This is one of those games that's either going to be a nostalgic thing for you or you're going to have issues with the way it works and the glitches with newer operating systems and hardware that the game wasn't designed to run on.

That said, for me, it's the nostalgic side and I'm willing to put up with some hoops to jump through to get it running smoothly. Septerra Core does work as is from Steam with some minor issues (see the forums). It's one of those games that I'm glad to see being raised from obscurity since I have been wishing to be able to play again but could not find my old install discs.

And fair warning, there is a debate as to if the gog version is the better one to buy due to the version patch.

The game itself is a solid isometric RPG with, for its time, a fairly innovative combat system and quite a well done story and fairly memorable cast of characters. For the combat system it might take a little getting used to, as it is an active initiative based system where characters well build up their action bars in tiers to be able to perform attacks and actions, while spell casting shows up in the form of cards that summon aspects of gods and can be combined with multiple characters actions to do alternate effects. The voice acting is not spectacular given new gaming standards, but they are pretty good given the age of the game. Expect to do a little bit of grinding in order to afford items and have easier times with later fights. There are several cut points in the game where you can no longer go back to old areas after you reach them due to story progression so I'd recommend saving often and saving in multiple slots in order to be able to back up to points.

Been playing this for a while now and have very much enjoyed the game. It does not require any monetary addition, and it can link accounts between your phone and steam to sync up which is lovely. There are new cards getting added weekly, which does give the game a bit of troop bloat and effects a couple modes of play in the game negatively, one notable one is the Arena which draws randomly. The more troop cards, the less likely you are to get anything that can work together. Also, in that mode if you already had the troop and it's traits and levels unlocked in your own deck set, that aspect is ignored. So as time goes on the Arena mode of the game becomes less and less enjoyable. But the other modes they have added like delves and bounty hunting are very fun.

On the whole I would give this game an A- rating. It's got a very solid and fun battle match system with a card collecting deck building aspect and it plays well across several platforms. It looses points for old game modes that are no fun and need an update or revamp, and the more recent trend of the game to throw pop up "Hey, want to give us money for THIS" deals into your face.

Feb 2023 Edit
The game is becoming more in your face money grab, but on the whole it still remains a solid free to play game I think with monetization not being too rough. It certainly has a decent bang for your monthly or even bi-monthly buck for reward boosts for some of the events. It's nice that you can still get decent prizes and premium currency through just basic game play and not need to invest in the game if you don't feel it's worth your time or money.

Some of the older game play modes still need a bit of an overhaul, in particular the Treasure map rewards come to mind with a serious need for updated prizes for time investment. That said I also understand that there have been some who abuse the treasure map system preventing the devs from really giving it the go over it needs. But I do feel like it rewarding orbs and some of the other new items that have come put for character growth would be a positive step in encouraging me to spend more time with that aspect of the game.

I still think this game is worth my time and would recommend it as solid match and deck building game.