Tyranny looks to be an interesting game from what I can tell so far. Looks like they're going for a shorter, more choice driven narrative this time around.

I for one am excited to play through something heavily inspired by Glen Cook's the Black Company. Easily my favorite series of novels!

I'm very keen! I don't have time to play it but that just means the patches will clean up some of the bugs by the time I have my go, haha.

Very few companies I will buy a game basically sight unseen but Obsidian is one of them.

Yep already bought it. But damn there are too many games to play.

As someone who loved Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, but bounced right off Pillars of Eternity, I have no idea how I'll respond to this one. Who am I kidding, I'll probably buy it anyway...

@rinsatori: It's unlikely there'll be a console port, but at least Pillars got an official Steam Controller control scheme, so that could be a solution, maybe?

Man, I'm not sure how I'm gonna handle this and Dishonored 2 coming out back to back. Maybe I'll spend the holidays playing this on my laptop when I'm out and about. I didn't love Pillars of Eternity, but this seems like it might be a bit more interesting in its choices and story, hopefully.

I don't know. I love that Obsidian are doing those games but I found Pillars of Eternity. I'll probably end up buying it anyways.

@mordukai: Where'd you find it? I've been looking for it for ages.

For one of those isometric RPG's it does seem to have a really nice balance of flat vs. 3D. I haven't really played one of these in a while but it does look like a good evolution of that genre without completely distancing itself from the source formula.

I'm really looking forward to it. Obsidian games are often buggy/broken, but (almost) always interesting!

Last time I played an isometric RPG was Icewind Dale, so I might give this a shot.
Anyone know if it uses the same D&D rulesets that was kind of standard for these RPGs back in the day?

@magmamud: It uses similiar rules to Pillars of Eternity which are not D&D based but are very CRPGish. Here's a decentish explanation of the stats

Edit: I found a link that covers the Tyranny system and it is here

@hayt: Huh, that's interesting. Thanks for the links, I'll have to read up on that a bit. Exciting to hear it's not the same old D&D systems, even though as you say they are very CRPGish.

I watched a little bit of a stream in the early bits. The premise/world seem interesting, but I guess I'm a little worried that their devotion to the "no really, you're evil" thing will undercut the amount of choice available, and I'm simultaneously worried that the amount of choice available will undermine the strength of the story in any individual playthrough. We'll see.

I've watched a few streams in the background including some of the opening story choices (there are a LOT).

And it's not so much that you're evil. You just happen to be working for a conquering powerful tyrant* in a pretty bleak setting. Exactly how "evil" you want to be is more up to you. Just sly, sneaky, diplomatic, cunning, self serving, or doing it out of pragmatism, or bloodthirsty, or just faced with a choice of lesser of two evils type of guy, a lot of that stuff is up to you. Actually to the point where it made me question if they will fold and allow you to be a straight up good guy in the end or not, instead of one power wrestling with another, (which I would not want personally (the full on goody two shoes option)).

The set up is interesting to me. PoE was not well executed to me (especially plot, pacing, character wise) so they have a lot to prove with this one. The idea of it being a bit shorter and more choice driven sounds like an immediate improvement over PoE for sure, where that kind of stuff was very lacking.

I actually think this is one of the better parts. I like establishing a bit more character and motivation than many similar RPGs typically have (and thus feel really lifeless as far as your character goes.. boring "save the world" shit). If done well, it should make you care about your choices more.

If you're "good" in this, you should have a vibe of the cog in the Imperial machine that is trying to make sure not everyone gets murdered and there's any sense to it. Yes, it's bleak, but I think compelling and a nice change of pace. I thought PoE was pretty boring in these regards so I like a new focus.

I mean it isn't straight up D&D but seems very similar to PoE, so don't expect anything so different. The changes all seem better and more user friendly to me, but they're not huge changes.

Personally I don't think there's much of an evolution coming from PoE at all, and I don't think this one either. Tweaks and modernization somewhat but really they are pretty cRPG-ish.

I think the game most doing that is Divinity Original Sin, flawed as that game is, and the sequel which looks promising but I haven't played. The magic systems there, the depth of combat, the two character interaction (even though it doesn't go as far as it could), the controller support and split screen options, etc in there are more of an evolution, to me. Hopefully D:OS II is a step up in story and other areas.

I don't mean to discourage you from checking anything out but I just wouldn't expect so much of an evolution as you say. It's pretty much right along those lines.

lmfao. Good one. I meant to say I found it boring and not very compelling.

I'm pretty excited for Tyranny. It's supposed to be pretty short for one of these games (they've said in the neighborhood of 20-30 hours) so I'm guessing they're going hard on the "choices" angle. I also loved me some Pillars of Eternity, so something that resembles that has my attention.

That said, I feel like they've been kinda... quiet about this game? Hopefully that's not a bad sign, but I could see this thing being a buggy mess on release.

Alright. I never played PoE, but always thought it was using the exact same systems like the old Black Isle games.

I never did quite get into the D&D game rules. Never fully understood how it all worked. Did PoE have straight up Armor Class and all that stuff?

Kind of hoping that was just "hey we are making a cRPG, we want to focus on making it and not showing it to press". If you go to the game's site, there are a number of developer diaries too. I feel like these days unless you seek that kind of stuff out you might not think there are any details on certain games.

@artisanbreads: I feel like the relative silence around this game probably has more to do with Paradox publishing. They have never been great about getting their games out there. Hearts of Iron IV and Stellaris came out of nowhere. The only reason I knew Stellaris was coming was because Austin was hyping it so much. Anyway, I dig what the designer is selling in the design dev diary. It would constrain the game and force it to make more diverse content, which if they do, would be great.

