Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura Review

[@yarow122]

Cut & Paste from the following post: plus.google.com/+yarow122/posts/2ePC777Unkb To those who are considering playing _Arcanum of Steamworks and Magick Obscura_ , look into the various patches and mods For the only ones I'm aware of, Google the following: *Arcanum Essential Mods/Patches* (unofficial patch, High-quality townmaps, High Resolution Patch) *Arcanum Equilibrium Rebalance Mod gog* (changes almost everything, combat, weapons, armor, spells, stats, 170 extra portraits, save for 2nd playthrough) *Arcanum Beta Content Restoration Pack* [1202 critter animations; 175 monster animations; 88 unique npc animations; complete set of new animations (87), armors and weapons for Orcs; new weapons and animations for some monsters; 21 original ambient sounds (city, grassland, village, mine, forest, etc.); multiplayer online game fix] Smaller version compatible with Unofficial Arcanum Patch. *Terra-Arcanum Downloads* (collection of patches, hacks, the manual, guides, modules independent of the main campaign, modding tools and info, fan-created art, wallpapers, screensavers, and a theme pack) *Know that the original post may receive updates in the future. Not this one.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Ill pin it! I used the unofficial patch and high resolution patch (for other playthroughs ..not my review) .. I had great experiences with them

[@yarow122]

Thanks, mate! I finally got around to actually reading the webpage and added it to the original post.

[@Докторпарадокс]

3 years passed but I will say easiest and painless way is to grab Multiverse edition it auto updates and has a lot of improvements and all essential mods

[@JustDaZack]

Thanks a bunch!

[@brovusmarillian3303]

"Arcanum! A game where you can convince the final antagonist, too kill himself out of love. For a world he hates~" -Seth

[@ThatMans-anAnimal]

Devs were pressured by the producer to include real-time with pause and it was stuffed into the game late. It was balanced for turn-based combat, so play in that mode.

[@markwells3289]

Wholeheartedly agree; the real-time combat system shifts from buggy to overwhelmingly fast at the drop of a dime. Conversely, the turn based combat gives you plenty of time to control the situation.

[@FalloutWanderer-uq5sh]

Thanks for the heads up. I'm going to begin my 1st PT soon so for someone unfamiliar with Arcanum like myself your post is a valuable piece of information to know. Btw, purely out of curiosity (if you've played them) what are your thoughts on UnderRail and The Age of Decadence? Also Obsidian's recent announcement of 'the Outer Worlds? I'm excited to see Boyarsky and Cain working together again after all these years since the Troika days. The Outer Worlds imo has a lot of potential, liking what I've seen/heard so far.

[@TheAwesomeviking]

Best game I ever played. Simply LOVED the magic meets technology setting. Together with a fantastic soundtrack and a mysterious, yet great theme.

[@mayathebraveofkitwanga448]

Oh, I remember Arcanum... Weird feeling to see the Arcanum's gameplay after getting used to Dragon Age and Skyrim. But still Arcanum is special. This is how good old RPG started.

[@dzikripratama3776]

Dragon Age 2 ia such a disappoinment..

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

What to expect in August on this channel ...Update: Fallout 4 review will be out in September Fallout 4 Review Saints Row 10 Yr video Top 100 VGMs all in one video Fallout 1.5 Resurrection review (I hope) and maybe more

[@WilliamCanterbury]

What is your favorite fallout game?

[@couriersix7326]

He has said Fallout 2 is his favorite.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Fallout 2 :)

[@couriersix7326]

Hey Retro, when is your fallout 4 review? I'm going crazy waiting for it I'm addicted to your content!

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

By the end of the month my friend ..thank you!

[@Curios_Cat]

hell.....you voice is like the narrator in a creepypasta.

[@MsJavaWolf]

Overall Arcanum might be my favourite RPG. The intelligence stat lead to a funny situation right at the start of the game for me. My friend and I were playing it at the same time so I told him, well I talked to Virgil and then this and that and he said: who is Virgil? You mean Viggel? Do you even actually read the dialogues? Turns out his character was too stupid to pronounce the name correctly. I also liked how many things seemes more realistic, than many rpgs. For example, you character is able to destroy any wooden door. You can break into any house, you can steal anything, it will have consequences of course, but there is little that artificially limits you.

