Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura

This is one of Timothy Cain's works! On par with Fallout 1, this game is an incredible RPG. Caution: you need to have an acquired taste for old-school RPGs since it's definitely a dated game (2001). But the vibes, the story, the game mechanics... 10/10

Don't bring a knife to a gun fight.

One of the best RPG's of it's early isometric era, Arcanum feels like it's often overlooked during a time when online gaming was starting to take over, and the major focus was on console modernization.
For it's time, Arcanum had a lot to offer.

Pro's
-Well written dialogue accompanied by stellar voice acting.
-Fulfilling map travel stuffed with secrets and lore.
-Excellent soundtrack, to this day it still gives me a heavy dose of nostalgia
-Solid Character build diversity directly effecting NPC dialogue and, to a lesser extent, questing and storyline.
-Gritty, dark, steampunk and magic landscapes that only the early 2000's managed to pull off with it's art models.
-Replayability. Each different character style opens up different interactions, solutions, and rewards.

Con's
-Dated content, a 200 hour single player campaign, this is not.
-Early 2000's graphics, no remaster here.
-Glitches, there will be. Some of which are exploitive. This can benefit you, if you're into that kind of thing.
-Compatibility issues, some assembly may be required.

If you don't mind the feel of the early 2000's vibe this is sure to give you, I put this up there neatly beside Baldurs Gate, and Fallout 1-2.

so cheap
fun game

a blast from my past. just as fun as i remember

A bit dated if you play it today but an awesome RPG, with a lot more depth than games that have come out 20+ years later. Way ahead of its time when it came out, but also very buggy when initially released and not without some flaws. It is a game I would recommend to anyone who wants a classic CRPG, just be aware it can be rough around the edges.

Overally game works good. As good as back in the day. Except it might have some kind of memory leak because after playing for more than 30 minutes it becomes slow and sluggish. Restart usually helps. So no long sessions for me.

As for the gameplay - pretty solid stuff. Fallout 1&2 -ish gameplay with interesting craft and improvement system.

Amazing older game with a great main story and several good sub-stories.
Save often! Save your game often!! as there are zero auto-saves and getting stunned in combat, then killed, with hours of unsaved game-play is a real let down and can happen more often than you think.

Mochlean Hand wanted initiative. I blew up their whole quadrant.

A heavily flawed masterpiece, this highly experimental CRPG set in a fantasy world undergoing an industrial revolution fortunately hits more often than it misses. Arcanum has one of the most exotic and well-crafted settings in any CRPG, and is accompanied with a fantastic story rich in adventure and philosophy. It also has one of the best levelling up systems in any video game ever, as the 16 spells colleges, 8 technological trees, and 16 regular skills facilitate a near limitless number of different builds/roleplays. However, there are major problems. The combat is borderline unplayable, and pretty much everyone uses exploits/cheese strategies to get past the fighting. Much of the loot is also terrible (see also: Hexed Items), which seriously hurts exploration, and the inventory management is just abominable, especially if you have companions. While I think the story is excellent overall, at least half of it is spent searching for the Black Mountain Clan (BMC) and hitting constant dead ends. You will also need to install mods (UAP in my case) and you will likely have to consult the wiki every 5 minutes. Overall still a fantastic game, but one that I can only recommend to serious CRPG enthusiasts.

A great CRPG. While it lets you play the hero and save Arcanum, you're reminded at times there are things you really can't fix. The only complaint I'd have is the abundance of bugs you can run into and at times the dungeons feels a bit too large.

