Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magick Obscura - Retrospective Review

[@MortismalGaming]

Arcanum released in 2001* mixed up the years with Troika's second game which released in 2003. Apologies!

[@theguy9363]

I can't get it too run. It runs fine for the first 2 minutes then it slows down and lags like crazy, nothing seems to work. I got windows 7

[@MortismalGaming]

@@theguy9363 I'd try the patch if you haven't already

[@loolgam1ng229]

Well dont Microsoft own Activision Blizzard now?? so.....do you think it would be possible for a remake

[@Dracobyte]

Nice Review!!!

[@Guinea779]

Words can’t even begin to describe how much I love this game. I was 13 when the game came out and played it to death. It helped me get through some tough times in my younger years. I kept playing it through my 20’s and I played this on both my tours to Iraq when I was in the military. I actually still play it to this day. I’ve got a factory sealed physical copy of it along with a bunch of posters and swag they had for advertising. It may not be a perfect game and it definitely has its flaws. But damn this game would have been an instant classic if they were allowed to finish it and give it the final polish it deserved. That sound track is amazing, the world feels alive, the story although slow is brilliant. The big twist near the end was excellent and caught me off guard. The history and lore that is just briefly touched upon makes you want to know more. The elder scrolls has deep and interesting lore but I think Arcanum in my opinion is way more interesting. It’s like trying to figure out what happened to the lost city of Atlantis. My advice to the newbies is, just try and keep an open mind remember this game is almost 20 years old. If you power through the janky combat and UI you will be well rewarded with story. It gets playable once you know what you’re doing. I promise.

[@lymphy12]

Nice bro, you completed "Tulla quest chain" IRL

[@JavisoGaming]

I’m 56 years old and played this upon release. Loved it then and still today! Thanks for covering it!

[@yasuke3020]

I will NEVER NOT click on videos talking about Arcanum. What an absolute gem.

[@Dracobyte]

Yeah!

[@grey_wulf]

This is a FANTASTIC game! A remake could be so cool.

[@adseri]

There were so many days when I woke up thinking the same thing. The story and world is amazing and a remake that makes the game mechanically viable while preserving the storywriting and maybe expanding upon companions and lacklustre areas would be fantastic. It's heartbreaking the IP just sits there unused. :( On the bright side, nobody butchers the IP with their reimagining of the world. I have a feeling that once somebody decides to do something with this IP... well, I'm afraid it will end up as "anime vs netflix adaptation" meme.

[@Marcusianery]

@@adseri Thats often how it goes. Which would be extremely sad.

[@FelineElaj]

Arcanum is good as it is. No remakes, please. A sequel would be nice, though. Not necessarily a continuation of the story, but a new story in the same world. For example, in one of the endings Arronax restores Vendigroth, an ancient and very technologically advanced civilization. How would the world react to that? Or maybe, there is a magic Renaissance. Imagine flipping the state of the world in Arcanum on it's head: technology is declining, magic is rising. Maybe technology led to some horrible wars or ecological disasters, and now the public embraces the old ways, but there are trading and industrial conglomerates that oppose return to magic. So may great new stories could be told in Arcanum 2.

[@Marcusianery]

@@FelineElaj Very agreeable, if done right and without shoe horning in modern issues it be a very interesting game. Remasters is not always the solution to everything under the sun.

[@kylehankins5988]

would love to see a remake with modern game conventions and proper combat, game seems cool but I feel like it would also be frusterating

[@colonelbbq]

getting to the final boss and passing a charisma check to convince him that he is wrong and he responds by agreeing and killing himself is the most memorable boss fight I've done in all these years

[@XYZ-em5vu]

Now what is really important to know is that you can brake most things by attacking them - including chests and doors - which supplements lockpicking. Would've appreciated that hint some 14 years ago))

[@Killy5445]

This 38 years old is now 15 again and playing this unbelievably awesome game. Even till this day with all its many flaws it still ranks among my top ten of all time. Goddamn nostalgia is a powerful thing. Ty for the trip down memory lane.

