Tyranny Pre-Release Thread

[Prime Junta]

They're claiming four, one per faction plus free agent.

It'll be interesting to see how that really plays out, and if there's more dynamic c&c there (e.g. playing one faction against another), rather than just scripted alternative paths. (Although those are good too, if the writing is decent.)

 

[Urthor]

Judging by the streams I really doubt people are going to go for the main two factions anyway. They're not dull but they're just so deeply flawed, they'll probably mostly go to the Yes Man path or rebel.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

Actually, from what I have seen, most people seem to be leaning pretty strongly to the Dishonored, kind of a Lawful Evil approach.

 

[Jedi Exile]

Maybe he/she, being a supreme overlord, somehow transcended gender definitions and became male and female at the same time, like the Master did in Fallout.

 

[Urthor]

My money is that he's some walking statue or a person in a suit of armour as a relic from an earlier age, and the whole thing turns out to be a shaggy dog story in the sequel/dlc.

 

[you know what time it is]

This better be worth a few days of not getting laid

 

[HoboForEternity]

Only 4?

Guess it wont be as crazy as AoD. AoD had half dozen factions and several classes that determine the paths

 

[Popiel]

Maybe he/she, being a supreme overlord, somehow transcended gender definitions and became male and female at the same time, like the Master did in Fallout.

Christ in theology of early Church Fathers, Cappadocians especially (St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Gregory of Nazianzus), is sometimes portrayed as one who transcended genders and sexuality as we understand it, being of full and perfect human nature, encompassing both male and female. This is an interesting concept, but I fear guys at Obsidian are not versed enough in Christology to draw comparisons or even take inspiration.

 

[bminorkey]

should i buy this if i didn't like pillars of eternity?

i know almost nothing about it

 

[anus_pounder]

http://www.eurogamer.de/articles/2016-11-09-tyranny-test

Evil is not more than an occasional muffled groaning on the way through a beautifully compact and an interesting background substitutionary game. Although a heavyweight like Age of Decadence punches more playful loopholes in its fractions and opened more possibilities for action, let me Tyranny back with pleasant memories. This is a really good RPG. At the latest when a reply resist weighing the Rufentwicklung or if you can answer a missive in several moods. Of course there is also much known and expectable. Surrounded by Fortress Upgrades, combo skills and blades tombs not find obsidian the Holy Grail, but thoroughly good shape. If that does not deserve recognition, then what?

Then what , indeed. What's the gist of the not-review?

 

[FreeKaner]

You posted the nazi speech you could do us the courtesy of properly translating it.

 

[anus_pounder]

I would, if I spoke Nazi. That's why I asking what the gist of the review is!

 

[Abu Antar]

More and more reviews are being posted. General tone seems positive.

 

[Bubbles]

I would, if I spoke Nazi. That's why I asking what the gist of the review is!

- Tyranny is the narrative lightweight to Age of Decadence's "heavyweight". Reactivity is not on the level of Fallout 2, but it's greater than in Icewind Dale. The reviewer felt compelled to select different answers than he normally would have chosen because he wanted to pursue a certain faction reputation.

- he likens pathfinding to an "abandoned construction site" from the PoE days, with no noticeable improvement; characters running in place, walking the wrong way, etc.

- It's not Obsidian's best game, and it's not a revolutionary achievement, but he leaves the game behind with positive memories. He never wished that he was playing something else instead. If that does not deserve recognition, then what?

 

[Bubbles]

Rock, Paper, Shotgun weighs in:

It’s tempting to say that the emphasis when compared with Pillars is on the combat, but I think that’s not quite accurate. Pillars was rammed with combat – it was, in fact, the game’s biggest weakness, where tiresome skirmishes popped up incessantly and required far too much micro-management for their lack of import to what you were playing. Tyranny is just the same, just without as much other cool stuff going on in between the fights.

In fact, I think that’s a big part of what makes it such an odd game to latch onto. It feels incredibly rushed, despite being so lengthy and detailed. The mistake it makes, I think, is to try to do everything that’s done in a 100 hour RPG, but in a big hurry. For instance, your party members are introduced to you at a completely daft rate, piling up so quickly that you’ll have barely got to know the last, rather than more sensibly simply featuring fewer of them, arriving more calmly.

