Recent reviews by MrReciprocity

Mechanically, it's a little clunky, but the pared-down approach is an interesting take on real-time strategy. However, where this game really excels is flavor. The Redwall-meets-Bolshevik-Revolution setting is great, the pixel art and character designs are top notch, and the constant inter-species cannibalism adds a layer of weird, dark tragi-comedy to the whole thing. It's not a perfect game, but if you like to explore new settings and new takes, give it a shot.

+ Great visual design--if someone asks you what cyberpunk looks like, show them this game. A perfect balance of neon and grunge.
+ The game does a good job of subverting the reality of its own setting. As the amnesiac Fyn wanders the city, odd little events and visual effects play up the dubious nature of her reality.
+ Alternate paths and solutions for major plot points. There are different ways to handle things, depending on where you've gone and what you've done.

= Short, particularly for the price. It's only the first part in a series, so the ending is, well, not really an ending, and once you've gone through once, you can plow through the alternate paths in like half an hour.
= Like many adventure games, the puzzles are a mixed bag. A lot of them are intuitive, but some are just random. I got through 90% of the game (or at least, the path I went down first) just fine, then got stuck because I just needed to ask a random guy in a random place to give me a random object.

- Fyn is not exactly compelling. She's a narcissistic sociopath, which is kind of essential for the story to work, but there's not much else to her. Sometimes it works, particularly when she's sassing the player, but sometimes you really wonder why you're spending your time with this awful human being.
- The rest of the characters are barely there. They get a handful of lines a peice, and no one has any real charm of personality--which is surprising, since they're all funky transhumans and cyborgs and whatnot.
- The writing is kind of a mess. There's lots of pseudo-poetry, but even the most mundane lines can be baffling.

All in all, it's not GREAT, but it is INTERESTING. If you're into adventure games, cyberpunk, or unreliable narratives, give it a shot.

If it's on sale.

I'm still early on, but I definitely have to recommend this game, if only for the wonderful, adorable pixel art--but beyond that, it's a solid little metroidvania platformer, with adventure game elements (puzzles, ridiculous inventory items) and charm to spare, with notes of Discworld and Harry Potter.

The only downside is that I now have "Growing Up Isn't Easy" from The Worst Witch stuck in my head.

Clearly, there's still a ways to go in building this game, and there's definitely some matchmaking problems, but I'm super-impressed with the class and map design in Nosgoth. The two factions have very different playstyles, and each of their classes is plays in its own way, but there's very little that's broken, overpowered, or poorly compitable.

Similarly, the maps serve both factions well, providing vampires with roofs to stalk from and leap between, but simultaneously giving the humans plenty of cover, with rooms to hole up in and debris to duck behind--all without being blatantly placed for gameplay. You never wonder, "why is there a random pillar here for me to climb" or "what is this shed doing in the middle of nowhere."

Kudos to Nosgoth, and here's hoping that its development will result in a fully-realized, deep game worthy of the Lagacy of Kain brand. (Hey, can't end up worse than Blood Omen 2, right?)