[@hamishdrake6166]

This is the only game I wish someone would redo. It had a brilliant story, flexibility and freedom.

[@Galildoughty]

Great review, Arcanum is still one of my favorite games of all time... Play it atleast once a year...

[@deimantebruzaite5343]

Galildoughty this game was my most favourite either of all time, but all 2 game disks was broken and if I had not broken disk, I still couldn't play this game anymore, because of windows newer os versions, I was playing since 2004 until at late 2009, was great review

[@LordDeek]

@@deimantebruzaite5343 wtf i didnt understand a single sentence

[@MrMultiSuprime]

@@deimantebruzaite5343 you can now buy it on GOG for £1.5!

[@splartman1798]

definitely one of the best gaming experiences I've had. completes it, although I was in no rush. just loved playing it.

[@TonyHookedonVanlife]

I have wanted to play this game for 15 years(yes, I am an old fart LOL)... and I finally got it yesterday. I am soooo stoked!!!

[@irishTheTroll]

I have played this game a HUGE number of times.. and each time, I still found new things, that I hadn't before. Game is awesome. Enjoy.

[@TonyHookedonVanlife]

William Thomas thanks! I started in character creation with distributing my points with conventional RPG 'wisdom' and promptly died over and over!! I got a few tips from the GOG forums and re-started. LOL

[@redactedc1928]

I just had no idea it was so detailed, I just got through underrail and this is perfect.

[@TonyHookedonVanlife]

Nathan Cornell yeah, if people can look past the graphics, which have not aged quite as well as say Icewind Dale or Baldurs Gate(even though they are on the same graphics engine? I could be wrong), this game is just so unique.

[@OnlyInhuman90]

I'm 4 years late but did you finish the game?

[@PointReflex]

The downside of Troika was that they had great potential but they failed in the key executions. This game and Temple of Elemental Evil are the best examples, but overall Troika was an CRPG powerhouse rising after the death of Interplay. As for Arcanum its very buggy but the game has a LOT of great things that will make you play despite the downsides, contrary to other games (cough Fallout 4 cough) that were buged as fuck and had almost nothing that will make you say, "hey... for this I will eat the crashes". Something similar happened to me playing a mod for Neverwinter Nights called A dance with Rogues. The quests were buged as fuck but despite that, the story and the characters (the pinacle of the game) were so fucking interesting and so well writen that I couldn't stop playing. If a broken game can keep your interest until the very end and leave you with a taste of satisfaction and achievment.... what else would you need, ask or expect? :3

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

When I look at the history of Troika ...it makes me sad ... Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines and Arcanum are excellent games ...I have not played Elemental Evil yet ...but It sucks that they shut down ... I heard that they were bidding for the Fallout IP and almost got it ...a damn shame

[@irishTheTroll]

I dont know anything about crashes with this game.. the only thing that seemed super buggy to me, when I played, was that sometimes in Tarant, I would have massive slowdown... in certain areas. So, it limited me alittle in those spots. BUt I figured that was a computer thing... cause when I played it later on a newer computer, I never had those slow downs... I have had people get caught on walls on occasion, I just run past them, and get them unstuck, and try again.

[@Koupip]

my lvl 50 caracter ran into a wall once and got stucked and i had to restart but when you instal the unofficial patch the game gets so much better.

[@woutblux1998]

Indeed, I didn't remember any bugs when I played in 2001, but the slowdowns especially in big cities were problematic. defragmenting the hard drive helped and there was also some fix with directx sound (probably cpu related).

[@iladelproductions8820]

Thanks for putting me on to this one Che, im about a hour in so far and its fucking AWSOME. the diluage between charchters are very well done, my character is a snarky little prick and i LOVE IT!!! lol.

[@babal1ty]

Ahh Arcanum... Brings back the memories of my childhood. I used to imagine my own stories in Arcanum setting and sometimes write them on a paper. Where are those days now?

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Have you heard of Age Of Decadence?... I heard it was a good cRPG .... I was too Young to play games like Fallout ,Baldur's gate ,Arcanum and Planescape when they released ...but I'm going back and playing the classics ... loving every minute of it

[@babal1ty]

+RetrospectiveGaming You've got a good taste i can tell. I've heard about it but i can't invest much time in video games nowadays, unfortunately. Planescape is a must play imho. It has a unique story with a philosophical depth in it.