Then there’s the deliberate attempt to introduce a sense of rush. When you start out there’s an Edict that’s going to kill absolutely bloody everybody, you included, if a particular area isn’t captured within eight days. There’s a counter at the top of the screen, and it gently pulses to remind you of the urgency. In Hayden’s preview last month, he was told how it was tough to get everything done in that time, and that the game would simply end if you ran out. I finished every bit of it, every side quest too, with six days left on the clock. It didn’t work at all.

...

Muddled? I am. There’s so much going on here, but I never really feel like I’ve got a proper grip on it. It feels like a puddle the size of the Atlantic – this vast concept, but too gossamer to sink in deep. Huge stories, but minor roles in them. Exquisite detail, but all going by too fast. And yet, pretty good with it. Just not as good as what’s come before.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/11/10/tyranny-review-in-progress/#more-411507

 

[FreeKaner]

What's the lightweight and heavyweight signify here? Anyway any game that can be positively compared to AoD will be a great game in my book. AoD was fucking awesome.

 

[Bubbles]

What's the lightweight and heavyweight signify here?

Narrative quality and reactivity.

PCGamesN:

It’s such a shame, then, that fights are largely boring, especially when compared to Pillars of Eternity. The system itself is fantastic, perhaps the best descendent of Infinity Engine-style combat, but the actual encounters are bizarrely conservative, with most enemies being simple soldiers and the occasional magic user, who generally just stay in one place and wait for you to engage them before moving. Patrols are rare. When Tyranny does introduce an enemy that’s not just a plain dude with some weapons and the same abilities you’ve seen a hundred times already, they’re quickly forgotten, and it’s back to fighting more soldiers.

On the normal difficulty, you can pretty much sleepwalk through most uninspired brawls. Harder difficulties do pose more of a challenge, but certainly don’t make the scraps any more interesting. And then act three kicks off and Tyranny suddenly changes tack. The very brief final act is essentially a series of boss battles in a game that, up until that point, didn’t really have boss battles. Sure, you’ll meet slightly tougher enemies who are important to the story in the earlier acts, but those fights are the same as the rest. I found myself entirely unprepared for the difficulty spike, and I really struggled to manage the waves of enemies and the new abilities they had. It’s just so strange that they’re all crammed into the last couple of hours.

And then Tyranny just sort of ends. Abruptly. A few very tricky fights, a huge looming threat that’s overcome in the most unsatisfying way possible, and then ‘boom’, epilogue.

I have to wonder if Tyranny was meant to be much larger. There’s certainly plenty of evidence to suggest that this is the case: the dearth of enemy diversity, the uneven pacing, the jarring final act, and then there’s a crafting and research system that barely has any time to develop – it feels like a lot of cuts were made. It’s especially disappointing in a game that is often genuinely exceptional.

Despite this disappointment, I can’t help but be impressed with what Tyranny does get right. Though I’ve mentioned Knights of the Old Republic II and Planescape: Torment, there isn’t really another RPG like Obsidian’s latest. It’s incredibly bold, and if you go down the darker path, often sickening. When it’s at its best – pretty much the entirety of the fantastic and thankfully quite meaty second act – it more than holds its own against the greatest PC RPGs.

While not quite the total package that Pillars of Eternity was, Tyranny is still an exceptional and fascinating RPG, sadly held back a bit by its uneven pace and bland battles.

8/10

http://www.pcgamesn.com/tyranny/tyranny-review

 

[Bubbles]

PC Gamer:

On the wrong path

Fortunately, the worldbuilding more than makes up for boring combat. It's a testament to Obsidian's vivid writing that I was invested in what was happening from the very beginning until the final credits despite glaring flaws. As good as the story can be at times, though, it also has a nasty habit of forcing me to make big decisions without understanding the implications (and then denying me a chance to change my mind). Though I chose to side with the Scarlet Chorus in the prologue, I soon grew to despise their methods, but I never had an opportunity to turn coat and switch sides.

At one point I sent an important character to meet with a certain Archon. Unbeknownst to me at the time this resulted in their sudden and brutal execution. It became clear that this Archon would repeat his warm welcome with other notable characters I encountered, but I was never given any other option than to send each to their death. Characters I cared deeply for were skewered against my will. That's frustrating because, as a Fatebinder, I'm supposed to be independent and above the Archons, not beneath them. It's not always an issue, but the pivotal moments when it crops up strip all the agency I have in the story away.