[@skaruts]

What I find quite astonishing is the amount of work they put in the dialogues. The game is not only rich with dialogues, but there's also a bunch of variations of those dialogues, to reflect your character's intelligence (and charisma, iirc), as well as the NPC reactions to that, and also to the way your character is dressed, among other things. I can't imagine the total amount of text they had to write.

[@FedulAis]

16:55 well hasn't that aged well! Good news, Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard and so have a right on Arcanum, moreover Jason Anderson, Leonard Boyarsky and Timothy Cain are working for Microsoft, not to mention other people on Obsidian. While chances aren't that high, but in my opinion they rised up a ten fold! Ironic, Gilbert Bates was one of a key figure in Arcanum plot line and irl Gate's company could become one to save Arcanum once again.

[@jokesterthemighty227]

I died of laughter haha he said 5 times "it would never happen" oh boy xD

[@bedenegative]

Do you know if any of them have spoken about wanting to make a remaster or sequal?

[@fredrik3880]

Yeah if Cain, Boyarsky and Anderson made an Arcanum sequel that would be beyond fantastic

[@jtaco4101]

Wishful thinking guys

[@geofmout6010]

One of the games I played the most in my teenage years with Morowind. Hours and hours spent trying to find the engine to build the spider mech.

[@Overvaag]

I was 13 years old when I first got to know this game. A friend recommended it during a LAN party and I fell immediately in love with it, even more so than I did with Diablo. One day I hope we'll see a remake of this lovely game ❤

[@gio7647]

One of the best RPG's out there. Amazing world design; not just the immersive steampunk flair, but also the small details such as the in-game religion, the political conflicts, the societal strife depicted, the magic vs tech rivalry. It is a "live" world; NPC *literally* go to bed at a certain time, and lock their doors and windows at night... because that's what people do. The world actively responds to the player's actions, its reputation and its inclinations. For a 20+ year old game, that was impressive! The video summed it up nicely, but it would be good to mention also the beautiful original soundtrack, done by a string quartet, nicely appropriate to the Victorian setting of the game. Also, the crafting system is very extensive and advanced for a game this old; new recipes are learned not only by levelling up said skills, but also by "activating" schematics acquired around the world. This adds a new dimension of gameplay for craft/tech-oriented characters, since many craftable items cannot actually be purchased like regular items. There are also small details and symbolism that adds to the immersion... an example? The main companion, Virgil, that the player character meets right at the start amongst the wreck of the downed zeppelin, acts literally as a guide in the early part of the game, much like that Virgil in the Divine Comedy which does the same thing for the poet Dante in his journey from Hell to Paradise. Truly a game done at a time when game developing was more of an art than a cold business, and the best developers was the one who created the best quality, standalone games to hook up players, without resorting to overblown adverts, ruinous microtransactions, or superfluous DLC's like they do now.

[@YouTubdotCub]

Would LOVE to see you do a story series on this game, the ending is PHENOMENAL and would really love to hear your take on it.

[@gruszk4]

It's insane how huge this game was for me. I've replayed it in every possible way I could find. How excited was I when I've found yet another new quest or follower after many replays! To this day I feel the pride from back when I solved the gods quest based on the info in the books!

[@urosmarjanovic663]

That one has to be one of the most fucked up, convoluted, drawn-out quest ever to appear in a RPG. I love it. My favorite though was Gnomish Half-Orc conspiracy. I hollered with laugh when i "finished" it.

[@Mohamedalielmomo]

I'm so glad I didn't quit this game after the first frustrations back when I was 14. This game was an amazing experience, especially storywise. The game has many flaws but damn is it worth it to look past them. Thanks for bringing those fantastic memories back to life !

