traveling between islands. In the giant single maps of previous games you could quick travel to any place you'd cleared on the map. While you can do that here on individual islands you have to travel to dock areas of the map and then manually go to the boats to travel to another island. That's really tedious, especially when you are further in the game and want to travel back to the first island. You have to make several different dock transfers. It would have been better if you could just quick travel back through any points after having made the initial boat trip. There's also a sort of map location within a location. So you have areas you can enter on a map location that don't show up on the world map. Like entering an inn or underground room. These areas are not available for quick travel and don't show up anywhere. You can only access them from the entrance on the map. This is also a bit frustrating as I find it difficult to remember where exactly each of those locations were and you don't get to see when you've cleared them the same way you would on the regular map.

Another change is that you now get traveling companions. While you could always create your own creations and occasionally you would get temporary creations you didn't make or temporary assistance in the other games you can now have two traveling companions. Alwan is pro-shaper and Greta is pro-rebellion. Unfortunately, if you make choices that are too close to one of those faction sides the companion with the opposite views will leave you. This is another place where the inability to remain very neutral is very frustrating because you will always be forced into a side and forced to lose one of the companions. I would have liked to remain neutral throughout most of the game and kept both traveling companions till much later.

Despite the more linear feel of this game and the rehashed story concept I felt the writing and story for this game were improved from Geneforge 2. While the initial mystery of the canisters and the geneforge are no longer there as a player (because you already have knowledge from previous games that your character does not) there's some new mysteries to discover and I think they hold more interest than the story and mystery of Geneforge 2 even if they don't quite compare to the mystery of Geneforge 1.

Other than those things Geneforge three is very much the same as Geneforge 1 and 2. It's a turn-based combat RPG. If you liked 1 and/or 2 you'll probably like this one as well. Like it's predecessors it is a difficult game and you will die many times. You can chose to play through it quicker and only do the main quests. You may be able to play through it under 10 hours doing the bare minimum. If you like to pick up every side quest and explore every nook and cranny, you'll spend a lot more time in the game. Probably about 50-60 hours if you play that way. I find with all the games that by the time I'm in the final reaches of the game I'm more anxious to just get to the end finally than excited to see the conclusion, but yet they hold a sort of addictive sway when I'm still exploring through most of the game.

If you like RPGs, if you like turn-based combat, if you enjoy deep immersive stories (that require a lot of reading), or if you love exploration, you'll like this game. If you don't like those elements this game is not for you.

The game tackles some of the same issues as the previous ones, but I like how it forces you to commit to a decision unlike in the previous ones. The writing is very good.

good

Geneforge 3, and the entire Geneforge series, is one of the best RPG every made. Geneforge 3 gives the mc (you) a element of choice between two factions that both have their own unique and obvious flaws (a rationale not shared among most mainstream rpgs), which is coupled with a fanastic story line.
Among the entire series, this one is probably the weakest. One of its biggest flaws is that it doesn't have as much flexibility that the other games in this series have when it comes to choosing factions. However, the introduction of having up to 2 companions with a unique perception help it. Another issue, like the previous 2 games (Geneforge 1 and 2) is the player is limited to 3 inflexible character archetypes. That being said, I still highly recommend this game and series

Before playing G3 I heard it being criticized a lot. Now I will answer this criticism.
Yes, we once again start as a Shaper in training. Yes, once again, a new Geneforge is under construction and there's a rebellion. Drakons survived the ending of G2 and now wage war on the mainland with help from free serviles and traitorous Shapers. But, the game takes place on remote Ashen Isles. We travel from one to another, getting closer and closer to the new Geneforge and its creator. Some fans didn't like that and I get where they are coming from. In previous games we had one big map, while G3 has small, separate island each with problems of its own (rebelling commoners, full enemy control, traitors and spies etc.). But, I think this only helped diversify the plot. We are constantly on the move meeting new characters and facing new challenges, almost like a road movie. It is also no shorter than G1 taking me 45.1 hours on first walkthrough. Another ctiticism of the game is it having only two sides to choose from: loyalists and rebels. But, I was OK with that. I'd rather have to best faction in the saga, then some 4 or 5 average ones. The gameplay didn't change much but there are new features like crafting and human companions.
Overall, Geneforge 3 is a great addition to the franchise and I don't get why so many people dislike it.

This is probably the least popular Spiderweb game that exists, after Avadon, a reputation that seems very strange and ill-deserved to me. But poll after poll, this game consistently rates as not only the worst of the Geneforges, but also one of the worst of all SW games. So, here is a block of text about why that seems very silly to me.