[@bulanet]

I played a bit of AoD. No joking they were inspired by fallout making it. It's much harder and unfair tho, but the skills and reputation systems are interesting and are much deeper compared to fallout. More complex

[@possessedslig]

Just playing this now and very much enjoying it. Love the content, keep up the good work!

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Thank you!

[@YouAreDiedAgain]

Wow... this defintely gives off that Fallout vibe :). Gotta love dem old rpgs :D

[@ColonelRPG]

Back then a lot of people were talking about Arcanum as the real Fallout 2, because Tim Cain, Leonard Boyarsky and Jason Anderson all left Black Isle because they didn't like where Fallout 2 was heading, so there was a bit rift in the community back then.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

:)

[@yousefghanimeh9817]

this is the real fallout 3, the idiot couldn't realize that, i can't say more in order not to spoil

[@solluna1919]

This game seems incredible! Thank you for going into it!!!

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Thank you for watching

[@EXCIDIVMFERO]

This game got me obsessed with steampunk when it came out!

[@fonebook]

Great choice for the dialogue example. I remember playing that part and thinking how impressive the writing is for a video game.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

The writing in this game is very impressive ... I love the setting too

[@BrideMiJaja]

I played this game 10 years ago, never finished it, i decided to download it again and finish the damn thing... Man when i got into it, the soundtrack, the nostalgia... hit me with those damn feels...

[@godo2712]

Just to address the "bug" with Virgil and street in Tarant it is probably area warehouse with skulls inside; there are two hostile creatures inside, and one of them stands right next to the walls - so when your NPC moves near them, he goes into passive combat mod solution to this is either not go nearby, or to bust down the doors and kills critters inside

[@bumonthecorner13]

Oh and the dog from Arcanum is the same one from Mad Max 2 the one of the guys behind it is a huge fan of the mad max series and the Creator of Mad max wanted to work with them on a Mad max video game. it feel thru but there friendship is why there are so many Mad max tropes in games like this and fallout.

[@lavitanuova9273]

Pretty much spot on. It's glaring flaws are eclipsed by it's strong points imo. Still the best crpg of all time, and this isn't nostalgia talking because I played it for the first time in 2019.

[@Antartnord]

One of the bests and most immersive games I've played in my childhood. I remember made a Word document to design my character, great review.

[@marko6219]

you have made me want to play this game even more. this game and planescape torment are two rpgs I have yet to play and I hear nothing but great things about them. Character customization options and the gameworld are really interesting in this game like you pointed out and are the main reasons why I want to play it. You could also review Diablo 1 and 2 or Baldur's Gate sometime in the future. True classics that stand the test of time. :) and are fun today

[@kummakummakummakummakummac8606]

You should definately play Planescape Torment.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

I did review BG ..and I plan on playing the second game at some point kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4i1lZqZjd-ZrpI Diablo 2 brings back great memories :)

[@ColonelRPG]

Arcanum is one of my favorite games of all time. But the combat is atrocious. It's probably the single worst combat system I have ever seen, turn-based/real-time hybrid is murder, and it spoils the game very very much. Even though, it's definitely one of my all time favorites, and one of the few games that has been able to make me cry. Great review, anyway. To the point and very thorough.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Thank you colonel and I agree...I don't like the combat that much

[@irishTheTroll]

See, when I first played, I didn't even know it HAD a turn based combat system... I played the game all in RT. Let me tell you, that makes the game a bit harder... want to use traps? Better go ahead and place them and lure people to them... if they are faster then you are.. tough luck. Turn based was boring to me.. WAY too easy...

[@yousefghanimeh9817]

you clearly don't have enough intelligence to play chess, the combat is genius

[@Asrudin]

I used to play it on realtime, usually as a tech/gunslinger, and it definately felt very imbalanced at times. But the story and depth makes up for it. I still remember figuring out the ultimate blessing quest from some books and a painting in tarant as one of the most fun puzzles I solved in all my gaming history.

