After quitting multiple times, I finally finished this thing. It probably took far more willpower to complete than a game with this high acclaim should, but the game just never quite clicked for me.
Most of my issues with it can be attributed to the turn-based combat, which for me, never offered one single moment of enjoyment. Every combat encounter was a tedious chore that completely disrupted the flow of the game and left me feeling drained. Although there was some satisfaction in finding ways to end the combat encounter as quickly as possible, but that’s not to say I wouldn’t have used a “skip combat” button every time if the game had offered one. I don’t have much experience with turn-based games, so if this is the best that it gets, then I guess it’s just not for me.
I also found the game to be quite glitchy at times, and the inventory system and overall gameplay just felt a bit janky. But exploring the world outside of combat and discovering new characters and quests was very rewarding, and it was probably the main reason I kept coming back. (Although a sprint button would have been nice.)
I was really impressed with the amount of narrative choice the game gives you, and it definitely helped keep me engaged with the story. It was a fairly interesting and well-acted story at times, but I was eager for it to end long before it had any intention to. And despite the incredible freedom the game gives you with its story and combat styles, I still somehow felt sort of restricted by how the game wanted me to play and experience the world. I imagine it might’ve been because everything was designed around dice rolls and turn-based gameplay.
And as a side note, the fact that every cutscene on the console version essentially has a massive watermark at the bottom left of the screen showing your character’s stupid face is one of the most absurd things I’ve ever seen in a video game. It was completely pointless and disrupted any possibility of immersive cutscenes for me.
I’m sure a second playthrough would help me understand what a true technical achievement this game is, but I think I’d rather put those 70+ hours into something that doesn’t feel like a turn-based chore.
Most of my issues with it can be attributed to the turn-based combat, which for me, never offered one single moment of enjoyment. Every combat encounter was a tedious chore that completely disrupted the flow of the game and left me feeling drained. Although there was some satisfaction in finding ways to end the combat encounter as quickly as possible, but that’s not to say I wouldn’t have used a “skip combat” button every time if the game had offered one. I don’t have much experience with turn-based games, so if this is the best that it gets, then I guess it’s just not for me.
I also found the game to be quite glitchy at times, and the inventory system and overall gameplay just felt a bit janky. But exploring the world outside of combat and discovering new characters and quests was very rewarding, and it was probably the main reason I kept coming back. (Although a sprint button would have been nice.)
I was really impressed with the amount of narrative choice the game gives you, and it definitely helped keep me engaged with the story. It was a fairly interesting and well-acted story at times, but I was eager for it to end long before it had any intention to. And despite the incredible freedom the game gives you with its story and combat styles, I still somehow felt sort of restricted by how the game wanted me to play and experience the world. I imagine it might’ve been because everything was designed around dice rolls and turn-based gameplay.
And as a side note, the fact that every cutscene on the console version essentially has a massive watermark at the bottom left of the screen showing your character’s stupid face is one of the most absurd things I’ve ever seen in a video game. It was completely pointless and disrupted any possibility of immersive cutscenes for me.
I’m sure a second playthrough would help me understand what a true technical achievement this game is, but I think I’d rather put those 70+ hours into something that doesn’t feel like a turn-based chore.