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[Carbonox]

This game has its ups and downs. Nowhere near the quality of the original Bioshock which is still one of the best games of this generation.

On one hand, it looks great, has a fantastic soundtrack and atmosphere, and the combat can be fun.

On the other, the combat is also very shallow and simple. It can also be a bit of a bore going through a few areas.

I do like Elizabeth and there are some truly wonderful moments (one involving a guitar which I thought was surprisingly touching) but the game feels like something is missing. The lack of 'horror' is a detriment too, though I'm sure this is good/bad depending on the player (I'm in the park of no horror = boo).

I dunno how far I'm in (I suspect near the end) but so far, this game is just 'good'. Nothing exceptional.

 

[FartOfWar]

OK then.

This game is creatively bankrupt, derivative crap.

I already played Bioshock 2. I already played Bioshock. Hell, I already played System Shock 2. They've done the RPG/shooter corridor crawl in an isolated setting that forces you to take a certain path - several times, in fact. They've done the protector/protectee, Big Daddy/Little Sister dynamic already - several times. I've already played through this story about a man and his ridiculously unlikely city that's backed up with unbelievable - and I mean that in the literal sense - scientific discoveries. I've fired these weapons before. I've use these Vigors/Plasmids before. I've even done melee attacks with a weapon like that before.

But what about the new stuff? The skylines are hardly worth mentioning. They turn what was already pretty linear into a literal on-rails shooter, no matter if you can jump forwards or backwards on it or reverse course. It's also pretty marginal in terms of total gameplay impact.

Elizabeth, then, the supposed best AI companion ever.

Elizabeth isn't a companion. She's a device. In terms of story she's something to dispense exposition and narration, as well as literally propelling this Mobius Strip shaped pretzel of a story on far too many occasions and being the only reason it managed to cohere into something vaguely resembling a closed loop at all.
In terms of gameplay, she's even less. She's a checkbox. If the box is ticked, the player has a passive chance of receiving a certain resource when he runs low (he just has to respond to a prompt by hitting a button instead of just getting it immediately), as well as the power to slightly alter the environment in a limited amount of situations. Out of combat, a ticked box also means getting free money in exchange for wasting time with a very repetitive and annoying animation. This is not the best companion ever - it's a script with tits and a face that bribes you to like it.

So the game is pretty much the exact same one that we've already played years ago with a minimum of changes to the way it plays and that's bad enough. But the story is little more than an excuse for that fact.

The fact that they try to explain why it's all so similar and familiar and derivative by bending over backwards with this crazy excuse for a story is just insulting. What's worse is that they were blowing their own horns about it beforehand and now, people are just eating it up.

I feel like I'm seeing this through a Porky's secret peephole into the Lemonparty shower.

 

[LiK]

OK then.

This game is creatively bankrupt, derivative crap.

I already played Bioshock 2. I already played Bioshock. Hell, I already played System Shock 2. They've done the RPG/shooter corridor crawl in an isolated setting that forces you to take a certain path - several times, in fact. They've done the protector/protectee, Big Daddy/Little Sister dynamic already - several times. I've already played through this story about a man and his ridiculously unlikely city that's backed up with unbelievable - and I mean that in the literal sense - scientific discoveries. I've fired these weapons before. I've use these Vigors/Plasmids before. I've even done melee attacks with a weapon like that before.

But what about the new stuff? The skylines are hardly worth mentioning. They turn what was already pretty linear into a literal on-rails shooter, no matter if you can jump forwards or backwards on it or reverse course. It's also pretty marginal in terms of total gameplay impact.

Elizabeth, then, the supposed best AI companion ever.

Elizabeth isn't a companion. She's a device. In terms of story she's something to dispense exposition and narration, as well as literally propelling this Mobius Strip shaped pretzel of a story on far too many occasions and being the only reason it managed to cohere into something vaguely resembling a closed loop at all.
In terms of gameplay, she's even less. She's a checkbox. If the box is ticked, the player has a passive chance of receiving a certain resource when he runs low (he just has to respond to a prompt by hitting a button instead of just getting it immediately), as well as the power to slightly alter the environment in a limited amount of situations. Out of combat, a ticked box also means getting free money in exchange for wasting time with a very repetitive and annoying animation. This is not the best companion ever - it's a script with tits and a face that bribes you to like it.

So the game is pretty much the exact same one that we've already played years ago with a minimum of changes to the way it plays and that's bad enough. But the story is little more than an excuse for that fact.

