🟩 Pros

• Even after 20+ years, the gameplay remains unparalleled and addictive. It's not merely a turn-based strategy game with resource management and army coordination, but a genre-defining staple that incorporates innovative mechanics that continue to impress to this day.
  
  
• The story-telling is probably the best I've ever had the pleasure to read and listen to, not just stylistically, but content-wise as well. It truly immerses you in this gritty world and makes you wonder what will happen next.
  
  
• Although a subjective matter, the graphics do not appear that much dated. The art direction is, in fact, comprised of passionately crafted landscapes, original setpieces and aesthetically pleasing characters, all of which make good use of bona fide pixel art and low poly. These have enduring qualities that seem to have passed the tests of time.
  
  
• The dark ambient music is most likely something that will get stuck in your eardrums for days to come, in a good way. At least from my perspective, it never fails to add to the experience of lurking danger and sinister machinations unfolding deep beneath the fogs of war.
  
  
• Replayability is through the roof: a dozen of campaigns, a generous amount of one-shot missions, and last but not least, a level editor which permits you to create new stories; hence, you can play fanmade expansions for years to come.
  
  
• The legacy of this game cannot be understated. Back in the day, there was a triptych of series appreciated all around the globe for their pioneering facets: Age of Wonders, Heroes of Might & Magic, and of course, Disciples. So if you like any of the formers, but never heard about Disciples... What are you waiting for?

🟥 Cons

• The AI, despite being well made all things considered, happens to "cheat" pretty often, especially if you didn't uncover the whole map. This, however, is made so to balance the fact that the player is expected to be more intelligent, and can therefore crack the overall simple math behind the game, as well as abuse certain elements of it.
  
  
• The expansion, Rise of the Elves, is truly deserving of your time. It takes the whole experience to the next level, all while making good use of the engine and what is capable of. However, the new available race, the Elves, come off a bit unbalanced compared to the rest. The developers went for the "glass cannon" trope, but neglected some crucial aspects. Translation? Their units have way too few HPs. I know that's the point, but this isn't a game where you can dodge, and you're expected to tank at least some of the hits coming your way.
  
  
• The diplomacy mechanic is a welcomed implementation, even though a bit spartan in its execution. It's there, it's functional, but very simplistic even compared to the competition of that time.
  
  
• The difficulty balance, from the perspective of a first timer (and I bet even a few veterans), may look shocking to say the least. Very Hard is, for example, exponentially harder than any other "Very Hard" game modes we have in games nowadays. Easy on the other hand, is not a "Kid Mode" either. The game truly expects you to commit yourself, take some time to reflect on the tactics, etcetera. All in all, the balancing is a residue of a different time, debatably, a better time; so it's your call if you want to see this as a negative or a positive. What I can say, is that you should probably start your game at the average difficulty, and rotate your saved games between multiple files.
  
  
• Didn't help my sleep schedule. Too many sleepless nights, making turns with my brother playing this game, made me exhausted.

If Disciples: Sacred Lands laid the foundation of what could potentially be a norm-breaking strategy game, Disciples II realized and surpassed that very goal. It is a title where four epic stories masterfully intertwine with one another, offering some state-of-the-art gameplay systems. You don't need to play the first installment to understand the plot, and the tutorial takes care of explaining the aforementioned systems; so , you're good to go the moment you get the game.

To expand on this, I'm not the type to assiduously play strategy games, and yet for Disciples I made an exception. The amalgamation of easily digestible features, unique artistic style, and technical excellence had me coming back to it, no matter my natural aversion to the genre. As they say, it's easy to learn but hard to master, and it doesn't waste your time nor it makes things overly complicated along the way.

What people probably remember with the fondest of memories is, in fact, the battles themselves: not just the gorgeous screens but, again, the intuitive design. You attack or defend, have front rows and back rows. You can use items, and make good use of your natural immunities. There's elemental damage, and weapon damage. All this info is readily accessible with a right button press on the various characters, and said stats will change as they level up. If you've spent a good chunk of money in your hometown and bought specific buildings, then these level-ups will not be a simple matter of "numbers going up" - the ally will actually evolve and change form. The feeling of seeing your weaker minions become walking armageddons is just phenomenal.

