Hawke64

MEA has jetpacks and a controllable car. And the Vaults (more platformer-like sequences). Also the MC not being a part of the military was refreshing, considering ME3. DAI certainly was very enjoyable when I had more time and the ability to focus. Tried replaying it for the 3rd or 4th time a year ago on Hard with some of the new difficulty options enabled. The combat was satisfying (everything could one-hit you), but there was too much of it (and exploration). A more concise (DAO/2) presentation would be preferable. Haven't played Anthem, not fond of online-only DRM and looter-shooters in general. After playing Expeditions: Rome a bit more the lack of maps and the presence of RNG and timers on activities (e.g. crafting, healing, resource capturing) are becoming more irritating, but the tactical combat is engaging enough. On another note, I missed the control and the exact numbers in DAI ("We don't have enough people to storm the castle" "How many people do we have? The ones at the courtyard?"), but in Rome the very same things feel overwhelming. I would prefer to know them still, but also to give the legion more general directions (e.g. to capture all resources in a conquered region, instead of clicking on each one then waiting), while micromanaging only the major battles.

Completed Momodora - Reverie Under the Moonlight. I suppose, it was decent, though the combination of saving system and insta-killing environmental hazards was unpleasant, and the no-damage boss battle rewards puzzling. Also the contact damage. It should not exist unless the foe is covered in spikes. The graphics, sound, and controls were good. The story was there and it was enough to explain why the MC goes on a murder spree, but nothing exceptional. The combat and character development were rather minimalistic and too much focused on the bow - there were several upgrades for it and only one for the melee weapon, which apparently determined the ending. After some progress in Expeditions: Rome the positive changes from Viking became more apparent - the looting system (you can loot multiple corpses in one click, there are less containers with generic materials in general) and the companion interactions (you can ask them about the missions completed, though the replies are rather limited). The combat system is definitely more fluid and engaging (some abilities that can be used without spending an action point, some class-specific, some equipment-specific; though the latter, equipment stats in general, are RNG-reliant, which is unpleasant). Also most of the management and some of the customisation options are bound to the Legion Management.

Expeditions: Rome. An RPG. I've just started, but so far, while definitely better-looking, it seems less than Viking - less options for character creation and all lines are voiced, though I do prefer class-based systems to the classless ones. The combat system allows to recover the action spent if you killed an "untrained" opponent, so it might be possible to have quite a few turns in a row. I am curious whether Rome has any general narrative theme. I think, it was that while the environment affects one's opportunities, there is personal choice in Viking. Edit. Completed 2 missions. There is no mini-map, which is inconvenient, and all skills seem to be combat-related - no Diplomacy, Leadership, or Crafting. There is a dialogue-related skill (3 to choose from; all have only 1 level, so you either have it or you don't), but I am unsure how much impact it has. It is possible that crafting and wound treatment are bound to the legion management part of the game, which I have not reached yet, but found crafting resources and dismantled some equipment. The Forgotten City. An adventure game. Looks and runs well. There are some character customisation options, which are welcome, though I am unsure if having 10 bullets is better than sprinting 25% longer. Also, it the second game in the Roman setting from GOG that gave me an error during installation - they seem to use the C drive to install, regardless of the final destination, and there was not enough space on mine. Momodora. After taking a quite long break I forgot some peculiarities of the game. Mostly that spikes are an instant death. Still, I was able to defeat Derelict Frida without taking damage on the second attempt, though the following boss, the Witch, took more time. Frida's accessory and charging the bow helped a lot. I am also starting to think that the MC might actually be an archer - there has been no upgrades for the melee weapon, but several to improve the fire rate and the bow's damage.

Expeditions: Viking. Completed the game with a reasonably good ending. Overall, it was a good if simple RPG. The difficulty curve was rather steep, but it was possible to lessen some of the gameplay aspects (mostly, management). The story was branching, the dialogue options meaningful, the choices reflected in subsequent events, some RNG present but nothing critical (mostly the hostile archers' critical hits and random events). While completely avoiding combat was impossible, non-lethal takedowns were mostly acknowledged in quests. Terfenstein 3D. A hardcore retro FPS. Successfully reached the second level and discovered that there were no "hard" saves, only checkpoints within one game session. While I appreciate the game conceptually, I also appreciate the options provided in the more modern FPS (with the last played being Titanfall 2, I'd say that my skills at them are quite limited).

As far as I know, some characters may cause errors. In particular, parentheses and quotation marks.

