Eh...what can I say? The game is definately archaic, but to a fault. While it has great nostalgic value, all the problems with the old Wizardry/Might and Magic type games are also present here, including ambiguous or confusing puzzles, steep learning curve, and lack of balance between character options.
Also, for some strange reason, there is a small difference between male and female characters, regardless of race or class. Females are weaker but supposedly have a bonus somewhere else, either agility or fellowship (charisma), but the reports about this are varied. Other players have stated that they don't feel this impacts gameplay significantly, but in that case, why is it present? I attempted to have a discussion with others regarding this detail, and this was the developers reply to my post; "This was a great troll post, I loved it. Some people's SJW interpretations are incredible, they are even funnier than actual SJWs.
JUST PUT THE SOY MILK DOWN AND PUSH AWAY FROM THE TABLE."
https://steamcommunity.com/app/650670/discussions/0/1471967529573110571/?ctp=25#c1762481957318116916
I guess being called a social justice warrior is supposed to be insulting? In which case I think it's a little messed up to insult someone for proposing a suggestion in the thread you pinned for suggestions. Additionally, he also deleted a thread I started about this subject. Between these experiences and other activity and reviews I have seen, I have concluded that this developer is a bully.
The controls regarding combat and character actions are complicated and confusing and take a lot of getting used to, but I suppose it's as streamlined as it can be for a game of this type.
Lots of beautiful hand-made content, but nothing I haven't seen in dozens of old games. The game adds nothing new or valuable to the genre. The music and sound affects are also hand made, and typically annoying. I will never get the sound of a group of bandits singing "Hidey Hidey Ho!" over and over and over again out of my head.
Some minor technical problems too. Game won't minimize, messing with resolution can cause black screen only fixable by deleting a config file, not 1 but 2 time consuming splash/loading screens, tooltips are often too generalized and there's no transparency regarding the options for character and party creation. So you kind of have to guess at it and start over several times to find out what works good with what and on who.
Many people complain about the lack of manual, largely because the promise of a manual has been dangling out there for quite a while. I can say that this doesn't surprise me, the game has so many complicated calculations and logistics crammed into it that the manual, when released, will likely read like stereo assembly instructions, or be of no help at all.
Overall, I'd say you are better off finding and buying the old games you miss for a fraction of what the developer is charging for this game. You won't be missing much except for length, terrible interface, and over-complexity of gameplay.
Edit: To prove my point, this developer, in addition to leaving the rather nasty comment below, has also banned me from the game forum in retailiation to my review, just like he has done to some other reviewers before me. I would like to clarify; I was never insulted about the gender differences in this or any other games. I merely made a suggestion in the forum that the other races could have other kinds of gender differences, and gave reasons as to why it makes sense in support of my suggestion. I AM, however, insulted by the developers reaction. That is all.