Cumbersome Controls and an Unintuitive Interface Make a Would be Masterpiece a Frustrating Mess
Many clans to play as, lots of intrigue, grand strategy, challenging gameplay, interesting new multiplayer options, nice music
The Bad
Prohibitive learning curve, unintuitive interface, clunky display, clumsy controls, small generic looking units
Fans of Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis will feel right at home, and that's both a good thing and a bad thing. The problem with Paradox's high strategy games are that they're practically indecipherable to anyone who hasn't already invested a massive amount of time playing them. The interface in this rendition is even more unintuitive than in previous games, and while the flood of useless messages is more sorted and less intrusive, useless notifications like ambition notifications still get in the way of semi-important things.
The units are too small, structures hardly show up unless you're zoomed in too much to see, and it's practically impossible to tell clans apart without being on the clan map (which isn't pretty). On the bright side there are a lot of clans to choose from and how you choose to start will provide many unique challenges and effect how the game progresses. Diplomacy will also be necessary to rule a large dynasty in this game, as there is a maximum demesne size that you can hold without suffering from penalties.
Sorting the messages was a nice step and they're far less intrusive than in previous titles but disabling useless messages is still comparable to disarming a bomb, it's hard to tell without extensive experience what messages you need and what messages are useless clutter, and it seems impossible to view multiple messages without deleting them as you read them.
Really this is a decent game if you can get past the massive learning curve, but the learning curve is insane because of a general lack of mouse over tool tips and clunky interface. All of these problems have plagued high strategy games from Paradox since they first started making them, but hardened fans should be able to jump right in and enjoy Sengoku.