Tyranny

Building a game where the protagonist serves the side of evil is a difficult undertaking. It’s all too easy to slide into caricature or create a product aimed solely at edgelords. Tyranny avoids these traps. It stays grounded and tackles questions of responsibility, complicity, efficiency, and the very possibility of resisting an overwhelming force.
Unfortunately, the game leaves you with sharply mixed feelings. The flaws are many: a counter-intuitive combat system, pacing issues, a rushed finale, and some truly clumsy presentation of key decisions. There’s an enormous amount of potential here, and only a fraction of it made it onto the screen.
Even so, I can’t help but admire the sheer ambition of the project and the central idea around which the whole game is built.

“Aren’t you tired of being nice? Don’t you just want to go ape-s***?”

Obsidian has a long history of creating some of the most interesting evil factions that you can align with, so it’s only natural that they would one day tackle a world where evil is the de facto mode of play. In Tyranny you are a peon to The Overlord Kyros. A Fatebinder, part judge, part soldier, sent to deliver Kyros’ specific form of justice in the Tiers - the last free lands of Terratus.

Obsidian had been developing Tyranny for almost a decade and not a day was wasted when it came to fleshing out Terratus and it’s inhabitants. Not content with simply creating an “evil has won” setting, Tyranny includes multiple shades of evil and contests them against each other both directly and philosophically. Another quirk is that this campaign is set during the end of a bronze age. It’s not often I play a game of swords and sandals, where iron is valued more than gold, and in that decision Tyranny offers a unique aesthetic, appropriately bringing some Ancient Greek God influence. This is extended in the form of The Archons, powerful god-like beings who carry mortal flaws.

The story matches the world building in quality and sees the player traveling across the Tiers delivering judgement, assisting in a civil war, uncovering mysteries behind The Oldwalls and its Spires, and growing in influence. The player will need to use any knowledge they uncover to decide who best to ally with, and just how freely they can act while under the authoritarian rule of The Overlord. The companions you collect offer their own perspectives and insights to the mysteries surrounding Terratus, the Oldwalls, and Kyros themselves. The companions are a grab-bag of mostly well realized and memorable characters.

Skill checks are aplenty and smartly utilized. Just because you can pass a skill check does not mean you automatically win an encounter. You’ll need to keep in mind what information characters have available to them, and even then, passing a skill check may invoke wrath when you are seeking favor or vis versa. Playing politics and keeping your wits about you helps smartly layer dialogue encounters, as well as inform about the personality or motives of said character.

A small feature that ended up being a massive highlight for me was the Missive system. It’s such a minor thing: letters that you occasionally receive and respond to from your superior and other notable characters that take a day or two to travel back and forth via messenger birds. It offers a lot in the way of information, character building, and also helps solidify the timescale that this is a large campaign occurring over months - where it takes days to travel from one notable point to the next.

Combat is where we fall out of my typical wheelhouse. Real Time w/ Pause is not my forte and I’d for a turn-based option. However, for the RTwP freaks out there, there is additional mechanical depth that I imagine would elevate this game over it’s decade old predecessors. Companion abilities have two players syncing up their actions to massive effect. Magic is not learned so much as created through crafting and skill checks. To reward this extra effort, magic is appropriately powerful and feared in Terratus.

The secret sauce of Tyranny is how well the narrative, themes, and systems intersect. The aforementioned companion abilities are unlocked by mustering either Loyalty or Fear with your companions. Instead of a positive / negative binary that other developers may lean into, both earning your companions respect or cowing them into subjugation rewards the player with new skills and benefits. This approach also extends to the many in-game factions in the form of Favor and Wrath, with each offering its own buffs. All of this to ask the central theme: What is power but influence manifest?

While music has an appropriate “evil is triumphant” sound, the voice acting does not always match this tone. Truthfully I find the voice acting serviceable to not good. I noticed this primarily with characters related to the Scarlet Chorus faction which may have been intentional as the Chorus are largely made up of citizen-conscripts - folks who lived normal lives before meeting Kyros’ Peace. But their casual, everyman VA direction was a bit jarring in a world full of Evil and Might.

A harsher critique is the dungeon crawling of the Oldwalls. You’ll spend a good amount of your middle hours crawling through same-y looking dungeons, fight after fight, with little reprieve. It’s when combat is at it’s heaviest and the story at its lightest, and as I mentioned, RTwP is just not my bag - making me weak to this particular grind. Those who enjoy this style of combat will be more immune to the onslaught of battles, and those don’t can always throw the game into an easier difficulty.

There’s a couple factors that also offset my critique on fatigue. One, is that Acts 1 and 3 offer a lot in story, decision making, and are on a greased rail in comparison to the middle chunk of the game. The other is that Tyranny is quite short - for a CRPG. I clocked in 30hrs to complete my campaign. This is beneficial not just for my short attention span but also because Tyranny has a lot to offer in the way of alternative paths. I can easily see myself returning to this game for a second play-through to try for a different political approach, a more magic focused build, and to utilize the companions that I neglected during my first go round.

Tyranny is an easy recommend for fans of CRPGs, easier so if you can stomach RTwP. I hope one day we can see another game set in Terratus. Perhaps even a sequel based around what the conclusion of Tyranny teases. I only hope that it includes an option for turn-based combat, which is my specific flavor of freak.

An easy 8 out of 10 recommend, +1 if you are a Real Time w/ Pause freak.

