Hawke64

Not quite - there are high-level checks (and one of the difficulty options makes them even higher). Also, it is so nice when the team is actually a team and the party members help each other (unlike Larian's game where everyone for themselves).

The outcomes of the quests and the availability of the options depend on the MC's stats (and RNG, but may RNG checks in dialogues be optional) and there is a small party. There is 1 mandatory combat encounter, but a combat system is not an essential quality of CRPGs. On the other hand, the MC does have a very specific background and a certain scene at the end might come off as completely random, depending on the player. Then again, the same can be said about Planescape: Torment. I don't think that you have played Disco Elysium?

Available on Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3 and PlayStation VR2. I thought that it was a mod for Dishonored when I first watched the trailer. Can't check how similar the gameplay is, unfortunately - no VR.

While I am not fond of voiced PCs, the render/model of the PC looks quite good/androgynous. Haven't watched the video, so just replying - I am glad to have several clans to choose from, even if it is fewer than in the original, though not so glad to have DLC or post-launch content. I guess, no Nosferatu or Malkavian, as they had the most distinct playstyles and dialogue options? Also I am curious, how the replies about the MC's history will affect this history - are the events set by the answers or predetermined?

Played more Eternal Threads. There was one interesting plot twist*, though I am unsure if it gets any continuation, as it certainly does not have anything to do with the "main" characters. My issue is that I find them mind-numbingly boring and the story surrounding them almost non-existent. Probably will drop the playthrough. *

The key systems, the narrative style, and plot-points are somehow too similar to D:OS2 (also, most battles were possible to "cheese" there). If the worse aspects were improved (the game spent years in EA with them present), it would be preferable. Larian did decrease the amount of environmental features (everything is not on fire all the time), but there is still no pause, the inventory and party management are awful, the party members sound like someone's first PCs, the lore does not work well with D&D or BG1/2, the final choice between two obviously Evil NPCs, etc.

I have no idea what is happening there, but looks impressive. Started Eternal Threads. The writing is plainly worse than Tacoma (also the scenes usually feature smaller groups of characters in the same location), but there are choices. The objective is to save 6 people by altering small decisions they made within a week before dying. There are also some doors to unlock. The background story (too much time travel to be fixed by more time travel and the story is the first test mission for the MC) so far does not seem to matter for the objective. Who are these people and why are we saving them? Edit. In order to launch the game, I had to manually block its internet access. In that moment, I missed my old antivirus, which was (still is on the other PC) giving me a warning window when anything not on the Allowed list was trying to connect. Also, the screen resolution settings don't seem to work at all.

Started Black Geyser. Increased the World Greed by 1 by accepting a side quest reward. Then had killing a non-hostile fox as the main quest objective, so stopped there. Started Serpent in the Staglands. Spent 2 hours slaughtering the aggressive wildlife and 3 bandits in the starting area. The game looks very nice otherwise (like BG1). The PC is the Moon God trapped outside of their domain and seeking to return there. Can't say that I understand the gameplay systems well, but clicking LMB on the red-outlined NPCs gives XP and the text notes as inventory items have different descriptions and content. Found 2 manuals on the official site. Finished Grime. The setting and the trait system (available after parry-killing some number of a specific enemy type; e.g. healing 4% HP on hit or increasing the damage after pulling) seem unique, though the difficulty spike (caused by not utilising the above-mentioned system) mid-game was unpleasant. I would say that multi-stage boss battles usually are more engaging, but not when the moveset changes too significantly and every major boss has at least 2 stages. Not sure if the starting sword/axe was the most effective melee weapon, but looked like it (some traits increase the damage regardless of the stat scaling, making the stat investment irrelevant; others scale with the stats). The final platforming sequence was fine. There are NG+ and boss rush modes, but I am going to skip them (the NG+ exclusive boss battle was rather painful to watch on YouTube).

The XP modifier, "Ardor". It increases from parry-defeating foes by 5%, from just defeating them by 3%, decreases from taking damage by 2%, and does not apply to bosses. Also it is the only thing that is lost upon death - the souls (Mass) remain with the MC.

Grime It did not go well. The Owl looked somehow familiar, like an Easter Egg.

Grime. Spent an hour on a boss only to discover that it had phase 2. The boss seems to be from a DLC.

Forgotten Anne Grime

Not directly related, just my visa application, which includes the work permit, was approved at approximately the same time.

Congratulations. --- I am delighted to share that I have earned my MSc Data Science with Distinction degree and was granted permission to work. Currently looking for work (IT Support Technician with 4 years of experience or Junior Data Engineer with no experience).