[@Gecko18045]

Colonel RPG isnt combat same as fallout 2 ? I was satisfied with fo1/2 combat mechanics

[@Empowerless]

Great review! Although I wish it was even longer and more detailed for such an extensive game. I recollect that it was the publisher's (Sierra's) decision to put real-time combat option to the game, probably to make the game more suitable for a more casual audience. A good idea in theory but the execution of it all was terrible. I tend to use the real-time option when faced with very easy enemies, or I want to cheese some really hard encounters. I have played two playthroughs of this game. One with Windows 7 and one with Windows XP. I'm not sure whether I played the Win7 playthrough with unofficial patch or not, but on both playthroughs I have had no gamebreaking issues or CTDs. Looking forward to the Fallout review.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Thank you! ...Besides crashing (maybe its because I use windows 8) the bugs were minor ...just annoying and I wish they made a sequel or spiritual successor where the execution is way better than it was here ... I love this game but its very flawed ..and I can't wait to review Fallout 4 ...might be my longest video yet

[@couriersix7326]

Man Im as hyped for your review as I was for fallout 4 itself. The anticipation is killing me!

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

:)

[@irishTheTroll]

When I first played it back in the day.. I didn't know about the switch. I played it in RT ALL the time... I never thought the combat was bad or anything. Ranged seemed nerfed a bit since enemies usually rush you, but otherwise, the game was a blast. I died alot though.... like when my mage character got ganged up on by the zombies in the P Skylar basement. THere were three things in the game, that I STILL remember as giving me nightmares.. because out of everything they killed me the most 1) Ore Golems. Best way I dealt with them, was shooting them, or throwing explosive grenades.... BMC was a NIGHTMARE as my melee character when I went there. because of these bastards.. 2) Were-Rats: Again.. these things stomped me most the time. They hit hard, they were fast, and they were in ALLOT of places. Just had to smack them, and hope I killed them before they kiled me and Virgil. 3) MEchanical Spiders: These were slow moving bastards... I outran them most the time.. but the fact they hurt like hell when hitting, were usually indoors, where there was no where to run, and came in packs of 4 or more... as wel as breaking your damn weapons and armor... Automotons weren't much better... seeing as they were faster, and bigger, and hit harder.. but the spiders were more numerious. Thinking on it.. the hardest part of the game for me.. in almost every playthrough.. WAS the BMC.

[@zedorda1337]

FYI you can use whatever resolution you want with the HD pack so it doesn't look so zoomed out.

[@notseillo84]

I was just thinking about this game. My friend recommended it to me a long time ago however I never really had time to dive into it. Right now after finishing the Fallout 1.5 Resurrection I feel the urge to experience more of old, great cRPGs and after watching your review I think that Arcanum may be a perfect choice to continue. Thanks a lot :) A big thumb up for you and can't wait for the Fallout 4 review!

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Thank you for watching Not! ... I will review Fallout 1.5 after my Fallout 4 review is done

[@limozeengatorsnatch2254]

This game is interesting, I'll have to pick it up sometime. Great review!

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Thanks dood! ... a hidden gem for sure

[@Sothpawman]

I'm a huge crpg fan. Finished all the old fallout's a million times, and the Baldur's gate series. But never could get into this game, I don't know what it is.

[@kummakummakummakummakummac8606]

Same here. Every time I start a new game I never finish it.

[@UsmevavyPanacek]

Maybe overly complicated leveling system? At least for me this is main factor. You wanna get better at this? Well, get better in this and this and this first and find those four people. Here's one point per level. Nothing against slower leveling, but for me, this was too much.

[@woutblux1998]

I found the levelling system simpeler than the ones in the Baldurs Gate etc. games at the time. You can just infest in whatever you want. I guess deciding what to upgrade might be harder since you could get overwhelmed by the options. In the first game I would recomend to just try something and don't put too much research online to get the right build (you are playing your own game, not what someone else figured out allready). Also maybe it's good to infest points in things that you need at the moment, so if you don't need infestment in something, do it later. This also means you might be able to upgrade skills in multiple steps the moment you need them (because you spared the points). I think that part of the reason to not like this game is because you mostly want to get sucked in by the game from the start. This doesn't work with all the background info you get from the game prior to playing.

[@sparkspl]

this game is boring, and I am big fan of fallout 1 and 2

[@koshersugar7331]

Fantastic job man, I love your reviews!

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Thank you

[@hummingpylon]

To a 15yo Arcanum in 2001 and Morrowind in 2002 were bigger than life. Rest in peace naive childhood.

