sources called it one of the richest, most engrossing stories to be found outside films and novels, and more original than most RPGs. Computer Games criticized the linear storyline, and said the few dialog choices available to the player had no real impact on the storytelling. CGW said the linear story prevented Redemption from being a true RPG because it lacked interaction with many characters, and the lack of player impact on the story made it seem as though they were not building characters but rather were getting them to the story milestones. According to PC Gamer, while the game's linearity was a negative, it kept the narrative tight and compelling. Reviewers variously appreciated and disliked the voice acting. Game Revolution and Computer Games said the acting ranged from adequate to good, while CGW said the voices were inappropriate and the 12th century European voices sounding like modern Americans, but that the modern era featured better actors. ArsTechnica said the acting was inconsistent but was better than that of Deus Ex. The weather effects, background sound, and moody music were said to blend together well and help immerse the player in the game's world. CGW said the sound quality was sometimes poor. Much of Redemption criticism focused on technical problems when it was released, undermining the game experience or making it unplayable. Several reviewers noted issues with the initial lack of a function to save game progress at any point, which meant that dying or technical issues with the game could necessitate them to reload a previous save, and then repeat up to 30 minutes of gameplay. CGW added that the repetitive gameplay meant that losing progress and having to repeat it was a particular downside. Next Generation, who provided the game with a score of 3 out of 5, said that Redemption was potentially only a few patches away from being a 5 out of 5 game, if not for technical issues. PC Gamers review even included recommended instructions for cheats that worked around the technical flaws. CGW said the in-game combat became a confusing mess once allies became involved, in part due to poor artificial intelligence (AI) that caused them to use powers liberally and become low on blood as a result. The AI was considered to be insufficient for the game; pathfinding failures meant allies would become stuck on environmental objects or each other during combat, use