Recent reviews by Vogerl

it's raw.

Far too few enemy types, uninspired map designs, no intricate enemy placement, same-y guns; shame :c

marvelous game both in coop and singleplayer, action adventure roguelike with sidegrades you unlock inbetween runs, get it

One of the best co-op games got a magnificent sequel, with overhauled stealth, unlock systems and skill system.

If they didn't derp the servers on release and communicated better, this could easily be GOTY.


Ye level up perks and guns through gameplay and your account level by performing challenges (clear the map on stealth; do a daring thing there, defeat X types of enemies; use Y gun; mark enemies, guards and cameras - all gameplay stuff you do anyway).

This way they avoided having people do the "quickest route" of just spamming the most time-efficient heist over and over.

The enemy AI utilizes available special units like stacking up on riot shield cops, pushing you into tear gas grenades thrown by the new special infected, the Grenadier; gunplay on release is closer to realistic, leaving plenty room for their shenanigans thru DLC (so no flamethrower, rocket launchers or miniguns yet).


Stealth has been utterly overhauled; from useful gadgets like mini-cameras to motion detectors over a Social System allowing you to stealth entire maps without masking up; from looping cameras at range to nicking keycards from guards/civs to properly utilizing VIP civilians to bypass iris scanners.


Yes, some objectives are a bit "game mechanics", like standing in designated remote-hacking-spots for 12 seconds to pull players out of their safe zones, but there's gotta be a compromise somewhere; those can easily be forgiven considering the scope of possible approaches to many obstables; less than obvious vents and such.


This is the first game that lets you fully utilize all four players during a stealth run and by shedding the concealment system, no longer encourages you to restart but rather makes it fun to finish the map from your current progress.

EA-Impressions:

Great game, magnificent devs, transparent development, direct communication with the community, wonderful homage to its influences, sufficient room for silly aside from the heart-stopping thrills and thick atmosphere!

can't skip the race, switch to easy because the AI cheats with higher top speed.

at least the collectibles are marked on the minimap.

One of the best VR shooters on steam; not just bunch of sandbox environments but also fun game modes like Take & Hold, Wurst( West) World, TF2-style botmatches and more!

One of the single best time sinks I've played; great humor, wonderful graphics and surprisingly deep gameplay mechanics!

You can have at it once lunchbreak round at a time or get lost trying to get all challenges done; it's wonderful fodder for those deck-builders, dice number crunchers and it's got plenty of flair for those looking for casual amusement!

My personal GOTY2019!

Not worth your cash. Best thing about this is the soundtrack, and that's free.

Check out videos like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlv2dVr4R98 if you want the story.

Civilization + Age of Wonders mash-up with magicks, mystical beasts and various races!


PRO:

+Surprisingly well done round based strategy game with interesting races and ressources
+ Level up your troops with important skills! Build smithies and supply your troops with weaponry and armor upgrades!
+ Hire heroes, equip them with weapons/armor/wands depending on their class to pimp their combat/spell-capabilities!
+ Research and cast awesome spells reminiscient of Age of Wonders that greatly impact combat and economics!
+ Modify map tiles to change their bonus ressource output, sink islands to drown troops or create hills to give combat benefits!
+ Races all have greatly differing play styles!
+ Pick a Lord(Avatar) and personalize your starting spells and skills!
+ Multiple planes of existence work seamlessly!
+ Finish little quests to boost your finances, defeat "barbarian"-style beasts and loot their lairs for XP and artifacts!
+ Multi-Player has bots!


CON:

- No Single-Player Campaign! Only "Skirmish"-esque maps with default bots for solo play!
- Gameplay will get repetetive after 3 rounds
- Multi-Player is not simultaneous, you have to wait for others to finish their turn before you can act...
- Races are not equally newbeginner-friendly
- Tech trees not available ingame, google for them/ninja them from the game's webpage
- A lot of content splintered over DLC in an attempt to make the Ultimate Edition more attractive
- "Barbarians" spawning in regularly can become a nuisance later...

DLC WORTH THE CASH?

Only if you can get the Ultimate Edition cheap, the items and Elf race are worth it to enhance the experience!



Recommended purchase if at 10-15 bucks, improve replayability with DLC and multi-player!

tl;dr version:

PROS:

+ Easy to learn, not that hard to master
+ Authentic language, music and scenery
+ Functionally combines Economy Sim and Round-Based Combat
+ "Sandbox" Mode where you can check out tactics you didn't try in the campaign
+ Fine-tune your henchmen and their weaponry by leveling them up and finding new firearms
+ All weapon classes (Revolver, Pistol, Knife, Baseball Bat,...) have their own playstyle and useful
+ All STATS (Strength, Endurance,...) are useful and you can reset PERKS for your player/henchmen easily
+ All characters unlock widely varied combat-specific SKILLS which if properly used give a BIG advantage in combat
+ Multi-Player with Henchman Level Progression
+ Skills, STATS and Perks and the ability to switch out your gang on the fly helps to vary gameplay


CONS:

- Average economy system will be too easy and simple for above average sim fans
- Turn based combat can be a bit infurating (Hit chances, friendly fire, damage stats,..)
- Playing too many hours in a row will show how repetetive the gameplay can get
- Co-Operative Mode is restricted to 2 modes of the Turn Based Combat, no co-op campaign with economy map!!
- After 10 hours you have may have heard and seen everything that exists in the game
- You might think that some henchmen are better than others



DLC WORTH IT?

Yes if you get it all cheap at once, each DLC (not counting ADDON!) adds 1 mission and 1 henchman but on their own not worth 5 bucks.

SUMMARY: Definitely buy if you want a fun and not too deep eco-sim/turnbased hybrid and feel a bit like "Boardwalk Empire" or other Prohibition-related media. Great game, just not perfect but one can forgive the weak spots.


Long Text:

A fun little niché title that combines economy simulation with round-based combat in a meaningful way. By no means the most deep and realistic simulation of the Prohibition Era but it manages to capture the atmosphere through authentic, if sometimes comical, voice bits, great and fitting music and general flair.


Neither combat nor economy sections of the game work perfectly but work seamlessly together but it can get repetetive.


Multi-Player is PvP (vs other players and their gangsters) and 2 Co-operative missions. You can only play the turn-based combat but you can build your gang out of the game's henchman list, level and equip them according to your preferences (and what you can afford).



It IS a fun game that draws you in with its charm, easy to use and understand controls and mechanics, quick action and original maps based on Atlantic City.


It is NOT a hardcore economy sim with deep layers of mechanics nor a high-tech combat simulator.

You are limited to the ingame ressources and will most likely figure out the most efficient way to play about midway through the 10-15 hour campaign and slight repetivity might sour your experience.