The Double-A Team: Tyranny's greatness shouldn't be so much of a secret Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. The Double-A Team: Tyranny's greatness shouldn't be so much of a secret A quick blast of evil. Feature by Caelyn Ellis Contributor Published on 23 Jul 2021 25 comments Tyranny, the Infinity Engine-esque RPG Kickstarted by Obsidian that isn't Pillars of Eternity, is hands down one of the finest RPGs I've ever played. It takes the familiar template Bioware laid down with Baldur's Gate and does interesting and innovative things with the world and story, all wrapped up in a relatively lean thirty-hour playtime. Unfortunately, I'm the only bugger who's played it. Yeah, yeah, I know. Some other people must have played it, obviously. There's a review on this very website. The problem is that no-one I know has played it, so I can't discuss all the twists and turns with anyone. It's very frustrating, so I resolved to do something about it. Friends, I have made it my life's mission to get people to play this bloody game, and the fine folks at Eurogamer have allowed me to use their fancy digital grimoire to spread my message. I won't tell you how many fetch quests I had to do for them first. The unique selling point of Tyranny is that you get to be the bad guy. It's nothing new per se, plenty of RPGs let you kick puppies and threaten peasants for a few extra coppers, but Tyranny is entirely structured around your position as an agent of the evil Overlord Kyros, the same way The Witcher is entirely about witching. Witchering. Whatever. Watch on YouTube In reality, very few people actually think they're evil and that's very much reflected in the game. You're not required to engage in cackling pantomime villainy and even the more extreme NPCs are presented as well-rounded individuals who have very good reasons for doing what they do. Do you want to side with the murderous, yet staunchly equal-opportunities sorcerer, or the cheerfully avuncular fascist? While by no means a sandbox, being tied to a mostly linear narrative, Tyranny gives plenty of freedom to stamp your character's identity on the story. Right out of the gate, you're given the option to throw in with the disparate factions who are resisting Kyros' rule, although whether that's out of genuine altruism or a desire to build your own power base is up to you. That's the key to Tyranny's greatness. By narrowing its focus, it can support all manner of different choices (and consequences, natch). No, you can't ignore the story to start a farm, but it's very rare that you can't navigate the game's various scenarios in exactly the way you'd like to. The icing on this devilish food cake is that it doesn't take an age to finish. Thirty hours is lengthy enough, but by the standards of your Dragon Ages and Mass Effects, it's pretty tight. As a result, it's one of the few games I've played in the past decade or so that I've finished more than once, which is a real boon for an RPG that offers so many options. I've not even scratched the surface of how much I love this game. I even enjoy the fights and I hate real-time-with-pause combat. It's been in numerous bundles and giveaways, so there's a good chance you own it already. If you enjoy a good RPG, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Or at least do it for me, so I have someone to talk to about Tyranny. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 28 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 3 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store