[@JustDaZack]

Such a well made video! Gonna get and play Arcanum now :)

[@thatmartyfella5305]

I really brushed through it my first time... I need to thoroughly soak the game soon maybe after I finish Wasteland 1, FONV (again), and Underrail.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Awesome games ... You still have to beat Underrail .. FINISH IT DOOD! :p

[@wleon4068]

Even now, after all these years, I still have the big box version of this great pc game, complete with the beautiful thick manual and the map too. I have many old big box pc games that I still play from time to time, such as this one here, 'Empire Earth' 'Sim City' and many more. I find that they are by far and away the best gaming anyone could play. There are no in-game transactions like you get now [ which I absolutely hate with a passion], just pure unadulterated gaming. You paid the money and you received the full game, no questions asked, along with great manuals and box designs too. Not like now in which gaming on Android or iPhone, just does NOT compare. Big Box pc games will always be better.

[@KeyAndrew]

Your totally right that the High Resolution does make the people look like ants... I also tried it but had to go back to the original so I could feel more close what is going on.... I also like how the original looks on my screen....

[@tunner8210]

I finished Arcanum about 6 times, my game crashed 2 times in all those playthroughs combined, and only bug i had was in Tarant, game crashing when i accessed one part of the city (and this was only in one playthough). This game doesnt have that many bugs. You sure the instability wasnt caused by playing on Win 8 or something? I never had problems on XP/Win 7.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Tunner Possibly could have been Windows 8.1 but I've heard so many different experiences about ppl either having a buggy or mot buggy experience ...Idk if its random or just depends on what OS ppl use...but its a fantastic game I wish we could get a spiritual successor

[@tunner8210]

Maybe those people played without unnoficial patches, they fix a lot of bugs. I wish too, that game was AWESOME, too bad Troika bankrupted :(

[@evilgenius7033]

I forgot how annoying the dog's incessant howling is, now I remember why I always killed the dog or abandoned it in Ashbury.

[@unclepatrick2]

Someone gave me this game as a gift when It came out. I played it a number of times in the early 2000's. And I played it more in 2020 with the patches and mods. It really does not great repeatability.

[@couriersix7326]

Great review as always

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Thanks Courier....btw great profile pic

[@deimantebruzaite5343]

Arcanum was best game I ever played 👍

[@barryclark6119]

Been thinking of picking this up from gog! Good review, as usual!

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Thank you Barry! hope your doing well

[@sahinattila2754]

playing as a mage is really immersive, you can open locked chests with fireball :) I can think no other game with this feature

[@neilcathan8594]

Don't blame Troika for the bugs, they had to release it over a year before they were ready to because of publisher pressure. It's a miracle it even runs.

[@raycocker639]

So glad I played this at the age of 14, it totally blew my mind and set me on the journey of life.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

What type of character did you make?

[@tylerthunder2001]

Great review

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Thank you!

[@JapePelaa]

Yeah - I just started playing this game at last... it's been on my mind since the last time I played it but I have forgotten the mechanics and story/stories completely.... feels like a new game now :D I loved and still do love Arcanum and think it's one of the best RPG's of all time - if not THE best :) it was cool to check this review out. Also subbed ;)

[@JackdawLT]

Strange, i don't remember it having so many bugs that it would be frustrating much, maybe i was just lucky. The only "bug" i remember is killing the final boss withDesintergration spell and geting stuck :P I just hate that Backstab skill would lean you towards evil with every hit.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

I think its because i played on Windows 8 :p

[@irishTheTroll]

I agree... I don't ever remember the game crashing..

[@TheRealClaylex]

YES! I knew you would review this game.:D

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

:)

[@barryclark6119]

Yeah, when I saw via twitter that he had reviewed this game I was like: "Hell Yeah!"

[@TheRealClaylex]

Barry Clark :D

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

+Barry Clark Barry! how are you my friend! ...just to let you know I'm uploading my top 100 vgms all in one video soon

[@barryclark6119]

RetrospectiveGaming Oh shit. That's gonna be an epic endeavor. I'm in! Is making this list driving you insane yet? LOL Is your list gonna be in order?

[@the_kekromancer9779]

Playing this game tommorow, can't wait

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Hell yeah bro ..have fun

[@Gabriel-iq8jw]

Hey mate. I see you touch the most respected old rpg games. You might consider giving system shock series a try. They are not necessarly rpg games ( except for sys 2 ), but they have a gripping atmosphere, they are scary, dark, sci fi, and unique. I strongly sugest them to you. Best wishes !