Neversong. Completed the game. It was a puzzle-platformer with horror elements. I suppose, the graphics and design were nice, but all other aspects of the game, from the story (the symbolism was fine, the story itself was rather unpleasant) to the platforming part of the gameplay (the controls were not rebindable, in many cases I could not tell whether I was misunderstanding the objective, jumping at a wrong time, or it was a bug with the physics) to the combat system (the hitboxes were odd, but almost everything dropped HP-restoring items on death, bosses on every 20% health depleted) to the settings (none in-game, but it was possible to open the Unity settings menu to select the graphics preset with VSync enabled, because otherwise the FPS were reaching 4 digits). Also, all lines were voice-acted and reasonably well (children and poems were supposed to sound odd, I assume). The only story-related thing that I liked was a boss remarking about the loot and skipping the battle, which was slightly 4th-wall-breaking, but amusing. In general, absolutely not recommended.

Dishonored is free on Epic Games Store this week. https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/dishonored-definitive-edition

I had double quotation marks, but cannot reproduce it. "test"

Death's Door. Completed the game. It was a very nice action game with metroidvania elements. The boss battles consisted of several stages, each was challenging and unique. The locations were reasonably complex yet with enough landmarks to have a general idea of where to go. Except the starting area, the Lost Cemetery, which was a labyrinth with all shortcuts unlocked. The upgrades, bonuses, and collectibles were mostly possible to find without a guide* and they provided a decent advantage. Dying was quite forgivable - the experience, loot, and the shortcuts unlocked were saved, the MC was revived at the nearest Door, though, the hostiles were revived as well, but it was possible to run past. The arena battles -kill all to proceed- were reasonably challenging. The attention to details and the post-game content* were quite impressive. The controls were comfortable and rebindable, the mouse was supported well. In general, Death's Door was doing almost everything right. *Not sure if I would be able to gather the post-game McGuffins without the guide, despite there being several indicators whether an area had been cleared. The lack of map at that point also was unpleasant.

I keep getting "The request is blocked" when I try to post on the "Computer and Console" forums. Not sure what causes the issue. Using Firefox 108.0.1 (64-bit), haven't tried other browsers or clearing the cookies.

Death's Door. Defeated the Urn Witch. The game is very lovely in all aspects (visuals, controls, combat), though I would prefer a better GUI - exploration (backtracking, in particular) becomes frustrating without a map, and it is hard to tell how successfully boss battles go without their HP bars shown. The stages are noticeable and there are visual indicators on all enemies (magenta cracks start appearing as they take damage), but they are not precise. Larian's D&D game. Played with the character creator. It was decent, but worse than Wasteland 3 or (if I remember correctly) Solasta - some of the options required to click through to get something specific (heads, hair styles, etc.), while others had all available options shown (mostly, the colour palettes). Most heads (non-customisable) and hair styles (same) were unpleasant to look at and there were no options for body types beyond masculine/feminine, while both of them were built like wizards (no muscles; fighters and barbarians looked ridiculous). No option for the PC to be unvoiced either. On a positive note, the gender identity and VA were not bound to the body type, there were several backgrounds to choose from, the preferable class attributes were highlighted (not sure how correct the default recommendation was, though - created a dex-based drow fighter called Bob).

Momodora. Learned that when you defeat a boss without taking damage, you receive better loot, so I have been trying to do so and quite successfully - 4 bosses (the witch, the bug, the Pardoner Fennel, and the Heretical Arsonist) have been defeated and the loot (indeed, quite powerful) has been obtained. The areas became more diverse, though the number of insta-killing obstacles and the saving system are somehow discouraging. Or Ender Lilies just was too easy - I could loot an area and die, then just ran past everything. Unfortunately, it does not work in Momodora. On another note, the MC's bow has the fire rate of an SMG. Also, the winter sale has begun on EGS and there are free games daily. Today it is Sable, which I had purchased and played on Steam a month or so ago. Mixed feelings on the matter. Edit. To continue with Momodora. It is counter-intuitive that playing well makes the game easier. It would be interesting if defeating a boss without taking damage gave a new skin/accessory, but not a power-up.

Momodora: Reverie Under The Moonlight. I've just defeated the first boss and the game seems to be an action/metroidvania, though it has been rather minimalistic - few enemy types, easy platforming, no puzzles, checkpoint-based saving system. Also the contact damage. On the other hand, the pixel art and animations look good, there is no VA (except for the MC's death screen/m), the controls are rebindable, equipment provides some bonuses. The story follows a priestess who uses a (magical?) leaf for combat and is looking for the queen, judging by the intro dialogue, so it should be straightforward enough.

