Lord_Potato
Arcane
But, I have to ask: why do you play games? To enjoy rich combat? To push your hardware to the limits? To cross something off a list?
That's a very good question. I am first and foremost a storyfag (as proven by my admiration for Planescape: Torment and Disco Elysium) so, a solid plot and interesting characters are important to me. I also enjoy gameplay elements like good tactical combat (greatly enjoyed Underrail, but also Baldur's Gates and Icewind Dales) and the reactivity of the gameworld to my build and decisions (which is why I place Fallouts among the best RPGs ever). However, if the story is good, I can ignore tedious gameplay. I'm just not seeing it here.
Not trying to be a jerk, but Anachronox is a good game to play. I've played it a couple times, and it has a lot of very funny and charming parts. I personally dread getting to Democratus and that Hive thing - but once I'm done, Haphaestus kind of redeems it, so I know I got that waiting. Its a good game to relax to, like Arcanum. It has major flaws... like Arcanum. Also, they add more stuff later on that just prolongs the game but doesn't contribute much (*cough* superhero *cough*). Wish they didn't do that.
Arcanum is in my top 5 RPGs ever. It has everything this game lacks. World I actually care about that reacts to my character and gives me actual choices. Engaging story that has an actual ending (or rather, several ones). A bit of humor that makes me smile or even laugh. Tons of character and style. Sure, the combat is bad, but with so many great elements, I can ignore a single flaw. Anachronox to me is just a countless series of flaws.
I guess it simply is not a game for me. Time to search for another, then.