[@amateurpwn4182]

So glad you enjoyed it. Maybe one day we'll get the follow up it deserves

[@Dookiefists]

We are now in a year where Microsoft has bought Activision so much like you had hoped this IP now does belong to a company featuring 3 of it's original developers :D Let's hope they make something of it! Especially off the backend of Baldur's Gate 3's success, it would be amazing to see a sequel or remake in a full 3D CRPG setting with significantly better combat cause the world of Arcanum would be totally worth fleshing out and exploring more.

[@davekemp9585]

I second this!

[@TheDoughboy1917]

My playthrough of Arcanum I played an approximation of my D&D character (as I do with most fantasy RPGs). He's a pretty standard barbarian hero type character so I just built a melee build and only used barbarian armor. The game was a really tough start but once my character could beat the thugs that attack you in The Boil of Tarant the game took a pretty sharp decline in difficulty and once I reached 20 strength and dexterity it was a cake walk. One of the things you didn't mention was that some enemies damage your armor when they attack you *and* damage your weapon when you attack them. There were some enemies where I found it more efficient to just attack them barehanded and naked rather than risk them destroying my weapons and armor.

[@ns6438]

I'm so glad you reviewed this. This is one of my favorite fantasy games and it's always nice to see reviews of it pop up.

[@Malryth]

I just caught your review tonight. You made a lot of great points! I initially purchased this game on GOG and, like you said, it's UI and Combat system caused me to loose interest fairly early in the game. Just trying to get past those thugs guarding the bridge...I recall the only way I could "win" that battle was to run away while in turn based mode and lead the thugs to the guards in town. I am going to try re-playing it and get a more focused character idea. I want to experience what others have in the past. I agree with you, given the greed of Activision and Microsoft, I doubt either will work together "for the fans" and make a proper sequel that might even surpass what the original game is if they clean up the EI and Combat/Magic system. Thank you for this review. I'm going to check out some more of your videos and most likely subscribe.

[@FPChris]

I remember playing this game back when it came out. I found the box in my attic and had totally forgotten the name of it. Great video.

[@rodrigomaximo1034]

Tim Cain's channel has a few videos about what a second Arcanum game would be about. Hopefully it happens sometimes, since it's all under one roof now (even Activision!)

[@binkyboy8]

"There's turn-based and real time with pause, and the game does both of them terribly" 🤣

[@Darkholow]

I played this game multiple times throughout the years and I've always sided more towards the Steampunk side, because I really loved the aesthetic and I can play magically inclined characters in pretty much every other RPG (Steampunk CRPG's are very few and far between). I played a Dwarf gunsmith wearing a steampunk full plate (at launch) and a melee/dodge half elf character wearing also a Steam Full Plate. I went diplomacy and on the half elf (high charisma) to persuade myself through almost the whole game. Thank you again for reviewing this wonderful game and show the newer generation of gamers how good these CRPG's used to be back in the day and the unfortunate state that current gaming cannot and will not go back to these types of games (with a few exceptions), because they are niche and if they are not multi million dollar sellers.

[@Bullshitvol2]

I've also played it multiple times...actually, Arcanum is the game I've restarted the most times of all games I've ever played, but never finished it once. The amount of game breaking bugs in this game is ridiculous, and the way these bugs can ruin your playthrough are too. That steampunk full plate never increased str as it should have. I got hardlocked because I couldn't enter the elf city...twice. Too bad because the game would be a real gem otherwise.

[@Delmoroth]

Many hours of fun with this. I think it will be on my list for a nostalgia replay this Christmas. Thanks for the reminder.

[@TheRealClaylex]

Such a cool asf concept via the steampunk-fantasy hybrid mesh and yet I haven't seen ANYONE use this for another game.

[@glenn1610]

Fantastic game truly loved this one growing up and even now it still hangs in there as despite the flaws and there are many it just brings you back into it.

[@connormcguire484]

Love all the completionist content you do, my guy. Can’t be easy banging out all these great videos.

