Recent reviews by Jakob Fel

You probably have heard of this series through this game's much-lauded sequel, or maybe through the massively successful Baldur's Gate 3. The former is how I found the Divinity series. However, I decided to go out on a limb and buy up the entire series rather than just grabbing this game's sequel (as many recommend) and check all of them out. I'm primarily a fan of action-driven sandbox RPGs the likes of The Elder Scrolls and I used to dislike turn-based combat (still not a huge fan), thus you might be inclined to think that Divinity: Original Sin is not the game for me. And in many ways, you'd be correct. My first playthrough, I got quite a ways into the game but quit as I got stuck and was burned out. However, I rolled a new playthrough and stuck to it. And man, am I glad I did.



This game is a turn-based, narrative-driven party-based RPG. You create two characters at the very start and build not only a party, but your characters, to face your quest. Unlike other party-based RPGs like classic Baldur's Gate or modern games like Pillars of Eternity, this game is far more centered around how you approach the story, rather than how you build your characters. In many ways, it is closer to a narrative-driven adventure game in that regard. The thing I like about this game's approach, however, is that the roleplaying in this game comes from actual roleplaying, rather than arbitrary skills that make your characters better at being some a specific archetype.

The game world is also very enjoyable. Where many similar games tend to be really static with the world, D:OS enables the player to pick up items (even useless items) and they can often use those items for different things. For example, you'll find items that are pretty much only meant to give you some extra gold. There are items that, at first glance, may be worthless but might help you in finding an alternate solution to your quests. I mean, shoot, if you pick up a bucket in this game, you can literally equip it as a helmet if you want. This creates a game that feels a lot closer to a TTRPG than your typical cRPG.

As I mentioned prior, I am not really a fan of turn-based combat. At best, I can tolerate it. Other times, it ruins the experience for me. Thankfully, it's mostly a nonissue here, as this game has the absolute best turn-based combat system I've ever seen. The sheer amount of freedom to fight how you wish is astonishing. It takes some time to come to grips with but once you figure out how things work, it becomes so rewarding and fun. You can chain abilities based on the effects they have on each other, which is why magic is absolutely my favorite combat style in this game. For example, if an enemy is standing in a puddle, you could use a lightning ability and zap your enemies. Same for freezing: you could freeze all the enemies standing in that puddle with a single spell. You could use a fire spell against a poison cloud and ignite it, creating smoke which heavily affects any abilities that rely on line of sight. The list goes on.

However, this game is pretty decent at giving you peaceful solutions to situations rather than forcing you into combat all the time. Its persuasion system uses a rock/paper/scissors mechanic that's simple and easy to grasp but completely in line with the game's lighthearted tone. There are puzzles and ways to change the outcome during quests. I mean, there's literally a skill you can get that lets you talk to animals, which can open up a new path to achieve your objectives.

Things aren't flawless, however. This game has terrible inventory management. Its quest log is atrocious, meaning I ended up lost for hours on many an occasion. Its skill systems can be difficult to truly understand and as I said, the combat takes a long time to fully grasp.



I'm going to be completely honest: at first, I really wasn't much of a fan of this game's world/story. It comes off solid but you are quickly shown loads of humor and goofiness that can be a bit of a turn-off to people who prefer serious, epic stories. However, it is very charming if you give it time to sink in. The world of Rivellon (coolest fantasy world name ever, by the way) is a very bright, colorful high fantasy world with intriguing lore but for every interesting bit of lore, you're greeted with a joke or a character that reminds you that you really can't take the lore seriously.

Despite the humor, this game has a really interesting story and setting. As I said earlier, Rivellon is bright and colorful but it also does have its fair share of darkness. Here, the most powerful magic is referred to as "source" and has been banned by the ruling powers. Your two protagonists, "Source Hunters", go through this story trying to learn more about their shared past, one that they have no knowledge of. It delves into subplots ranging from mundane murder mysteries to epic time-based storylines and everything in between. Every storyline is charming, memorable and very well-written.



Typically, isometric-style cRPGs tend to be hit-or-miss, aesthetically. Some are truly beautiful or outright memorable while others can be mundane or drab. Thankfully, this game has no such issue. Striking a balance between stylized graphics and something akin to the proportions and painted textures of tabletop miniatures, this game is a genuine pleasure to look at. It's colorful and, well, its art style feels like prop sets for a tabletop RPG. Of course, it doesn't hurt that it has full-360 camera movement rather than being stuck in one perspective.

