Age of Wonders III
Age of Wonders III
Game
Game2016
Tyranny
Developer Obsidian Entertainment
Tyranny is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Paradox Interactive. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux on November 10, 2016. While not a sequel, Tyranny builds upon the gameplay and engine used in Obsidian's previous title Pillars of Eternity, allowing the developers to spend more time on crafting a game where player choices have a more meaningful… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
320 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
65
Fresh
155 positive · 85 negative
95% range 58–70%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 155 | 85 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 23 | 0 | 43 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
7,156 of 8,354 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
62% recommend · 145 yes, 90 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 235 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (11,608 of 13,372 positive).
Players praise Tyranny for its unique setting and compelling story, where you serve an evil overlord. [1][2][3] Some reviewers note the combat system is weak and the game has pacing issues. [2][4][5]
Liked
Representative posts
- [11]
A brilliant premise trapped under the weight of an abrupt and deeply unsatisfying conclusion. Tyranny offers a genuinely refreshing role reversal where you serve the bad guys, backed by fantastic world-building and meaningful choices. However, the game peaks in its first two acts and then rushes headlong into a jarring, cliffhanger-heavy ending that makes your entire journey feel unfinished. The combat system and …
- [5]
I can't believe how bad combat is in this game. I loved Pillars of Eternity so I figured liking this would be a no-brainer. It has the same combat system and stats as Pillars of Eternity but, man, they must have had a different level designers or something because the game feels like torture to get through. I've tried to start it 3 times and give up because I absolutely hate getting into fights in this game. Your …
- [1]
VGH... What is there to say? I know that Obsidian were locked into having to do POE, but man, THIS is what they should have lead with. Tyranny is better than Pillars 1 and 2 in everything important, by a wide margin. The world, the story, the characters, the artstyle, the tone, the themes, the combat, the RPG mechanics, the exploration, the itemization, the choice and consequences... What could have been... What we …
- [2]
Arguably, Tyranny is one of Obsidian's best games and one of the most original RPGs I've ever played. It features an incredibly cool setting, great characters, excellent replayability, and an absolutely brilliant concept: experiencing a party-based RPG through the eyes of Evil in a doomed world. Furthermore, a playthrough takes about 20-25 hours — which is quite short for an RPG — yet it still manages to tell an …
- [4]
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 …
Summarised from 34 of the 300 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Tyranny talk about unique and original setting with great worldbuilding; those who didn't talk about combat system is weak and unsatisfying. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Tyranny received positive reviews upon its release; it is currently listed on Metacritic with a score of 80/100 based on 67 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Praise was given to the game's deep exploration of evil, as well as its world building and mysteries. Criticisms were leveled at its combat AI, and the abrupt end to the story.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 320 · most liked firstBaltimore Rallies Against Tyranny! Army/Navy game Dec 13 2025
neutral · AI labelView post →hopefully avowed will be a huge hit when it comes out for everyone in 2 days and somehow this will lead to Obsidian making a Tyranny FPS action game where you play as a Fatebinder in the capital of Kyros' empire doing SPY SHIT as the empire tries to recover from the Edict levied on it
positive · AI labelView post →Why don't the Dems have a strong game plan? They need to read Timothy Snyder's book, On Tyranny. Don't submit in advance!
