Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Jan 15, 2015

  TLDR version: If you like tactical fantasy RPGs and don't have to have tip-top graphics, this is an excellent game you should purchase whether you've played Escape from the Pit or not. Obviously this isn't a full review, but as somebody who's played every one of Jeff Vogel's games, including the prior remake Avernum: Escape from the Pit, I have a pretty good idea what I'm getting into and what you should be getting into. Vogel's had 2 decades to refine his skills, and while his budget isn't as big as pretty much any other studio out there, he puts a lot of heart and soul into his games. Especially with Crystal Souls, he's taken the best of fan mods to Escape from the Pit and put his own twist on them, bringing a hugely fun fantasy RPG adventure with very tactical turn based combat. The difficulty settings make it so that everyone can have the level of challenge they want, even switching mid game if a particular fight gets too hard for you or you decide you've got the hang of it. He's really tightened up the UI in general since the old days too, making the flow a lot smoother. The skill trees provide diversity without being confusing, it's easy to see what kind of characters you want and go straight for it. Magic sometimes feels overpowered, but there's always the enemies that are nearly immune to it, making a balanced party makeup helpful and desirable the whole time through. The story in the original Crystal Souls game was excellent, and just like the remake of Escape from the Pit, Vogel is keeping the best parts intact while introducing multiple new areas and bosses to the game. I could go on for a while, but I think I'll just close with the fact that even the games of Vogel's I was sure I didn't like I ended up loving when I tried them, so you really just can't go wrong if you think you're at all interested.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 10, 2015

  I'm a long time Spiderweb fan and, as such, I'll just start by getting the obvious out of the way: this is a massive game with tons to do that improves on "Escape from the Pit" in many aspects, not the least of which is storyline (which is much more sprawling and epic than EFTP's was). I enjoyed it immensely and if you at all like Spiderweb games or turn based RPGs in the tradition of Ultima, then you should buy this now. That said, it is slightly disappointing at times just how little is improved upon from EFTP to A2:CS and how, in other aspects, the game takes a few step backwards. A2:CS fixes none of the glaring interface issues from EFTP. While the terrible pathfinding can perhaps be given a pass (as it would most likely require significant rewriting of the engine), other minor problems are less excusable: the right mouse button still cannot be mapped to actions (no scroll wheel either), the buttons that open the inventory still do not also close them, and despite the MASSIVE amount of screen space provided, you can still only map 4 spells/Battle Disciplines to the interface hotkeys. Combat also remains a slog at times, with tons of trash mob fights that can get incredibly tedious, especially toward the end of the game when leveling slows down and experience starts to mean less. Many dungeons have large groups of enemies in every room, which often kills the fun of exploration and means lots of back tracking to towns to heal (especially since energy elixirs are a bit rarer than they were in EFTP). In terms of steps backward, its boss battles are, by and large, pretty forgettable. Most Avernums, and EFTP was no exception, tend to throw in a few gimmicky or puzzle like boss battles to keep things interesting and make you change strategies from fight to fight. But A2:CS pretty much sticks to the tried and true, "Dude with tons of hitpoints attacks hard and summons waves of minions as you reduce his health." It does introduce more area of effect mechanics (such as bosses who cover the floor in fire or ice damage), but it uses them sparingly, and apart from one notable exception, most bosses are susceptible to most types of damage. That said, I don't mean to give a bad impression of the game from harping on all its negative points without listing its positives (which are myriad). So I’ll end with a random list of the game’s delights: -Maxing out Pole Arms and Hardiness on Mages and Priests to create invincible damage dealing tanks with adrenaline rush (i.e. the ability to attack 3 times in one turn). You aren’t really playing until your Priest can take 5 polearms to the face and live to cast level 3 “Divine Retribution” 4 times in one turn. -Doomguard fights -Random 90s sitcom references (“Absolutely Fabulous,” anyone?) -Doomguard fights on speed (and also on speed in the game) -Buying 2 levels of gymnastics for everyone endgame just to scratch an OCD itch in your brain -Leaving a bottle of Almarian wine in an empty room in a Dharmon Inn for your hommies who have gone before
• gamedeal user

  Jan 28, 2015

  Short version: If you never played Exile II or the first Avernum II, play this version. If you have, I'd skip it. I really, really, really want to like this game. I've played every game that Spiderweb has put out since the mid-90s, from the first Exile game. But this one I really can't recommend. Short version: this game just feels kind of lazy. For me the biggest issue is that Spiderweb really doesn't try anything that new with this one. There are a few additional areas and big fights, but that's really it, which isn't really enough for a third incarnation of the same story; the game is, for the large part, mostly the same as it was in the previous incarnations. If you've played either Spiderweb's Avadon or Geneforge series (both totes recommended, especially Geneforge), then you known how many choices you face in those games and how intricate the outcomes can be. Nothing like this has been included in the updated Avernum games, where it is sorely needed. Nobody plays Spiderweb games for pretty graphics, but there are some things here which I think are just not cool. Many, many, of the enemy models are also just recolors, some of them used six or seven times, with very few new models introduced from the recent Escape game. If you go and look at the sprite sheets for the original Exile games, which are very lovely pixel art, you can see the huge variety of characters. A lot of the models are also from older Spiderweb games, some going back 15ish years, and the newer and older models reallly don't go well together -- it's painfully obvious which are newer and which are older. Again, it just feels kind of lazy. There's lots of text I remember reading in Exile II, which says something very good about the writing that I can remember it over 15 years later, but using so much text again just feels kind of cheap. If you never played Exile II or the first Avernum II, then you may want to go ahead and play this game, but I'd skip it if you've played either.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 15, 2015

