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[DannyDanger]

I played through the first 6 hours or so, and I really like it so far. I just beat a 2nd boss, and he was a pain in the ass, but I'm loving the challenge. I will say that people should definitely play this on Captain difficulty; the enemies will kick your ass, but imo the extra challenge forces you to really pay attention to the game mechanics, and put more thought into your equipment and crafting. There's a lot more meat here than I initially thought, and the cheese and jank are just enough to give the game a certain charm, instead of being annoying. I think it will be divisive amongst critics and gamers alike, but fans of the genre will definitely find a lot to like here.

I like this comment... I was one the fence because I didn't want another Kingdom of Amalur... While that game wasn't fundamentally broken, it was so easy I lost interest

But I guess the elephant in the room, how does it compare to the Souls series?

 

[SZips]

And that's perfectly fine.

This is a game that WILL be rated in the 4's by some people.

Undoubtedly. I'm actually thinking of giving it a go on PC when it's actually out just to see if a few of the more minor issues I've run into are less prominent in comparison to the PS4 version.

 

[ironcreed]

Did Claudia Black do the voice acting for Edwen? Cause it sure sounds like her. Getting shades of Morrigan here.

 

[hawk2025]

I like this comment... I was one the fence because I didn't want another Kingdom of Amalur... While that game wasn't fundamentally broken, it was so easy I lost interest

This was precisely what killed Amalur for me, and it's exactly what this game (at least so far) absolutely does not suffer from -- even in the Normal difficulty.

I suspect that Captain (the hardest) has too big of a potential to be frustrating, so beware.

 

[MattyG]

I haven't been able to find a definitive answer, but seeing as how some of you have it I figure now is the time to ask: how much freedom are you given? Is everything fairly linear and straightforward? Or are there occasionally open spaces where you can choose where you go? I know they've said in interviews that it's "semi-linear", but there wasn't much detail on what that meant.

 

[Rizzi]

I'm glad this seems decent. I could really use a new action rpg.

 

[ironcreed]

I haven't been able to find a definitive answer, but seeing as how some of you have it I figure now is the time to ask: how much freedom are you given? Is everything fairly linear and straightforward? Or are there occasionally open spaces where you can choose where you go? I know they've said in interviews that it's "semi-linear", but there wasn't much detail on what that meant.

It's pretty linear so far, but there are some branching paths. Granted, I have only put just over 4 hours in.

 

[hawk2025]

I haven't been able to find a definitive answer, but seeing as how some of you have it I figure now is the time to ask: how much freedom are you given? Is everything fairly linear and straightforward? Or are there occasionally open spaces where you can choose where you go? I know they've said in interviews that it's "semi-linear", but there wasn't much detail on what that meant.

After the tutorial, you are left in a village with a main quest, half a dozen or so sidequests, and a map to explore and fight monsters in.

Think of it as a Monster Hunter-type map -- not a huge vast open world, but a non-linear approach to what you want to do first.

Not sure if the game will indeed open into a proper open world, but for now it's a hub type of design with a "hunting ground", and dungeons flowing from that.

 

[JayEH]

So the game is out now on PSN but not retail? Weird. I'm guessing it's a mistake by the publisher. Tempted to buy but I'll wait a month or so when it hits 20 bucks.

 

[tokyostomp]

My initial impression is that it's kind of like a poor mans Dragon's Dogma but no where near as deep.

You have 3 classes that you character can master. It is up to you how you want your build to be like.
1. Warrior (2 handed heavy weapons, Swords, Axes, Hammers)
2. Ranger (Daggers, Arrows, Mines, Stealth)
3. Pyromancer (Spells, Heals, Summons)

All "classes" are pretty much available at the from the start of the game. You're given all of them no matter what.

I'm not far enough to know if you can respec.

Combat is fairly decent and challenging but lacks something I can't describe.

Game is not locked to 30 FPS and runs anywhere from 40-60 FPS. (At least on PS4)

You can enhance weapons with various hilts, etc that give you buffs such as +1 physical damage.

You can craft mana, heal potions, bombs, bolts etc. provided you have the materials from enemy drops.

From what I hear you can craft/imbue armor in a similar fashion but I have yet to play with this.