[@adeternitamn2859]

You made me smile as I was watching this. Welcome to the small and niche community of ppl that have enjoyed this gem of a game. You know a gamer has enjoyed a game when they want for a sequel :). Sadly there will never be a sequel to Arcanum. But honestly, and as u mention as well, if its gonna be from Activision it may as well remain this way. I keep smiling thinking of just how far ahead of the rest Troika were. Systems that we enjoy nowadays wee being employed in the infancy era of gaming ! Its mind-blowing really the level of innovation Arcanum introduced... Thank you for an honest review of what to this day is one of my favorite games. Good video indeed

[@molliethomas2585]

Love this game! My favorite build is moderate intelligence (12), high charisma elf. Max out both White and Black Necromancy schools, and the one that let's you teleport between marked locations (I forget what it's called). Also max out melee, dodge, and persuasion. This let's you talk your way out of most situations, spam the heck out of Harm for when you can't, and then you can fight like a fiend with your mini army of loyal companions when all else fails.

[@scottycheesecake]

That was exactly my first character, easy to play and has a ton of options for all kinds of content.

[@MortismalGaming]

That is pretty similar to the build I settled on lol

[@otakon17]

You don't even need the middling INT, you can get away with baseline INT.

[@PrinceCryBaby]

Man, I played this game for the first time when I was around 8. I was 11 by the time I finished it for the first time!!! It was one of the best gaming experiences ever. I still replay the game once every 3 years or so.

[@wheelchazeal8089]

I absolutely adore this game. I hold hope that it’ll get a remake or sequel one day. Imagine if Obsidian or Larian got ahold of it. A kid can dream.

[@TylerJBrown192]

AHHHHH I’m so stoked you’re reviewing Arcanum!!! Thanks Mortim, hope you didn’t hate the jank too much 😂

[@TimvanderLeeuw]

I have never played this game, yet. But your comments near the end, funny to listen to those now 2 years later. Activision didn't sell the Arcanum IP to Microsoft -- Activision itself has been sold to Microsoft!

[@rich12015]

I love this game! I've played it so many times and wish they would remake it. My all time favorite RPG. Has so many ideas that I've not seen done since

[@fredrik3880]

I love Arcanum. Cain, Boyarsky and Anderson did an amazing job. The makers of Fallout made lightning strike twice!

[@rattlinghost8904]

I Replayed this game probably 5 times, last playthrough i became a god! Awesome game!

[@Pedone_Rosso]

I would love to see you streaming a run in this game. In alternative, if not both, a run of Tyranny would be cool, when you could show directly what makes it one of your all time favorite games in some respects (by what you say in the video review, if I remember right). Thanks for your videos!

[@thinking-ape6483]

Ever going to play the Temple Of Elemental Evil? a pretty nice one by Troika as well.

[@MortismalGaming]

eventually

[@thinking-ape6483]

@@MortismalGaming Nice. Glory be to you Lord Mortisimal!

[@forestcatcrimson]

I still have the retail box and jewel case it came in. Unfortunately, the disc is well worn so it has a hard time reading at times. Thankfully, I got the digital version on GOG. The game was a lot of fun. I wasn't aware an unofficial patch came out for it so maybe I'll have to delve into that world again. Thanks for pointing that out in the video.

[@itatreeneetee]

I remember the first time I played the demo in 2001, it was an epiphany that made me love rpgs to date. I am definitely gonna play ghis again.

[@jacobrohm7655]

Have you ever seen or looked into the Geneforge series? I believe it might tickle your fancy.

[@Jkend199]

In this game, I can do what I can do in NO OTHER GAME that I know of. My build is a super charismatic beautiful smooth talker. I recruit the maximum number of companions, using my talking skills to get great equipment prices and equip them as my private army and they fight, while I heal and buff. My character has no fighting skills, I am THE LEADER, my minions do the fighting. Name another game, any other game where that is a completely viable option. I LOVE THIS GAME, even today 20+ years after it came out arcanum is still one of the best RPG's ever made and it's a shame we will probably never see a sequel.

