Recent reviews by Dyscomancer

I'm really conflicted on what to say about this DLC. I can't say I disliked it, but there's also a lot of stuff I found to be missing from what I enjoyed from the base game that made me really just long to be done with it so I could get back to the main campaign.

I think mostly I'd call this 'unfocused'. The plot is mostly a bunch of loosely connected vignettes akin to short dungeons that you can complete in about an hour each. This isn't bad in of itself, but it does have the downside of the plot feeling a bit wishy-washy; every dungeon gave this feeling of not really caring to get to know or care about the NPCs being introduced, because I knew each time we'd peace out before really getting to the meat of things.

This DLC has 3 companions, 2 of which return from the From the Ashes DLC. They're all interesting in their own respective concepts, particularly Penta who I find to be very charming on a surface level. The problem is that they don't really exist much beyond these concepts. Unlike the base game's companions which have very rich dialogue trees and pretty solid reactivity, LoN's companions have a single dialogue tree at the game's hub that never evolves or changes based on the progress of the storyline. Aside from this, they have a few lines of dialogue each to the events that happen in-the-moment, but given the length of the plot, this doesn't amount to much. Even using a short run-time as an excuse, I still found them to be lacking in what could have been. I wanted to get to know them more than I did.

WOTR's base game has some outstanding roleplaying built into its storyline and dialogue options, and I found it really easy to fall into a defined character concept even before introducing all of the mythic paths. My FtA/LoN character, in contrast, felt very nebulous and undefined. There were very few opportunities to really make choices and not just go along with the flow. I counted maybe 2 or 3 alignment-shifting dialogue choices (outside of yelling "DIE" and attacking story NPCs for no reason) during my entire time playing Lord of Nothing. Outside of how the ice shards are distributed or going murderhobo when prompted, I feel there are very few ways to express any kind of character here. Again, I can understand a shorter runtime being to blame here, but I also contrast this with the Kingmaker DLC Varnhold's Lot, in which I had a generally easier time roleplaying in the space with the options game.

There's also tiny things; a lot of the animated in-engine cutscenes (especially during the final boss battle that carries over to the main campaign) were missing sound effects or foley during motions and impacts, making them feel really hollow and cheap. I think a bit more time dedicated to even adding stock smacking or crashing sounds would have went a long way to making them just generally feel better. I fully acknowledge that maybe this was a bug on my end, but it was still a mar on the experience.

Overall, the DLC feels like a quick one-shot with your tabletop group without a ton of effort put in to presentation or narrative. It adds some solid encounters to fight through, some characters that are interesting to think about (if not interact with), and an opportunity to play some relatively low-level, non-mythic and more 'sane' content. The boss fight it adds to the main campaign was fun It also adds more archetypes to play with which is always welcome. Anyone who is likely to buy Lord of Nothing is probably looking for stuff like that, and it certainly delivers.

Lord of Nothing just lacking a lot of the feeling of the main campaign that made me love this game a lot in the first place. Nothing about it is BAD, and I'm glad I played it, but I do genuinely feel like it had a lot of room to be much, much better than it is. It mostly makes me excited for A Dance of Masks, which has been stated to be more narrative and story focused; where I believe these games shine.

This is an almost wholly unique experience. As someone who plays a ton of D&D and treasures the collaborative storytelling aspect of the hobby, I must say that this is the closest I've seen to a game capturing that feeling of ludonarrative and procedural story generation. Extremely well done.

I think that the art direction of the player characters could use some work and expanded options, but other than that, a lovely game that I absolutely did not expect to play til 5 am. Can't wait to pick it back up for more.

Dated combat and occasional tedium are not insurmountable obstacles in the wake of the greatest narrative ever contained in a video game. PS:T is a simply unforgettable novelesque adventure through what is possibly the most unique tabletop setting to be penned, and if you have the patience to brave the weight of the dialogue and the very real fact that time has not been kind to this game's mechanics, you will find an extremely rewarding experience on the other side.

I first played this game 15 years ago, still well after its release, and to this day it continues to come to mind when I think of outstanding narratives and investment in fiction. Where the "CRPG Renaissance" consistently disappointed me, taking another dip into the addle-coved streets of Sigil continues to delight and astonish.

While still undeniably an early access title, I am blown away by what we have so far. The last time I've seen a game replicate the feel of playing tabletop D&D this well was with the circa-2003's Temple of Elemental Evil; the difference here is that BG3 is actually a good game.

As a long-time veteran of the Infinity Engine games (I used to do yearly BG1&2 run-throughs), this feels like the natural evolution of the system. Contrary to popular belief, Baldur's Gate games always WERE turn-based, they just simulated real time; this is a far more elegant approach, and I am enjoying combat immensely so far.

While I do have some frustrations (bonus action re-balancing does rogues a great disservice, not being able to interject in conversation with other characters that have relevant skills, and my general distaste for how many surface effects are still in the game after DOS2), I am certainly having more fun than I am finding reasons to complain.

Simply unparalleled even close to a decade after its release. Honest to god my game of the decade, flaws and all.