The fact that they try to explain why it's all so similar and familiar and derivative by bending over backwards with this crazy excuse for a story is just insulting. What's worse is that they were blowing their own horns about it beforehand and now, people are just eating it up.

so you liked it, nice.

 

[bobs...onGaf]

Is there an easy way to figure out which Kinetoscopes and telescopes I missed? I missed like one of each, im more worried that I missed a cool room somewhere rather than the kinetoscope itself to be fair!

 

[aett]

During my playthrough, I stuck with the carbine and machine gun, mostly because I had invested money into upgrading them. By the end of the game I found myself wanting a weapon that was better to use against heavy hitter enemies (Handymen, Patriots). Any recommendations for my next playthrough?

 

[Balphon]

During my playthrough, I stuck with the carbine and machine gun, mostly because I had invested money into upgrading them. By the end of the game I found myself wanting a weapon that was better to use against heavy hitter enemies (Handymen, Patriots). Any recommendations for my next playthrough?

Hand Cannon is a good choice.

 

[DukeBobby]

Y'know, after two playthroughs, I don't know how people can say that the gameplay is 'generic' or 'shallow'. There is so much to experiment with, and when everything comes together, it's fucking majestic. Every Vigor is useful, and finding a new combination is so much fun. One of my favourites is to lift several enemies into the air with Bucking Bronco, before blowing them to smithereens using Charge + Charge Boost. Or using Possession + Devil's Kiss/Shock Jockey to create an even more deadly ally.

Running through the game using the same weapons, and only using a couple of Vigors is obviously going to be boring. If you equip the right gear, have the right weapons, and you play around with the Vigors, I don't see how you can find it tedious. And I've not even mentioned the skylines!

This game is only a generic shooter if you play it like one.

 

[FStop7]

During my playthrough, I stuck with the carbine and machine gun, mostly because I had invested money into upgrading them. By the end of the game I found myself wanting a weapon that was better to use against heavy hitter enemies (Handymen, Patriots). Any recommendations for my next playthrough?

I used Charge combined with the burning Burning Halo gear and the Volley Gun to tear Handymen apart. They died fast with this combo on hard difficulty.

 

[StuBurns]

It's pretty spoiler heavy to discuss it, so I won't, but in no way is the ending some sort of apology for reiterating in design. It's not MGS2. I could see someone take that away from it, but I really don't think that's what it means.

 

[mileS]

Hehe, just booted up Bioshock 1 and you know what, it still looks pretty good.

I remember being blown away by the water tech.

I had the opposite reaction for some reason (pc version) Having to deal with the clunky menu (can't change graphic options when using a controller lol) and the terrible FoV. For some reason it was really hard to go back to. Theres just something about the graphics that turn me off. Seems really muddy. I think its just early unreal engine games that I find really hard to go back.

 

[B33]

OK then.

This game is creatively bankrupt, derivative crap.

I already played Bioshock 2. I already played Bioshock. Hell, I already played System Shock 2. They've done the RPG/shooter corridor crawl in an isolated setting that forces you to take a certain path - several times, in fact. They've done the protector/protectee, Big Daddy/Little Sister dynamic already - several times. I've already played through this story about a man and his ridiculously unlikely city that's backed up with unbelievable - and I mean that in the literal sense - scientific discoveries. I've fired these weapons before. I've use these Vigors/Plasmids before. I've even done melee attacks with a weapon like that before.

But what about the new stuff? The skylines are hardly worth mentioning. They turn what was already pretty linear into a literal on-rails shooter, no matter if you can jump forwards or backwards on it or reverse course. It's also pretty marginal in terms of total gameplay impact.

Elizabeth, then, the supposed best AI companion ever.

Elizabeth isn't a companion. She's a device. In terms of story she's something to dispense exposition and narration, as well as literally propelling this Mobius Strip shaped pretzel of a story on far too many occasions and being the only reason it managed to cohere into something vaguely resembling a closed loop at all.
In terms of gameplay, she's even less. She's a checkbox. If the box is ticked, the player has a passive chance of receiving a certain resource when he runs low (he just has to respond to a prompt by hitting a button instead of just getting it immediately), as well as the power to slightly alter the environment in a limited amount of situations. Out of combat, a ticked box also means getting free money in exchange for wasting time with a very repetitive and annoying animation. This is not the best companion ever - it's a script with tits and a face that bribes you to like it.

