Here is a game that largely matches expectations without exceeding them. If you're looking for solid, retro-RPG combat and witty writing then you'll find it here at a very reasonable price. However, the story behind all the sarcasm and jokes, while entertaining enough, lacks tension and impact. It sets up the following game for a more interesting setting and conclusion, but that's not enough to elevate this game's narrative above "mostly forgettable".
Precipice of Darkness 3 does a great job of bringing complexity and flexibility into its turn based combat. Each party member has one permanent base class that matches their personality. In time you'll unlock two additional class slots for each character that can be swapped at will between battles. You choose from a pool of bizarre classes that allow you to easily experiment until you find a winning combination. I really like that unused classes still gain experience and level up, just at a slightly slower pace than the in use classes. This negates the chance of any class becoming under leveled to the point of discouraging you from trying it.
In battle the game uses a combat bar to queue actions that is much like the old Grandia series and, more recently, Child of Light. It is one of my favorite turn based systems that allows for characters and attacks of varying speeds as well as strategic interrupts of enemy actions. To be victorious I needed to make proper use of buffs, interrupts and adjust my strategy to account for enemy weaknesses and resistances. I played on the Veteran difficulty and found it to be on point except for in one area called The Bank of Money that had a frustrating and unusual spike in difficulty.
The city map that you use to navigate from area to area is very plain with linear paths that don't allow for any deviation or hidden surprises. The exploration areas are genre standard mazes of corridors, barriers and rooms. Their layout is pleasing, including treasure chests, non-random enemy encounters and silly descriptions when you examine some objects. Visuals are definitely not this game's strong suit. They get the job done without being outright ugly, but the best compliment I can give them is that there are some creatively comedic enemy designs.
Having not played the previous two games nor read much of the Penny Arcade comics I'm coming at this game without a preexisting attachment to the characters. While I did enjoy their distinct and quirky personalities, they only grew on me a little over time. There are some decent attempts at character development, however the priority is clearly on humor over substance. As for the comedy, for me it was consistently amusing without ever being a truly laugh-out-loud level of funny. It's worth noting that I did not feel like I was missing anything from not having played parts 1 and 2.
My total playtime clocked in at 15 hours for all the content this game has to offer. It is a modestly successful entry in the relatively sparse field of games that place a heavy emphasis on comedy. I am comfortable recommending this game to any old school RPG fans out there or Penny Arcade aficionados.