Tyranny Review: Obsidian’s Sharpest Worldbuilding Hands You a Badge on the Wrong Side of the War

Obsidian Entertainment built Tyranny on the engine and combat frame of Pillars of Eternity, then spent the saved time on something harder: a story where the player’s decisions actually reshape the world. It shipped November 10, 2016, for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux, published by Paradox Interactive. The result is the studio’s sharpest piece of worldbuilding, and one of the few RPGs brave enough to hand you a badge on the wrong side of a war.

Trailer, via PC Gamer.

Kyros Has Already Won

Most fantasy RPGs open with a threat. Tyranny opens several years after the conquest of the Tiers, the last major region that resisted Kyros’ rule. The Overlord Kyros has spent more than 400 years taking Terratus, and a new rebellion has risen in the Tiers kingdom of Apex, in the region of Vendrien’s Well. The game begins in the 431st year of Kyros’ self-devised calendar.

You are a Fatebinder, one of the higher-ranked agents in Kyros’ power structure, serving as judge, jury and executioner. Your job is to end the siege of Ascension Hall or watch an Edict, a magical superweapon, destroy every living thing in the region.

Graven Ashe and the Voices of Nerat

The rebellion is almost beside the point. Kyros’ two occupying armies hate each other more than they hate the rebels. Graven Ashe leads the Disfavored, elite and disciplined. The Voices of Nerat leads the Scarlet Chorus, chaotic and barbarian. The Fatebinder has to manage both, and eventually pick one to lead the final assault, after which the other declares war on the opposing army.

That feud is the game’s engine. Every conversation is a chance to side with one faction, both, or the rebels underneath them.

Conquest Mode Sets the Board

Character creation runs through a board game-like Conquest mode. Before you ever control the Fatebinder, you decide how Kyros took the world and what your character did during it. Those answers carry into the campaign: NPCs remember, and factions react.

The Fatebinder is class-less. Skills improve through use. Companions include Sirin, Archon of Song. Spells are assembled from a core element and shape, then modified with accents that cost lore, which caps how much power any one spell can carry.

A World Without a Clear Good Side

Tyranny’s real achievement is refusing to let the player off the hook. The Archons are not misunderstood. Bleden Mark executes, Pox spreads plague, Cairn is a wall of stone. You serve them. The game asks whether order is worth what it costs and does not answer for you.

The Conquest mode is the piece worth studying. Most RPGs bury your backstory in a text screen; Tyranny makes you play the atrocities first, then live in the world you built.

What the Ending Sets Up

After the Edict is fulfilled, its diffused magic alters the Fatebinder. The Fatebinder absorbs the power of Kyros’ Edict and is transported to the Mountain Spire. The Fatebinder is the first person in recorded history to do this, causing much debate in Imperial and Tiersman circles.

It is a strong hook, and it lands because the game spent hours making you care which circles are arguing.

Two Armies, One Fortress

The Fatebinder fights through rebel forces toward Ascension Hall alongside both armies, then chooses which one leads the final assault. The other turns on its rival in outrage. You can also secretly ally with the rebels and betray both Archons.

The Score

Tyranny is not as broad as Pillars of Eternity, and its isometric combat will feel familiar to anyone who played that game. What it does better is consequence. The factions are specific, the choices are ugly, and the world reacts in ways you can trace back to decisions you made before the first battle.

The published critic score is 8.1/10 from IGDB critic aggregate.

CRPG · Obsidian Entertainment · Paradox Interactive · Pillars of Eternity · Role-Playing Games · Tyranny