Recent reviews by Grumpy Old Dude

Same fella who did EXILED KINGDOMS mobile game, so he has a track record of finishing his work.

On the upside..it's an old school RPG, with not just Str, Dex etc, but also skills and what amount to disciplines to be honed. Also, the Dev is responsive to issues encountered and getting bug fixes out.

downside: IMHO, the 4 character limit to the players created party...is too restricting. Yes, the game allows for 6 characters (2 NPCs), but those NPCs you the player did not create them, so their skills may not gel with your party needs at any given time.

For this reason, I have shelved the game and will wait for its final release before playing it again. If at player creation it is still limited to 4? I will probably not ever play the game again. I vehemently dislike, being forced into a pigeon hole in terms of characterization. It's an RPG...let me build MY party so they can cover the skills, and do so in a fashion that lets me ENJOY the games offerings. When you force me to give up this or that capability, in a party based game...you restrict my ability to enjoy the game. THAT, seems imminently pointless. Build something in such a way, as to force player limits on enjoying what you built.

a classic, but a damn difficult one. Character creation is a royal and monumental PITA, yet it is critical. Read the manual BEFORE you start. Map out the characters you want at end game, and then make sure your starting characters CAN make the requisite changes to give you what you seek.

One of my all time fave games. Have it PS3, PS4, Xbox One X and now on PC

The "Yes", comes with caveats. This game has the potential to be truly great, provided the dev's get out of their own way.

3rd edit: Back to a yes with advisories..

1) Dig out your patience, you'll need it. You WILL need to spend time watching some how to videos. One of the active forum members, has put together a superb video on the in game crew management system. That 15 or so minutes of my life, changed the entire game for me, from an impending nightmare to 90% functional and pretty enjoyable experience.
2) ACCEPT that his game is still a WIP. It WILL change. There are thing that work well, and there are things that work not so well. If you are not prepared to accept that, then wait until the game is finished.
3) This is a UBOAT game. UBOAT means by definition, a German sub. No, you cant play as an American. Quit asking. America had a grand total of 6 subs in the entire Atlantic campaign.

Yes, there is micromanagement here. LOTS of it. I dont much care for that part and courtesy of the excellent Crew Management video, I have managed to largely automate crew functions so, I dont have to deal with that to terribly much. I primarily concern myself with combat and logistic management, and navigation.

If you want a good sub sim, this is going to be one. It's OK now, and getting better.

4th edit: 655 hrs in game now

It's a definitive yes...buy it, watch some videos, ask questions on the forum, you're gonna like this game IF you like sub sims and are not looking for either absolute realism OR absolute arcade. The game I think tilts to the realism side, and for me that's just fine. Going to be leaving E.A. relatively soon so...

edited 6/1/23

I absolutely can NOT recommend buying a game, where the dev breaks the game every 6 months, rendering all existing saves at the time, incompatible with their newest vision of the game.

This is one of the inherent dangers of issuing DLC after DLC. With each release, come bugs. Bugs which require hotfixes, which are issued without regard to maintaining compatibility to existing saves, because you have a new round of consumers who cant play the game at all after buying the DLC. So a quick fix is rushed out, saves get broken, and the dev doesnt care.

T.A> will get no more of my money, ever. I do not care WHAT they do next.

This is not BG 3. It IS DOS 3. As a tabletop DnD player since the late 1970s (started with 2E), I like many thousands found BG/BG2 to be absolutely wonderful computerized applications of Gygax's overall system. This however, fails in every possible way. From party members who openly despise your character to clunky mechanics, the player is left frustrated and foiled by the game itself.

Yes it is EA, but that does not excuse a release that is so buggy it crashes to desktop following/during cut scenes. The game feels nothing remotely like BG, but does feel like a cinematic DOS.

With 85 minutes in game, I requested a refund before I hit the 2 hour mark and was forced to wait a year for a playable something for my $60. I'll wait and watch for things to become functional. Then, if the reviews warrant it and the game goes on sale for under $40 (the MOST I would pay for a DOS game), then I will consider buying it, maybe. MAYBE.

Bethesda/Zenimax have ruined this series with this abortion they call ESO. The tutorial explains almost nothing (there are literally dozes of youtube videos "Things You need to Know They Didnt Tell You"; BUT...you cannot join the ESO Forums without an invitation, so you cant ask anyone either. Those youtube videos, are obsolete, because the game was all but rewritten apparently for 2020. NONE of those various videos, has your player starting where youor player will now start. So all of the leveling guides? All of the 'how to"? PFFFT As valuable as smoke in the wind. (I had access to the game via XBox Game Pass. 5 hrs to DL and update...uninstalled and now I know I wont be buying it)

Oh, and I have been playing ES since ARENA was first released on like 1/2 dz or so, 5 1/4 in floppies.

W/O doubt, the most difficult to survive game I have ever played. REALLY challenges you. Play it "hard core" style, and you'll soon understand what I mean.

Simple little simulation. NOT going to test an Avalon Hill fan. Wait for it to be on sale, as it has no scenario designer so you only get what it comes with. Limited replayability. A few minor glitches where the game wont let you attack or even move into a grid that you should be able to. So sometimes, you cant eliminate an enemy unit.

Tutorial is below worthless. You are presented with a map, units etc; and given NO tasking or explanation of how to do anything. INSANE. Glad I saw it during the 3 day free thing. Uninstalled.