neutral · AI labelView post →Half-Baked: Cool ideas, poor execution. I am writing this review as someone who values Steam reviews before buying or playing a game and this is the review I wish I had read before going on my journey through The Tiers. Am I saying this is necessarily a bad game, no. But if you are someone like me and have a limited amount of free time to play games would I recommend that you play this game over all the other games you could be playing? Also, no. This is a game where if you look at all the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Day 792 of posting a Daily Screenshot from the games I've been playing. Today’s game is _Assassin’s Creed 3_. I have finally done it. I 100% the Base Game. I thought for sure it would be about the same as revelations was. I was wrong. It was a whole lot more work. I’d say the 2 worst parts were the Encyclopedia of the Common Man and the 100% Sync. The Encyclopedia namely involved just a lot of waiting around which was horrible. I got it though. And I’m finally ready to move onto The Tyranny of…
neutral · AI labelView post →Helldivers II: Omens of Tyranny announced, a new update to the game out now! #TheGameAwards
neutral · AI labelView post →• 1d ago > guy gets banned from PDX discord server > appeals ban > mod (unaffiliated with paradox) says ok, but your profile picture of Ataturk breaks our rule because he’s a controversial political figure (claimed he was a part of Armenian genocide). Fix that and we’ll let you back in > guy throws ♥♥♥♥ fit, claims he’s been banned because of his picture of Ataturk, denies Armenian genocide > that narrative spreads like wildfire amongst Turkish nationalists > Turk nationalists review bomb…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Button Season 5: Rome - Full Recap. # The Button, Season 5: Rome. The Full Recap 🏛️ **39 hours. 127 citizens from 39 instances. One Emperor, one knife in the Forum, twenty-two stabbings, thirty-nine recall motions, two routs of Coolius Caesar, and a Senate that voted to rename Rome to New South Corvidton.** The gates opened on **25 September at 19:00 UTC** and the last timer ran dry on **27 September at 10:01 UTC**. Here is everything that happened in between. All times are UTC. --- A…
neutral · AI labelView post →VGH... What is there to say? I know that Obsidian were locked into having to do POE, but man, THIS is what they should have lead with. Tyranny is better than Pillars 1 and 2 in everything important, by a wide margin. The world, the story, the characters, the artstyle, the tone, the themes, the combat, the RPG mechanics, the exploration, the itemization, the choice and consequences... What could have been... What we lost...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is in the same tier as new vegas to me. genuinely amazing. will absolutely teach you that you're not a good person, and will show you what brand of fascism you're weak to. PLAY THIS GAME
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Before the pandemic, I never had an opinion one way or the other about cars & trucks. But something broke people’s brains in 2020. It’s like Mad Max or being inside a video game whenever you’re out there on the road. I hate it. Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves From The Tyranny Of The Automobile
neutral · AI labelView post →Game is ok, not the greatest Obisidian game but playable. Publisher on the other hand...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got two more players for my Local Tyranny of Dragon's game, and I'm EXCITED!!!! AAAA!
neutral · AI labelView post →📣 SUMMER SALE - Major discounts + New bundles! 📣 New collaborative bundles with related game: KIYO - Bunny Tyranny Unusual Findings Darkestville Castle Mayhem Brawler Also BROK and major DLCs Brawl Bar and First Hat at their lowest discount ever! store.steampowered.com/bundlelist/9... 🔼
neutral · AI labelView post →this is how you know you're on a fantasy world, it's cause there's a fucked up moon BUT god Avowed's engine but running a game set in Tyranny, you have no idea HOW fucked up that moon is
positive · AI labelView post →btw, did you like Andor? Did you love this serious discussion of fascism and resistance? Did you like that? BUY AND PLAY TYRANNY RIGHT FUCKIN' NOW here, here's the link, buy it www.gog.com/en/game/tyra...
