Blackguards 2

You know what stinks? Even at $1.00 I was debating on a recommend or not. Because Blackguards 2 is pretty much nothing but heavily flawed. But for what I paid, knowing it goes on sale like that, how much I liked the concepts of the story, and knowing it had bugs and problems going in ehhhhhhhh fine. I recommend under those circumstances.

Can you cheese maps with magic that became overpowered to make up for the first game being a little lackluster with it? Yes.
Does the game throw random stuff at you expecting you to restart fights over and over figuring out mechanics that aren't explained? Yes, and that one I'm still unsure if I love or hate it.
Does the game rely heavily on reinforcements/waves of enemies(sometimes infinite) the player can't predict over real manageable challenge? Yes.
Are maps frustratingly over sized sometimes wasting characters/enemies turns on repeat just to reach a lever or some other goal? Yes.
Does the camera stay fixed making enemies and items hard to see and click on behind stuff? Yes.
Can you sped up battles? No, you're sitting there waiting for the new spawns and current enemies to go instead of making them into mobs. It pauses if you go to another monitor, too haha.
Can you respec/rebuild the party? No.
Like a lot of games focused on choice Blackguards 2 ends up on 'A is good and B is evil' mentality and it is not subtle.

So that's a lot of negatives. But I really did adore the core concept of the main character. I liked that I could legitimately introspect and talk to myself. I liked that people regularly commented on my appearance and past while the character flipped out. I liked that when I was not in control my character(adjacent or mentioned, not the literal taking away of player agency) 100% did some vile stuff and just says out of pocket things. My control is determining where we end up while my character freaks out and I'm pretty into that as a concept. The main plot was messily done and didn't relate much to the first game but I was there for it. Returning characters seemed aggressively in-character if not more morally grey. Maps are reused, but a lot had more unique concepts or goals to shake things up. Mixed results with how enemies are always outnumbering you and usually getting more every few turns. In current year of review, 2025, I already knew the game was outdated and probably buggy. It is, considering I was reloading for achievements on the regular. If you're also on board with all that, give ti a go on a heavy sale.

Tips and tricks for the interested:

-For your melee characters Hammerblow is nearly useless when you have Dual-Wield attack

-You get one mage, unless you yourself are one. I highly recommend this if you want to obliterate the battlefield

-Cheese to borderline cheat: Mage Player Character and mage Zurbaran. Max out Astral energy and take level 4 in the cold spell/cold shock. 4 of those cast at highest level wipes most maps

-Sometimes achievements just won't pop or the game will freeze. Keep those saves plentiful.

It's a decent sequel, although essentially very little has changed, and it feels more like a large-scale DLC than a full-fledged second part.

Как я говорил ранее, игра практически дества-юнишества. Проходил пиратки, как залутал баблишка вернул должок, хорошо что я теперь подрос и работаю =)

Thanks to Steam cards, this game is literally free, which is probably the only reason I recommend paying attention to it.

Thanks to Steam cards, this game is literally free, which is probably the only reason I recommend paying attention to it.

Thanks to Steam cards, this game is literally free, which is probably the only reason I recommend paying attention to it.

This game is pure nostalgia for me. It feel good to play it officially on steam. Back then when I was a kid I used to download pirated games but now I feel happy to support my favourite games.