Also, despite the inventory management and quest log complaints, the game's user interface is definitely very pleasant to look at. I can't really describe why, it's just a very aesthetically pleasing UI.



This is a bit of a mixed bag for me. Its score and its voice acting are all high quality but the way Larian designed their use means you'll be hearing the same songs and the same voices over and over and over again. This gets particularly old when you have to hang out in one area for a long time. Hearing the merchants' advertising cries for the hundredth time will wear you out.

Nonetheless, the themes themselves are very well-written and the voice acting fits the game's tone to perfection. The sound effects for the combat is also particularly satisfying, giving the combat real impact which is difficult to do in a turn-based system.



If you love classic cRPG titles like Baldur's Gate, Fallout and even older titles like Ultima (this game has a lot of similarities with the latter), then you will absolutely enjoy this game. However, if you're into more modern renditions of cRPGs, I definitely still recommend giving it a go. It's not a necessity to play this before the sequel but if you do play the sequel, it will be very hard to go back to this because everything is done better over there. This is a memorable adventure and a well-crafted RPG that will give you anywhere between 50-100 hours, depending on how slow you take it, what difficulty level you have, etc. It's also quite affordable, especially on sale, so every fan of old school RPGs should certainly buy this game!

Do I recommend the game? Absolutely, as it's a charming piece of Sonic history with level design and mechanics that are both simultaneously "all Sonic" and "not Sonic". Considering how I essentially memorized Sonic 2 (best of the retro games), going back and replaying some of the older games like the first one, this one and even Sonic 3, it's a lot of fun to play something retro in the series that I haven't memorized (this is true of Sonic Mania as well).

However, as much as I enjoy Sega's games, the fact that they removed this and the other classics from Steam in favor of their crappy ad-soaked mobile ports is absolutely disgusting to me. Sega, you suck for doing that. It's not like you didn't already make bank and a half from these classics, now you expect people to play the mobile ports and watch ads every time they start the game and whatnot? Screw that. Put it back.

I waited until this DLC to grab Crusader Kings 3. I had already played a free weekend of the base game a while back and I enjoyed it a lot but this DLC seemed like it was exactly what I had wanted/needed to make this one of my favorite strategy games. Now that I have it, I recommend this DLC with a caveat: just get the Royal Edition of CK3 if you don't already own the base game. It's the best value, as it gives the game and all its DLCs, including this one. On its own, this DLC may not be worth the price unless you absolutely want that added immersion and roleplaying of being able to actually enter your throne room and pass judgements.

That said, if Paradox would lower the price of this DLC ($30 is really steep for what we get here), I'd recommend it in any case as it is a great added feature to a game that already masterfully blends grand strategy goodness with roleplaying choices. While I wish we had the ability to freely walk around and mingle with our courtiers, this DLC still offers that cherry on top of the monarchial immersion cake.

Nothing makes you feel like a true king quite like seeing your character sitting on his (or her) throne, surrounded by your attendants and vassals as you make decisions that affect your citizens both on a personal and a kingdom-wide level. To add to that, you have the ability to customize the look of your throne room and the decorations also have stats that can help you as a monarch, or even aid your kingdom in being better at something specific.

However, the throne room and decision-making aren't the only things this DLC adds. One other thing it adds is more reason to learn financial management: you have a budget to maintain your court, meaning you have to learn to balance your finances, especially in times of war. Having your vassals' armies raised, especially with mercenaries actively contracted, is sure to drain you much quicker if you don't learn to balance things well. That said, if you're a particularly wealthy dynasty with solid knowledge of financial management in the game, you don't have to balance things so much; this is doubly true if you're wealthy and a mostly peaceful kingdom because then you can just pour all your resources into maintaining a court full of grandeur.

It also adds a relic system where you can produce and gain relics that will boost your abilities as a monarch or a kingdom. For example, you can take banners from enemies after battles that may boost one stat, whereas you could have an artisan from another land come to your kingdom to make a special crown for you. Personal relics are equipped similar to how RPGs have you equip gear, though they're purely functional and don't impact you visually (which is a bit disappointing, I'll admit), whereas kingdom relics can occasionally be seen if they're the kind that go in your throne room.

To conclude, do I recommend Royal Court? Absolutely, if you're planning to get the Royal Edition of CK3. However, if you already own the base game, I'd wait for a sale on this DLC unless you're okay with spending $30 on a DLC that doesn't quite add $30-worth of content to the game. It's a really solid DLC but there's definitely room for improvement and it's hardly a necessity to enjoy the game. Even so, if you have it, it makes the game feel that much more immersive and enjoyable, especially if you have always had the pipe dream/fantasy of being a monarch.