About the hometown itself, also known as The Capital, here you can do many different tasks. Administrating your wealth and forces in meaningful ways, but most importantly, build new areas. These aren't only good for the abovementioned mutations, but also to gain a variety of perks and spells. I'll let you discover them. What I can say, however, is that the assortment of improvements is, in fact, one of the many precursors to the skill trees we have today, in the sense that sometimes you must choose an outcome while the other one will be precluded for that specific scenario. The game seems to be balanced to work with every choice you make, though (admittedly, there are times where one choice is better than the other depending on the predicament you're in).

I want to stress the fact that you must see for yourself what this game has to offer, so really, I can only tell you so much.

At the end of the day, Disciples II gathered a solid cult following for a reason: it's oozing with creativity and expertise, thus, if you like what I stated above even remotely, do not miss out on this timeless classic... Yeah, I just uttered the buzzword. It's a timeless classic though, shut up!

A title that gave me a better understanding of a genre that, generally, I abhor, can only mean one thing: it's freakin' good.

[h1]Disciples II Analysis[/h1] [h3]Pros, Cons, Issues, Analysis and Verdict further down.[/h3] 🟩 [b]Pros[/b] [list] [*] Even after 20+ years, the [b]gameplay[/b] remains unparalleled and addictive. It's not merely a turn-based strategy game with resource management and army coordination, but a genre-defining staple that incorporates innovative mechanics that continue to impress to this day. [*] The [b]story-telling[/b] is probably the best I've ever had the pleasure to read and listen to, not just stylistically, but content-wise as well. It truly immerses you in this gritty world and makes you wonder what will happen next. [*] Although a subjective matter, the [b]graphics[/b] do not appear that much dated. The art direction is, in fact, comprised of passionately crafted landscapes, original setpieces and aesthetically pleasing characters, all of which make good use of bona fide pixel art and low poly. These have enduring qualities that seem to have passed the tests of time. [*] The dark ambient [b]music[/b] is most likely something that will get stuck in your eardrums for days to come, in a good way. At least from my perspective, it never fails to add to the experience of lurking danger and sinister machinations unfolding deep beneath the fogs of war. [*] [b]Replayability[/b] is through the roof: a dozen of campaigns, a generous amount of one-shot missions, and last but not least, a level editor which permits you to create new stories; hence, you can play fanmade expansions for years to come. [*] The [b]legacy[/b] of this game cannot be understated. Back in the day, there was a triptych of series appreciated all around the globe for their pioneering facets: Age of Wonders, Heroes of Might & Magic, and of course, Disciples. So if you like any of the formers, but never heard about Disciples... What are you waiting for? [/list] 🟥 [b]Cons[/b] [list] [*] The [b]AI[/b], despite being well made all things considered, happens to "cheat" pretty often, especially if you didn't uncover the whole map. This, however, is made so to balance the fact that the player is expected to be more intelligent, and can therefore crack the overall simple math behind the game, as well as abuse certain elements of it. [*] The expansion, [b]Rise of the Elves[/b], is truly deserving of your time. It takes the whole experience to the next level, all while making good use of the engine and what is capable of. However, the new available race, the Elves, come off a bit unbalanced compared to the rest. The developers went for the "glass cannon" trope, but neglected some crucial aspects. Translation? Their units have way too few HPs. I know that's the point, but this isn't a game where you can dodge, and you're expected to tank at least some of the hits coming your way. [*] The [b]diplomacy[/b] mechanic is a welcomed implementation, even though a bit spartan in its execution. It's there, it's functional, but very simplistic even compared to the competition of that time. [*] The [b]difficulty balance[/b], from the perspective of a first timer (and I bet even a few veterans), may look shocking to say the least. Very Hard is, for example, exponentially harder than any other "Very Hard" game modes we have in games nowadays. Easy on the other hand, is not