[@Kai-oh2xn]

Bugs seem to plague alot of Rpg games. It doesn't entirely ruin the experience, though.

[@omegasupreme5527]

What bugs? I never ran into anything game breaking except if you're playing it on a really old pc and go to Tarant. Then the slowdown is terrible every time you travel on the world map. Takes like 20 times longer to get anywhere.

[@gordlord561]

yeah I know what you mean with bugs in RPGs, although Troika and Bethesda have had the biggest issues with bugs in their games, luckily their is fan support which has seemed to fix a lot of bugs in their games...

[@ZanathKariashi]

Troika would've fixed theirs eventually had they not went under, Arcanum is their least buggy title, as it came first and was able to get a lot more post-release support than ToEE and VtMBL did (and VtMBL wasn't even entirely their fault). Bethy has no excuse at all.

[@halsaufschneider1446]

This is a hell'uva game. Its clunky as hell. But the RPG, and the insane possibility to build your character how you want him/her is just awesome. Are you a Mechanic, then take the train, first class and build your own Power Armor and Tesla Rod. If you are a Mage, then fuck the Train and simply Teleport away, summon Mighty Elementals and Stop Time. Just don't use guns, or they explode in your face. And it has one thing, I wish many more games had. The choice of RealTime Combat and TurnBased Combat, changeable on the fly! Fallout Tactics did the same, and it was good to have such a choice. It's a real shame this game is so unfinished. It really deserves better.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

I wish Troika made a sequel...or maybe sometime in the future we can get a spiritual successor ... I love the setting and lore ...and This is an actual Role Playing Game ...we need more

[@r3v4n21]

Damn, I now really want to play this game. I knew it would appeal to me once I heard the soundtrack. I now regret buying Jedi Knight Dark Forces 2 and Requiem Avenging Angel on GOG last week.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

I'm sure it will be on sale again soon!

[@r3v4n21]

Yeah I just bought it on GoG ^^

[@turney123]

Good stuff, looking forward to that fallout 4 review have a feeling your going to be very on point with it

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

:) That might be my longest review yet

[@violentsheeple5045]

Great review. Thank you

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Thanks for watching

[@DaytonaRoadster]

i dont mind the res, i just dont like the fact it takes up 1/3 of my screen, can barely read the text

[@AxelStrem]

I'm working on a 4K resolution 3x-zoomed Arcanum, probably will publish some videos in a few days (there are some "work in progress" videos in FullHD 1.5x zoom on my channel, though youtube compressed them pretty badly)

[@DaytonaRoadster]

can you put in an auto-save? Between that and fullscreen, i would love you long time :)

[@AxelStrem]

Well, originally I only intended to tweak the graphics, but now I'm stuck so deep in the binary that I might as well indeed add the autosave :D Will have to think on that

[@shatteredknight1129]

Thumbs up! This is a great review.

[@rosegraham5283]

Another Great Review!

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Thank you David!

[@rosegraham5283]

RetrospectiveGaming A.K.A Ross ;)

[@shakabrade]

With unofficial patch, you get the same amount of bugs as in the normal game where people don't find bugs worth mentioning. Talking about crashing: Vanilla Arcanum taught me to back-up my work. Came in handy so many times at my workplace. :D Regarding replayability, I have finished the game 17 times, each time a unique experience, new followers, new decisions, and, remarkably, new never-seen content and lots of easter eggs. Game does not offer itself to you. I think that in first playthrough I saw less than 25% of overall content. Anyway, top 5 game among Fallout 2, Morrowind, Planescape Torment, Baldur's gate.

[@evilgenius7033]

I feel the same about the Hi Rez patch

[@rhysdavies3479]

Solid game to me. Could use some polish and time to add more and more into the world but that's okay. An Arcanum 2 could easily do this but who knows if that will happen!

[@PaddyMcMe]

I'm guessing you've seen NerdSlayers Troika games 'death of' overview. If not you should have a look.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Paddy Mc I have ...its a good channel

[@saysay415]

Just started this game after watching this, really liking it so far.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Awesome! ....What type of character are you making?