Arcanum Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, the real Fallout 3. This extraordinary game was created by many of the same devs who created Fallout and worked at Interplay. Set in a world that was once ruled by magick, that was run and controlled by magick, is now being opposed and replaced by technology and industrialization. Technology and Magick are polar opposites in this world, so greatly so, that people that become greatly attuned to one, become entirely separated and even allergic to the other. This creates a major rift in society on Arcanum with some cities being ruled by technology, others by Magick. This also has a major effect on the player and in the gameplay mechanics as well. For if you are too Technology attuned, then spells will not affect you, neither can you cast them yourself. You even can not enter a Magick equipment selling shop, as the shop keeper will yell at you to get out, because your Technology attunement is interfering with their magickal equipment. The opposite of all of this is true for a Magickally attuned character when interacting with Technology as well of course.
This also adds an extra layer to the character creation process, by having to decide if you want to be highly Magick aligned, Technology aligned, or stay in the middle. This attunement will change over the course of the game depending on your choices on your character sheet. If you want to learn a new spell, that will shift you toward Magick, you want to learn a new skill like crafting or lockpicking, that will shift you toward technology. While you can stay in the middle and use both types of attunement, it is advised to stick with one, because the power of your skills in either Technology or Magick, scales with your level of aptitude. So if you have low Magick, your spells won't be as effective, for example.
The world building and lore of Arcanum is also outstanding and very fun to read. Unlike some games, you aren’t given lore dumps or massive walls of text from NPCs unless you specifically ask about it, and even then I found it incredibly rare. Most of the worldbuilding is told to you organically as you talk to people and complete quests. You'll get involved with political struggles, and talk to rulers and kings, hear gossip and rumors on the streets. You can see the varying architecture from each city and location. This will all convey the background and lore to you in an interesting way that feels natural and doesn’t bog down the pacing. There are also plenty of books, altars, and other literature to read that give you much more in depth writings on the history of Arcanum that you can read if you are interested. The story as well, while a little tropey, is really good because of all the interesting characters you meet, and locations you’ll go to, and just the way you interact with the story based on the character you build, and the choices you make. I don’t want to go into spoilers, but I found it very enjoyable and much better than some other RPGs like Pillars of Eternity 2, or Fallout 2.

The game however, is not all perfect. Arcanum released in a very buggy state so you will probably have to install the unofficial patch which will fix most of the bugs. I played with the unofficial patch and didn’t run into any bugs personally. Then there is the combat. It is split between two different modes, real-time and turn-based, that you can switch between when you want with the space bar. It is best to stay in turn-based mode most of the time however, because the combat can get very fast and chaotic. It is clear that the game was designed around turn-based, and real-time was added after because the balance becomes broken in real-time mode. For example if you play as a mage, you can cast spells as fast as you can click the mouse button with no cool down or anything to stop you other than your fatigue which really trivializes combat encounters. I do appreciate being able to switch between the two modes, however, because there can be a lot of trash mob fights such as when you're traveling the world map or just in general, so being able to switch over to real-time and quickly clear out the enemies is nice. A better solution however, would be to only have turn-based combat, and add an option to speed up the animations so each turn goes by quicker. That way you don’t break the balancing of the game and can also speed through fights. The combat itself however, even in turn based mode is not as fun as it could be. For perspective, I played as a mage type character. So I only used spells in combat and had a party of 5 companions with me, 6 by the end, to keep the enemies away from me and to dish out most of the damage. The combat as a mage, really just boiled down to casting the harm spell over and over because the damage it does scales up really high with your magickal aptitude and remains powerful all the way to the end of the game. There are a lot of other utility and buffing spells to use as well but aside from the occasional healing spell, I didn’t have to do anything else in combat really. I played on the moderate difficulty setting and found that after a certain point, when my companions had decent gear and my magickal aptitude reached about the halfway point, the game really wasn't a challenge anymore. The only thing stopping my mage from ultimate destruction was my fatigue, which despite it reaching around 160 by the end, still managed to drain fast in combat. Fatigue is one of the most important resources in combat. Fatigue is used to cast spells, attack enemies, and is sometimes drained when enemies hit you. If your fatigue reaches zero or below, then you pass out. It is an interesting mechanic and I wouldn’t mind it, however the one annoyance I have is the only way to regain fatigue is to either use a consumable, rest, or stand there and wait for it to slowly refill. So if your in the middle of a long dungeon, and you run out of fatigue, and you don’t have any consumables, then you either stand there and wait for like 5 mins or you trek all the way back out of the dungeon so you can rest, then make your way all the way back to where you left off in the dungeon, to continue on. It does get a little annoying, however if you are playing as a Technology attuned character that can craft fatigue refilling consumables then you probably won’t run into this problem. As a mage character however, it happens frequently.
Despite these problems, Arcanum is still an outstanding game and one of the best RPGs. The level of depth that the character creation has and the choices that you can make that will dramatically affect your playthrough is matched by almost no other, except for Troika’s Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines. The world of Arcanum they made is so fascinating and there is so much more to explore, it's a shame there will never be an Arcanum 2. Still this game is an amazing experience that feels like a proper continuation to Fallout in gameplay systems, progression, choice, and rich world building.