Geneforge 3 takes place a few years after the sequel where again, one of the many possible endings for the last game was selected as canon and the effects of that sparked the begining of a powerful splinter cell of separatists that begin the game by attacking your school. It's up to you and your half-baked training to find companions (or not, I'm not your supervisor) and make your way through the Ashen Isles, choosing to help the Shapers or work to destroy them as you gain more of their power to create and destroy.

This summary also effectively encompasses why this game was so unpopular, because although the choices you make are all your own, you essentially have the run of two possible routes and follow a moderately linear path along them. Among Spiderweb games, this is outrageous. Not only for the Geneforge series, but even the Avernum series features a wide, sprawling selection of factions and individual choices you can make along the way which will affect the ending. To move from such wide freedom to something that feels more like it's on rails is something I can understand and relate to at a certain level.

My rebuttal of that idea is a subtle reminder that it's still a Spiderweb Geneforge game. It is still a gorgeous piece of storytelling in the Geneforge universe with a variety of interesting ideas on a topic and characters in a theme that I'm personally dedicated to and fascinated by. As linear as it might be and as dated as it might be, creative, original stories don't get old. For that reason, I still find that it plays the same as it did when it was released- and entire level of depth and role playing greater than any competitor, most especially at it's current and, frankly, underserved price point of $4 within the Geneforge Saga bundle on Steam.

It's not easy to make a game more visually appealing to a new audience that would have otherwise been turned off by the classic art style while also not annoying oldbie players that would find the new version too alien and hipster. And almost every long running game series I can readily think of goes through this awkward phase at some point. For Geneforge, it is surely this game. The new graphics do not sit well with me personally, and I made that known at the time it released. However, on looking back, I realise that it was a necessary step to bring a more semi-modern style and interface that four and five would later have perfected. So, in a way, I've come to be more tolerant of it. I also recognise that I'm a bit of an outlier and, if you've made it this far in the series, the changes would likely be very welcome to you.

It's a game that I've already replayed once on Steam and, obviously, one that I feel strongly enough to write an uncharacteristically positive review on eight years after the first time I played it (oh my god, I'm old). But, since I still feel that way and still plan on playing it again after all this time, it must be good, right?

My recommendation is positive.

The Geneforge Saga is a series of Science Fantasy, turn-based(combat), indie Role Playing Games.

One central motif, and the one that is the heart of the series, that this game revolve around are quasi artificial intelligence and full-blown A.I., both biologically grounded--brought into existence through magic--and what role, plus how they should be handled and implemented in a fantasy medievalesque, with some steampunk elements, society structure.

The game begins with the player-character, a Shaper apprentice--Shapers are an organization of powerful wizards that dominate this fictional world through their magical might and especially their knowledge and monopoly on creating new life --waking up in bed as the school he is enrolled in are under attack, located on a group of Islands on the outskirts of the Shaper controlled empire.

The narrative and dialogue structure, on a macro and a micro level, are a bit of a mix between classical (western) RPGs and JRPGs and something else, though the game overall is leaps and bounds more Western. The design is partial due to a specific wish on the one hand and the very barebones graphic engine on the other.

Overall I'd recommend the game on the basis of its setting: On the one hand if you're tired of derivative Tolkienesque fantasy, and on the other in virtue of the fact that it isn't mindless escapism or entertainment, it isn't decadent drama just for the sake of drama, it isn't slapstick humor. It is pulp that isn't pulp. It has a soul and relevance for the real world, and the theme it explores will become more and more relevant for humanity in the near future. Not that the game is particular insightful as such but its core is noble and commendable for an indie game.

I have never written a review on here, but considering this is one of the best games and one of the most underated games ive ever played, ive decided to try my hand at it. Starting off, i know it may say i only have a couple hours on record with the game, but id like to stamp that out now. I played this game years back off an old game engine before steam was a thing, buying it again now is more comfort and support for me, like buying an old book that you read years ago. I have well over 200 hours in the game, and about a thousand in the series. So let me dive in, and let you know what this game is about.