positive · AI labelView post →Arguably, Tyranny is one of Obsidian's best games and one of the most original RPGs I've ever played. It features an incredibly cool setting, great characters, excellent replayability, and an absolutely brilliant concept: experiencing a party-based RPG through the eyes of Evil in a doomed world. Furthermore, a playthrough takes about 20-25 hours — which is quite short for an RPG — yet it still manages to tell an engaging story, flesh out the characters, and lay the groundwork for a massive…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →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…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I can't believe how bad combat is in this game. I loved Pillars of Eternity so I figured liking this would be a no-brainer. It has the same combat system and stats as Pillars of Eternity but, man, they must have had a different level designers or something because the game feels like torture to get through. I've tried to start it 3 times and give up because I absolutely hate getting into fights in this game. Your characters feel really weak for some reason and nothing about combat feels good. I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →LRT: the first game to even do that was Tyranny, and Tyranny is also VERY similar to Rogue Trader in that both explore being a member of a fascist state ......................and, like........ I love Rogue Trader..... but holy shit Tyranny is so much fucking better
positive · AI labelView post →Tyranny has a tidally locked moon that perpetually hangs on the horizon for the area the game is set, so it's called Terratus' Grave, and then it has a much faster, smaller, darker moon called THE INTERLOPER
neutral · AI labelView post →Tyranny is a really good game and you should absolutely check it out. Pay no attention to all recent negative reviews from losers upset that Paradox criticized Turkey’s genocidal authoritarian leader.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Remake Tyranny in the Balder's Gate 3 engine (modified to use the Tyranny's roleplaying game system, obviously)
positive · AI labelView post →The 'T' Words >> Treason - Traitor - Tyranny - Trump. This is not a word game. This is the reality we are dealing with today in the United States.
neutral · AI labelView post →Half dragon npc Langdedrosa who appeared in Tyranny of Dragons and is showing up again in our Descent into Avernus game! Rediscovering how much I love drawing dragons lol #eventidesketch
neutral · AI labelView post →Tyranny is best fought through perpetual asymmetric attrition-based efforts that make it too game theoretically expensive to be a tyrant. This includes everything from punching Richard Spencer to using $1000 weapons to eat $100,000 weapons
neutral · AI labelView post →Answer to yesterday's #mtgtrivia question: It turns out there were three: Goblin Game, Phyrexian Tyranny & Sisay's Ingenuity #WotCStaff
neutral · AI labelView post →A brilliant premise trapped under the weight of an abrupt and deeply unsatisfying conclusion. Tyranny offers a genuinely refreshing role reversal where you serve the bad guys, backed by fantastic world-building and meaningful choices. However, the game peaks in its first two acts and then rushes headlong into a jarring, cliffhanger-heavy ending that makes your entire journey feel unfinished. The combat system and magic crafting are solid, but if you go in expecting a complete, well-paced…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Injustice I tried very hard with this game. There are things that I did love about it. The writing is so deep, the back story captivating. One of the very few games where you play as the bad guys but without being over the top. Trying to be nice to others in this game is a mistake, you really need to take no prisoners. But, it's just too much for a neophyte to iosmetric RPGs. All the items are trash, the inventory management requires a degree in archivism. The combat is really tough…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First and foremost: This is like reading a 3,000 pages novel. This is factual information. I mean, real reading a lot between story and dialogues and there is much more reading than actually playing in this game. So if you don't like reading something the size of all Harry Potter's books combined or going twice through all 3 Lord Of The Rings books, then I don't recommend this game. On the other hand, the story and the world are really compelling and professionally written. It's a truly…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hopefully the game results will be a prediction of how the orange’s 2nd term will be. Democracy vs Tyranny. Democracy will always win.
neutral · AI labelView post →Power, law & moral ambiguity. It challenges you to confront what it truly means to wield authority when evil has already won & to decide how far you are willing to bend to survive. - for patient gamers who appreciate old-school CRPGs - RTWP with amazing spellcrafting system - strong writing, deep worldbuilding & reactive companions - heavy immersive reading & decision-making - gritty, dark & complex game that subverts fantasy tropes Very underrated gem. Easily one of my top favourites! Also,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →“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…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I recently started playing some older CRPGs that I couldn't play back when I had the patience and the English level of a middle-schooler Turkish boy. Tyranny is my second entry in the genre barring the modern entries, and it was a blast. I had so much fun being this grand person in this vast world, overcoming the challenges the ruthless people of the Tiers throw at me. It is such a shame that this well crafted world had to be put away as the profits of the game didn't meet Paradox's…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR: Tyranny has its moments of good story beats and a refreshing take on its worldbuilding and setting, but it ultimately felt like a slog of small RPG skirmishes in low-contrast brown and grey environments. I played the full game and I enjoyed what they were trying to do here, but there are unfortunately better CRPGs. I'll start with saying I tried to get into this years ago, but the intro and first act were just a firehose blast of lore and reading. There was the hook of the cool…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Side Quests is back and this episode's host is game writer, narrative designer and the Fatebinder, @damienrazdan.bsky.social! The game he is talking about today is Tyranny by Obsidian Entertainment and Paradox Interactive. funandgames.libsyn.com/side-quests-...
