Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura Reviews

One of my favorite games from growing up. Probably caused me to fall in love with Steampunk genre.

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura – A Flawed Masterpiece A unique blend of steampunk and magic, Arcanum offers one of the most ambitious RPG experiences ever. With deep world-building, reactive storytelling, and an incredibly flexible character system, it’s a dream come true for hardcore CRPG fans. Dialogue and quest design allow for unparalleled freedom—whether you outsmart enemies, use brute force, or literally talk to the dead. However, technical issues hold it back. Even for its time, the graphics and animations were outdated, and without fan patches, the game is nearly unplayable due to bugs. The combat system is clunky, and exploration can feel tedious without fast travel. Would I recommend it to modern players? Only to those willing to embrace its flaws. Despite its rough edges, Arcanum remains a cult classic and one of the most ambitious RPGs ever made. If there’s any justice, Microsoft will someday give it the remake it deserves.

Many games don't have the balls to kill children, this game is one of them sadly, but gnomes are close enough.

One of my favourite games ever; one that i still own on CD just in case Steam/the internet ever implodes and i need something to occupy myself. Play as a technological genius or a 'old-school' magic user and the game takes on an entirely different spin, from the attitudes of the people you meet to the way you overcome challenges and encounters. The skills and crafting feels rich and worthwhile (you will be crafting the gear you use throughout) especially bin-diving in every new town/area to feed my grenade addiction...... For me the story often plays second fiddle to the gameplay but here is was an integral part of my enjoyment. Simply a great game.

I sadly can't recommend the game if you don't want to go through a slighly tedious process of getting it to work. the base game feels like it's fighting with the os, even tho I can see the structures of a very interesting game here. if you are up for spending some time making it run properly it has a lot of promise.

Please ignore my steam playtime. This is...my favorite game of all time. I played it the most, with replays that couldn't be counted on both hands...from the begging till end, I played this, over and over again..and always with someone new, with a background, path, a different way to solve quests that would fit them...I once played a slight bad guy who kept going back to the punishing prostitute in the main city after each bad deed...i had a drunk character bed a sheep...an evil, proud, dark elf who'd obliterate anyone with her magic, just for looking at her wrong on the wrong leg day...an idiot savant was also fun. So was being sent to charm school or starting as a soon to be penniless orphan..and oh the music, the steampunk setting..there is NO game quite like Arcanum. Some that come close are the old fallout games which are gems of their own but...Arcanum, now, always, first in my heart, game wise. Wish Troika was still kicking...but if it was, would it still stick to their magnificent roots? We'll never know. ----- An attempt to be less bias: It's not perfect. I have to use either the unofficial patch or download the multiverse edition for the bug fixes. The ending is not so satisfying compared to the rest of the masterpiece. There's atmospheric violin music throughout the game, among which you might find some best soundtracks you've heard in a game or otherwise, depending on taste. Some might find the artstyle out of date but i'm 100% honest when I say it's my favourite. It fits the theme, isn't goofy, is beautiful in a unique way. The replay value, as I mentioned, is HUGE. Lots of ways to solve the same quests, an alignment system, background, races and reactions to your race, beauty, intelligence etc. The world itself is also large, brimming with people and quests. The story is, in a lot of ways, what you make it. Same as with your character. It's up to you my friend...It's all up to you... 10/10. Would bed a sheep in real life to get a sequel which was just as good.

A great flawed game that does not play nice with modern OS. Might be worthwhile if you can get it to work.

fantastic game! like the old Baldur's Gate games. it looks pretty aged, but if you're coming from BG3 and have finished other Larian games while don't wanna be bothered by the antiquated AD&D rules, this is awesome! after 20-some hours I must admit the game is fabulous! we don't see such games nowadays barring those by Larian. you need to use UAP patch for an improved experience though