Finished Forgotten Anne. Had another soft-lock with a physics puzzle, when the "NPC" to use somehow clipped through the floor and I had to reload*. I am unsure how much difference the choices make, but from the Steam forums I gathered that the main narrative path remains unchanged, while only one ending is "true". It is somehow funny to compare it to Anno: Mutationem, which I've played recently, - Forgotten Anne has an adequately-written story, some minor choices, and the light and pipe puzzles are nice (slightly too easy, but not bugged), but also uncomfortable, unrebindable, and unresponsive controls with timed platforming sequences, while Anno: Mutationem has quite good rebindable controls, combat system, and encounters, but the story and characters are ridiculous. So, I am not reviewing either of them on Steam, with its "Recommended/Not Recommended" system. *a link to the video guide I used, which partially shows the bug. --- Started Grime, a Souls-like in a rather unique fantasy setting - something happened and life forms came from rocks. Another original concept is absorbing the foes by parrying their attacks with the head, which is also a black hole, in order to unlock talents (passive abilities). The controls are partially rebindable (mouse buttons and the I key are hard-coded), but the game can be played with keyboard only. The environments are slightly too grey, but very nice otherwise.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/meet-the-men-hiding-their-fifa-ultimate-team-addiction-from-their-families

Pillars of Eternity does not need to compete with whatever Larian is making - despite the cursory similarities, they are fundamentally different. Larian cannot write or design UI or combat encounters, while constantly disregarding the lore for no reason (from the Divinity 1 MC in D:OS2 to the Emperor in their latest title, and that lore was not even theirs to take a dump on). Obsidian, on the other hand, has excellent writing, relatable characters, meaningful and impactful choices, amazing graphics and UI, and engaging combat and stealth. Also, the pause function and system requirements. VA and mo-cap are a waste of resources for CRPGs, while the only paise-worthy aspect of Larian's games is the ability to skip all those mo-capped voice-acted scenes with a well-launched fireball (i.e. immersive sim elements). Which occasionally breaks the narrative (e.g. the boss thrown into the chasm teleports onto the platform to die in a cut-scene), because even this was poorly-implemented. While it is unlikely with Microsoft, I would definitely back another PoE game. --- Length-wise, I think, Deadfire was shorter, which was most welcome.

I guess, if a game is really good and is available on GOG after Steam/EGS, I am likely to repurchase it*. So, I assume that some players might buy the same game for different platforms (such as consoles or mobile devices) and different editions (GOTY, etc.) as well. *Also that one time when Obsidian messed up the critical path in PoEII (which is an important reminder about the control over the digital products/artworks we own and the lack of QoL features on Steam), so I repurchased it on GOG to have the access to the better version (which was the opposite of rewarding the good effort). Should've activated on GOG in the first place, though.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grapeocean/black-geyser-dlc-tales-of-the-moon-cult

Forgotten Anne. An adventure game with platforming elements. Reached the mid-game plot twist that was visible from the prologue. The controls are horrible and hard-coded, which together with timed platforming sequences leads to a rather frustrating experience. One of the puzzles didn't seem to work with V-Sync on (the MC didn't pull the lever fast enough), which was somehow odd and more frustrating (stopped at this point for now). Otherwise, the story is nice and the sound/visual design are lovely. The cut-scenes are not skippable, though, which somehow discourages replaying and checking how much different choices affect anything.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/how-gun-giant-remington-used-call-of-duty-to-promote-weapons-to-younger-players

I think the story would feel the most fitting with a young CG tiefling* bard. Or at least random sneaking animations during cut-scenes would be less irritating. Also the general body language and facial expressions. *in general, if the plot was about getting your grandma, who was exiled from Elturel, to Baldur's Gate, it would have been better. The Elturel refugees' quests seemed somehow more connected to the PC than the main story.

Shadow Tactics. Failed a mission by causing a time paradox. Overall, the variety of characters, locations, and ways to complete missions are good. Aiko's playstyle somehow reminded of Assassin's Creed 1, though Altair still carried weapons openly while using his monk disguise (walking slowly).

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1374930/eventcomments/3906367962690840828/ --- https://www.humblebundle.com/games/awesome-indies-from-humble-games There were at least 4 games that I wanted (Moonscars, Unsighted, The Wild at Heart, and Flynn) and the charity seemed good. --- https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-lord-of-the-rings-gollum-devs-were-expected-to-make-an-ambitious-triple-a-game-on-a-tenth-of-the-budget-report-claims Somehow sad. Also, it is odd that Daedelic who had a lot of experience with point-and-click adventures, but not action-adventures, decided to go for the latter.

Shadow Tactics. A stealth tactical game in the Edo (?)/Japanese setting. Played a few missions, really nice in all aspects for the genre (e.g. no story choices or character customisation), except the lack of pausing.