Tyranny

My monkey companion touches her nipples, and makes gestures at me a lot. She's not allowed to sleep with the rest of the camp anymore.

Really underated crpg and can stand up there with best of them

This review comes after 57 hours and two full plays through the game. The Good: -excellent writing, great story -interesting and fun combat mechanics -great music -good art The Bad: -short, and wee bit anticlimactic -oddly easy in the midgame (even on POTD) I'll say off the bat that the path you choose to play will greatly influence your experience of this game. I allied with the Disfavoured on my first play, and took the Rebel Alliance path on my second...I FAR preferred the rebel path. Tyranny's greatest disappointment is oddly also one off its strengths: the game is short, maxing out at 30 hours on a completionist run. However, this allows for great flexibility in the game paths you can take, and excellent replayability as a result. I had plenty more fun on my second run, and I'm looking forward to starting a solo character for my third. If you liked Pillars of Eternity (I loved it myself), you should not hesitate to pick up Tyranny. But. as I mentioned in my Pillars review, if you don't have patience for reading dialogue and don't feel like using your imagination, stay away from this game.

Bug-ridden, poorly-balanced travesty of a game that has one of the worst UIs ever to be created in the history of CRPGs. Embarrassingly bad.

This game is fantastic! The magic system alone is worth doing a play-through. Highly recommend!

A fantastic RPG that excels at storytelling. I enjoyed the playthrough and feel that any that enjoyed Baldur’s Gate or Neverwinter Nights will enjoy what this game offers.

One of the best CRPGs ever, hope for the part 2 :)

Great premise, good game. Haven’t encountered technical issues but somehow it feels incomplete. Some parts feel shortened and railroaded, especially when it comes to the ending. The UI “works” but icons are like from an initial draft. Environments are New Vegas kind of brown. The spell system is amazing but there is not enough content to explore it in full. The “we really need to cut things to get it shipped” kind of vibe. Since initial RPG decisions literally reshape the world, I guess the idea was to make a huge bet on the replayability but New Game Plus is hidden behind a DLC. The premise is so great because Chris Avellone designed a lot of it and I think he was supposed to be a director on the game but left the studio. Obsidian doesn’t own the IP so sequels are out of the picture. A lot of this sounds like a mess and honestly it’s amazing that the game is out and wasn’t canceled. Overall though, it’s worth exploring.

Rad

For all it's flaws, it's a rather incredible RPG. I wouldn't say that the writing is necessarily the best - there's hits and misses when it comes to execution - the plot, ideas and psychological exploration are worth endless praise. It's not really a game you can appreciate on a single playthrough, though.

Unfortunately, one playthrough can give an impression that you've seen all there is to see, discuraging the player from trying again and finding out just how much content there actually is. If you do buy it, get ready to give it several runs, with different perspectives and goals in mind, and you will be very glad you did.

One of the shorter CRPGs out there but a good one. I played it multiple times with different endings and after my first two runs I began to play solo, which was very fun. Shame it never really got much attention and there probably won't be a part two.

The underrated and barely known gem where choice and consequence rules.

It is shorter that similar titles, but do not mistake the shorter playthrough for less overall content; go for another playthrough, make different choices, and see what you've missed!

This has been one of the best table top RPGs I've played in a long time. A interesting story with a diverse cast of characters that you will grow to love. A large amount of story defining choices that will craft you an unique end. There are many skills and abilities to choose from to create your own unique character. You want to be an unarmed person who can uppercut your foes into the high heavens? You can and more, definitely give this game a shot if you enjoy this genre. I played this game from start to finish on the hardest difficulty armed with nothing by my hands. 10/10 would play again.

One of the best RPGS of all time, and probably my favorite pure RPG. There is no game like it. Real shame we won't get another, the story and world need to continue.

If you want a game that makes you make tough, meaningful decisions, and lets you play either truly good to truly evil with no punches pulled, this is the game for you.

solid gameplay, the factions and alliances make it interesting to play

Lots of content. The base game can take a long time depending on how you build your character and who you add to your party. The best part is that you can replay the game differently several times. Choose a different side, switch sides partway through, switch up which side quests you follow. There are at least 4 different endings to the main story plus dozens of side plot endings which depend on how you interact with the many different groups and factions.

One of the top five in the genre. Seriously underrated for some reason. The story is top shelf and if you wanna go magic as a primary, it has a fantastic magic system where you build all your spells how you want. A must own really.

Tyranny does some very interesting things, most of which stem from its core premise: you, the player, begin in a position of significant power, and with that comes respect and authority. This power only grows as the game progresses, which is reflected both narratively and mechanically.