[@martixy2]

Apart from the manual, there is also something called "Prima's official strategy guide" which literally reads like the Arcanum Player's Handbook.

[@frankula]

Such a cool and classy game, all of it's chunkiness never bothered me, it's just so charming, original and crazy!

[@augustepecheur1128]

Great work! Here tx to the great Tim Caine's channel, and I get why he likes your reviews!

[@TheRafaelRamos]

I always loved that this game was made by Tim Cain, really has its similarities to Fallout 1&2. Great game!!!

[@ian2372]

The OG box set released in 2001. I'm lucky enough to be one of those that bought the box and still have the original manual that has lore and deep dives into the history and races and how they came to be. There is a reason why the world hates half orcs and half ogres haha. Such a gem of a game. The hook back then was the exploration and figuring out things for yourself. Maybe I've lived too long, but I miss these types of open world RPGs that never had waypoints or hand holders. I came from Asheron's Call 1, an mmorpg released in 1998 with zero hand holding and 100% original content. You had to figure things out for yourself. That was the fun and the freedom. Modern games seem to be made for lazy people with short attention spans and then people complain when campaigns are short and only 30 hours. You sound like a "modern" maybe gen z gamer. Would you get into a Dungeons and Dragons group without first reading the rule book and researching the races and alignments? The UI for its time was better than most. Back then every game had a manual and reading wasn't a problem it seems to be today. Remember it's 2001. Go two years earlier in 1999 and you are borderline dealing with msdos levels of scripting or direction arrow selecting, see simcity 2000 or 3000. This was a lower budget rushed massive rpg. Arcanum was one of those older generations of games where wondering around and figuring things out on your own like morrowind is half the fun. Furthermore, your comment about nothing to find in the wilderness is completely wrong. After 1000hrs in this game on the old disc copy, I can promise you, wandering around has perks. There are monuments and shrines and even cults you can run into. Abandoned farmsteads and homes that you find can provide a nice loot buff. If you are new or at all wanting a traditional rpg experience, make your combat turn based. Real time combat will wreck you. I want to re buy it on steam, does it still run okay on modern machines?

[@fvp4452]

it does with a couple of patchs

[@bradr637]

Great review! Liked and subscribed. Arcanum is my all time favorite game, I've been playing it about 20 years now I guess - I still play it in phases. I agree with almost everything you said. Except for the UI and combat! I think the combat (especially in real-time) is super exciting and wild personally. A lot of games the combat becomes kind of hum-drum and you know exactly what to expect. Arcanum almost always keeps you on your toes - did you see how many times you or Virgil died in your video? lol. It's always a good time. The only thing that comes close to being predictable in my opinion is certain mage builds (pure harm for example) or pure melee-dodge. But even then, things can go mad wrong! the mage can fatigue and pass out leading to your whole party going down usually, for example. At any rate, I loved the game and truly have hope that someday there will be a remake. (I've been saying that a long time lol)

[@uumlau]

I played this back when it was new. I remember liking the idea of it, but also that it was just really difficult to get into. I never finished it. (Same for all the Troika games, actually. Liked the idea, played a bit, never finished.)

[@rooperautava]

One of the most memorable crpg's that I've played. Really enjoyed the first semi-playthrough. I couldn't finish the game due to a fatal bug that didn't let me advance in the story though. Doing another playthrough now 20 years later with the mod fixes and add-ons (hd res etc.). It's still really enjoyable to play this in terms of the general experience.

[@spammail8229]

So... If Microsoft successfully purchases Acti/Blizz, what do you think we need to do to get a sequel?

[@ohdubwest7533]

I had a blast playing this game as a kid. I played it way different from my usual style in CRPG. I would love to see a reboot of this one.

[@BrianZoidberg]

i bought, played, and finished this when it came out. The multiple endings, specifically joinging the baddy, still rank as one of my favorites

[@TheFatMob]

Dem skeletal archers in that dungeon though...

