Game News Tyranny: Bastard's Wounds Expansion Released

[Infinitron]

Tags: Obsidian Entertainment; Paradox Interactive; Tyranny; Tyranny: Bastard's Wound

Today sees the release of the Bastard's Wound expansion for Tyranny, Obsidian's 2016 RPG where evil famously won. It's an unexpected expansion for an underperforming off-brand game, and even in the middle of a full-fledged promotional campaign for their company, Obsidian's developers didn't seem to know what to say about it. Well now it's here, so we can make up our own minds. Here's the release trailer and overview:

Experience a new chapter of Tyranny, the critically-acclaimed role-playing game (RPG), in Bastard’s Wound, a new expansion that builds upon the game’s compelling story. Tyranny, an original RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, invites the player to make their mark on a world conquered by evil, and the Bastard’s Wound expansion opens up a new area of the Tiers where refugees from the war-torn world have established a haven in secret.

Delve deeper into the mysteries of Terratus as you bring Kyros' justice (or your own version of it) to a new corner of the Tiers. In addition to the new region, Bastard's Wound gives you a chance to learn more about your party in a trio of companion quests featuring Lantry, Verse, and Barik.

Bastard’s Wound will feature:

A Refuge from Kyros: Players will explore an all-new section of the world, centered around an illegal settlement of those who have fled the devastation of the war. What sentence will you mete out to the refugees?

Companion Quests: Learn more about Verse, Barik, and Lantry in new quests and interactions to earn their loyalty or enmity. What does Barik truly look like under his armor?

Loyalty and Service: Bastard’s Wound will arrive alongside a free update to Tyranny, including new voice-acting, expanded content in the game’s third act, and an all-new path to an unseen ending. What fate awaits those who remain truly loyal to Kyros?
​

The expansion has gotten a few reviews. As you'll see, the overall reception is decidedly mixed:

PCGamesN 4/10
PCWorld
Wccftech 7.7/10
Hardcore Gamer 4/5
TheSixthAxis
RPG Site 7/10
GameSpace 7/10
Starburst Magazine 7/10
GamingOnLinux
​

Some of the reviewers like it more and some like it less, but most seem to agree that it's small and inconsequential. Clearly, Bastard's Wound is not what's going to transform Tyranny from a black sheep to the cult classic it hoped to be. Oh well. If you want to try it anyway, the expansion is available now on Steam, directly from Paradox for $15. The base game is also currently on sale with a 50% discount, although I understand the new content added in the aforementioned free update is nothing too major.

 

[Bocian]

I didn't find the base game even remotely interesting, so I don't think I'm going to pick it up. There's one question I have, though - I've heard that there ws no possibility to side with Kyros before, but this expansion was supposed to add it. Is it true?

 

[Infinitron]

I didn't find the base game even remotely interesting, so I don't think I'm going to pick it up. There's one question I have, though - I've heard that there ws no possibility to side with Kyros before, but this expansion was supposed to add it. Is it true?

Read the post, it was added in a free patch. You don't need to buy the expansion.

 

[thesheeep]

So, from the looks of it, all the reviewers that liked the original do the expansion and all those that found the original underwhelming find the expansion underwhelming.

I also love how one review says the expansion content is completely broken off from the actual story and even has some continuity errors (like referring to some by-then-dead characters), while another claims the exact opposite

 

[Hellion]

I can confirm that when visiting Bastard's Wound in mid-late Act 3 (ie when you've

Spoiler

already been proclaimed an Archon and/or several or all of the other Archons are dead or have bent the knee to you

), this is never even referenced by characters that should at least aknowledge it. I think the developers intended for the new content to be played at around mid-late Act 2, but didn't take into account the possibility that someone might visit that area late in the game.

 

[Lhynn]

This is extremely interesting. May pirate to not play.

 

[l3loodAngel]

I can confirm that when visiting Bastard's Wound in mid-late Act 3 (ie when you've

Spoiler

already been proclaimed an Archon and/or several or all of the other Archons are dead or have bent the knee to you

), this is never even referenced by characters that should at least aknowledge it. I think the developers intended for the new content to be played at around mid-late Act 2, but didn't take into account the possibility that someone might visit that area late in the game.

That's why I hate those retarded dlc type expansions. They add nothing to the table, improve nothing and this build on success mentality is even more bizarre if there was no success to begin with.
Nobody takes into account that even if people have bought the game they might not be happy about it, it's state etc.
Man I miss MOTB type expansions which were true gems.

