The details go beyond simple visuals. You’ll encounter political rivalries and background conversations between non-player characters (NPCs) when they think they’re alone ("Why do Grey Goblins have mustaches? To remind them of their mothers!"). NPCs will even run off to fetch help. All of these nice touches help fill in a world that is truly enormous. The size of the world means you’ll spend a lot of time running around (particularly before you figure out how to activate the portals that can instantly transport you between points). Moving from area to area also requires loading different zones, which is something of a constant (if minor) irritation. The auto-map, while a little difficult to use, is ultimately quite useful. There are plenty of regions filled with combat, but it’s possible to play much of the early game pursuing only non-violent quests. Unfortunately, the area is so large (and without convenient markers) that you can spend a lot of time stumbling about trying to figure out what to do. Many of the early quests cannot be immediately solved, leaving you to explore the world. Also, after a few hours of play, the journal function becomes difficult to use. All of this means that it’s not always clear what the next step should be, which results in hours of aimless wandering. I was only stymied at one point, when I initially missed a dark passageway behind the Troll kingdom.