This game represents the beginning of Obsidian’s decline. It does have some great ideas, such as the setting inspired by the Bronze Age, and the excellent spell‑crafting system that lets you modify spell effects however you like. As far as I’m concerned, these are the only real strengths of the game and the only elements that make it stand out. The story, while original in the sense that the game puts you in the shoes of the villains, didn’t feel very memorable to me, aside from a few isolated moments. But more than anything else, I found the companions extremely bland, except for Barik, who is probably the most interesting of the group. A big step back compared to PoE. In particular, I found all the female characters quite unlikeable. Dear Obsidian, it is possible to write great female characters without making them annoying. I also found it far less engaging to constantly switch companions, so I basically stuck with the same ones the whole time: Barik (irreplaceable), Lantry, and Eb. The combat system is similar to PoE’s—once again real‑time with pause—but strangely, I found it worse than PoE’s. For example, I found command chaining less useful, and setting up AI behavior often led to abilities and spells being wasted. And of course, all the major pathfinding issues are still there, so expect the usual companions blocking each other’s way or units getting stuck. I also found the enemy variety seriously lacking. Aside from human enemies—typically melee soldiers, ranged units, or mages—the creatures boil down to glowing things of various colors and a few extremely rare monsters (which I honestly don’t even remember). Another truly terrible aspect of the game is how awful the beginning is. Obsidian created an absolutely boring opening, forcing you through endless narrative sequences (thankfully skippable) where you make choices (which only marginally affect the rest of the game) about the outcome of a battle. After that, the game does one of the things I hate most in video games: timed missions. You get bombarded with a flood of terms, names, and fantasy jargon, leaving you dazed and unsure of what’s even happening. Add to that the fact that in this first act you have limited access to magic (the best part of the game), and everything becomes even more tedious—so much so that I was tempted to quit. The game picks up a bit in Act Two, which is the core of the experience and its best part, but the enthusiasm doesn’t last long, because Act Three is short and disappointing, with a completely unsatisfying ending. The possible builds are also much more limited than in PoE. Melee and ranged classes are fairly standard. The idea of combo attacks is nice, but you won’t use them anymore once you unlock the better spells. Speaking of magic, spellcasters are without a doubt the best classes and deal by far the most damage, to the point that the final part of the game becomes extremely easy. In my opinion, though, the system is not explained well at all to the player. I only started to understand it halfway through Act Two. Graphically, the game is well made for its genre, with excellent backgrounds and good outdoor design. Unfortunately, the dungeons are not convincing at all—they all look very similar and there are very few of them. I also didn’t like the lack of character portraits during dialogues; instead, we get 3D models of our characters in various poses. I could understand something like this from a small indie studio just starting out, but not from Obsidian—especially since PoE did have portraits. In conclusion, Tyranny is at times good, at times average, at times mediocre. My score would be 6.5, but I rounded it up to 7 because I’m generous.

Obsidian has a long history of creating some of the most interesting evil factions that you can align with, so it’s only natural that they would one day tackle a world where evil is the de facto mode of play. In Tyranny you are a peon to The Overlord Kyros. A Fatebinder, part judge, part soldier, sent to deliver Kyros’ specific form of justice in the Tiers - the last free lands of Terratus. Obsidian had been developing Tyranny for almost a decade and not a day was wasted when it came to fleshing out Terratus and it’s inhabitants. Not content with simply creating an “evil has won” setting, Tyranny includes multiple shades of evil and contests them against each other both directly and philosophically. Another quirk is that this campaign is set during the end of a bronze age. It’s not often I play a game of swords and sandals, where iron is valued more than gold, and in that decision Tyranny offers a unique aesthetic, appropriately bringing some Ancient Greek God influence. This is extended in the form of The Archons, powerful god-like beings who carry mortal flaws. The story matches the world building in quality and sees the player traveling across the Tiers delivering judgement, assisting in a civil war, uncovering mysteries behind The Oldwalls and its Spires, and growing in influence. The player will need to use any knowledge they uncover to decide who best to ally with, and just how freely they can act while under the authoritarian rule of The Overlord. The companions you collect offer their own perspectives and insights to the mysteries surrounding Terratus, the Oldwalls, and Kyros themselves. The companions are a grab-bag of mostly well realized and memorable characters. Combat is where we fall out of my typical wheelhouse. Real Time w/ Pause is not my forte and I’d [glare silently] for a turn-based option. However, for the RTwP freaks out there, there is additional mechanical depth that I imagine would elevate this game over it’s decade old predecessors. Companion abilities have two players syncing up their actions to massive effect. Magic is not learned so much as created through crafting and skill checks. To reward this extra effort, magic is appropriately powerful and feared in Terratus. The secret sauce of Tyranny is how well the narrative, themes, and systems intersect. The aforementioned companion abilities are unlocked by mustering either Loyalty or Fear with your companions. Instead of a positive / negative binary that other developers may lean into, both earning your companions respect or cowing them into subjugation rewards the player with new skills and benefits. This approach also extends to the many in-game factions in the form of Favor and Wrath, with each offering its own buffs. All of this to ask the central theme: What is power but influence manifest? While music has an appropriate “evil is triumphant” sound, the voice acting does not always match this tone. Truthfully I find the voice acting serviceable to not good. I noticed this primarily with characters related to the Scarlet Chorus faction which may have been intentional as the Chorus are largely made up of citizen-conscripts - folks who lived normal lives before meeting Kyros’ Peace. But their casual, everyman VA direction was a bit jarring in a world full of Evil and Might. A harsher critique is the dungeon crawling of the Oldwalls. You’ll spend a good amount of your middle hours crawling through same-y looking dungeons, fight after fight, with little reprieve. It’s when combat is at it’s heaviest and the story at its lightest, and as I mentioned, RTwP is just not my bag - making me weak to this particular grind. Those who enjoy this style of combat will be more immune to the onslaught of battles, and those don’t can always throw the game into an easier difficulty. There’s a couple factors that also offset my critique on fatigue. One, is that Acts 1 and 3 offer a lot in story, decision making, and are on a greased rail in comparison to the middle chunk of the game. The other is that Tyranny is quite short - for a CRPG. I clocked in 30hrs to complete my campaign. This is beneficial not just for my short attention span but also because Tyranny has a lot to offer in the way of alternative paths. I can easily see myself returning to this game for a second play-through to try for a different political approach, a more magic focused build, and to utilize the companions that I neglected during my first go round. Tyranny is an easy recommend for fans of CRPGs, easier so if you can stomach RTwP. I hope one day we can see another game set in Terratus. Perhaps even a sequel based around what the conclusion of Tyranny teases. I only hope that it includes an option for turn-based combat, which is my specific flavor of freak. An easy 8 out of 10 recommend, +1 if you are a Real Time w/ Pause freak.

Tyranny is a refreshingly different RPG that flips the usual good-vs-evil story on its head. Instead of fighting against the bad guys, you’re working for them, and that twist makes every choice feel way more interesting and weighty. The world is dark and gritty, filled with tough moral decisions that actually impact the story and how people treat you.Combat is solid, with classic party-based, isometric RPG mechanics that let you mix and match abilities and tactics. The writing is sharp and clever, with memorable characters that keep things engaging. Plus, the voice acting is surprisingly good for an indie-style **** you’re tired of the usual heroic fantasy and want an RPG where your choices really matter—sometimes in uncomfortable ways—Tyranny is definitely worth diving into. It’s smart, unique, and a ton of fun.