 

[BlackAdderBG]

Is this mid game expansion or after the end?

 

[azimuth]

Is Tyranny a "black sheep" anywhere but here?

 

[aratuk]

It's mid-game, because developers at some point realized that not a very high percentage of people actually finish most games, so they think they will sell more expansions by luring people in who haven't finished yet.

However, I don't know if it has ever been demonstrated that a low completion rate directly translates into low sales for "Fourth Act" expansions. Expansions seemed to sell perfectly well before this "insight into player purchasing behavior" became the conventional wisdom. The better expansions would add a handful of enticing areas to the main part of the game, but save most of it for the big fourth act.

And speaking of conventional wisdom, has anyone here taken a second look at this game since it came out and the combat wasn't very challenging? I played it up until about mid-game on hardest difficulty, and after a bit of fun at first, I was steamrolling everything and lost interest. I'm going to give the expansion a go and see how they've done patching it.

 

[Drowed]

However, I don't know if it has ever been demonstrated that a low completion rate directly translates into low sales for "Fourth Act" expansions. Expansions seemed to sell perfectly well before this "insight into player purchasing behavior" became the conventional wisdom. The better expansions would add a handful of enticing areas to the main part of the game, but save most of it for the big fourth act.

Yeah. I mean, "CRPGs don't sell well enough" also became the conventional wisdom until Kickstarter happened. "Games must have multiplayer" is also conventional wisdom right now, even with a lot of games that do well without it.

If there's one game that really needed a post-game expansion, it's Tyranny. It's sad.

 

[Infinitron]

Would an expansion the size of this one really have been sufficient to tell a satisfying post-game story? I don't know how many people here played the Witch Hunt DLC for Dragon Age: Origins.

 

[DeepOcean]

Expansions traditionally only sell a fraction of the original game sales this is true since the 90's, it doesn't make sense on a game with already underwhelming sales and mixed reception even on the Obsidian fan base.

 

[Bohrain]

Expansions traditionally only sell a fraction of the original game sales this is true since the 90's, it doesn't make sense on a game with already underwhelming sales and mixed reception even on the Obsidian fan base.

I bet they only did it because it was part of the contract with Paradox or something. I could've understood it as a month one DLC from developing standpoint if it was just something for the studio to do between the game going gold and the release date, but this is like attempting to give life support to a half-rotten corpse.

 

[Roguey]

Is Tyranny a "black sheep" anywhere but here?

It gets a reaction of "What?" everywhere else. As Bubbles said, the Codex is the biggest Tyranny discussion site around.

 

[BlackAdderBG]

Would an expansion the size of this one really have been sufficient to tell a satisfying post-game story? I don't know how many people here played the Witch Hunt DLC for Dragon Age: Origins.

What? How is that related,more like how many played Awakening.

 

[Infinitron]

Would an expansion the size of this one really have been sufficient to tell a satisfying post-game story? I don't know how many people here played the Witch Hunt DLC for Dragon Age: Origins.

What? How is that related,more like how many played Awakening.

Witch Hunt is post-Awakening though. But the point is I don't think Bastard's Wound is as big as Awakening.

 

[Lurker King]

Yeah. I mean, "CRPGs don't sell well enough" also became the conventional wisdom until Kickstarter happened. "Games must have multiplayer" is also conventional wisdom right now, even with a lot of games that do well without it.

It's still conventional wisdom and it is not surprising that the main exception involves multiplayer, i.e., DO:S. The first Banner Saga and Legend of Grimrock had many buyers that are not actual cRPG players, as it is confirmed by the decline in sales of their sequels. There are other few hits such as Darkest Dungeon and Undertale, but they were also bought by many players that are not real a core fanbase, so they are points outside the curve.

 

[IHaveHugeNick]

 

[Mareus]

Still no toggle walkk... sigh... Thats it! Not going to buy any game that dares to call itself a roleplaying game without a walk mechanic! Fuck you Obsidian!

 

[Iznaliu]

I bet they only did it because it was part of the contract with Paradox or something.

This explains it; nobody sounded that enthusiastic about it.

 

[Nerevar]

I wonder if we can have some quality time with Sirin. Added to the backlog.

 

[Sranchammer]

10/10

 

[aratuk]

 

[Palomides]

Screw you, Fatebinder!

LMAO at the quality of writing. Not to mention the voice.

Dreadful.