So the game is pretty much the exact same one that we've already played years ago with a minimum of changes to the way it plays and that's bad enough. But the story is little more than an excuse for that fact.

The fact that they try to explain why it's all so similar and familiar and derivative by bending over backwards with this crazy excuse for a story is just insulting. What's worse is that they were blowing their own horns about it beforehand and now, people are just eating it up.

You forgot to include this:

Score: 7/10.

 

[Truelize]

During my playthrough, I stuck with the carbine and machine gun, mostly because I had invested money into upgrading them. By the end of the game I found myself wanting a weapon that was better to use against heavy hitter enemies (Handymen, Patriots). Any recommendations for my next playthrough?

Hand Cannon is surprisingly good. I never upgraded the reload or recoil so I don't even know how good it is maxed out.
On my 1999 play through I used the Hand Cannon and Sniper the majority of the time and picked up the machine gun or shotgun as needed.

 

[Mt Heart Attack]

How do you guys even manage to "stick" with a particular weapon for the whole game? You buy ammo from the vending machines? It just seems like a waste of money with all those other guns lying around, I usually just end up picking two random guns.

 

[LiK]

Hand Cannon is surprisingly good. I never upgraded the reload or recoil so I don't even know how good it is maxed out.
On my 1999 play through I used the Hand Cannon and Sniper the majority of the time and picked up the machine gun or shotgun as needed.

oh man, the reload upgrade is so awesome. you basically reload in less than a second.

 

[ArynCrinn]

We need mods for Bioshock Infinite PC!

 

[DukeBobby]

How do you guys even manage to "stick" with a particular weapon for the whole game? You buy ammo from the vending machines? It just seems like a waste of money with all those other guns lying around, I usually just end up picking two random guns.

I'd hate to be stuck with a Heater and a Burstgun.

 

[Sullichin]

OK then.

This game is creatively bankrupt, derivative crap.

I already played Bioshock 2. I already played Bioshock. Hell, I already played System Shock 2. They've done the RPG/shooter corridor crawl in an isolated setting that forces you to take a certain path - several times, in fact. They've done the protector/protectee, Big Daddy/Little Sister dynamic already - several times. I've already played through this story about a man and his ridiculously unlikely city that's backed up with unbelievable - and I mean that in the literal sense - scientific discoveries. I've fired these weapons before. I've use these Vigors/Plasmids before. I've even done melee attacks with a weapon like that before.

But what about the new stuff? The skylines are hardly worth mentioning. They turn what was already pretty linear into a literal on-rails shooter, no matter if you can jump forwards or backwards on it or reverse course. It's also pretty marginal in terms of total gameplay impact.

Elizabeth, then, the supposed best AI companion ever.

Elizabeth isn't a companion. She's a device. In terms of story she's something to dispense exposition and narration, as well as literally propelling this Mobius Strip shaped pretzel of a story on far too many occasions and being the only reason it managed to cohere into something vaguely resembling a closed loop at all.
In terms of gameplay, she's even less. She's a checkbox. If the box is ticked, the player has a passive chance of receiving a certain resource when he runs low (he just has to respond to a prompt by hitting a button instead of just getting it immediately), as well as the power to slightly alter the environment in a limited amount of situations. Out of combat, a ticked box also means getting free money in exchange for wasting time with a very repetitive and annoying animation. This is not the best companion ever - it's a script with tits and a face that bribes you to like it.

So the game is pretty much the exact same one that we've already played years ago with a minimum of changes to the way it plays and that's bad enough. But the story is little more than an excuse for that fact.

The fact that they try to explain why it's all so similar and familiar and derivative by bending over backwards with this crazy excuse for a story is just insulting. What's worse is that they were blowing their own horns about it beforehand and now, people are just eating it up.