Disclaimer: I own this on both Steam and GOG and play it only on GOG now, but I figured I should post a review here as well, since it's such a great game.

The 4X strategy genre can be a bit overwhelming and difficult to get into (though not as tough as grand strategy) but there are a couple games that have solid tutorials and less of a steep learning curve. Endless Space 2 and Stellaris come to mind at first, but...

... I'd be remiss to not talk about just how fantastic Civilization 3 is. Widely considered to be the greatest in the series, and one of the greatest 4X games of all time, Civ 3 is a brilliant example of why this genre is so fun. The progression design of the Civ series matches perfectly with the gameplay of the genre, allowing the player to begin at the start of a civilization and build their empire up through constant progression. That progression, however, is entirely up to the player. Want to be diplomatic and avoid wars? You can build your empire to do that. Prefer to just stomp on your enemies and conquer the world? Again, you can build your empire to do that. Want to isolate yourself for scientific progression or build a civilization upon trade? Those are also options.

In Civ 3, you never feel like you're being overwhelmed by a million gameplay systems but at the same time, you also never feel like you're being limited. In general, 4X is basically a sandbox take on turn-based strategy gaming and if you know me, you know I like my sandbox games. You may have heard that the Civilization games have always had that "one more turn" sort of gameplay and they are not joking. Every time I start up this game, I end up spending WAY more time than I planned to because it becomes addictive: you always want to take one more turn toward building your armies, or wonders of the world or progressing toward the next scientific unlock. You're always progressing to your goals.

I wouldn't say it's my absolute favorite 4X strategy game; that would be Stellaris. However, it is a landmark game that any strategy gamer should at least check out at some point. For that price point, really can't go wrong!

This will be a short review, as it's a relatively short DLC (and one that's not 100% crucial), but I figured I'd write a review for it anyway in case someone has the base game but not this DLC.

Following the fantastic zombie apocalypse adventure game that was Telltale's The Walking Dead, they released a DLC unrelated to the story of Lee and Clementine. Instead, The Walking Dead: 400 Days is an anthology of stories based around various new survivors, all of which have unique storylines to play through. Every survivor has unique circumstances and a unique backstory and each story takes about 15-30 minutes to complete.

The real meat of this DLC is the added storytelling, as they play into the story of the future games in ways that I won't spoil. In terms of gameplay, there's nothing new here, it's basically just more of the base game but if you enjoyed the base game and plan to play the rest of the series, The Walking Dead: 400 Days is absolutely worth your time due to its connections to the future storylines. It adds a significant amount of extra emotional connection to the future storylines and makes the entire saga of Clementine feel more complete and detailed. So yeah, I definitely recommend grabbing this DLC if you enjoyed the base game and want to play the rest of the series with an imported save.

If you love Skyrim and want some new reasons to start a new playthrough, this upgrade is 100% worth your time. The sheer amount of content this adds is close to the amount of content that Dawnguard or Dragonborn add, albeit without the new landmass. Essentially, this is a brand new expansion but without any core storyline tying all of the new content together.


Despite the fact that none of the creations are linked by story, every piece of content here still contains a story. Some of it is short, mostly just to seamlessly implement the content into the world, but other creations have a mini questline that is entirely lore-friendly and in the Bethesda spirit. As such, because of this design approach, the creations truly feel like they're PART of Skyrim, rather than just being paid mods (as some accuse Bethesda of doing with Creation Club). Every creation truly feels like a micro-DLC, something official.

Whether it's the new homes, new dungeons, new loot, pets or even entirely new gameplay mechanics like Survival, Camping or Fishing, every piece of content does a great job of just further filling out Skyrim's world. In many ways, these creations bring Skyrim's gameplay into the current generation of sandbox gameplay, adding features that are considered essential in more modern games in this genre. If you've played Skyrim before (as I assume you have, if you're on this page), you know that the game is already one of the most free-form, open games ever made and adding these more modern conveniences and systems just further expands the depth of the freedom you have while exploring the frozen North of Tamriel.


