Opinionated Ham Scarecrow Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 Played till 1am last night and mopped up the opening area. Hugely impressed. On a technical level it's not quite there but it is so, so close that after a while I barely noticed and could have been playing the latest big budget Ubisoft game (without the microtransactions though \o/). Voice acting is generally good. The voice for the male lead character is particularly strong. Turning the controller sensitivity as low as it can go made the controls feel a bit weightier and helped a lot. The default is nuts. Questing is great. A lot of choices to make, different routes to take. Just very clever stuff. The New Serene starting area is choc full of interesting characters and lore and man, it ends LIKE A BOSS! Was not expecting that... Very, very excited to keep playing this. It's been a while since a really decent RPG came out and this is really scratching that itch in a big way. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 Damnit, Giz, looks like this is my next game after I finish Gear's 5. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opinionated Ham Scarecrow Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 Get it! The opening really reminded me of the older Assassin's Creed games in terms of atmosphere and world building, but then it all went batshit. Now I'm heading to a huge island to quest the heck out of it and romance some natives and the hype is real. I've enjoyed Spider's work in the past, but not to the extent that I'd champion or even recommend it as it was always obviously flawed. This is a huge step up so far. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic_Guru Posted September 11, 2019 Author Share Posted September 11, 2019 Spiders were always much better at world building and dialogue than the rest. Here it all comes together and there are flashes of many other games there too. One of the best things is that a simple sounding quest can spiral away into a long chain of tasks (I don't think there has been a simple fetch quest yet), which have you running around for some time pursuing single thread until it is fully unravelled (this is where having sensibly placed fast travel points really helps). You can usually break off and do some exploring in-between but sometimes there are timed events which are helpfully recorded for you. I'm only playing on normal difficulty so I can choose my outfits based on aesthetics as much as anything. Control has rather soured me on stop start games for a while and it's nice to breeze through most encounters. I'll doubtless replay at least once and also try it on extreme sometime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opinionated Ham Scarecrow Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 22 hours ago, Cosmic_Guru said: flappy / poor mouth synching Reading back through the topic, this is the only real negative that stands out for me so far. It's a bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Spatula Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 I'm totally buying this once I finish Remnant. It looks great and it's nice to see Spiders finally match their ambition to an extent. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Knight Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 First game I've ever had to kill off the tutorial guide to get through the bloody tutorial level. That first sparring match with the tips enabled is effectively unplayable. VERY early into this, but on PC I genuinely have to question if the people who set up the controls ever actually played a game on PC before. Awkward camera, bizzare lag, extra UI steps that shouldn't be necessary on PC... It feels like a lazy console port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opinionated Ham Scarecrow Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 The structure now the game has opened up a bit is a lot more Witcher 2 than Witcher 3 but that's fine. Not sure I am a fan of getting 5 or 6 steps into an interesting quest only to have it gated off because I haven't levelled up in the the right way though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdn2 Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 Must admit, I'm tempted by this myself. It's a shame it's arrived in such a packed September otherwise I would have been all over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takizawa Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 I was enjoying this in the opening city sections, but man once you get out and about the island it all just comes together nicely, the visuals improve too.8 hours on the clock and incredibly impressed so far, the only thing i'm not sure on yet is the combat, probably due to some poor decisions on where to distribute my points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 This is downloading now. Looking forward to getting stuck into a meaty RPG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixkiller Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Bought and downloaded this on PS4 last night on a bit of a whim, as i fancy the idea of a bioware-esque RPG. Really enjoyed the first hour or so I've played. Pleasantly surprised by the voice acting and atmosphere which are a much higher standard than the few review comments I saw made out, and I've not even left the first city yet. Should keep me entertained until Jedi Fallen Order arrives 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic_Guru Posted September 12, 2019 Author Share Posted September 12, 2019 I am always nervous about recommending these type of "AA" games because people's tolerances vary so much. Personally I love 'em. This is so good at making you think - if only I had the necessary vigour / agility what would I find over in that area? One of the quests which branches off from one of the initial ones given you on the island took a complete evening session and the final "dungeon" was fairly large albeit simple (apart from the bit I couldn't access). I'm suffering from indecision re skill / ability / talent points though - I think I will focus on magic until that vein is completely mined out so I don't have to fret about increasing basic stats in order to use other weapon types in this run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Yeah, I'm going for magic and charisma. However, while I'm liking