The narrative is, overall, very well done. The world is fascinating, the characters feel realistic and complex, and the way that the player is regarded by other characters reflects their authority at all times.
Notably, it supports a variety of playstyles along the "evil" spectrum, so if you wanted to you could be a raving murdering lunatic, or you could play a more "realistic" evil of seeing the insurmountable might of the Overlord and seeing rebellion against their order as futile and destructive. Without spoiling anything, there are numerous moments that have the player make awful decisions or cause extreme destruction, which can only be accomplished in a setting like Tyranny's - so it's good that the developers made use of that.
That's not to say the narrative is flawless; some parts definitely fall flat where they should have shone, and other parts feel rushed, incomplete, or otherwise in need of more explanation and attention, but these negatives are firmly outweighed by the well-executed instances as well as the setting in general being unique and interesting.

The gameplay and combat are serviceable; the pathfinding is occasionally irritating and you'll end up fighting most combats the same formulaic way, but it does the job. RPG elements (leveling up, perk selection, skill increases etc.) are generally simplistic and weak.
I didn't really use the magic spell creation system (just as a byproduct of party composition), but it'll be attractive if you like combining spell parts to create 'custom' spells.
I feel like only about two skills, maybe three, got used; I can't even name the other ones. Training also trivializes any of your skill increases from other places, which is an issue that's exacerbated by the poor in-game economy and item selection / distribution.

It's a real shame that Paradox owns the IP here, as the disparity between Paradox and Obsidian (in conjunction with the generally niche popularity of Tyranny) means that this IP is unlikely to ever see the light of day again, which is the strongest point of Tyranny. With a different format (ex. turn-based) or a bigger budget and marketing, a sequel to Tyranny could do some absolutely fascinating and unique things.

TL:DR, the narrative, world, and writing are great. Gameplay and combat are serviceable. Skills / skill use, perks, items / economy are weak. Overall worth playing just to see the unique parts of Tyranny's setting.

In 2024 still a very good RPG with meaningful decisions, super cool spellcasting and intersting story and characters

Gameplay is utterly droll, but the story is very interesting.

Honestly a shame this hasn't garnered a sequel. An interesting world clearly set apart from Dungeons and Dragons and Pathfinder with a bronze/iron age aesthetic. Game play is pretty simple, real time w/pause combat fans of the OG Baldur's Gate will enjoy and interesting narrative that leaves plenty to explore and discover. Most of the characters are well fleshed out and provide compelling interactions though none more so than Barik; I think the game overall could've benefited from longer acts or more of them but overall a strong narrative that just could have had a touch more depth. 7/10 highly recommend for fans of the genre.

I like the game even though it's kinda rushed toward the end

great game crpgs are my favorite and this is a good one

Incredible game

Honestly, I absolutely loved the setting and the story. It feels very unique in its portrayal of an iron age empire conquering a fractured country of city states. However, the combat is rather easy, the quests are few and far between, the exploration is sparse, and the ending leaves quite a bit to be desired.

A few steps short of greatness

It could had been one of the great cRPGs of all times, but...

1. the combat system is not too good (cooldowns are such a lazy design).
2. the so-called Conquest mode for character creation should have been part of the game.
3. the spires management and upgrades are a neat idea, but the way it was implemented made it all quite pointless.
4. the magic system is great, but just like the spires it's not well integrated into the game, you can win all battles without bothering with it, so it ends up losing a lot of its appeal.
5. the game feels like several good ideas implemented in a hurry, resulting in an inorganic final product, way too much of the content feels like an afterthought.
6. inventory system is barely serviceable, items are mostly pointless, habilities are mostly boring (you'll find yourself waiting for the same couple of ones to cooldown, spamming them as fast as possible, and that's mostly what you'll do... if you do turn off party AI like I did, otherwise you'll be mostly cringing with your party goofing around).
7. not a lot of enemy variety.
8. ....

I could go on and on listing all of Tyranny's shortcomings, but despite all its flaws it's still a worthwhile game. It offers an above-average story and more importantly, it succeeds in making you feel like your actions matter and that you're deciding the fate of Terratus, providing you with good reasons to care for the world, the NPCs, the lore and even the elements that were poorly implemented.

This game is criminally underrated. I wish this IP would make a comeback as I want to delve into this world more. Great decision making that swings the game world and its fun being forced to play the bad guy.

it's pretty good

Yes if:
(+) You are a reader.
(+) You really enjoy reading!
(+) You have affinity for the language arts, especially those of the written kind.
(+) You appreciate world-building a lot, and want to get transported to a different world with unique cultures, rules, and histories.
(+) You like game inventories. You pick up NEW SHINY BOOTS and you are excited that it will make your character +.0003% more resistant to stuns.