  Absolutely wonderful game; small but noticeable changes were made from previous games that make this one better. Graphics are ever-so-slightly improved from the previous game (only icons really, nearly any computer can play this game), the sound effects on death for enemies are a very nice change. Difficulty thus far is a very nice challenge on normal, heaven knows how hard the highest difficulty is. Thus begins anew my obsessive hoarding of iron bars, grain bags, crystals, and bolts of cloth. A very solid game!
• gamedeal user

  Aug 12, 2015

  If you liked Avernum: Escape from the Pit, you'll like this one. It has the same gameplay, just with a few new spells, and the same ease-of-use improvements over the original Avernum games. The turn-based combat can get a little tedious sometimes, but I love the open world exploration, and I found the development of the story and lore more interesting than in the first game.
• gamedeal user

  Mar 17, 2021

  I am a huge fan of Spiderweb Software games! People who love oldschool isometric CRPGs and don´t mind “simple” graphics will love this game. Avernum II: Crystal Souls is the second instalment of the Avernum trilogy. Like all Spiderweb Software games the story is deep and meaningful (prepare to read a lot), there are tons of side quests, encounters and dungeons (the world is huge!). Decisions you make during your play will influence the ending of the game. I enjoy the turn-based combat. It is challenging (especially on higher difficulties) and “forces” you to use everything you have available (potions, scrolls, magic items, skills). No more hoarding items like other RPGs.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 2, 2021

  As much as I like Spiderweb Software, this in my opinion is the weakest of the Avernum trilogy. The game itself is fine and if you like most other Spiderweb games, you'll probably like this one too. My issue is partly due to playing Avernum 1 and 2 back to back. Though the game takes place a few years after the first one I felt some parts of the quest or regions were a bit too much of a rehash for my tastes. Wait, the key artifacts my previous party recovered are lost again? That dungeon that was full of undead is still full of undead? It felt like Avernum 1.5 as a lot of the main things regions, fortresses etc played out very similarly in a story beat sense. It made the actions the previous party did feel pointless. It seems like a minor quibble but it was something that put me off to not complete the game. There's nothing wrong with playing with existing plot points or items from the last one but it felt too similar to be as engaging in my opinion.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 16, 2015

  Excellent old-school RPG with turn based combat. As the case with other Spiderweb Software games, it's slightly difficult to recommend though. The game delivers in terms of great world to explore, character development and interesting story as well. However, for people used to current generation of RPGs with full voice-over, character personality, choices, it may be difficult to get into this. It is really closer to Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale type of experience. Coupled with the isometric 2D graphics entire dialogue and quest content is delivered through huge amount of text. Don't get me wrong - story is excellent, but from experience trying to share Avernum series with friends, it really isn't everyone's cup of tea. So, please take my (and others') recommendation with a grain of salt. The game is natural step forward from the previous remake (Avernum: Escape From The Pit) and while minor upgrades are there, it mostly plays and looks the same. Unfortunately, some of the interface problems are still there, for example the infamous inventory issue is still there (when you press "I", inventory opens, but you can't close it with "I"), but these are truly minor in my opinion. It's worth to mention that when it comes to system requirements, you can probably play this on your washing machine too, so if you are stuck somewhere with a decade old laptop or something, you can probably play this game without problems.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 18, 2015

  The old Exile games sparked my love of PC games and RPGs. I've played all the avernum games as well over the years and have eagerly anticated this games release as Exile 2 was my favorite of the origional trilogy. As far as a review: Gameplay: Singleplayer turn based isometric strategy game. You control a group of 1 to 4 characters and travel from town to town completing quests. Mostly exploring towns/caves, killing mobs, gathering loot, selling loot, rinse and repeat. For the characters you may choose from 3 races and can customize your character in typical roleplaying fashion by raising various skills. Pros: -Great content. Best storyline of the origional trilogy. -Challenging Gameplay if you select the harder difficulties. Cons: -The spell selection is still limited in scope. Nothing like the origional exile series. It also hasn't really changed from the other avernum games. -Somewhat limited in freedom of choice. For example you may steal things but there really isn't a penalty or risk for doing so. Or the dialogue choices all lead for the most part to the same end. Conclusion: It's a game for those who like dungeon crawlers, old school feel, turn based combat, or really in depth worlds to explore. If you have played avernum escape from the pit this is nothing new really just a continuation of the story with fresh characters. If you played the old exile games or the first avernum run its well worth picking up.
• gamedeal user

  May 2, 2015

  Frankly, I installed Avernum several years ago during my month recovery in hospital having no super expectations. I decided to try this game just to kill several hours but then found myself awaken in a month :) It is very compelling game with unique, huge world, profuse setting and cool old-school CRPG experience. If you’re 27+ y.o. and remember one of your first CDs with Baldur’s Gate, I bet, you’ll dig Avernum. Btw, I was astonished when found out that all there games were made by one guy. That news bacame one of the pillars pushed me on the way of indie dev myself. Kudos to you in absentia, Jeff.