"Creatively bankrupt, derivative crap" is a bit extreme, don't you think? What with the incredible amount of art in this game and an atmosphere very unlike the other two Bioshocks, except for it being an unlikely city. I guess it didn't suit your tastes but to me it seemed like a lot of love and effort was poured into making this game; it certainly didn't feel like yet another corridor shooter to me, and I'm pretty sick of shooters in general. I'm playing Bioshock again in tandem with my second playthrough of Infinite and they are pretty different games. Sure there are similar gameplay mechanics and the story hits some of the same notes, but I didn't see this as a bad thing. The vigors offer far more options/combos than plasmids ever did. The shooting is vastly improved. The protector/protectee dynamic is quite different than the other Bioshocks... it doesn't even really exist here outside of the story. You don't need to protect Elizabeth at all. I don't disagree with Elizabeth being a device, but I don't feel negatively about that. I'd rather that than an annoying AI companion I have to worry about. I fail to see how the skylines contribute in any way to making the game more linear. The game is linear but the skylines have little to do with that. They're mostly used as a quick mode of transport between different positions in the combat areas. They open up more combat options -- depending on your gear/play style you can utilize them in different ways, and their inclusion allows the design of these areas to be bigger and more interesting. A generic shooter wouldn't come close to the amount of options you have for beating any particular encounter.

It's fine if you don't appreciate the game or like it, but to say that the people who do like it "are just eating it up" is a bit insulting. I don't like the game because of some hyperbolic PR statements made 2 years ago or because it got good reviews or someone told me it was good. I like the final product, and people have different tastes.

I had the opposite reaction for some reason (pc version) Having to deal with the clunky menu (can't change graphic options when using a controller lol) and the terrible FoV. For some reason it was really hard to go back to. Theres just something about the graphics that turn me off. Seems really muddy. I think its just early unreal engine games that I find really hard to go back.

Try editing the fullscreen resolutions in the Default.ini file, and downsampling. It's not as pretty as infinite but it looks pretty nice at 1440p. I believe you can set the FOV in the .ini as well but I've heard there's some problems with that. I had to go through hoops just to get the game running on Windows 7, it was pretty annoying.

 

[Balphon]

How do you guys even manage to "stick" with a particular weapon for the whole game? You buy ammo from the vending machines? It just seems like a waste of money with all those other guns lying around, I usually just end up picking two random guns.

I was using the gear that grants a chance to get ammo on kills for much of the game. Between that and Elizabeth giving me ammo I could pretty comfortably stick to two weapons. I never bought anything at the store.

 

[Truelize]

How do you guys even manage to "stick" with a particular weapon for the whole game? You buy ammo from the vending machines? It just seems like a waste of money with all those other guns lying around, I usually just end up picking two random guns.

I almost always had at least the Hand Cannon or Sniper with me. I forgot to mention that I also switched out the Carbine all the time. So really two of those three weapons were my main ones.
I found that ammo would come consistently enough that I was ok with those three guns. Hand Cannon is all over the place in the last third of the game. Sniper too. Carbine disappears for a while. This was during my 1999 run and I got the cheeve for not using the Ammo store at all. So it's doable.

My first play through I used every gun to try them out. Second time around I wanted to upgrade a couple of weapons and stick with them and upgrade more of my vigors.

 

[Truelize]

oh man, the reload upgrade is so awesome. you basically reload in less than a second.

Figures. I finished the game with quite a bit of cash too. Oh well. Maybe when the DLC comes out I will upgrade it some more.

 

[Alo81]

Brad on the Giant Bombcast mentioned he found a download with all of the Anachronistic music in Bioshock Infinite.

Does anyone have the link? None of the music is on the official soundtrack.

 

[BackwardsSuggestions]

Could a kind soul please tell me if I'm near the end or is it another BioShock 1 scenario.

Spoiler

Just killed Comstock. I hope there's not more than 20 minutes left. Not really enjoying the game but I am interested in how the story plays out.

 

[Grinchy]

OK then.

This game is creatively bankrupt, derivative crap.

I already played Bioshock 2. I already played Bioshock. Hell, I already played System Shock 2. They've done the RPG/shooter corridor crawl in an isolated setting that forces you to take a certain path - several times, in fact. They've done the protector/protectee, Big Daddy/Little Sister dynamic already - several times. I've already played through this story about a man and his ridiculously unlikely city that's backed up with unbelievable - and I mean that in the literal sense - scientific discoveries. I've fired these weapons before. I've use these Vigors/Plasmids before. I've even done melee attacks with a weapon like that before.

But what about the new stuff? The skylines are hardly worth mentioning. They turn what was already pretty linear into a literal on-rails shooter, no matter if you can jump forwards or backwards on it or reverse course. It's also pretty marginal in terms of total gameplay impact.

Elizabeth, then, the supposed best AI companion ever.

