Better, Reflexive Entertainment took the premise and the SPECIAL system, and seemed to know what to do with them. You start out the game in Barcelona, and while there are some typical side quests to get you going, you also have to make some choices. Should you join the Knights Templar, the Inquisition, or the Wielders? Should you help the thieves or beggars in their local feud? Should you take sides with England or Spain in what looks like an upcoming war? Choices are always good, and, coupled with all the options the SPECIAL system gives for character development, Lionheart has all sorts of possibilities for re-playability. After playing for a while as a fighter character (who joined the Knights and helped the thieves), I was all excited about playing again as a magic user.

That is, I was all excited until about the 20-hour mark, when Lionheart started going downhill in a hurry. After 30 hours, I just wanted the game to end so I could move on to something else. The metamorphosis is just strange. You’d think a developer who decides to use the SPECIAL system and then demonstrates they know how to use it, would continue to use it. But instead, from about the 20-hour mark on, Lionheart turns into a linear, combat-heavy bore.​