Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura Demo

Judging something by its cover is never a good idea, but when the said cover features the name of a studio like Troika Games, it is pretty difficult not to give into the temptation and let your imagination run wild. Since it was primarily formed out of people who worked on the the first two Fallout games, one can hardly hold the excitement back, especially when the game in question also happens to be a role-playing game, albeit set in a very different universe.

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura is an RPG set in a steampunk world, populated by a mix of elves, dwarves, humans and various other such interesting creatures, not to mention the mighty curious half breeds, such as half-elves, half-ogres and so forth. The steampunk term refers to the fact that the technology running the said world is mostly powered by springs, large wheels and obviously steam, which makes for some very interesting machinery. However, magic is also prevalent, which means that you can have powerful wizards going head-to-head with rifle-wielding, top hat-wearing gentlemen on top of a blimp.

The writers did a magnificent job at blending the two worlds together in a pretty convincing manner, through the use of a rich background story and a sturdy plot to drive the action from act to act. Although it starts a little slow and you might find yourself a bit disoriented in the beginning, given the fact that the main quest gets very blurry and confusing in the first few hours of gameplay, the waiting is definitely worth it and everything starts to make sense pretty quickly after that.

You start off by creating a character, which is the first big challenge of the game in the truest sense of the word. The number of attributes is not very different from any other role-playing game, since it includes basic stats like strength, constitution, or intelligence. However, when it comes to talents and skills, the list is split into technology, magic and the usual combat/stealth category, which means that you need to be very careful when it comes to splitting your points. Depending on your choices here, the entire experience can differ wildly for the first few hours, although the classless system allows you to switch between talents at any point during the game, as long as you gather enough experience points.

Playing Arcanum should come natural to those who are familiar with the isometric RPG genre in general, but even more so to those who have toyed with the Fallout franchise. The world is open and large, with plenty of interesting locations scattered around the map and plenty of different environments to explore. You can either go by foot or use the automatic travel function, which even allows you to aimlessly scour the map without choosing an actual location.

The steampunk and magic combination means that the items you find, buy and use range wildly depending on their purpose. You can find springs and metal plates to build your own weapons, or enchanted swords that grant you a bonus in poison damage with every successful hit. You can wear chain mail armor, or opt for a suit when you are inside a city and you do not want to alienate the middle class population with your blood-stained chest plate. You can buy perfume to eradicate the dungeon stink, as well as a shiny pair of shoes to avoid ruining the carpet in the rich man's mansion.

There are countless things to do and see in the game, as well as plenty of fascinating characters to meet and have a chat with. Speaking of which, the intelligence stat has a great impact on the dialogue, since you can either expose your ideas in a clear and elaborate manner, or just spit simple words without punctuation, logic or reason. The story accommodates all sorts of characters, on the other hand, so it definitely should not factor into your decision at the start of the story, unless you want to avoid sounding like an idiot with every uttered sentence.

Lastly, all things being equal, it must be mentioned that the combat system is a bit flawed and difficult to get used to in the beginning. You can change it from real-time to turn-based from the options menu, but it hardly makes a difference, since there are fundamental mistakes that affect the core mechanics. It is not horrible, mind you, but it certainly brings the entire experience down a little bit, thus preventing the game from achieving perfection.

Despite the misfire on the combat system, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura still manages to be one of the most intriguing, atmospheric and well-designed RPG ever released. The level design is memorable, the dialogue and the story keep you interested and invested in the action, while the magnificent soundtrack can unleash bursts of emotion for many years after you play the game. Thus, in the end, you should definitely give it a try and see for yourself what all the fuss is about, because the chances of you ending up disappointed are pretty slim.