Gabriel Flood

For those who grew up playing the classic Fallouts 1 and 2, Arcanum, or Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, the semi-constant lookout for true spiritual successors of the CRPG genre never ends. Age of Decadence is 100% a contender for admission into this pantheon. I can honestly say I have never encountered one that so engrossed me with its unique world, characters, and above all else the distinctness of exclusive branching paths through the overarching storyline, that I ended my first completed playthrough only to *immediately* begin a second one solely for the chance to select a different origin. I'd spent one whole playthrough seeing hints, signs, and signals of alternative pathways and approaches to quests (and not a few overt dialogues informing me that certain questlines were simply being denied me, being as they were quite obviously meant for a member of [insert alternative faction or profession here], which I remembered being an option at character creation). And while I am sure this sounds restrictive to many, once I wrapped my little completionist head around the concept that the game was *deliberately and intelligently designed* around the notion of genre-uncommon replayability, and in conscious defiance of the "Ubermensch Who Can Do Everything After Grinding For Enough XP" character progression model of Bethesda fame, I started to experience something I had personally never before been able to fully enjoy in a CRPG: I was *growing far more attached* to my exceedingly mortal, undeniably human-limited little avatar, specifically because he had a relative laundry list of uninvested, useless skills on his sheet that were most effectively employed as a constant reminder to *avoid approaching situations and quests in a manner that would force those skills to be necessary*. I have never, for noteworthy example, had so much fun nor felt so consistently blasted clever navigating a CRPG as a member of the Merchant's Guild who, lacking pretty much any advanced martial capability whatsoever, nonetheless kept on earning equivalent-and-then-some amounts of Civil Skill Points for his diplomatic and economic tactical brilliance at *circumventing* every situation that would have immediately devolved into a fight to the death for any other character archetype. Civil SP that, of course, were immediately poured right back into heightening his non-combat specializations even further. The next playthrough, I walked directly to the local garrison and joined the militarized Legion faction, and proceeded to have a playthrough wherein every single situation of intrigue and nuanced political depth I'd been navigating previously was (almost hilariously, at least in contrast) approached with all the delicacy of a bellowed challenge and a crafter's focus on finding the next highest tier of metal ingots to craft an even stronger spear, often from the melted-down slag of the last opponents' weaponry and armor. Oh yeah, there is indeed a respectably diverse set of crafting systems here too. I've probably gushed enough by now, but the thesis of it all is this: If you want something equal parts classically familiar (visually, meta systems, etc.) and new and refreshing (story, setting, overarching design), absolutely check this game out. Brace yourself to get your first character or two humblingly trounced by the game world as you adjust to the necessity of abandoning the polyglottal approach we've all taken in too many other games to count... and then break free from Act 1 with your first burgeoning specialist, and enjoy the brilliant ride ahead from there. You'll be as unlikely to regret it, as forget it.