Geneforge is more than a game, its a book, an experiance, a choice, and a beautiful combat system all in one. It cries out to the imaginiative, the 3 am readers, the DnD players, the indie game searchers. What it lacks in graphics, it makes up 10 fold in story. The game puts you in the middle of an entire world and has you influence the outcome of it. In the first game, you find yourself in this estranged world, where the game gives you a brief history of it, then immediately tears that away. It isolates you, shows you that you must survive, and asks you what to do to survive. But that is only the first part. once you gather your bearings, you have to forge a path. At first the paths seem clear, good or evil, but the more you progress the more you realize there is no good. there is no evil. This game makes you question everything, with the only clear progression being that of power. You single handedly experiance the start of a world rebellion, and reitre as a god or a soldier by the end. The same picks up in each consquensial title later on, each putting you, a young shaper, smack dab in the middle of the biggest points in history of this new world. The hours, weeks, months of text painstakingly put into this game alone makes it a solid game, but the combat is fantastic too. You play a tactics style turn based micromanaging comabt system, sort of like fallout: tactics or final fantasy: tactics. But instead of pre determined abilities, like everything else you determine your path. Conjure up an army to fight for you, use magic and objects to trick your opponets and take them out one by one, or don a helmet and sword and slash your way through hoards, the choice is yous. My by far favorite part of it however, has to be the fact that nothing is safe in this game from you. It emphasizes that your choices can change the entire reality. No npc cannot be killed, although it may be hard. The world will form to what you want it to, if you are brave enough to undergo the task. Dont take this as you cannot lose, for the wrong desicion will put you in a spot where you cannot escape. But understand that you are free to make that deicion, you are free to make any desicion. This is the closest i have ever come to DnD Freeplay.

Pro's: Excellent story line, worth of a novel of the highest value.
Freerealm as hell, you are free to make any desicion you want, nothing stops you, you shape the future and history alike.
LOTS and LOTS of content, as said earlieri have over 1000 hours in the series as a whole. thats a lot for a single player non grind game.
Decent combat tactics system, many ways to play out combat.
Can easily engulf you in for weeks.
Lots and Lots of Text
Con's: The graphics are subpar at best, must be able to use your imagination
Game doesnt hold your hand at all, in fact quiet the opposite. This may be a con or pro.
Again, a LOT of text. again, could be a con or pro depending on your preferance.

Overall i would rate this game a 9/10, Despite the horrid graphics. i honestly believe that if ther were better graphics, there wouldnt be enough reasources to make everything else so amazing. Heres to you, Spiderweb Software.

The absolute worst game of the series. Only two factions, with ridiculous black and white moralities (looking at you, Lankan), it almost feels a parody of the factions of the first two games.

The island system makes the game incredibly linear feeling (you still *can* choose a route, but you'll end up doing every area anyway and murder-boning 9/10ths of the friendlies because of how xp-starved you are)

The two recruitables are an interesting story-telling device, but they're weak as shit, barely customizable, an xp-sink in a low-xp game, and using them as dispensable meatshields (because the game won't let them die) is barely an option either with how much of a pain the ass constantly trekking back to the start to re-recruit them is.

Also, this game has even more spawners in it than the first game (as well as bosses that can summon and shape mid-combat), and yet it also doesn't give a single exp point for killing spawned enemies. I'm not sure why my PC becomes incapable of learning from his battle experience at just these particular moments, but it makes what can already be something of a chore into an absolutely horrible experience, if you'll pardon the pun.

I really don't understand why developers feel the need to put in these kind of "features". It wasn't an exploit, since standard xp scaling pretty heavily discouraged grinding.

The final answer is that you shouldn't be trying so hard to discourage munchkin behavior, because it only breeds more of it to try to get around the barrier you've placed.

For example, I was at the boss of an island, wanted another level up to beat the boss without extensive save-scumming, but couldn't find an easy source of the last 100 or so exp I needed.

So, since spawned enemies weren't giving the exp I needed, I felt compelled to break character and murder-bone an entire town instead just to wring out maximum possible xp. Why does killing innocent civvies give exp but killing monsters doesn't? Who knows.

previous Geneforge 2 review

Geneforge 3

Graphics: Simple and functional. There is improvement in lighting and shadowing effects.
Control: Nice and clear tutorial (a bit longer than the 2 previous games for added dramatic effect), fixed key binding.
Replayability: Medium


Surprise! Another cliche opening: Your school got attacked and you a Loyal Shaper are determinated to get revenge on the culprit... are you not? In the practice is up to the player to get revenge or to become a traitorous, despicable turncoat Rebel. (This review may be somehow a little biased)
I don't like this game as much as the previous 2 because of the narrative. It feels more coercive, you should become a Rebel, that is the right thing to do. But I didn't feel like it. I'm a good old Shaper, not Rebel scum.
What I like about this game is that it made me angry. Is well written, firmly nested in a deep lore. The player knows everybody's reasons and everybody's actions and most of the time the not so subtle moral undertones will insist that the Shaper ways are Wrong. But are they, really?