I'd just like to quickly touch on the controversy and complaints surrounding Creation Club: at the end of the day, the criticisms almost always boil down to the "I want everything for free" argument. In reality, Creation Club benefits literally everyone. Aside from the obvious beneficiary (Bethesda), this also gives prominent modders some money for their work while also giving them an opportunity to work with a triple-A studio developing official content for a triple-A title. Meanwhile, players benefit by receiving new content for the game indefinitely. And to top it off, you can still get mods for free, so it's not like you're being forced into anything. At the end of the day, the arguments against Creation Club are a literal non-issue.


So, should you buy the Anniversary Edition Upgrade? Well, if you love Skyrim and want a huge chunk of new official content to play around with, my answer would be a resounding "YES"! However, if you're not interested in any of the content it suggests, it's not like you're missing out on anything crucial in the series history. This package is more for people who love the game and want to have every piece of content they can get their hands on. If you don't care about what this upgrade includes, though, you can still stick with mods with no harm done. Nonetheless, I highly recommend that anyone who loves Skyrim should strongly consider grabbing this upgrade because it was entirely, 100% worth the $20 price tag.

The first Knights of the Old Republic was a flawed masterpiece and an absolute classic of CRPG greatness. It did so much stuff for the genre and for Star Wars as a whole that it's no wonder that people still rave on about it now, nearly two decades later. However, I think a lot of people do let nostalgia blind them to that game's flaws. While its sequel, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, certainly isn't a perfect product either, it's my favorite of the two. Why? Let's find out.


Where the first KOTOR took place in a slightly more prequel-esque situation, KOTOR 2 takes place in the aftermath of the events of the first game, in an era when the Jedi are almost completely dead, destroyed by various factors. You play as the Exile, a Jedi who was cast out of the order. Not only this but your connection to the Force was intentionally severed by the same masters who cast you out.

This creates an interesting situation, as you're a Jedi Knight who is forced back down to effectively being a Padawan again, yet -- like Luke Skywalker or Rey -- you're pretty much out of luck when it comes to finding a master to help you get back up again... yet, destiny is strange and the Force seeks balance.

The result of this crazy setup is that the overall vibes of this game feel like the absolute perfect blend of prequel and original trilogy. It has that wild west frontier feel of the original trilogy, matched with the more mystical and fantastical feel of the prequels, to create one truly intriguing setup... yet, it's also a really dark game and it gives you a feeling as though you truly are one of the last Jedi in the galaxy, going up against impossible odds.

The story in this game is leaps and bounds beyond the first game's. I know, a lot of KOTOR fanboys will flip out when they read that but let's be honest, the original KOTOR's story was pretty formulaic as far as Star Wars goes. KOTOR 2 has no such flaws. This game's story delves so far down the rabbit hole of the philosophies of the Jedi and the Sith, it really challenges the player to question the way they view the galaxy far, far away and it does so in a way that just constantly immerses you. You truly feel like a fallen Jedi Knight striving to find your way toward redemption, despite all of the issues that block your path.

I'm a firm believer that the Star Wars films remain the greatest pieces of content in the franchise and the animated show, Star Wars Rebels, is my favorite piece of Star Wars content outside of the films but even in spite of the depth of the themes and storytelling of both, KOTOR 2 delves even deeper. I think that, to this day, it may be the deepest we've gone in that regard.


Overall, KOTOR 2 plays remarkably similar to its predecessor, albeit with several major quality of life fixes that make it more enjoyable overall. I'm not sure if it actually contains more abilities and character upgrades but it certainly feels like it. It doesn't hurt that the party setup this time around plays better than the first game. True, the first game had more memorable companions overall (though there are a couple in this one that are downright phenomenal; you know the ones if you've played the game before) but the general gameplay of the companions in this game feels a lot more balanced and fun to play around with.

The planets you explore in this game are also largely more thought-out. This is especially true if you've played the first game before this one, as several locations are ones you went to in the first game. That said, there are also plenty of new ones and each one of them just exudes Star Wars atmosphere. The graphics aren't fantastic by today's standards, even with mods, but the art style and overall design of the environments immediately sinks you into a level of immersion that many other masterpiece RPGs struggle with.


I can't say much on the overall sound effects, as they're just as great as they were in the original game, but the music... I hate to do this to Jeremy Soule (who is my favorite game composer) but I genuinely think Mark Griskey did a better job at capturing the John Williams essence in this game's soundtrack. And honestly, that's saying a lot because the soundtrack in the original KOTOR was spot on with that Williams vibe. Griskey just did such a fantastic job here, creating pieces that reflect the overall feel of Williams' work while also adding a true air of mystery, fantasy and uncertainty. It all comes together to really sell the feeling of being one of the last of your order and an outcast, at that.