[@saysay415]

Melee swordsman and firearms, also persuasion. It's how i made most of my fallout characters so it felt right

[@regaltofviria8044]

I tried this game two times already and couldn't get used to it's graphics and especially music. I've heard and i believe it's story is great but just couldn't force myself to play it more than couple of hours and believe me when I tell you that I finished Fallout 2 literally nine or even TEN times! But this game hasn't got that special THING.

[@reviewralphusa7255]

maybe you didnt like the setting

[@fonebook]

I hear ya, I love old CRPGs and I think this is a great one but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Didn't like the atmosphere, I pretty much forced myself to finish it.

[@babal1ty]

The Soundtrack is perfect for setting in fact.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

+babal1ty I love the soundtrack

[@woutblux1998]

The music tracks are great, but short. It's the kind of string-music that's going to annoy you after playing the game for some hours. Fortunately the audio files are present in the install folder and you can replace them with what other song you would like to listen to during gameplay (just rename your music file and overwrite the original).

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

I like string music so it didn't bother me ... but the song are short you are right

[@bloodrunsclear]

Classic! I'm glad there's more CRPGs and that these classics are being resurrected :)

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

bloodrunsclear Same! crowdfunding can do great things if done right

[@ArbiterLibera]

Man, I can't believe it took me this long to finally watch the review. I really like how Arcanum, despite its mechanical fumbles, is one of maybe half dozen games that actually do steampunk right in a sense it's not just an aesthetic choice but also goes into how it all works, and then juxtaposes it with magic for another layer of complexity. I do prefer this review structure more because it's a hell of a lot more exhaustive and detailed, although I can't help but wonder how viable it's going to be for other games if you have to work your ass off for it. It was funny as hell to see Worthless Mutt rip and tear through absolutely everything in the footage, though.

[@Marcusianery]

You're not wrong with the Steampunk, The world is built for it, just not a "cool" detail! :)

[@ShadowmarkReturns]

I kinda wanna make a pretty fencer type character

[@straussenei1]

it would be awesome if you would review planescape torment, i'm really enjoying your content

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

I have it on the list!...just have a couple of other games I have to review first....thanks for watching I hope you stick around ..my review for STALKER Shadow Of Chernobyl will be out soon

[@straussenei1]

RetrospectiveGaming i'll definetly watch those other reviews. already watched some of your fallout videos. keep up the good work, i really like it!

[@Guinea779]

I've played this game since its original release. every laptop I've owned I always had arcanum installed on it. I can't tell you the amount of hours I've spent playing and replaying this game through out the years. this game is was the sole entertainment I had on each deployment I had to Iraq. yeah it's buggy, no the graphics aren't the greatest, all the armor looks the same except the different color variations. but almost every time I play I find something new I hadn't seen, a small side quest I hadnt done, or even a new companion I've never had. I love this game.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Guinea779 Its a great game! ...a damn shame that troika is out of business

[@Guinea779]

still playing this game

[@gravellergear4703]

Most unforgettable game for me. The story was just absolutely amazing.

[@maxvitality8598]

This was a great game. I have lots of fond memories of it.

[@couriersix7326]

Hey Retro, who would you say are your top 5 favorite fallout characters?

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

I do plan on doing more "Favorite Fallout Characters" videos in the Fall...you'll find out then ... I have to think about that one ...its a hard question to answer

[@couriersix7326]

Sounds great, your video on the Master was excellent I look forward to more. I hope you include Joshua Graham, he's probably my favorite character in fallout.

[@shae2330]

I never played this game with turn base as I cannot stand that type of gaming but I never had a problem with real time. I also played melee so that gave me an easier time too.

[@indahf.freztiyana824]

This game introduced me into the surface of prostitution, and gave me lots of wild fantasies... XD

[@rosettastoned425]

I just found Arcanum in my basement, and I've been wanting to play for sometime now but I can't figure out how to install it. Please help me if you can.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

I never had the physical disc. .. I got it from GOG.com .. I would buy it from there or just pirate it ( The company is dead so you don't have to feel guilty)

[@Koupip]

arcanum was made by 12 peoples in a year if i remember correctly, thats why the game was so buggy and empty of animations but if you download this patch : steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=760410053 wich is the most advanced patch for this game. the re added pretty muc hall the fighting animation and most of the cut content.

[@markwells3289]

I absolutely love Arcanum; FO4 might look better, but Arcanum's gameplay & lore is far superior.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Agreed ..Arcanum is a classic you play on and off for years...the amount of re playability is amazing

[@bulanet]

Going to make some popcorn for F4 review

[@couriersix7326]

Mind if I have some?