Things I learned:
-Rebels are mass murderers scum.
-Rebels don't care for civilians.
-Rebels should be KOS.

continued in Geneforge 4 review

Short description: Baldur's Gate meets Pokemon.

Long description: Geneforge 3 is an amazing strategy RPG made mostly by one man: Kyle Vogel. Kyle makes most of the games for Spiderweb almost single-handedly, with occasional help from other devs. The Geneforge series is probably the best game series Kyle has ever made. Geneforge 3 is my favorite (And one of the few I've played so far) I bought the entire series less than a week ago and I do not regret it one bit. In this game, you play as a special wizard known as a "Shaper". You have the ability to forge monsters using your very mystical essence. You can sink points into specific stats to make one really strong monster, or just have a small batallion of weaker monsters in order to overwhelms your foes. The game is all about strategy, though sometimes rushing forwards without thinking will grant victory.

Geneforge lets you choose from three classes, which are your typical Warrior, Ranger, and Mage classes. The game also boasts an amazing story that will probably take you 40-50 hours to complete. As you can see, I still haven't completed it yet. I'm still on the second island and I'm probably only 25% done the game as this point. Spiderweb makes some massive games and they always have great stories throughout. Geneforge features rather dated graphics and no soundtrack though. Again, that's typical with Spiderweb games. The graphics may be meh, but the gameplay makes up for it. And despite lacking a soundtrack, the game makes up for it with some great ambient sounds whilst exploring.

I highly reccomend getting this game, it's currently only 4 dollars for the entire package. I reccomend starting with this one though, it's one of the less difficult of the 5 and is a good starting point. Summoning monsters and having them fight for you is the real draw of the game and you'll spend hours upon hours trying to master your Shaping skills and create the perfect minions. Just a warning, if you decide to break cannisters in order to attain more powers only break 6. Trust me, you'll thank me later. Enjoy, and if you like Geneforge I recomend trying Spiderweb's newest game, Avernum 2: Crystal Souls.

I love this game. While the graphics are not quite what most people enjoy these days, the storyline is amazing. The replayability of this game is unparallelled because you can do ANYTHING you want to do. There are repercussions for doing stupid things like killing a main character, but the game will let you do it if you're strong enough. As long as you're strong enough and spend your skill points wisely, you can go to any area of the game you want. It's a game that requires a little strategical thought, and a whole lot of patience.

I am enjoying the third installment of the Geneforge saga. However, I am tiring of the "same song, different tune" story that is going on.

Generforge 1:
You are trapped on an island in bum-hick nowhere with intruders. You have to either join the factions or fend them off. Pick sides, escape, and "win" the game.

Geneforge 2:
You are inspecting this bum-hick nowhere shapper area and quickly discover things are not what they seem. Find out that there are different factions. Either join them or fend them off. Pick sides, escape, and "win" the game.

Geneforge 3:
You are trapped on a series of islands where there is a rebellious shaper on the loose. Either join them or fend them off. Pick a side, escape, and "win."

Now, I know that there is a different plot in the later games since I read ahead. Yet, the same plot is becoming stale. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the game and some of the new mechanics that came with it, but the story, in my opinion, is lacking.

7/10
-Love the graphics
-Love the game series
-Makes me think about the future of the story
-Makes me think in general (many games do not)
-Story is a bit stale
-Little sound effects
-New game mechanics

Many fans of the series deride this as the worst of the "Geneforge" games, but personally I think "Geneforge 3" is when the series gets interesting. Yes there are only two factions this time around compared to the previous game's four and it's structured in a much more linear fashion, but what the game loses in freedom it gains in complexity of plot and ethical dilemmas. With only two major factions to choose from, neither of which are perfect, the game's universe approaches "The Witcher" levels of moral ambiguity at times. This is a game where goodness is often shown to have a steep price and evil often has justifications which sound strangely good. In a time when gamers are known to petition studios when the ending to a game isn't as upbeat or things don't turn out exactly as they wanted them to (see: fan uproar over "Mass Effect 3"), it's kind of refreshing to play a game so brazen about the fact that even the best of intentions to do good often turn out much less than good.

Another great addition to the Geneforge series, but not as good as the fourth or the fifth games. Surprisingly, it is also not really much better than the second game. Still better than number one though, in terms of actually being able to play it.

I have recently reviewed the whole series in far more depth here, if you want to read more: https://gameknightly.com/reviews/review-geneforge-original-series/