Yup. "World/humanity savior" is the absolute bane of RPG stories. So boring. No room for scale, nuance, and interesting motivations.

@artisanbreads: I was referring to the leveling design. The narrative foundation is solid too though.

Here's the game designer:

With the decision to increase skills by use, I needed skill gains to contribute towards character level. Otherwise you could theoretically have a character with a hundred ranks in a skill, but still technically considered ‘level 1’. So, in Tyranny as you use skills they gain experience. When they gain enough experience, they increase their skill rank. When a skill increases in rank, your character gains experience towards their next level.

@the_tribunal: ah okay I didn't dig through all of that. Sounds good though.

Definitely interested. Reminds me of what Undertale did, a shorter RPG that gives you good reasons to replay it.

It's right up my alley. I intend to get it day one. Love CRpgs and I have no problem throwing this on top of the pile of other RPGs that I haven't finished.

If I had a PC I'd be all over this game.

I still have Pillars and its expansion to play...I hear that this game contains a more refined (streamlined) version of gameplay introduced in Pillars, with more impactful choices and consequences.

I am really excited about this one. I bounced of Pillars, found it too dull and too much like DnD (I really fucking dislike very generic fantasy settings). Tyranny looks much more promising, a better world with a more interesting background and what sounds like a more interesting, nuanced path through the game. Also, it's set at the end of their bronze age and I don't think I've ever played an RPG in that setting.

This top-down CRPG stuff is really back in style isn't it?

Well they're making them for sure. I am really curious what the sales and budgets are actually like.

I'll probably check this out. I love games that let you be an evil bastard. I'm hoping that this game will let me fulfill my desire to be a Metal Gear-esque villain who is damn near cartoonish in his villainy...and has weird lightning powers. Big fan of lightning powers.

@squirrelgod: I do not think that you will be disappointed. I saw some lightning powers in a dev diary and if you can't be cartoonishly evil while working for Bronze-age Sauron then you are fucking up.

As other have said, i definitively like the skyrim style level ups

pre-load is up... and it seems i pre-ordered this? :)

I hope it is good as i'm soooooooooooooo bored.. BUT WHY THE SAME TIME AS DISHONNERED 2!.. boo..

That was my deal as well, I just couldnt get through the first two hours of Pillars for whatever reason.

Very interested in the setup even though I normally don't go for the isometric DnD-based RPGs much.

I now find this horrifyingly ironic that I bought this on election day.

Anyways, I am very excited for this and hope it lives up to its promise. I love the notion of playing someone who is unquestionably a villain, but a pragmatic and reasonable one. One of my favorite things in Star Wars: The Old Republic was playing as a lightside leaning sith, shocking everyone you came across who assumed you would be a monster. You still worked for the big bad, but you would do so your own way. I've also loved just about everything Obsidian has ever done.

@joshth: Ha! Didn't even think of that. I'm looking forward to spending the weekend with it.

I preordered it Wednesday morning, and I'm excited to be playing it soon. Should be somewhat therapeutic.

I'm always interested in an Obsidian game, but I don't think I'm in the right place for the #EvilWon premise right now.

This game rocks. If you like infinity engine style games, this game is for you! I have played 7 hours or so and I can already see the replaying potential.

I like the story, but I'm finding the combat pretty dissatisfying. The smaller party size makes it difficult to defend your back rows, and survival seems to come down to dice rolls more often than it does strategy, unless I'm totally missing a mechanic.

I'm 4 hours in and loving it so far! Character system seems interesting but I'm obviously still learning the ropes. Combat is entertaining if not spectacular. But, man, the writing and implementation of choices and consequences is exactly up my alley.

There are so many awesome little touches that make the game for me: subtly animated character portraits in dialoges, clever use of the hyperlinked lore bits, creative character creation and excellnt worldbuilding so far. Seems a little less arcane, and thus easier to understand, than Pillars of Eternity (which I really liked through and through, even though it has its flaws).

Now, to find the time to really sink my teeth in. I know what I'm doing as soon as I'm off work!

So far I'm really enjoying the level of control you have over your character's responses. There is a real sense that they wanted people to finally be able to play as an "authentically evil" character, not just a petty asshole. As for the conflict between the two armies, order vs chaos, discipline vs spontaneity... the game has been good enough so far to always leave me a third option. I don't care! To my character, the petty squabbles of these two legions are nothing but pointless bickerings standing in the way of the true goal: That the whole world is broken before the will of the overlord. Their philosophies, their martial virtues are useful in so far as they are expedient to this goal.

I wonder if I'm going to have to choose a legion to stand with at some point, or if its possible to have them reconciled to their rightful purpose. Either way I'm excited going forward.

I also absolutely love the classical era stylization. Just the fact that your enemies are wielding Balkan scythe-swords (falx/rhomphaia) is fantastic and a nice diversion from the usual medieval arsenals.

Before I started playing this game I was afraid I would have a tough time making choices, seeing as I always have trouble choosing anything but the nicest dialogue and story options in RPGs. So I was glad to learn that the game offers you more than "downright evil" - instead it lays before you a range of interesting choices, from downright violent and vile to diplomatically sound but still cruel if applied well, and the game does a good job easing you into making these choices. I'm 14 hours in and I'm having a lot of fun. To my own surprise I find myself siding with the chaotic faction in the game, and I have no problem alienating factions that could be considered more or less the "good" guys.

Your companions are well-written, NPCs have interesting stories, the setting is nice, and at times the game's writing just downright hilarious. I can't really comment on the difficulty of the combat, seeing as I almost always play this kind of game for the story and thus casual difficulty, but apart from that that I'd highly recommend this game.