Despite this, Tyranny still has great moments that coalesce into a well-told tale of rebellion and betrayal, building a great deal of momentum heading into its electrifying final act. Just when the story couldn't get any more tense, a revelation pulls the rug out from everything I thought I knew. I won't spoil anything, but Tyranny's power fantasy is so well-realized in the latter half of the story that it changed my entire perspective in the most satisfying way.

That momentum continues to build and build into the final hours, pointing to a very exciting conclusion that had me desperate to see it unfold. And then, just on the cusp of that climax, when all of those sacrifices and awful decisions are coming to a head, Tyranny squanders it on a cliffhanger. I head into a menu screen, make a single, inconsequential decision, and that's it—the story ends.

That abrupt end is conflicting and frustrating. On one hand, I'm excited by the prospect of a sequel and the implications that it has for my character. On the other, the ending feels so abrupt and unsatisfying—relieving none of that pent up emotion or tension I had. It sets the stage for a final battle, but then slams the door shut on the story and slips a half-hearted summary of what happens next under it and the credits roll.

It's hard not to let an ending like that color my impressions of Tyranny. At the same time, my second playthrough has reminded me what a memorable journey it was before everything deflated in service of setting the stage for a sequel. Tyranny has fantastic ideas and its worldbuilding is unparalleled, but botches the execution, preventing it from all coming together to form a modern classic. When the story isn't pushing you to make specific decisions or bombarding you with repetitive combat, it feels like it could have rivalled the likes of Baldur's Gate 2 or Planescape: Torment.

It's still worth playing, but Tyranny falls far short of the excellent standard set by Pillars of Eternity.

7.5/10

http://www.pcgamer.com/tyranny-review/

 

[jaydee2k]

PC Games Germany:

81/100

http://www.pcgames.de/Tyranny-Spiel...nicht-so-gut-wie-Pillars-of-Eternity-1212881/

 

[FreeKaner]

Now that's p. upsetting. Will tyranny require its own white march to fix the encounters, abrupt ending and combat?

 

[Bubbles]

PC World:

Oh, and the companions. I’m disappointed there aren’t specific sidequests for each, but they’re some of Obsidian’s best work even as-is. My favorite is Barik, a man caught up in the storm at Stalwart who awoke to find out he’d basically been fused with his armor forever, but all six made a compelling argument for me to take them along on adventures.

There’s a lot of potential in Tyranny. A lot. I just don’t think all of it is fulfilled. Great premise, great world, great characters, but it feels like there needed to be twice as much inter-faction politicking in the latter half to keep the story lively. And it doesn’t help that the ending is blatant sequel-bait, dangling a bunch of loose threads right when it feels like you're getting a glimpse of the overarching plot. It felt to me like the story needed maybe one more standout scene to wrap up properly.


Tyranny is flawed, but I suspect it’s flawed in the manner of Alpha Protocol, to cite another Obsidian project—a game that garners a cult following despite some clear issues, a game that’s later hailed as an “important” experience.

Because I keep coming back to those initial few hours: A game where you’re the villain, but not in the usual mustache-twirling cartoon way we see so often. There is gray, here. This is a world where evil is the norm, where you’re the villain in an objective sense but not in the context of the world itself.

Those are ideas worth exploring, just as we might ponder the plight of Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment. Is Tyranny on that level? Nah. But games owe evil—if players choose to take that path—a depiction of that caliber. Not just “The Guy Who Wears Black And Kills Puppies.” Tyranny, in that regard, is a step in the right direction.

7 / 10

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3140...obsidians-rpg-ponders-the-nature-of-evil.html

Seems to be headed for a metacritic average of 7.6 or 7.7. Not bad.

 

[ArchAngel]

If casuals find the battles bland, woe is me

 

[Popiel]

Yeah, looks like Paradox publishing policy will be realised here in its fullest - unfinished game that was cut in every possible place. Give them 10 DLCs to fix that. Fucking Swedish degenerates.

 

[Abu Antar]

I read there will be more content in the future.

 

[WhiteGuts]

Because I keep coming back to those initial few hours: A game where you’re the villain, but not in the usual mustache-twirling cartoon way we see so often. There is gray, here. This is a world where evil is the norm, where you’re the villain in an objective sense but not in the context of the world itself.

Those are ideas worth exploring, just as we might ponder the plight of Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment. Is Tyranny on that level? Nah. But games owe evil—if players choose to take that path—a depiction of that caliber. Not just “The Guy Who Wears Black And Kills Puppies.” Tyranny, in that regard, is a step in the right direction.

Sounds interesting.