Character creator is very basic. Male or Female. 1-5 faces. 1-5 hair styles which are very tribal inspired. (No color options, All brown hair)

Voice acting is all over the place. Female PC is pretty awful. Male PC isn't that much better.

 

[Finaika]

Game is not locked to 30 FPS and runs anywhere from 40-60 FPS.

Didn't expect this.

Awesome.

 

[HoopzBarkley]

Okay after playing for a bit i now understand when you guys said its cheesy for the Dialogue. Its not cringe or anything it has kind of a charm for some reason. Its hard to explain. So far its pretty fun and the controls are a little weird to get used to at first.

 

[Honome]

So the game is out now on PSN but not retail? Weird. I'm guessing it's a mistake by the publisher. Tempted to buy but I'll wait a month or so when it hits 20 bucks.

I think the release date for retail version is 9th, friday.

 

[Karak]

Okay after playing for a bit i now understand when you guys said its cheesy for the Dialogue. Its not cringe or anything it has kind of a charm for some reason. Its hard to explain. So far its pretty fun and the controls are a little weird to get used to at first.

80's cheesy B movie.

 

[bbd23]

This is a great B game. There's actually less jank than I expected and the combat is pretty fun. The dialogue is cheesy and terrible in an awesome way.

"What do you think of these wizards, Buffalo?"

"They're a bunch of scrotums. Shut the fuck up and go walk the perimeter."

sold.

 

[Drewfonse]

It's pretty linear so far, but there are some branching paths. Granted, I have only put just over 4 hours in.

It might be hard to tell so early on, but is it worth $50 if you're a fan of the genre?

 

[Kyolux]

I played through the first 6 hours or so, and I really like it so far. I just beat a 2nd boss, and he was a pain in the ass, but I'm loving the challenge. I will say that people should definitely play this on Captain difficulty; the enemies will kick your ass, but imo the extra challenge forces you to really pay attention to the game mechanics, and put more thought into your equipment and crafting. There's a lot more meat here than I initially thought, and the cheese and jank are just enough to give the game a certain charm, instead of being annoying. I think it will be divisive amongst critics and gamers alike, but fans of the genre will definitely find a lot to like here.

I started up on Captain difficulty. I liked a lot at first, kept me on the edge, but I had too much a hard time handling multiple enemies at the same time. I felt surrounded way too fast. I started back on normal, and sometimes it feels a bit too easy, but other times I still feel the pressure from the enemies.

 

[Arkaerial]

80's cheesy B movie.

Yup, that's what I thought of when I played it.

 

[ironcreed]

It might be hard to tell so early on, but is it worth $50 if you're a fan of the genre?

If you are the kind of person who can overlook some warts in order to appreciate the charm and fun gameplay in a budget RPG, then by all means, yes. It's not going to set the world on fire and will probably get panned quite a bit, but it most definitely has positive attributes that makes it both an enjoyable and challenging game with some neat systems to play around with.

 

[Evil Beaver]

I'm playing it on the hardest difficulty. My face when I got my ass handed to me by the tutorial enemies

 

[Ashtar]

This whole embargo after release is a farce, I'm going to have to write up a lengthy article and call out these developers and what have you

 

[SlasherJPC]

This whole embargo after release is a farce, I'm going to have to write up a lengthy article and call out these developers and what have you

The PR folks have dinged their people about it and still have not received a response after a day or so. They are not happy about it. :/

I'm playing it on the hardest difficulty. My face when I got my ass handed to me by the tutorial enemies

Welcome to the club.

 

[fastballspecial]

Game's got some of that "budget" feel to it but it's no way a bad game. Im enjoying it quite a bit. It's hard to compare to just one game but I feel it's similar to Dragon Age 2, Kingdoms of Amalur and Dragon's Dogma maybe. I don't know. It's tough.

Playing on the hardest difficulty and it's a lot of fun. You have to strategize mid-fight and set traps and take out ranged enemies first or they'll box you out while laying down a beating.

The menu systems are surprisingly deep with lots to craft so far in terms of add-ons to weapons and gadgets. Lots of stats too.

Edit: If there's one thing that bugs me, it's that the environment has this odd thick, black outline on everything. Kind of like Borderlands. I'm on PS4, by the way. Haven't noticed it on any PC screens. Maybe it's to hide aliasing of some kind. It's not a deal breaker by any means but just an oddity.