NO, NO, NO if:
(-) You are short on time and want to just kick back and relax. Not a stressful game, but it takes WORK to fluently understand the conversations and lore. The worldbuilding and the lore IS the game. Engaging with the lore IS the game. It's not like Skyrim where there's a game (shooting skeletons where they used to have nuts), and then there's a world in the background that you can engage with if you want. No, no. This one is like a book. If you sort of skim the first half of a book, the second half will be less enjoyable because you will be thinking, "wait, what's going on??" on every page.

(-) You aren't OK with being bummed out. The setting is very heavy and oppressive. Bad things will happen even if you try your best to prevent it.

(-) You mostly just want combat first and foremost, and everything else is just an added bonus. There's combat in this game, but not like A LOOOT. And I wouldn't say the combat is the game's strong suit. Like--you play those Batman Arkham games FOR THE COMBAT, you know? The story is nice and all, but the BATMAN COMBAT is the main thing. Well this game isn't like that at all. NO BATMAN COMBAT!


--- Longer blah blah blah---


TWO-CUPS-OF-COFFEE TYPE GAME. Focus-and-use-your-imagination type game. Play-for-a-few-hours-and-stretch-and-regain-mental-clarity type game. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEW.

I should have known what I was getting into on the very first night I tried this. My intention was to dip my toes in and just try it for an hour or two. I had read plenty of HYYYPPEEE about this game and how you JUST GOTTA TRY IT, so I was--frankly--excited.

I made choices, walked around, killed some baddies (or were they goodies?), yadda yadda. NICE! This is a pretty neat game! I'd been reading plenty about Ancient Egypt, the Hittites, and was even kinda making my way through that history book 1177 BC - THE YEAR CIVILZIATION COLLAPSED. So I was digging the whole fantasy Bronze Age/Iron Age thing very much! Very cool, unique, inspired worldbuilding. Cool, cool, cool.

Then I made the mistake of clicking on my first companion. Freaking WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW.

I was very interested in what she had to say--she seemed like a fascinating, flawed, damaged person. So I listened, and listened, and listened, and listened. And jeez did I keep listening. She had like 26 dialogue choices that each branched into their own essays with more dialogue choices.

At the end, I had learned A LOT about her, and it made her even more intriguing, and I wanted her to have a good ending with all my heart. But I literally sat there listening to this lady for like 40-60 minutes. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW. I felt depleted.

And the whole game was like that to me. Only, most of it isn't voiced. So you will read and read and read and read. You will talk to a random old dude NPC in a corner and expect him to have a quick, snappy thing to say like, "My shorts are too tight! Grumble, grumble." But NOOOOO. You will click on him, and your heart will drop when you immediately see 11 dialogue choices. He's a walking history book, and you're going to read everything he has to say unless you are SUPER RESISTANT to that nagging, "Agh. I should have talked to that guy" type of feeling.

Strangely, though--seemingly against all odds--eventually I got used to this style and even started to appreciate it.

By the final act, I was excited and started to see why so many people claimed the game was too short.

You won't catch me immediately replaying it with different choices, though. It's a heavy game! I liked it, but not enough to buy and wear a TYRANNY t-shirt, if you get what I'm saying.

Great, short CRPG exploring a unique setting with lots of meaningful choices. If you don't want a traditional 100+ hour adventure, this game will be perfect for you!

Great game.

One of the few RPGs out there with true moral choices that change the course of the game. Super entertaining and re-playable.

IT might only be half a sandwich but it's one of the best sandwiches you'll ever have and also the kitchen is taking it off the menu

No one's happy, but I'm trying to keep people alive.

Will the Edict be the end of us all?

Why are we marching forward?

A great game and story with a unique campaign system where you actually get to decide years of history before starting the game. Love the innovation here, wish it was longer or there was a sequel. As many others have stated this game sadly suffered from not being marketed well, if it had been more widely received I'm sure many more people would sing its praises. <3

Excellent

I have replayed this game 4 times - a special game for its art, atmosphere, characters, lore, spell system and other features besides. Unfortunately the game could have benefited from more love to the final act but still worth playing many times.