peak, yes

My number one favorite CRPG

it would be my number one favorite game period if it didnt have some of the most dogshit combat I ever experienced

Look, if you think you're into CRPGs and you haven't already heard of this game, that's on you.

Speech Check God into Sewerslide 10/10

Pretty cool and novel game! Solid smack of nostalgia with every play.

And the hours will pass and the hours will pass and the hours will pass...

One of the best original open world games ever developed. The mix of science and magic along with the technology makes this a must play for any open world gamer.

Classic!

Okay so this is a game that I remember one of my friends going on about back in the 2000's, but I never got around to playing it.

Bought it on Steam in 2020 for pence but never got around to playing it.

Saw a random Youtube video praising the socks off it and thought "ah screw it, aint played a CRPG for a long ass time, lets gooo!"

Game is jank, but with the community patch (UAP in my case) it works wonderfully at 1920x1080 res (though needed a new DDwrapper or whatever the file was called, Google it if you get stuttering).

I like summoner classes, and this game is very generous when it comes to conjuring monsters. In fact, I got so powerful, when I stumbled across a really messed up quest involving tiny people and breeding farms, I was able to lay low the capital city with just my legion of undead and hell spawn. None were spared, it was not a good ending but it was better than letting the tiny people get away with it.

You can really out level the game quickly if you do a lot of fighting on the world map, so watch out for that, because I was pretty much OP from level 1 and never really ran into a challenge. I'd only die if the a.i of my spawned monsters would fail (sometimes they teleport to you and go docile mid-fight for absoloutely no reason, allowing the bad guys to stab a pitch fork in your necormancer face).

Story is so-so, I guess I liked it more than BG1, but I think the game shows its age most of all in this area. So much exposition and red herrings, but its not awful and there were moments where I was genuinely engaged.

However the meat of the fun for me was just exploring and doing random side quests, really immersing myself in the world of Arcanum. Its a shame the game doesn't really favour this style of play, with areas being locked behind main quest progression, but its fine.

Oh also it kinda plays like Fallout 1 and 2, especially world map travel, leading me to wonder if there were some fallout devs involved but I haven't looked into it.

Took me about 30ish hours to complete, had to use a guide at times because this game doesn't hold your hand and often expects you to grid-search a town to track down a single individual, and you have to speak to people first to reveal their names - this gets very tiring. Someone for example asks you to speak to an archer, but there are 10 archer guards in the town, so its just - yeah this is where the game shows its age and jank.

Would recommend at full price, overall I think its fun, the world is unique, the game is quite easy but there is some challenge and to be fair I think the summoner class might just be op as all hell. If you like CRPGs and have played Fallout 1/2 or Baldurs Gate 1/2, you'll probably like this.

This is a first entry in what feels like what was meant to be a multi-entry series. It is at its core just a story about an unknowing Chosen One who must save the continent from an evil deity while helping (or hindering) folks around the lands. That is a barebones description of this game and it does it no justice to describe it solely as that.

This is a game about steampunk vs magic and an evolving landscape where the two are diametrically opposed. There are fantasy races with their idiosyncrasies and stereotypes but it doesn't detract from the experience. The magic system is what you'd expect from a first-entry: underbaked but exciting to use. The melee/firearms system is the same. There are numerous companions scattered about. Navigation is what you would see in similar CRPGs from this era, which means it's a little dated.

