Kult: Heretic Kingdoms (aka Heretic Kingdoms: The Inquisition in the US) began with 3D People developing an isometric Action RPG. To stand out among the many “Diablo clones” of the early 2000s, they partnered with International Hobo, a game writing and design consultancy company.

This little backstory seems key to understanding why Kult feels like two different games inside one.

Clearly influenced by Michael Moorcock, it tells of a world where an ancient hero killed God. His blade became infused with god-like powers, and later one of his descendants used it to conquer the land, imposing a brutal theocracy. He was eventually defeated, and to stop another theocrat from rising, the sword was hidden and an Inquisition was formed, seeking to destroy all religions that might grow to oppress humanity.

You play as Alita, an apprentice to the High Inquisitor – but also a descendant of the ancient hero's bloodline. During your adventures you'll learn more about these past events, of your own order and of those seeking to resurrect God, in a morally ambiguous tale with multiple endings (based on a last-minute choice).

Kult also has great world-building, with all quests and NPCs having their own reasonable motivations. You'll hear about refugees from neighbouring countries, tribal caste systems, prostitutes fleeing slavery, etc.

What dooms Kult is that all this is trapped inside a very poor Action RPG. Combat is slow, tedious and extremely unbalanced (some skills are plain broken), map design is poor and monsters barely have any skills or abilities – even the bosses just run at you.

The skill system is similar to some JRPGs, where each equipment piece can teach a new skill if you use it enough. Sadly, most skills are dull passive bonuses and the few magic spells are all automatically cast, so you'll just right-click on enemies the whole game.