Elizabeth isn't a companion. She's a device. In terms of story she's something to dispense exposition and narration, as well as literally propelling this Mobius Strip shaped pretzel of a story on far too many occasions and being the only reason it managed to cohere into something vaguely resembling a closed loop at all.
In terms of gameplay, she's even less. She's a checkbox. If the box is ticked, the player has a passive chance of receiving a certain resource when he runs low (he just has to respond to a prompt by hitting a button instead of just getting it immediately), as well as the power to slightly alter the environment in a limited amount of situations. Out of combat, a ticked box also means getting free money in exchange for wasting time with a very repetitive and annoying animation. This is not the best companion ever - it's a script with tits and a face that bribes you to like it.

So the game is pretty much the exact same one that we've already played years ago with a minimum of changes to the way it plays and that's bad enough. But the story is little more than an excuse for that fact.

The fact that they try to explain why it's all so similar and familiar and derivative by bending over backwards with this crazy excuse for a story is just insulting. What's worse is that they were blowing their own horns about it beforehand and now, people are just eating it up.

The really weird thing is that I agree with you, yet I'm still enjoying the game. I'm not having the seemingly orgasmic experience that others are having, but I feel compelled to keep playing. In my case, that says a lot about a game these days.

I'm not a Bioshock fan at all, though. I played about 2/3 of Bioshock 1 and I've never thought about the series again until now. So maybe I'm just not burned out on the formula.

 

[Zeliard]

Could a kind soul please tell me if I'm near the end or is it another BioShock 1 scenario.

Spoiler

Just killed Comstock. I hope there's not more than 20 minutes left. Not really enjoying the game but I am interested in how the story plays out.

You have roughly 7 hours left.

 

[DukeBobby]

Could a kind soul please tell me if I'm near the end or is it another BioShock 1 scenario.

Spoiler

Just killed Comstock. I hope there's not more than 20 minutes left. Not really enjoying the game but I am interested in how the story plays out.

Yeah, you have about 20-30 minutes left.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

WHO TO BELIEVE

edit: wrong gif, but awesome anyway

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

Could a kind soul please tell me if I'm near the end or is it another BioShock 1 scenario.

Spoiler

Just killed Comstock. I hope there's not more than 20 minutes left. Not really enjoying the game but I am interested in how the story plays out.

You're close to the end. Maybe 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how fast you're going.

 

[The Xtortionist]

WHO TO BELIEVE

edit: wrong gif, but awesome anyway

 

[wages]

Finished it. Kind of want to air what I think, but it's pretty much negative, and given the tone of most of these comments, I'd probably get crucified.

This.

 

[Alo81]

WHO TO BELIEVE

edit: wrong gif, but awesome anyway

I totally made that GIF. Dope!

 

[Apophenia Overload]

I think, to some degree, people are blown away by the production values, the art design, and the intricate story. But strip the first two away, and what do you have? And is the last really so momentous? I think the quality of the story and the story-telling is really debatable.

Personally, I don't think the story is bad, I just think that it's boosted by the production values, and given a higher grade because of the low writing standards of video games in general (especially shooters). Sort of like Bioware games. Biowareshock.

 

[DukeBobby]

I think, to some degree, people are blown away by the production values, the art design, and the intricate story. But strip the first two away, and what do you have? And is the last really so momentous? I think the quality of the story and the story-telling is really debatable.

Personally, I don't think the story is bad, I just think that it's boosted by the production values, and given a higher grade because of the low writing standards of video games in general (especially shooters). Sort of like Bioware games. Biowareshock.

Not me. I love the gameplay just as much as these.

 

[CambriaRising]

I think, to some degree, people are blown away by the production values, the art design, and the intricate story. But strip the first two away, and what do you have? And is the last really so momentous? I think the quality of the story and the story-telling is really debatable.

Personally, I don't think the story is bad, I just think that it's boosted by the production values, and given a higher grade because of the low writing standards of video games in general (especially shooters). Sort of like Bioware games. Biowareshock.

Why would you strip those away at all? If you even have to remove those to downgrade the game, than your point is completely moot. Those things are part of the game, you just can't strip them away to suit some sort of poorly thought out argument.

Personally, I think high praise of this game is leading to equally low praise of it by some. Not pointing out anyone in particular in this thread, but popularity seems to lead to people being harsher on certain games.

 

[The Librarian]

I think, to some degree, people are blown away by the production values, the art design, and the intricate story. But strip the first two away, and what do you have? And is the last really so momentous? I think the quality of the story and the story-telling is really debatable.