[@urosmarjanovic663]

Back in the day, two of my friends and I basically did 8 hour shifts on only computer we had playing Arcanum for a week or so, until we burnt graphics card dead... those were the days...

[@bedenegative]

Just watching your mod video and was about to type "do arcanum!" When I saw you like blood lines then after mentioned crpg's I thought I should check if you've already reviewed. I brought a box copy in 2003 such an amazing game.

[@okeson9301]

I remember this game, I got it when I was like 10 or something. Didn’t understand it at all and quit very quickly because the beginning was just like you said and I’ll take your word on the combat. Super cool looking game, I just was to young to figure it out.

[@kylehankins5988]

I love how the game explores the conflict between magic and technology because magic is so unpredictable , but I can't help think there would be loads of synergy to, what kinds of epic machines could you make if you could temporarily break the rules of physics.

[@jojotheswede8444]

One of my favourite games of all time.

[@StaypuftTheMarshmallowMan]

Very interesting info at the end of the vid. Great stuff as always!

[@MyogaReyao]

17:36 interesting

[@VikingLord2000]

So for older games there are usually mods that help with stability and some balancing. Is that the case with Arcanum? That would make me so excited to pick this title up

[@Dan-uf2vh]

The easiest to play is an elf with real time spamming the first level black necromancy spell, harm. You keep raising magick level by taking on new spells, preferably aiming toward the map teleportation spell, and this will raise the power of your main damage spell, harm. Later you will need an alternate form of damage for nonliving enemies, for example stone throw, but harm remains possibly the best overall attack spell for most of the game. Comparatively, going tech is ridiculously worse. You don't get to teleport either, which makes travelling add years to the game time overall. A less powerful character is melee with a bit of magick.

[@MichaelGalt]

I have been hoping for a new game using that IP for a while. inExile, Obsidian, Harebrained Schemes... all could do it well. And, some tips from someone who has played Arcanum a lot... if you go technologist, making and selling stuff is a great way to make a ton of money (especially the basic healing and fatigue medicine, where it is easy and inexpensive to find those components). Investing heavily in stealing skills early can also make the game much easier. High charisma and intelligence players get a VERY different experience when playing the game.

[@Throrface]

I played Arcanum for hundreds of hours. I used to go to a forum where I would post about various character builds and their strengths. My most ridiculous build was a magical swordsman with temporal magic, played in turn based mode. Temporal magic gave you a ton of additional action points, so I would wreck most enemies before they could ever get a turn. The most disappointing character build I played was a tech character based on explosives and throwing weapons. Explosives didn't give you exp when you used them. I'm a bit surprised you don't talk about the peculiar EXP system in the game by the way.

[@andrewhegstrom2187]

I remember buying Arcanum when it came out being impressed by the character generation, although yes, you really have to RTFM. Not noted in the review that is important as well - having high tech or magic makes items of that affinity more effective too. A great example is the charged ring. You get +1 up to +3 dex I think it was based on how biased you are toward tech.

[@TheFatMob]

+2 maximum, if i'm not mistaken. You can wear two though, and they are really easy to make early.

[@andrewhegstrom2187]

Yeah you're right. They do stop at +2. Still not as powerful as stacking 2 fire buffs, but the cost is much lower.

[@zenithquasar9623]

The soundtrack is so beautiful as well, don't forget.

[@FishyAshB]

If there were 2 RPG settings I wish there were more video games of, it'd be Arcanum and Planescape.

[@Dracobyte]

This gem of a game needs to get a remake or an HD remake!

[@kylem7801]

I remember playing this everyday after school.

[@bakuiel1901]

I so want to play this, I bought it but I used the High Resolution Patch and all the text was too small, I think I need to reload it without that and try again. Thanks for the review.

[@epic4fish]

So.. Microsoft is purchasing Activision cD

[@tighnari79]

music track is super awesome. it really brings me to the world of Arcanum

[@shawngillogly6873]

Loved the game back in the day. Got the unofficial patch to work on my old tower PC, which promptly died. And I have never been able to get it to install on a computer since.