Edit 2: Sorry to keep editing but I don't want to make a new post every time... I was just wandering around the first town and noticed there's a day/night cycle too.

 

[Bitmap Frogs]

Goddamn thing is 55€ at the PSN.

Holy bajeebus.

 

[Kiant]

Goddamn thing is 55€ at the PSN.

Holy bajeebus.

Bah, was hoping this was cheaper digitally.

 

[midasmulligan]

This whole embargo after release is a farce, I'm going to have to write up a lengthy article and call out these developers and what have you

Please do, these f*cking embargoes have reached absurd levels of ridiculousness...

 

[RPGCrazied]

How does the PS3 version run? Mars War Logs ran decently.

 

[Neuromancer]

The common sense solution to a game being released early should be to run your review.

 

[UberTag]

The common sense solution to a game being released early should be to run your review.

Clearly if you're planning to release a shitty game and you know it, you should set an embargo for 2-3 weeks after a game hits stores.
That approach would have worked wonders for Resident Evil 6.

 

[fastballspecial]

The common sense solution to a game being released early should be to run your review.

Yeah. I agree. It begs a question. Who are reviewers serving? Publishers or consumers?

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

Anyone tried this using Vita Remote Play?

Torn between grabbing it on the cheap on the PC and just going for the PS4 version, since I can Remote Play it if I want to.

 

[Totobeni]

It's just weird to see even the smaller games and smaller developer/publishers doing this shitty embargo after release thing. I get why big names do it when their games are crap (because some people will not wait for reviews and will blindly buy because of the brand) but not in this case.

 

[pronk420]

Edit: If there's one thing that bugs me, it's that the environment has this odd thick, black outline on everything. Kind of like Borderlands. I'm on PS4, by the way. Haven't noticed it on any PC screens. Maybe it's to hide aliasing of some kind. It's not a deal breaker by any means but just an oddity.

yeah its really weird, i watched some of it on live from playstation and was surprised to see that the game was cell shaded. but then actually it seems like just certain parts of it are. someone mentioned it earlier in the thread.

its like some of the world is cell shaded and some of it isn't. its really odd.

having said that i really like the monster design, so i'm going to give it a try.

 

[midasmulligan]

I mean, I was already apprehensive about a newer, smaller, dragon's dogma-esque release, but with a post launch embargoe in place I'm definitely going to have to wait. Generally wait to see if there are any game breaking bugs/ mechanics in place.

 

[ironcreed]

How does the PS3 version run? Mars War Logs ran decently.

Pretty well. A hitch or two here and there while running, but it's pretty smooth for the most part.

 

[Respect]

Quite interested in this game, but I have been playing quite a bit of DaS I, II and DeS the past month + and I feel like I will unfairly compare it to these and then just feel disappointed. Feeling like i should wait some time before grabbing it. Don't want to feel burnt out and not give it a proper chance.

 

[tokyostomp]

Didn't expect this.

Awesome.

For clarification, on PS4. Not sure about other versions.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Pretty well. A hitch or two here and there while running, but it's pretty smooth for the most part.

Any tearing?

I'm glad there is a physical version. I never spend more than $30 on a digital title.

 

[perineumlick]

I started up on Captain difficulty. I liked a lot at first, kept me on the edge, but I had too much a hard time handling multiple enemies at the same time. I felt surrounded way too fast. I started back on normal, and sometimes it feels a bit too easy, but other times I still feel the pressure from the enemies.

Just to be sure, have you upgraded enough to parry from the back and sides? I know I went a couple of hours without it before I realized it; was wondering why some attacks were still getting through.

 

[NoirVisage]

Yeah. I agree. It begs a question. Who are reviewers serving? Publishers or consumers?

Themselves, and that's not a bad thing, the public want's a reviewer to break embargo on a game early to save them 50 bones, if they bow to that they will end up out much more than that..

let's say the reviewer breaks the embargo just to outscoop everyonbe else or appease his readers/viewers, every game they review from then on they would have to pay for (word gets around, if pr folks can't trust you to keep your word, other pr folk will know)if you're not gamespot or ign, that will break the bank easily.