neutral · AI labelView post →in another effort to review every video game that has helped distract me from the crushing weight of my own mortality and the unavoidable horrors of the human condition: i'd give this game an 8.8/10 with the footnote: it's like pillars of eternity but better but also worse but generally better
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →BALTIMORE AREA CAT LADIES/DADDIES/FOLKS & UN-CATTED ALLIES! JONI US SATURDAY 12/13! Baltimore Sign Waves's event, “Army-Navy Game Day Peaceful Protest: Baltimore Community Says NO to Trump Tyranny” - sign up now to join me! www.mobilize.us/mobilize/eve...
neutral · AI labelView post →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.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Let’s play a game; guess who said this quote. Bonus points for knowing the audience A democracy thrives on diversity. Tyranny oppresses it.
neutral · AI labelView post →Fuckin' Tyranny Dishonored would be the hardest a game has ever gone, I'm here for it.
positive · AI labelView post →The game drops off heavily after the first act which I can only attribute to pressures of the publisher company Paradox Interactive as working with them means you have to release an unfinished game so they can go on to push their predatory DLC model to their consumers.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Extremely underrated. In my opinion, a strictly better CRPG than Pillars. The setting is interesting and unique. The characters are interesting and unique. Each area has an interesting theme/hook because of the edicts, and the way everyone reacts to their situation feels believable and immersive. Great writing, and in my opinion a CRPG lives and dies on writing quality. My only gripe is with the way aggro works, which makes it very hard to keep squishy backliners alive (rip my boy lantry).
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Majora's Mask of Obsidian. Built in a short time on an already existing engine (the Pillars of Eternity engine), and including a lot of interesting and clever ideas and themes. Also, like Majora's Mask, looked back on by its developer and publisher as something of an embarassment, something to be forgotten. Tons of really cool ideas here; spell crafting, edicts, the idea of magic being a construct of public belief, and an obscene amount of freedom and consequence in your choices, so much…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Please take the recent reviews with somewhat of a grain of salt, a lot of them are from review bombing the one time publisher of an obsidian game, Paradox over some discord babble upsetting Turkish nationalists. That being said the game itself is quite nice, a subvert of the usual trope where you are expected to play as an agent of an evil warlord, that being said you can rebel and the campaign to do so is nicely fleshed out. I consider the game a bit of a Gem and thus why I am resubmitting a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Today I have learned about the wonderful governmental system that my country is run on It Is Kakistocracy The system in my country disguises itself as a chameleon pretending to be a democracy: in reality the country has always been run by the most incompetent people in the countryan individual who knows nothing about electricity runs the AC power companya person who doesn't know the difference between a corpus and a cadaver runs the Ministry of Health an individual who doesn't even know how to…
neutral · AI labelView post →This game is unfinished. The ending felt rushed and it's just a giant cliffhanger. I cannot recommend it at full price. What a missed opportunity.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is arguably Obsidian's Magnum Opus and final good title. Very unique plot/rpg that frankly has high replay value as there's four main routes. The world building is fantastic, The plot twists are pretty good & the antagonists are pretty damn interesting. Some of them just give me the heebie jeebies (I'm looking at you voices of nerat) On the technical side it is a tad buggy and the combat isn't amazing, and controller support is pretty wack (non-existent). Still worth a run and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My biggest gaming heartache! My gateway drug title to the CRPG genre, that seemingly will never see a sequel. To this day, still holds the spot as my favorite lore from a dark high fantasy setting. A tragedy that we've not seen anything else built around this world. Writing this review five years too late hoping the suits at Obsidian hear my plea.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Tyranny is probably the other contender, and that game ran out of funding to the point it feels unfinished