To conclude, I will say that there is one major flaw with this game: it has a lot of cut content. Thankfully, though, it doesn't have the technical issues that the first game has (especially on modern systems). Even better is the fact that mods can easily restore that cut content, improve the graphics and add even more replay value. Regardless of the cut content, though, this game is still a masterpiece of CRPGs.

Even if you're not a Star Wars fan, if you love RPGs, you really need to play both KOTOR games. If you're a Star Wars fan but not a huge RPG fan, I still recommend playing both because as far as RPGs go, they're very friendly toward non-RPG fans or beginner RPG players. They don't overwhelm you with gameplay mechanics, absurd amounts of skills or arbitrary numbers-based skill systems. Everything feels like it has its place, everything is logical in the way it's designed. Just play it, you won't be disappointed.

PS: If you enjoy these games, I highly recommend downloading Star Wars: The Old Republic. It's the Star Wars MMORPG and it's set during the same general time period as the KOTOR games, functioning almost as an extension of the story in many ways. It offers a lot more avenues of play (you can play as Jedi, Sith, smugglers and bounty hunters, even troopers) and despite being an MMO, the story is extremely fun to play through even as a solo experience. Plus, it's free so it's not like you'd lose anything.

I typically find idle clickers to be less "game" and more "distraction". For example, when I'm absolutely bored and have nothing to do, I will sometimes start something like Adventure Capitalist. However, there's rarely enough depth to constitute what I'd consider to be a game.

Thankfully, that's not really the case in this one. Sure, it's still one of those games that you run in the background while you do something else but there are a lot of cool added features that make it feel a little more enjoyable when you're actually focusing on it. Part of this is due to that fantastic, adventuresome spirit present in D&D. Every stage gives you some sort of new piece of the adventure. It's nothing extraordinary or particularly compelling but it does make the player feel more like they're on an adventure, which is fun.

It's also not really what I'd consider to be pay to win. They hand out enough free loot chests that you don't feel left out or behind the crowd unless you don't look up those codes.

Altogether, it's still an idle clicker but it's a very good one. I gave it a try because I found a code online and I was very hesitant as my experience with idle clickers in the past have been really boring. I'm glad to see that wasn't the case with this one.

Stellaris, as a base experience, is particularly amazing nowadays. However, if you enjoy that experience, grabbing the expansions is abolutely a must, considering the mammoth amount of content that they add. If your gameplay preference centers around building up a civilization (rather than blatant warfare), Utopia is your expansion.

As its name implies, this expansion gives the player the tools to work toward building a better stellar civilization. From the added governing tools to the ability to create megastructures like dyson spheres, Utopia really does expand the sandbox and give you a bunch of cool, new ways to build the sand castles, if you will.

One of the best parts of this expansion are the ascension perks, though, as they add such an extra layer of complexity and freedom to the game. With these perks, you are able to advance your civilization beyond anything that the base game allowed. The name, "ascension perks", is certainly appropriate. When using these in conjunction with the advanced governments feature, it really creates a massive amount of possibilities and opportunities to customize your empire the way you want it to be.

So yes, Utopia is entirely worth it, especially if you really enjoy the civilization building and management that this game allows. If your favorite thing in the game is warfare, it may not appeal as much but it's certainly worth it for most fans of the 4X genre.

Stellaris, as a base experience, is particularly amazing nowadays. However, if you enjoy that experience, grabbing the expansions is abolutely a must, considering the mammoth amount of content that they add. Ancient Relics is easily my favorite of the current story packs in Stellaris and that's simply because it significantly adds to the dynamic world building that this game enables. It's also probably the largest story pack in the game (though I don't own Distant Stars yet, so I can't compare).

As a sci-fi fan and a bit of a history nerd, this expansion really appeals to me. It really does create a true sense of realism to your scenarios because it makes the galaxy feel real, as if it has a long and ancient history that predates your civilization. You uncover the remnants of ancient precursor empires and you get to learn how they fell, often allowing you to benefit from the lessons that their downfall can teach. This really does add to the ongoing and dynamic storytelling that this game enables. On top of that, there are times where you'll uncover relics from the ruins of these ancient civilizations and those relics often have significant and powerful effects that can deeply help your journey in the stars.

I recommend all of the Stellaris story packs but if I can only recommend one, it'd be Ancient Relics as it adds a lot of context and world building, which simply adds to the immersion of the game. Absolutely worth it!