[@MortismalGaming]

Thats a big oof

[@royalrugby4869]

Sadly I think you are correct in that it just won't happen. While there are teams still doing CRPGs Inexile, Larian, and Owlcat mainly, Obsidian already left CRPGs for something that looks like Skyrim for more money because Pillars 2 didn't sell great. Microsoft has been buying crpg companies, but they have yet to buy a license to an actual game series. For example they bought Bethesda they didn't buy Fallout or Skyrim, they bought Inexile they didn't buy Wasteland 3, so my guess is someone in those studios would have to pitch it. But for all we know they already have and it was shot down, unless it makes money big studios don't want to hear it now and days.

[@TheFatMob]

Wasteland 3 was already done under Mikes, and Bethesda is making TES 6. Usually, all IPs owned by a company go with the company if it is bought by another publisher.

[@royalrugby4869]

@@TheFatMob They do, my point is sometimes companies buy a specific license, example the Star War license as part of an IP purchase, or Guardians of Galaxy IP, in this case Microsoft is just buying companies, so they don't care what gets made they just want the money.

[@vivarc2]

Much appreciated. Ive been playing for about 50hrs without the patch and thinking the entire time: man my 486 ran smoother than this.

[@VanOri]

I need to replay Arcanum... again! The music is also amazing

[@hughjass5753]

If I had the money I'd pay for a remake of this game. Even if I was the only person who played it. I spent so many hours playing this thing and loved it so much. Bugs and all.

[@FraterPerdurabo]

I love Arcanum and have played through it many times over the past 20 years - the last time being summer 2020 (so just to put it out there that I am not talking purely out of nostalgia). In my view, it is not really fair to call Arcanum “hugely flawed”. Yes, the combat is clunky, but it is clunky almost by design. Yes, it is possible to really mess up a character build and end up with a total gimp, but the other side of the coin is that there is almost an infinite number of builds you can make that are all viable and let you play your own way without having to worry about min maxing. There is a good amount of combat in Arcanum, but in many ways it takes the back seat as the vast majority of it is skippable and not tied to progression. You feel like questing - fine, go quest. You feel like dungeon crawling - fine, plenty of choice out there. You mentioned this as a negative, but I see the lack of focus on the MQ at the very start almost a positive. Unlike many other games that I also like, there are very few parts of Arcanum that I feel I “dread” in that I end up thinking “well, I really cba crawl a dungeon right now for the next hour but I “need to” in order to progress whatever I want to do”. And there is no penalty to skipping content and coming back to it when you are stronger and have outlevelled it. I honestly think that this is one of the finest RPGs ever made and I definitely prefer the somewhat unrefined huge open world over some other games that are more refined but require you to shoehorn yourself into a particular way to play.

[@nicolasbukens3224]

The best music for a game imho

[@otakon17]

We need more games with settings like Arcanum. I would welcome a remake hell even in the first person vein of the current Fallout games. Maybe simplify the stats but keep the tech/magic/practical skills.

[@Cruor34]

No DO NOT simplify anything. That is the problem with today's games, it's too damn easy. I want to have to replay a few times to figure stuff out that's the fun.

[@otakon17]

@@Cruor34 look, the problem with Arcanum is there are stats that frankly do nothing or do everything. Dexterity is one of them, SO MUCH relies on Dexterity being high. Beauty is mostly worthless however. Some of the Technologies could have been combined(like Blacksmithing and Gadgets) along with some skills(Barter and Speech/Stealth and Lockpicking/Pickpocketing). Ya know, stuff like that. I'm not saying make it Fallout 4 but it is flawed.