Its a dirty game, and I can see why smaller reviewers have to play it, and to an extent the big boys, since exclusive interviews with big wigs have to go through the same pr that sets the embargo.

 

[TheSpoiler]

Edit: It's over. People were starting to leave anyway. I hope you got a sense of what it's like, since I just spent 50 bucks to display how good/bad it is.

 

[Totobeni]

Themselves, and that's not a bad thing, the public want's a reviewer to break embargo on a game early to save them 50 bones, if they bow to that they will end up out much more than that..

let's say the reviewer breaks the embargo just to outscoop everyonbe else or appease his readers/viewers, every game they review from then on they would have to pay for (word gets around, if pr folks can't trust you to keep your word, other pr folk will know)if you're not gamespot or ign, that will break the bank easily.

Its a dirty game, and I can see why smaller reviewers have to play it, and to an extent the big boys, since exclusive interviews with big wigs have to go through the same pr that sets the embargo.

This is why I now don't care about small youtubers/smaller reviewers on youtube opinions at all. Some of them will just give positive reviews to any game from the big name publishers (even if the game gets low scores from every major site) just to keep getting review codes to continue their small YT business.

 

[MYeager]

The common sense solution to a game being released early should be to run your review.

If you receive a copy of the game with the only agreement being that you would not publish it until a certain date, then you should keep your agreement (unless the publisher/PR changes their minds). Common sense would dictate that if you have a problem with adhering to any conditions of an embargo, don't agree to one in the first place and just purchase the game.

Yeah. I agree. It begs a question. Who are reviewers serving? Publishers or consumers?

Actually this doesn't serve either, certainly not consumers that are on the fence, but I imagine it must be driving the PR folks crazy that they made arrangements for a smooth release. For a lesser known title having anything bar information being released that it in fact exists is terrible.

 

[HoopzBarkley]

I'm pretty sure this will have mixed reviews. I think its okay so far, not the best thing has some jank and its a little cheesy but it has a weird charm.

 

[SlasherJPC]

This is why I now don't care about small youtubers/smaller reviewers on youtube opinions at all. Some of them will just give positive reviews to any game from the big name publishers (even if the game gets low scores from every major site) just to keep getting review codes to continue their small YT business.

See that's one way to look at it then again it's also a flawed perspective since not all youtubers or small reviewers do such a thing. Case by case basis. I mean, at what point does it just become an excuse NOT to agree with a reviewer just because they are a smaller outlet/youtuber. get review code, and because they don't agree with what you think? Do some Youtubers do what you say though, oh I'm sure of it!

As for me, I get codes on and off. Yet that doesn't stop me from telling my geniune feelings on a game. The last two Atlus games I got for example. Conception II and Daylight. Didn't really enjoy either of them, and I speak up about it. Daylight I absolutely trashed.

As far as this embargo goes. The PR have not heard back from the company over there and they assume it just has to do with a global embargo or release over in the Europe areas. Makes sense. I already have some walkthroughs up and ready to go. Even though there are people posting their videos already. I'm following the rules of the embargo because it's an honor system and nothing wrong with that.

 

[KillerIsJed]

I'm sure it has been said, but as someone who has played this game the art / enemies / set pieces and music are great. The script / voice acting and combat are garbage. It really ruins the experience. There was potential but the gameplay is meh at best.

 

[SlasherJPC]

I'm sure it has been said, but as someone who has played this game the art / enemies / set pieces and music are great. The script / voice acting and combat are garbage. It really ruins the experience. There was potential but the gameplay is meh at best.

Welcome to B-tier euro rpgs

 

[pronk420]

Definitely better than I was expecting so far, it's not the prettiest but aside from the generic human characters the design is quite nice.

The swipe on the touch pad to use items on ps4 is great, it feels like the best use of the touch pad yet.

The story seems to be broadly a rip off of game of thrones? Winter is coming and all that

 

[FDC1]

Wait, am I stupid or can't we inverse the camera use on the right stick? Come on, we're in 2014..

Edit; forget it, I am stupid, I didn't see the 2nd page in the control menu.

 

[JPS Kai]

Just for some headsup, the street date has been lifted at GameStop. If you had a reservation on it, you might want to call your store an see if you can pick it up tonight. The posters are still slated for a Friday arrival though.