So much fun! Totally worth getting if you've ever enjoyed this type of game or want to try one. It has some quirks that it will help to know about ahead.
There are only 4 classes, and a party is going to need to be one of each. But those 4 classes are very well done,. Assigning stat points on level, gearing up, and teaching characters new spells are all very, very satisfying, They gain some signature class skills on certain levels. Since a lot of gear requires some stats and a lot of gear gives some stats, I spend some (enjoyable) time scheming how to raise stats to achieve certain things. For example, if I just get my warrior's intelligence up a little more with gear, the warrior will gain a small XP boost. If my shaman is just a little faster, she'll start getting two actions per turn instead of one. Fun!
There are several options under "Other" that can really help. By default, enemy move (animation) speed is on 400% and mouse scrolling is on 200%, so the game felt really twitchy to me. But those can be changed. Outside of combat, there's also a difficulty setting for easier (less enemy health) or harder if you wanted that, too. The music isn't inspiring me, so I sometime turn it off to listen to background music while playing. I REALLY appreciate it when devs configure a game well but also let players customize some if we want. Kudos there!
There's a key toggle to switch between mouse pointer mode and mouse look around mode, and you'll need to switch a lot (Q by default). It was awkward until I figured this out, so that should save you some trouble.
Most skills like bows and fire magic are learned by each character, and each character needs to train the skills to benefit. Skill trainers are scattered around in villages. Each class can only learn certain levels of skills. (This is all visible on a screen, so it's clear in game.) But with 4 skills, only 1 person needs to learn. (Those are pathfinder/navigation, treasure hunter, negotiator, and hunter/monster ID).
The other thing that isn't too obvious at the start is how stats and things like armor class v defense power work. But the game is very, very clear about what stats control what, and what each thing does. On the skills screen (T by default), hovering over something gives more info. It's all there. Paying attention to how you build and grow will definitely help your team. The game does a great job of showing you details. For example, one thing Strength does is for every 2 points, gain 1 attack power. No vague descriptions like "hit harder" here. It's specific.
There's not a lot of voice acting or cut scenes, but the game is pretty (no pixel graphics! yeah!) and the graphics give me good information as well as fun. I can see some enemies ahead, can see a pile of bones that might have loot, etc. Eye in the Sky spell will highlight nearby things (really useful) and you can take a look around with a key (alt by default.) The maps often don't orient North at the top, which is disorienting, but not a big problem. West Micirida Village is on the right side of that map, huh. I got used to it.
There are definitely areas that will be too tough at whatever level your people are, so save often, check out monsters with mouse pointer and right click from out of range. Then back away slowly from that critter with 8x the HP of your warrior. Or not.
Anyway, I'm having a lot of fun exploring, fighting, helping villagers, and helping my team grow into juggernauts who will eventually save the world. Totally worth full price!