[@Cruor34]

@@otakon17 I agree some stats are more useful than others, but tbh I don't think that is fixable. Look at Wasteland 3, 2020 release, coordination (dex) and Awareness (perception) are still the best. It's an RPG, some people like to role play as someone good looking and they like the positive reaction beauty gives. I never liked Cha being charms AND looks in other games, because we have a lot of people who are great looking but have a poor personality and vice versa. In the REAL world a woman with a high BE stat will get farther than a man with a high BE stat (although it can help him sometimes) and vice versa for Cha. Is Str/Dex/Per way better if you just want to crush the game? Yes, but options are there. I like all the magic schools and tech choices, I would say an improvement might be to let you start with a few more points, the starts can be rough for a lot of builds. I agree Arcanum is flawed, but not in its complexity, the AI needs a revamp, the weapons need a revamp, combat need to be improved, game needs to be easer in the start and MUCH harder later in, etc. Beauty could use a boost though, I know if I saw Red Sonja (comic book version not movie) It might pause me just long enough for her to get an advantage, even if I had higher str and armor. That is another thing Arcanum had, people reacted differently to men and women and sadly I don't know if that's something we will see in a game again, at least not in the way it was.

[@otakon17]

@@Cruor34 It was the whole "Victorian Era" setting too which may be considered too ...well horrible nowadays. Phrenology and racism and sexism were rampant despite how "polite" Victorian society was. But we can hope...we can hope. Still had one of the more unique settings for a videogame.

[@taomahNEGEV]

A remaster would make this hidden gem shine.

[@davidleehuynh1108]

Can you do Fallout 1 or 2 as well?

[@tobiaswidjaya1304]

A good gnome is a dead gnome

[@briane75]

I loved this game when it first came out. I seem to remember it being catastrophically buggy at the time, which kept me from finishing it (Same thing with the Temple of Elemental Evil, also by Troika). I may have to pick this up and see if I can finish it now.

[@Link2edition]

With luck maybe Arcanum can get a remake the same way Master of Orion did. Someone who played it when they are young grows up to be a CEO and buys the rights to the game. The Master of Orion remake is a story of "Fine, I'll do it myself" and it is good.

[@JoeBerg38]

I'm not sure if the video was released before the Microsoft Activision Blizzard deal was announced, but wouldn't it be more feasible for the IP to end up in Microsofts hands now?

[@MortismalGaming]

Yeah I did this just a few months before the deal was announced hilariously, but yeah they could theoretically revive the IP with the same people who made this

[@alemorikec]

And now 8 months later we are just waiting for the purchase to finalize between MS & Acti/Blizz.

[@CheapskateSale]

Wow! Great Review there! I never played it more then a few hours.. Now is a good time to get back into the game :) Or.. I will quit after 2 hours again..

[@bab_ouch]

thanks for the video I'm definitely gonna try to play (i say try because my laptop can barely handle even very low specs game)

[@SEAGOIL]

My absolute favorite crpg

[@ArcanumSteam]

Works perfect on steam on ubuntu 22.04.Classic game.

[@Seigmoraig1]

I played this back in the day and only got halfway through, the bugs an the clusterfk of a character sheet turned me off.I'll have to give it a look with that fan patch!

[@f0ul0u]

Just made a research and Troika only had 3 games which are all great rpgs I have already played. Two of them are Temple of Elemental Evil (turn-based) and VTMB!..I don't know when will VTMB 2 will release but I doubt it will be as good as the original.

[@michalzaprt5602]

This game need a lot more love then it gets.

[@tangcheesum5418]

It is a very super game. I will still play and play again given a chance.

[@asmrvideosaretheworstshlto1565]

Looking good, good to play on mobile like throne of darkness from Sierra too

[@bresk1]

Nice review ! and well recently Microsoft bought Activison :D so having a sequel to Arcanum might be a possibility .

[@MTO_3589]

Didn't the game come out from developer troika games under publisher Sierra back then? I know that Bethesda acquired a few Sierra licenses, e.g. from Fallout, but I don't know if Activision somehow has rights to Arcanum: of steamworks and magicks obscura, the developer Troika games was dissolved a long time ago.