this early (and I am very early) part of the game ... the lip ... to call it lip-sync would be disingenuous. There is no lip-sync, at all. The characters' mouth movements bear zero resemblance to the words they speak. Honestly, they just look like they're chewing food with their mouths open. It's fucking ghastly, and I'm struggling to get past it. I will persevere because the voice acting is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takizawa Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Luckily for me, I notice when it's done well but it doesn't put me off when it's not, it has mentioned in most reviews and is probably something they'll look to improve in their next title. I really hope it's a success, I love the direction they're taking with their games and it's great to see the improvement. I vaguely remember something from E3, one of their team was saying the majority of the game was developed with only 13 people, pretty incredible achievement given how ambitious it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Oh boy, I've just gone to read the character bios for some background on who they are. Very poor writing and grammar. I'm guessing this is due to Spiders being a small french team, with little-to-no money for better localisation. But still, they're genuinely bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opinionated Ham Scarecrow Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 I have a sneaky suspicion that things might perhaps be about to get dicey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Overall I enjoyed the first section, some of the quests were nicely intriguing, and if that's a taste of things to come then this should very enjoyable overall. The graphics range from, "wtf is this shit?", to ,"oh wow, look at that?" But overall I'd say the graphics are ... good enough. I'm liking De Sardet so far, but some of the writing is bad. The spoken dialogue is nowhere near as bad as what's written in the bios, but some of it is a bit ROTS era George Lucas: Guard: "Some of the guards are extorting money from the merchants in exchange for protection" You: "Are you telling me guards are extorting money from merchants?" jackiechanwtf.gif I've also had some showstopping performance issues: That particular instance would not stop, I had to quit the game and restart. It happened again once or twice, but not so severely, and then passed. Overall, though, I have enjoyed my play of it this evening. I'm looking forward to getting proper stuck in over the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opinionated Ham Scarecrow Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 I agree with every criticism but I'm properly invested in this game after tonight's play. I don't think I've ever wanted to see the utter demise of a game character more than this guy just introduced. The game has a real pull in that it makes you feel like you can put some very bad shit right. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Good stuff. I plan on being a pistol-toting, spell throwing, charismatic motherfucker ... with a heart of gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic_Guru Posted September 13, 2019 Author Share Posted September 13, 2019 (edited) A couple of tips if you are short of cash (apart from creating / selling potions and doing your own gear upgrades): 1. run around either New Selene or San Matheus after dark (including the rural part of SM) - bound to be 2 or 3 bands of thieves about. 2. pursue the early quest to find the "demonic cult" village - in that map (Tir Dob - the black lands) there is a swamp zone to the NW which is absolutely littered with dead human bodies (having a point or two in intuition makes them more visible). One of the most enjoyable parts of this is determining your companions - be provocative? why not? I put a point in endurance just to be able to clank around in some of the different armours from time to time. Edited September 14, 2019 by Cosmic_Guru 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Oh, hello Vernon Roche, and all the other voices from Witcher 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Dear devs, Don't let me sell an outfit I will 100% need for a loyalty quest just a few hours later, a quest I now can't continue without repurchasing said outfit. It just makes players even more inclined to hoard everything. K thx bye. This really is amateur hour, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takizawa Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Na not really, I think its fucking excellent. I haven't needed an outfit for anything yet, it's just an alternative to sneaking / combat / blowing up walls, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opinionated Ham Scarecrow Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 I'm still enjoying it a lot. I've just done a great quest involving a shipwreck. It is flawed as fuck though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 San Matheus is rather lovely. Edit: Or not.These Inquisitors... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opinionated Ham Scarecrow Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Yeah, that scene was dark... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic_Guru Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 Tap laying skill helps with cheesing the arena Magic is really good to play in this, even without the conventional fire balls, lightning etc. Just reached my first real natives v colonists dispute re land use...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takizawa Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 In certain areas, and at certain times of day, this is one of the nicest looking games I've ever played. I've experienced a few issues like quest logic, and my female legate being referred to as a he on occasion, but I still think this is a great achievement that it's competing with AAA titles. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takizawa Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 1 hour ago, Cosmic_Guru said: Magic is really good to play in this, even without the conventional fire balls, lightning etc. I'm saving magic for my 2nd play, I've gone for an 'alchemist' build, traps, bombs and weapon enchantments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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