Been waiting for Six Ages: Lights Going Out to come out for a while, and it finally released earlier this week.
As with the other games in the same series, its original setting and unique concepts are a breath of fresh air in the paint-by-numbers standard of modern fantasy.
Equally refreshing was how its end-of-the-world story actually had you feel as if the world was ending - the game is ruthless even on normal difficulty, and makes the pragmatic survival of the previous games seem like cakewalks. Even small setbacks felt harrowing when you knew things would only get worse, not to mention the far-reaching impacts of major cataclysms.
The highlight of the game has to be end sequence. It was captivating in a way that few games, movies, or books I've experienced have been, in a combined effort of beauty, originality, and gravity. I was glued to my screen.
My critiques of the game number two, with the first being that some of the game systems feel antiquated, largely being unchanged since their inception in the last millennium. Most actions passing the time, with some being necessary for survival while others are of no real importance, is tolerable for veterans but likely snake venom for the enjoyment of newcomers.
The other would be the slight mishmash of old- and new fantasy. Don't get me wrong, the writing is great - instead of rolling your eyes every time the writer looked up a synonym, words you don't know fit effortlessly into sentences you can still understand. But what might pull you out of the action a bit is when you have an event where 'folk' from a 'community' do something, which is immediately chased by a message saying "Your efforts were thwarted by ice demons." It's not widespread at all, but attentive readers could tell how some newblood busybody at the publisher 'helpfully' provided a few 'guidelines'.
If you're new to the series, but found what I talked about intriguing, I would recommend playing Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind or King of Dragon Pass first. You will get the most enjoyment out of them if you enjoy management/strategy games. There will be many things you don't understand, either mechanically or lore-wise - don't fret, as this is a part of the game. Were you omniscient and omnipotent, you would still fail sometimes. Go with what makes sense, and defer to your advisors when they make sense.