[@bulanet]

With your luck the popcorn delivery will get stolen and some1 will get shot in the head

[@couriersix7326]

Damn, your right. I should've put more points in luck.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

:)

[@juanz888]

they try to get up a patch but the publisher dont let them do it, they get out of time that why the game feels unfinish, there is a interview with a youtube cahnnel Matt Barton

[@AnimeHobo13]

Seems like a good game i enjoyed Fallout 2 even thought it took me some time to get into it due to the turn based combat and it's pretty hard but i got better at it might check Arcanum out.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Its on GOG if you are interested

[@AnimeHobo13]

RetrospectiveGaming Is it also on Steam?

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

I wish ..but not on Steam

[@AxelStrem]

It is on Steam now btw

[@_Sebastiaan]

I have the original from 2001, it has a very big book with it ;)

[@arcanethink]

Do a retrospective review of planescape torment. It's a much better game than it originally was due to the mods and it was a masterpiece to begin with.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Planescape Torment is on my list of games to review :)

[@arcanethink]

RetrospectiveGaming That's a must have mod list on GOG which is really helpful. I recommend checking it out. Looking forward to your review. Subscribed.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Thanks for the info!

[@arcanethink]

RetrospectiveGaming If you ever encouter a problem following the mod guide on GOG then here's a tutorial video with the installing instructions /watch?v=XY2CkB-YqaE though you probably won't need it.

[@GheorgheFlorian]

congrats on the review. One of the best games ever.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Thank you! and I agree

[@Andreas-ww5eg]

Hey Retro Are you going to review Mount and Blade 2 Bannerlord when it comes out?

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Maybe after it comes out I will play it ...have to upgrade my PC first

[@guillepankeke2844]

If this was really that good, they would just make a new game with the same story. Because these games are remake worth. BG2, BG, Icewind Dale and ID 2, all those old rpg games had a ton of work by people writing stories, backgrounds and intertwined stories, with books, comics and board rpgs. It would cost a lot to produce something similar, but remaking it would be well worth it.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

You never know ..idk who has the rights to the IP but we might get a spiritual successor someday!

[@SympNerv]

Played this game when it first came out was great. a few glitches nothing terrible, amazing story :)

[@senuah]

Did you play harvester (1995)? And if so what did you think?

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

Have not heard of it ...what is it about? I will look it up later

[@senuah]

RetrospectiveGaming it's horror game that's really dialuoge based and super interesting... It's really cool I would look it up.

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

I will!

[@senuah]

+RetrospectiveGaming just remember to save

[@senuah]

+HungaryCow that shit ain't coming out.

[@godsreclamation2539]

this game has a lot of issues but the best game I've have played.

[@chirkolo]

Tim Cain

[@AaronBowley]

this is the closest thing to a proper fallout 2 sequel

[@arildoaim]

8:34 is that Christian Bale?

[@Mezzanie666]

There was a patch, that made game crash free.

[@DGneoseeker1]

Would I regret playing this and trying to use a gun wielding character? I heard guns mysteriously suck completely?

[@RetrospectiveGaming]

I played a tech character that used guns and traps ....It gets better after a bit but the beginning is tough ..finding ammo can be a pain but you can make your own

[@DGneoseeker1]

Is there much of a point using guns though? I find in some of these games since the combat only activates once you're relatively close to the enemy, you might as well go up and hit them in the face. If you try shooting they run up and hit YOU in YOUR face. Is that the case here?

[@tanja.k3739]

Still my favourite. :)

[@MaitreMechant]

I've finished the game last week and spent 40h wondering if I should just give up. Fortunately, the atrocious combat, awful dungeons and some retarded game design decisions (not being able to rest in dungeons has to be the most infuriating mechanic I had to deal with) were greatly balanced by the atmosphere of the game and the amazing story, the quests and companions (not their AI tho, lol). In the end I'm glad I've played this game, really, but i wouldn't recommend it to anyone, it's a weird feeling. Also I'm glad I played a mage because "teleport" saved my playthrough. But I have to say I really wish more games chose this Steampunk/magick setting, it makes this game truely unique.

[@jojotheswede8444]

I need to play arcanum as a sexy dwarf 😂