Tyranny: Bastard's Wound - Review @ RPG Site

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RPG Site has reviewed the Tyranny expansion: Bastard's Wound:

Tyranny: Bastard's Wound Review | RPG Site

With our review of Tyranny late last year, the game’s unique premise, high replayability, and strong writing earned a lot of praise but the limitations of the gameplay experiences offered held back the game from being among the genre’s greats. Specifically, the bland combat encounters did not really evolve with the gameplay progression, enemy types were too limited, and maps and fields were too small to be very interesting. However, Obsidian has been quietly updating the game since last winter with both free patches that introduced new merchants and New Game Plus, as well as the summer Tale of the Tiers DLC, which added a series of vignettes to help spruce up some of the map traversal with some minor gameplay elements . Though despite being a paid DLC, it did not really do much to address the shortcomings of the title or add to its narrative.

However, Bastard’s Wound is being marketed as the game’s first true expansion, and alongside that labeling, seemed to be the first apparent opportunity for the game to step beyond what it initially offered last year. Does this additional chapter build on the strong premise of the game while also strengthening its gameplay shortcomings? Well, unfortunately Bastard’s Wound doesn’t really change what one would expect from Tyranny. There are almost no surprises or meaningful content to be found here.

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All together, Bastard's Wound blends in with the rest of the game in a fashion where it's both possible to appreciate how well it is integrated into the core experience but also realize how absolutely unremarkable it is. This DLC pack fleshes out the game but generally just feels unnecessary.

Score: 7/10

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[Pongo]

Sounds like a missed opportunity. I've bought it anyway and just started my first play through of the whole game, including both DLCs. Early days but enjoying it so far.

 

[BoboTheMighty]

Shame ( Sad!). Seems more interesting than PoE, but wasted on B-team.
Wait to see what Cain and his cubicle/what not project cooks up.

 

[Avantenor]

The curse of every add-in. It will be criticized if it stands out (does not fit, breaks balancing/immersion) and it will be criticized if it does not (fits to well, low profile, cut content).

 

[ElderGnome]

The Bastard's Wound add-on was... okay. I don't feel that it added a lot to the story, that was for certain. One of the quests was an annoying "find the tiny hidden item in the pixels" type that I despise.

My second play-through of the game did go a lot smoother because this time I sided with the rebels (the "good" or "better" way to play the game) - the quests seemed to flow better. The ending was also more satisfying.

 

[Pongo]

I'm just playing it now. Its my first run on Tyranny as a whole, which I'm finding to be a great game. Bastard's Wound does gel very smoothly (I didn't even realise I was playing the DLC part of the game for a while!) and the content is fine so far. I clearly haven't got to the "find the tiny item" quest yet!