Personally, I don't think the story is bad, I just think that it's boosted by the production values, and given a higher grade because of the low writing standards of video games in general (especially shooters). Sort of like Bioware games. Biowareshock.

What story isn't elevated by great production values?

 

[Red Blaster]

I think, to some degree, people are blown away by the production values, the art design, and the intricate story. But strip the first two away, and what do you have? And is the last really so momentous? I think the quality of the story and the story-telling is really debatable. k.

if you took away lebron james' athleticism he wouldn't be as good either

 

[ViewtifulJC]

I find this forced division between "aesthetics" and "gameplay" to just be really puzzling. It's a visual medium, they work in unison and elevate each other.

 

[Poimandres]

Still impressed with this game. I've been playing in 2 hour chunks and every time there is at least one serious "wow" moment. I just picked up

Spoiler

Undertow

and I'm loving

Spoiler

the alternate world tear mindfuckery

thats going on.

I'm sort of grizzled when it comes to games these days, but this is really doing if for me!

 

[Apophenia Overload]

Films can have great stories without high production values. Why isn't it possible to examine production values separately from the story for games?

Gameplay is separate from both. That's a whole different can of worms.

 

[The Librarian]

Films can have great stories without high production values. Why isn't it possible to examine production values separately from the story for games?

Sure, but what story isn't elevated by great production values?

 

[Apophenia Overload]

Michael Bay films. Prometheus. The Matrix sequels. Plenty of Hollywood blockbusters. You can lavish as much special effects and intricate costuming as you like in films, but if the story isn't that great, people can see through it.

 

[Red Blaster]

it's a good thing bioshock infinite is a videogame and not a movie then

 

[EatChildren]

WHO TO BELIEVE

edit: wrong gif, but awesome anyway

Could very well be the most satisfying weapon reload in the history of video games, next to Doom 2's super shotgun.

 

[Cheech]

Just finished. Incredible game. Amazed at some of the negative reaction, I'd love to know what games those people DO like. Talk about some jaded people.

 

[gutter_trash]

too soon Cliffy,
Dude bro games are furthest from good art games

 

[ArynCrinn]

Could very well be the most satisfying weapon reload in the history of video games, next to Doom 2's super shotgun.

Agreed, the upgraded reload on the RE4 Shotty wasn't bad either, that feeling of now it's on!

 

[leng jai]

I think, to some degree, people are blown away by the production values, the art design, and the intricate story. But strip the first two away, and what do you have? And is the last really so momentous? I think the quality of the story and the story-telling is really debatable.

Personally, I don't think the story is bad, I just think that it's boosted by the production values, and given a higher grade because of the low writing standards of video games in general (especially shooters). Sort of like Bioware games. Biowareshock.

Take away Vanquish's gameplay.

Take away Plancescape Torment's story.

Take away Alice Madness Return's art design.

Take away Tomb Raider 2013's production values.

Take away Bullet Storm's scoring/combo system.

Take away Skyrim's out and world size.

lol.

 

[The Librarian]

Michael Bay films. Prometheus. The Matrix sequels. Plenty of Hollywood blockbusters. You can lavish as much special effects and intricate costuming as you like in films, but if the story isn't that great, people can see through it.

Disagree with all of those, especially Prometheus. None of those films wouldn't be as convincing – and the story even worse – if they didn't set place in believable looking environments.

...

Anyway, I finally have some time to relax. Going to play Infinite! Sometimes I just leave the main menu screen alone so that awesome preview can play. Gets me hyped to play!

This was cool too:

 

[DukeBobby]

too soon Cliffy,
Dude bro games are furthest from good art games

This is a dude bro game? Ha, now I've heard everything...

 

[Zeliard]

Armin Shimerman is awesome. For the problems I had with Bioshock, Andrew Ryan was a fantastic character and the voice acting for him was just exceptional. It's easily among the best voice work in games this gen, probably ever.

 

[Poimandres]

Films can have great stories without high production values. Why isn't it possible to examine production values separately from the story for games?

Gameplay is separate from both. That's a whole different can of worms.

I think in this case the production values definitely service the game as a whole. It's not always the case with games, or films. Sometimes you can see a game/film was ludicrously expensive and the lack of substance is almost painful.

In this case, the production values support the creation of a very impressive world through art design, visual fidelity, voice acting etc. The quality of the story itself is debatable, but most agree the setting is fantastic.