However, this is one of my favorite games of all time. It's worth investing time into and getting lost in the lore. All of the shortcomings of this game are the shortcomings of a first entry in a series, meaning they'd be ironed out or tuned or refined in some way. This game never had the luck to get a second entry, unfortunately. It still shines bright, though.

I give it a solid 8/10. If I could have a sequel to any game in history, I'd want this. It deserves a chance to grow and maybe even flourish.

Simply amazing, as long as you use the patch.

Sci fi fantasy crpg with guns. Very clunky though

Another classic won't be fair with you on modern operating system.

It's so pitty.

One of the best games of all time!

An old classic.

Just don't try and use 6 keyboards at once. They all stop working because of Arcanum of Steamworks and Magick Obscura.

Ah, racism like grandma used to make, if you have a cringe threshold this game rocks. Those with no sense of humor need not apply

One of the coolest old original RPG rulesets I've come across. It has an old Fallout vice.

i quite enjoyed this game. because i have previously play this game decades ago. yes this game is over 20 years ago. the problem with this game is the incompatibility with new computers which i personally do not like; it gives issues when alt-tabbing. but the game itself is still playable-ish. for a game so long, it has a nice bgm with an array of abilities one can learn. from skills to magic to creation. this game blurs the lines where magic and technology comes together. maybe in today's games, that is a common theme/space to have. but know that this game feels like the introduction of such opposing themes to come together in a steampunk game. yes, it is one that is beyond its years. also, anyone who indulge in turn based combat with rich writing akin to Baldur's Gate and the likes, will enjoy the game. if they can overlook the aged graphics/game mechanics and tech compatibility. do not expect support to be granted for games like these.

One of the best old school role playing sandbox games. Isometric RPG with steam punk meets high sorcery vibes. This game is incredible with one of the most in depth character creation out there. don't miss it.

Nice to revisit some great RPG classics.

Very good

this game really dose need a remaster but as it is its still worth the money

Very good game, one of my favourites and a must play for all fans of rpg's

Best writing in a game I've experienced in a while. Extremely rich and deep lore, story, characters, and mechanics. The quests were a treat. The slower pace forces you to breathe in and enjoy the dynamic world the game takes place in. Decisions made in the earliest parts of the game can have pay-off years down the road in game.

Just be sure to patch it before setting off. Waiting until the end game for a game breaking glitch isn't the move and not an uncommon happening.

A neat game with a very interesting world and theme, the gameplay is okay at best, but the atmosphere, soundtrack, and writing make up for it in my opinion. If you have played the classic Fallout games or like CRPGs, you might like Arcanum. [You have to install the Unofficial Patch or else it won't run properly.]

You gotta patch it yourself for it to be playable but that aside it's a fine rpg, very cool concept but is quite janky even for old game standarts in this version.

What can I say besides what a great game it is. The visuals , while incredibly dated, are still serviceable. The music is timeless. Honestly wish more games OST was comprised entirely of violins and cellos. Also here is a link to a youtube video of people playing the main themes song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4lk10NNHYg

Gameplay is wonderfully unbalanced and as Sseth has mention in his video, you can pretty much beat the game by running charisma and just using talk-no-jutsu on the final villain. Hopefully with the success of BG3, games like this can be brought back and given the love it needs.

10/10 would recommend to anyone.

It's made by Troika, which means the characters, setting and world are absolutely top notch, but by god the combat is shit

Played this one several times. The voice acting in this very well done and the design and graphics may not be as dramatic of today's games but they are exactly right for this game and its setting. This game is one that is well worth your time if you would like to give it a shot. There is a glitch in the graphics that is easily overcome with a patch. Enjoy! Go find Gar. Gar no like green tea!

The best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be

We need a Glasnost

Broken game.

d

i really really dont like the combat

Fantasy combine with steampunk setting, Sound interesting but what great about classic D&D is throw under the bus.

- Too much sexist/rape/breeding in the story even with all the gun/magick make them equity in usually fantasy world.

- Combat is horrible and unbalance, Follower cannot picklock and other basic thing.

If you can look pass two major point about combat and rape google "Half-ogre Island" even the god who can destroy the whole world itself cannot solve then this game is ok.

play it