a "Kid Mode" either. The game truly expects you to commit yourself, take some time to reflect on the tactics, etcetera. All in all, the balancing is a residue of a different time, debatably, a better time; so it's your call if you want to see this as a negative or a positive. What I can say, is that you should probably start your game at the average difficulty, and rotate your saved games between multiple files. [*] Didn't help my [b]sleep schedule[/b]. Too many sleepless nights, making turns with my brother playing this game, made me exhausted. [/list] [table] [tr] [th]🟨 [b]Bugs & Issues[/b][/th] [th]🔧 [b]Mods & Patches[/b][/th] [/tr] [tr] [td] - With modern operative systems, you may encounter some unexpected [b]lags and crashes[/b]. This however should be easily fixed. See the solution in the next table. - [b]Alt-tabbing[/b] with certain machines and monitors may break the game someway or another. The fix at the other side of this table could take care of the issue, but that's not certain. - [b]Steam Overlay[/b] and its functions (i.e. easy access to Guides, or the ability to screenshot) doesn't seem to work; at least from my perspective. [/td] [td] - Not a mod, nor a patch, but an easy remedy you apply yourself on the exact same game files you're given during the installation. Here's the guide: https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=308291109 [/td] [/tr] [/table] [h1]📈 Analysis[/h1] If Disciples: Sacred Lands laid the foundation of what could potentially be a norm-breaking strategy game, Disciples II realized and surpassed that very goal. It is a title where four epic stories masterfully intertwine with one another, offering some state-of-the-art gameplay systems. You don't need to play the first installment to understand the plot, and the tutorial takes care of explaining the aforementioned systems; so , you're good to go the moment you get the game. To expand on this, I'm not the type to assiduously play strategy games, and yet for Disciples I made an exception. The amalgamation of easily digestible features, unique artistic style, and technical excellence had me coming back to it, no matter my natural aversion to the genre. As they say, it's easy to learn but hard to master, and it doesn't waste your time nor it makes things overly complicated along the way. What people probably remember with the fondest of memories is, in fact, the battles themselves: not just the gorgeous screens but, again, the intuitive design. You attack or defend, have front rows and back rows. You can use items, and make good use of your natural immunities. There's elemental damage, and weapon damage. All this info is readily accessible with a right button press on the various characters, and said stats will change as they level up. If you've spent a good chunk of money in your hometown and bought specific buildings, then these level-ups will not be a simple matter of "numbers going up" - the ally will actually evolve and change form. The feeling of seeing your weaker minions become walking armageddons is just phenomenal. About the hometown itself, also known as The Capital, here you can do many different tasks. Administrating your wealth and forces in meaningful ways, but most importantly, build new areas. These aren't only good for the abovementioned mutations, but also to gain a variety of perks and spells. I'll let you discover them. What I can say, however, is that the assortment of improvements is, in fact, one of the many precursors to the skill trees we have today, in the sense that sometimes you must choose an outcome while the other one will be precluded for that specific scenario. The game seems to be balanced to work with every choice you make, though (admittedly, there are times where one choice is better than the other depending on the predicament you're in). I want to stress the fact that you must see for yourself what this game has to offer, so really, I can only tell you so much. [h1]💭 Final Considerations[/h1] At the end of the day, Disciples II gathered a solid cult following for a reason: it's oozing with creativity and expertise, thus, if you like what I stated above even remotely, do not miss out on this timeless classic... Yeah, I just uttered the buzzword. It's a timeless classic though, shut up! [h1]📝[i][b]Verdict[/b][/i][/h1] A title that gave me a better understanding of a genre that, generally, I abhor, can only mean one thing: it's freakin' good. [code][url=https://steamproxy.net/groups/autisticreviews]Memox Reviews[/url], the only curator who doesn't kiss anybody's arse.[/code]