A party-based game with in-depth dialog and immersive strategy game play. Graphics fit the game well and mechanics are fun to adventure with. One of the best games of this genre I have ever played...big thumbs up!

Original, compelling, and conceptually different in so many awesome ways. Frees you from some of the more tropey "Save the world / You're the chosen one / The power of friendship and love overcomes all" stuff in RPGs. If you like playing RPGs that truly allow you to be your own character rather than railroading you toward 4 or 5 versions of the same character, this is it. Obsidian, PLEASE MAKE ANOTHER GAME SET IN THIS UNIVERSE!!!!!

After around 35 hours, I can confidently say Tyranny is one of the most unique CRPGs I’ve ever played. Instead of the usual "you’re the chosen one, now go save the world" narrative, you play as a Fatebinder—essentially a magical lawyer—in service of an empire that’s already conquered most of the known world. You’re not here to stop evil. You are the evil. Or at least, you're working for it. And that’s exactly what makes it so compelling.
Ever wanted to pit two allied factions against each other just to make your own position more secure? You can totally do that.
Want to torch a massive ancient library with the scholars still inside? The game hands you the matches.
Feel like tossing a smug NPC off a cliff and turning them into red paste? You can, and if you're feeling extra efficient, you can even strap a letter to their body for your allies to pick up down below.
What about infanticide? Would you kill a baby so that order may be instilled in the land? because Yes, the game even gives you the option to kill a baby for the sake of “law and order.”
The writing is easily the best part. The world is dark, politically messy, and full of genuinely great characters. And your choices actually matter. I don’t mean just a few different dialogues. I mean entire quests, zones, and even companions can change depending on what you do. It’s the kind of game that makes you want to start a second playthrough right away to see how else things could play out.
There’s also a reputation system. You build loyalty and fear with your companions, and favor or wrath with factions. These affect not just how people talk to you, but also unlock special dialogue options, interactions, and even abilities.
But one of the most unique things in the game is the magic system. You don’t just learn preset spells. Instead, you collect sigils (like fire, illusion, lightning, etc.) and expressions (like AoE, single target, chain). Then you mix and match to build your own spells.
Want a lightning spell that jumps between enemies, causes bleeding, and lowers their lightning resistance? Done.
A fireball that also freezes people? Weird, but yes.
You're only limited by your Lore stat, and it’s honestly one of the most fun systems I’ve seen in an RPG.
That said, Tyranny isn't without its flaws.
The ending is kind of a let down. After all the great writing and build-up, the last act feels super rushed. Plot threads just get tied up in minutes, and instead of a real finale, you get a basic slideshow wrap-up which I’d be fine with but even those feel more like placeholder slides. Not terrible, but definitely underwhelming.
The combat is okay. It’s real-time with pause, and it works, but it gets repetitive pretty quickly. The build variety is kind of limited, so once you settle into your strategy, fights start to feel samey. and enemy variety isn’t great either—you’ll fight the same few types of enemies over and over, with only minor variations. After a while, battles start to blend together. It’s definitely not the game’s strong point.
And lastly, it’s a bit short. I played pretty thoroughly and still hit the end credits at 35 hours. It felt like the story was just ramping up when it suddenly stopped.
Still, even with those flaws, Tyranny is absolutely worth playing—especially if you love story-driven RPGs and want something different from the usual hero’s journey. The whole “servant of a tyrant” setup is pleasantly refreshing, and the game really lets you lean into being a clever manipulator, a brutal enforcer, or a defiant rebel. Your choices matter, and the world reacts to them.
Highly recommended if you’re into CRPGs and looking for something a little darker and more original.

I just completed my first playthrough and I have to say that this is one of the most amazingly written RPGs I have ever played. The premise alone is unique but the pacing and overall execution bring it to life properly, creating an unforgettable experience.

Word of warning, this one's a little grittier than quite a few other fantasy RPGs. This is a war story, a war story well told, and war stories can be pretty rattling. Still, it balances the grim and the dark well against other elements and masterfully avoids the pitfalls of preachiness, cheap edginess or shallow fanfic angst. It doesn't sacrifice storytelling in the name of good taste, nor does it pile on putrid shock value unnecessarily. I found the occasional humor woven into the storytelling very enjoyable, a little dark and irreverent but never completely lapsing into crude for the sake of crude.

The voice acting is solid and in conjunction with writing, it made the companions and certain other characters quite memorable. And no, I'm sorry, you can't f... uh, romance your companions. That said, I never found myself missing the option and if anything,... it's somewhat refreshing in 2025.

The visuals, although a bit dated, are decent enough not to detract from the experience but by no means a selling point. Still, I did very much appreciate the art style in the cutscenes. It does a good job of solidifying the game's unique character.

I enjoyed the combat and the spellcrafting system - real time tactical combat with pauses is something that I fondly remember from other, slightly older games. If you're a turn-based tactical or action RPG player, it might take a tiny bit of getting used to but the learning curve isn't too steep.

Tyranny is absolutely worth a playthrough or three (and you bet I'll do at least two more).

Unique; I wish the industry would produce more like it. Its the only game I know of that takes the idea of a villain protagonist seriously, giving both sides of the morality argument strong positions with pros and cons. You're not choosing Red vs. Blue, you're not choosing intelligence vs. dumb-but-the-right-color. And because your decisions can be immoral but effective, you're allowed to actually explore the ideas being presented.
And if you're into that, highly recommend Fallout NV.