I've only beaten this once, but I've escaped Fort Joy at least five times, both solo and with different groups. That should tell you how much I enjoy the game mechanically to be excited to start the campaign over that many times on a whim, but it should also tell you how little thrust the story elements have that it took me so long to beat it just once. It's one of the only CRPGs where I'm never disappointed to see a dialogue end with combat--it's just that fun. This works especially well in multiplayer, since there's not as much pressure to save scum for the easy route when fighting your way out of a tough situation is so satisfying.

And even outside of combat, there are some fun ways to use your party's powers to solve problems. Once, we were on a quest to kill a particular man, but doing so would anger all his cohorts and start a bloody, messy brawl that we didn't want any part in. So what did we do? We used a ring of teleportation to zap him out of anyone else's sight and pummeled him in a back alley. The game is full of little things like that which most other games would script or invisible-wall you out of doing, and that's where it shines. In fact, the world is often designed with this in mind, so when you can't simply cheese your way around an obstacle, pains have clearly been taken to make it feel like a natural part of the world rather than an arbitrary roadblock or limitation. Though the dialogues and non-companion characters tend not to get very deep, they're fun and functional enough to keep the rest of the game shiny and smooth.

This, in turn, makes me a lot less interested in the capital-R Role-playing--playing as a custom character gives you strictly fewer dialogue options than the pre-made "origin" characters (think playable companions), whereas I've retained very little sense of the values, history, or personality of my custom characters--but that doesn't stop me from getting joyfully lost in its immersive-sim-esque creativity. If Larian's upcoming Baldur's Gate 3 steps up the writing and atmosphere but retains the absolutely stunning way this game latches into my brain when I play it, it'll be an all-time great. Maybe this one already is.
[edit from 2023: oh BG3 is really good lol]

I immensely enjoyed Acts 1 and 2, but had a lot of issues with Act 4 ranging from the game's not so good endings to the massive increase in difficulty.

Seriously, we can all agree the fight with the spiders under the city where some spiders explode into death fog is a not fun experience, right?

Also, the inventory system is bad.

This second playthrough was done in co-op, with my brother deciding the primary direction of the playthrough. It was another great experience with this masterpiece of an RPG, full of surprise and creativity. Playing this time as a self-important, unempathetic Red Prince, I was greatly amused by a number of quest outcomes, including killing Fane's questline by reasserting my status as party leader in a moment where he needed to chime in. While my first playthrough was moving and optimistic, the game adapted considerably to accommodate a totally different emotional experience for me (while my brother simultaneously experienced the emotional fulfilment I received first-time around). It's just so, so good.

The overall story is great, with many different endings for sidequests, character quests and even the main story quest.

Fun combat with multiple different skills, weapons and armour pieces to choose from to help build a character that plays exactly how you want them to. Combat can get a bit repetitive, and while the game does have some good difficulty settings to make fights harder, certain builds can be quite broken and will make the game feel no different.

Really fun to play with friends or alone. I'd also recommend adding some mods and trying some different playstyles.

Writing: 3/5
Gameplay: 5/5
Art Design & Visuals: 5/5
Voices & Sounds: 4/5
Atmosphere & Immersion: 4/5

This game made me realize my love for CRPGs and Strategy RPGs and still manages to stand out as there's nothing else like it.

Its sandbox nature makes it feel as though there's endless opportunities and approaches to scenarios as if you were playing an actual TTRPG. On top of all these different play styles, playing co-op with friends brings even more fresh experiences to the table.

There's so much game here, it's incredible how polished and high quality it all feels.

My group has finally completed this game and my god its been good, a wonderful world and excellent mechanics and combat.

One of the biggest laughs to play as a group and something you can really sink your teeth into.

Definitely give it a go!