Enderal: The Shards of Order

This is my favorite game ever. I've played it all the way through twice, probably ready to play it again. Makes the story in Skyrim look like a joke. Made me cry. Amazing, beautiful story. I'm not sure I like the different magic/leveling system, but it is still interesting. I do appreciate that monsters/areas don't level with your character (so there are many places you should avoid in the beginning of the game). The whole world and NPC's are very richly developed and the landscape is varied and interesting (lots of great side-quests).

What can I possibly say about this masterpiece, this shining example of what video games as a medium are capable of? Simply put, it has become my favorite game of all time, even beating games from giants like CD Projekt RED, BioWare, Obsidian, and certainly Bethesda. At the very least, I would personally consider it to be a superior game to Skyrim in every way. The story in Enderal is central to the experience in a way that it simply is not in Skyrim, and the stories on offer, in both the main quest and the many side quests, are exceptional. Both are engrossing and immersive and contain some of the finest writing I have personally seen in video games that relentlessly and mercilessly manipulates your emotions. This immersion and manipulation is aided by the truly professional voice acting, as the game is fully voiced, aside from the protagonist. While there are occasional badly acted lines, the voices for all the main characters range from good to exceptional and most of the characters for side quests are also voiced well. The immersion is also aided by amazing soundtrack for the game. I don't believe I've heard a single piece that wasn't great and it always enhances whatever scene is currently being played, from calm, quiet exploration to tense and engaging fights and dramatic moments. As mentioned, however, this is an open world game and thus exploration plays a key role as well, and in this I can say that Enderal also manages to be superior to Skyrim and exceptional in its own right. The world of Enderal is filled with things to find and explore and each of its major regions manages to feel different and unique. These regions easily draw the player in and make them want to explore and discover the history behind each one. Finally, the combat, while mostly carried over from Skyrim, manages to feel much more tense and engaging. Several small but significant changes are made to accomplish this, such as health not regenerating on its own and the addition of a mechanic to discourage extensive healing during combat. In addition, the game contains a more traditional leveling system that also manages to feel rewarding. Overall, every element of this game combines to make a truly exceptional whole. When I finished it, I was overwhelmed with emotion, I didn't want the experience to end, and a part of me wished that I could forget ever playing the game so that I could experience it for the first time again. For a story driven game, I don't think there is higher praise than that.

This game is an absolute masterpiece. It's up there with The Witcher 3 in terms of quality - if you're into RPGs and haven't played Enderal yet, drop what you're doing and start downloading it - it's free!

I give it a 10/10 not because it's perfect (it isn't), but because of where it stands relative to the rest of the RPG genre. It operates on Skyrim's engine, so it has all of Skyrim's problems, E.G.: being launched into low-orbit due to stepping on a basket, items/npc's falling through the ground, crashes to desktop, etc. So, save frequently(!) and familiarize yourself with the command console so that you can spawn back something that disappeared, or force a quest stage back to where it should be, etc. The Enderal subreddit is also a great place to ask how to fix something that may be broken.

That said, this game's faults are utterly excusable, and microscopic next to the things it does right. The scenery, music, and gameplay are top-notch. Above all, the story is nothing short of amazing. It takes a bit for the 'hook' to really sink in, but once you progress passed the the beginning parts of the main storyline, you will be addicted like you've never experienced from another game. This is a game that really gets into your head, and will masterfully play at your emotions (I'm a pretty stoic guy, but it pulled even me in!).

The gaming industry needs more developers like SureAI. If any of the SureAI team sees this: THANK YOU! Please don't ever stop making games.

Simply amazing... If you have played an enjoy games such as Skyrim this is a must try, level design is so so impressive and variety in the game for its size is staggering. The story line is gripping and interesting and the amount of dialog just gives you a real sense of what's going on in the world and brings you closer to the story. Cannot wait for the DLC to release!

10/10 Recommend it to all my friends