neutral · AI labelView post →Its my first review im writing and im very conflicted as to what to say. I LOVE this game, the world, the setting, the story, the gameplay etc etc. I think its a very unique game in not only the art/mechanics/gameplay and actual choices that matter, BUT its setting is extremely interesting and it put me in a deep thought of things. I just finished it and i feel very happy, satisfied and like i just finished a really good movie. Everything i mentioned above just made me fall in love with it...…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not many games offer believable evil storylines. Tyranny not only offers such a wicked experience but also pretty much excels at it. It truly is what it claims to be: dark, gritty, and sick. Genuinely disturbing! The writing is supreme. I didn't expect any less from Obsidian. Why negative? As much as it pains me to admit, the game itself was pretty underwhelming. From a gameplay standpoint, it was a tough pill to swallow. Including one particular Azure Shield game-ending bug. The only thing…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game was planned to have five acts but they only made three, and it's as rushed as that sounds. The combat is basically filler. And the ending railroads you onto a specific path that might make no sense for your character. Despite all that it's still the best narrative game of its year, because the writers are competent with interesting ideas, and most games don't even clear that low bar. If you like CRPGs you should get it. Every game in this genre has a bunch of major flaws and we put up…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Tyranny is not a great game, but I lowkey kinda love it. If you have read The Black Company by Glen Cook, and you should they are excellent fantasy novels, you're basically playing as the strongest of the Taken. Which means, you're the baddies. At first, I really hated that, but then I read the Black Company, and it's actually a great idea. When I first played Tyranny, I did not like the game and some of those dislikes remain. The combat is largely a carry-over from Pillars of Eternity, but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If I started playing Tyranny and did not stop, I would beat Tyranny before this game finished downloading
positive · AI labelView post →Mechanically, the game functions in a very similar fashion to the classics and their successors. I more or less felt I was playing another Pillars of Eternity game based on how the controls work, which makes sense because it was made by the same people who made Pillars of Eternity, many of whom were also involved in the classic Baldur's Gate series and Planescape: Torment. Having said that, it's the tone, visuals and story that sets this one apart from most offerings in the genre. The first…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm Kyros' top guy! What am I going to do?! Kyros chose me to unite the Tiers? Okay, I'll do it - I'm going to bat for you, Kyros! Tyranny is great. Well, the game, not the notion of living in North Korea. An RPG that actually recognises roleplaying as its strength. The world is very reactive, the writing is solid and it doesn't drag on for hundreds of hours like its bigger cousins. The combat feels like a more polished version of Pillars 1, but ultimately it'll be a very similar game…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Another example of Steam needing a mid review option. I'd only recommend this game to someone looking for a CRPG with a dedicated evil path. The gameplay is too janky and the whole thing feels kind of unfinished. Combat is atrocious, even for RTwP which is crappy in the first place. The story is interesting but the dialogue can be really inconsistent. The companions are kind of annoying. It's the lore and backstory that makes the game interesting IMO it's just too bogged down everywhere else.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I picked up Tyranny for the simplest reason: it looked damn good. The interface, the art, the whole visual package. Played it in 2018, a couple years after launch, and honestly the presentation still impressed me. Voice acting? Solid. No complaints there. The people behind this game clearly gave a damn about polish. Here's where it fell apart for me, though. Tyranny's big thing is the Edict timer. You get a task, and you get a countdown in days. Finish it or face the consequences. Cool concept…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a really hard decision to make but ultimately I have chosen to leave a negative review out of disappointment rather than anything the game itself directly does, but rather what it does NOT do. (Spoilers ahead.) This game and all it is, if it could be summed up briefly would be "A Tease" or a sense of "Teasing". It scratches all the perfect itches of wanting to "start from nothing" or "lower station", and build your character into a Tyrant or Humble Ruler of an empire but never…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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