You explore a fantasy world with a small group of AI companions called pawns who fight alongside you and shout advice about enemy weaknesses. Fighting large monsters is the highlight, since you can literally climb onto a griffin's back mid-flight and stab at it as it thrashes around. It is a rough-edged game from an earlier era of design, so expect some clunky menus alongside the exciting combat.
Gameplay video
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Screenshots & review notes
Why it lands
Ahead of its time when it launched, this remains a cult favorite for good reason, even if some systems feel dated by now.
How it plays
Climbing onto massive monsters mid-fight to stab weak points is still one of gaming's great combat thrills, and the pawn system keeps things unpredictable.
Style and score
The world can look a little rough by modern standards, but the sense of scale in its monster encounters still impresses.
Who it's for
Bitterblack Isle's endgame content adds real longevity for those who finish the main quest. A must for action RPG fans willing to overlook some jank.
Frames captured from the gameplay video above; notes are our own take on the game.
What it's like to play
You create your own character and set out into a dangerous countryside called Gransys with a small party of companions called pawns, and combat here has real physical weight, you can grab onto huge monsters like a griffin mid-flight or a cyclops' leg and climb up its body to attack a weak point directly rather than just swinging at its ankles from the ground. You pick a vocation, essentially a class like strider, fighter, or mystic knight, and each one controls completely differently, from nimble bow-and-dagger combat to heavy melee with elemental magic, and switching vocations later changes your whole playstyle. One or two of your pawns are AI companions you hire from other players online, and they will shout out advice and enemy weaknesses they learned from fighting these same monsters in someone else's game.
Your goal is to explore Gransys, take on quests from towns and NPCs, and eventually confront the source of a curse that has marked you as the arisen, but a huge part of what you actually spend time doing is simply surviving travel, since the world at night is genuinely dangerous, with monsters strong enough to wipe out an unprepared party and no fast, safe way to skip past them. An included expansion called Bitterblack Isle offers a much harder, endgame-focused dungeon with tougher monsters and better gear for players who finish the main story and want more challenge. A full playthrough with some side content runs well over thirty hours.
Session to session this feels tense and physical in a way few other action RPGs manage, especially the first time night falls while you are far from town and you realize you have to fight your way back. What may frustrate you is that fast travel is deliberately limited, quests are not always clearly marked, and your hired pawns repeat the same handful of combat lines constantly. This is best suited to players who want a slower, riskier RPG built around genuinely tough monster fights rather than a streamlined modern experience.