This is an old-school isometric RPG that is every bit as good as the giants (Pillars of Eternity, Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale). It does have a significant edge over pretty much all the others though: It lets you play the villain, for real. And not necessarily in a "Oh I am bored, I'l just pick all the 'evil choices'" sort of way, but rather in a way that really makes you think about the gravity of your choices. Speaking of which, there is a big emphasis on morality and politics, and the game really doesn't let you be "goody-two-shoes", because the setting of the story just wouldn't allow you to do that. After all, what even is "moral" and "immoral" in a society where the "evil" has triumped?

Do yourself a favor and pick up this game. You won't regret it if you like story- & choice-heavy RPGs.

I really wish Obsidian kept investing into this IP and followed-up with a sequel. There is so much potential with this one.

I love this Isometric PC RPG and I've played them all, from the PC Ultima Series (except 8 and 9... horrible), all the BGs (including 1000+ hours in BG3), Both Icewind Dales, Both Planescapes (The latter much worse than the former), DivinityOS 1 and 2, and probably more i can't remember and this one is the absolute best. Great pacing, great action, easy to get into, tons of control of the story and character, the perfect balance between explaining the world and showing you the world just a fantastic time with this game. Please make another one!

This game has not scratched the RPG itch this good since Dragon Age: Origins. The fact is made by Obsidian is really all you need to know about story. Very replayable, entertaining, and more than a few moments that left me silent. Not for RPG-dislikers, however, and the final act is more of a slog. 10/10 all around.

If i had one CRPG to recommend for a person that either never played or liked the genre then I would recommend Tyranny to them;
it's flawed yet not unfinished as many may say
it's ambitious and overdesigned but there is a very clear vision behind the execution
the mechanics are simple enough to understand but leave plenty of room for min maxxers and metagamers to play and experoment with
the story is decent, it's far more concerned with the choices and consequences you make and not with the "le grand reveal" and is effectively unharmed by spoilers
rich, original lore, the best non-tabletop lore i have yet seen and played in a video game
the power fantasy and the journey feels done really well, the power is earned and can be put creatively to use both in the ludo aswell as the narrative
this is the game i will steal ideas from and will be happy about it, because even if the execution wasn't right, every crpg designer should get comfy with analyzing and taking this piece of art apart

i really want to see a sequel to it, i will create a cult of Kyros in my community if it happens! GLORY TO KYROS! GLORY TO HER, OUR OVERLORD!

Hidden gem indeed.

delightful crpg, one my of personal favorites. they'll probably never make another because it didnt get a ton of financial or critical success, but in terms of crpgs as a single experience, i consider it up there with the best.

Nice game and a good story

One of the best games I've experienced in my near 30 years of life. The story is well crafted, consequences real, and game-play as smooth and fun as you could ask for. The music and art style bind everything together beautifully.

It feels like you're in the story, instead of simply playing it.

10/10 - Would recommend.

A unique and beautiful world, rich lore and story, engaging real-time with pause combat, and interesting characters. All of these alone make it a game worth playing. But the real value is the sheer amount of choice and consequence that provides plenty of replayability. It seems nearly every single dialog choice impacts reputations, and some have game-changing repercussions. A new game + option allows you to keep and improve your character while making different choices in a second run. Truly a classic with a great premise. A shame a sequel is not likely.

I just came back here after years due to how disapointed I am with Baldur's Gate 3.

Tyranny ruined me for all RPG games for the rest of my life. CURSE YOU BAYLEEEEEE!!!!!!

Like; combat system is perfect, story is both in depth and easy to follow thanks to color coded highlights on texts, not much cluster of text to read but can still deliver the elements of politics, intrigue and a deep lore.

I don't remember much about music so I think it wasn't that memorable but the art style is timeless for sure.

Overall, my second favorite RPG game that made me felt what 15 y/o me felt when I played Skyrim for the first time 11/10.

Awesome game, great story and characters

If there was ever a game that deserved to be brought back from the dead, it's Tyranny. The absolute lack of any marketing killed what may well have been the best Isometric RPG of it's time. The setting is a fun Nobledark world where you are the Higher Authority of a Totalitarian State. What that actually means is left completely in your hands.

The Magic System also deserves special attention as one of very few games that allow you to make some pretty legit combos without either remembering a Fighting Game Button Sequence or making it absolutely suck to use. Sure, the "Optimal" way is still weapons, but casting Chain Icicle Explosion is pretty fun too.

It's a game with a LOT of replayability, that sadly ends at it's absolute peak and is currently in Legal Limbo as the people who own the IP use it like a gold coin in a Dragon's Hoard (that is to say, not at all, and they have no intention of ever making a sequel or selling the IP to the people who would)

Totally worth playing though... and playing a second time, and a third time, and maybe even a fourth!

A bit short but enough to scratch the PoE-itch I had.