Completed Pentiment. I suppose, the setting is atmospheric and alien enough, the writing is readable and consistent, the controls are rebindable, the visuals are stylish, and the game is fortunately VA-free. On the other hand, the game lacks many simple quality-of-life features, the pacing is odd, the "puzzles" and mini-games are insultingly dumb. In terms of story, during the second act the main character apparently was supposed to be depressed. Considering that the thing was more roleplayable and controllable in the first act, it was quite frustrating. Despite the game not being advertised as an RPG, the choice of the background and skills had led me to believe that there would be more RP. The last act was linear and I had to endure the main villain's monologue for 5 minutes, instead of breaking his skull with a rock (the MC was physically capable of doing so) at the moment the attack on a key NPC was admitted. While I liked the general theme, the setting and the sheer number of samey NPC made it harder to be invested. Also, PoE1 did it better and allowed just to kill Thaos without talking to the corpse-to-become. Finally, the player (not me, though, due to the lack of knowledge of the setting) could deduce who the murderer was in the middle of the first act, but was unable to pursue the lead. So, if one likes the setting and can tolerate the shortcomings, Pentiment might be enjoyable.

Pentiment. I am in the middle of the third and, as I understand, the last act. The time limit was removed - all objectives could be accomplished without pressure. But the objectives were different as well - instead of hunting down the potential murderer, the MC was gathering information on the history of the town. The "puzzles" and "exploration" became more ridiculous, such as finding X pieces of a plate in 2 empty rooms and a corridor, then rotating them to form an image. So far I have the impression that just using Ren'Py, the engine for visual novels specifically, would have solved most of the gameplay issues. Puzzles and travelling are already boring and could have been removed without losing anything, the saving system and dialogue log are lacking and would have been improved.

PoE and PoEII were excellent CRPG with good balance of combat encounters, exploration, and dialogues, while all of them worked together and the player's agency was acknowledged. It was not necessary to minmax in order to complete the game and most things were logical. The opening areas allowed to create the character and to understand the atmosphere of the setting. Though, I do dislike the "Ultimate" update and bloating the critical path of PoEII - it was perfect and reasonable from the start that in order to acquire the best hull you purchase it, instead of hunting down the logs. The final area in PoEII was just long enough with very optional combat, as most of the players (I, at least) would replay it several times in order to see the outcomes of some specific decisions or DLCs. Can't quite remember the Sun in Shadows. I think it was of average combat density? But it was great that I did not have to listen to the last corpse-to-become, not just skipping the dialogue, but actively starting killing him. Laying a couple of traps at his spawning point and opening the combat with a fireball, like in BG, would be nice as well, but I don't think it was possible. I don't quite remember if it was possible to prevent bosses from monologuing in BG1/2, but I used to place traps where they would be. Overall, PoEII was very comfortable to play - you started the combat with a set amount of abilities and full health, no pre-buffing, no post-battle healing, no inventory management. Also, all skill checks in dialogues were static - you can pass them (maybe with buffs and a few items) or you don't, no rerolling until 20. The areas were unique and memorable, with the sizes just enough to explore and not get bored (speeding up the animations was great as well).

It's the opening cinematic, I assume. Not in-engine, but in-game. The style makes it look much better than (almost) any 3D would. Thank you for sharing and happy Dragon Age Day.

Got all achievements in Ender Lilies. The game is mercifully grind-free - the only achievement that required it is leveling to 100, while the game can be finished around lvl 85-90. Fortunately, in NG+ it took about 30 minutes. Though, there are 2 items left to collect, which I am unsure how to reach exactly - there are jumping puzzles. As far as I can see, the rewards are upgrade materials for the spirits. Speaking of NG+, on one hand, all spirits and relics were carried over, on the other everything was almost one-shooting (technically, 3-shooting) me and it's with the damage-reduction relic equipped. So, it still was reasonably challenging. Edit. Collected the upgrade materials. The extra jump/dash spirits and the jump boost relic were required.

The Callisto Protocol has been released. Apparently, it is nigh unplayable on PC. I am trying to understand the developers' logic in releasing it in this state. They did not want to miss the holiday season and impulse purchases? The publisher held a gun to their heads? There are also Day One Edition, Season Pass, and Denuvo (which is likely to be removed by the time the game is playable; if it gets patched at all, that is). The combination points clearly to exploiting the FOMO, which is rather distasteful. https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/the-callisto-protocol-review

Icewind Dale is the closest thing to a dungeon crawler I've played from start to finish/the middle of the second expansion. I can see the difference in combat (TB and RtwP) and camera perspective (FP and isometric), but not the underlying systems, progression, and story. I thank everyone for the input. Wishlisted both at the moment. Completed Ender Lilies. The game is amazing - from the combat to the graphics to the story. I've defeated the final boss #1, collected the McGuffins required to face the final boss #2, and on the second attempt was able to hold it stunned almost the whole last phase. For some reason, reaching the last ending unlocked the difficulty options and I was able to turn off the collision damage, which had annoyed me quite a lot. Though, the only things left to do are collecting lore items, some upgrades, and leveling the character to the max. Granted, the first two things require quite high platforming skills and good reaction time, which I don't think I possess, so might return to it later.

Are Legend of Grimrock 1/2 good in terms of story when compared to Icewind Dale (a reasonably good and slightly interactive story) or Baldur's Gate (even more interactive story)? Same question about Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader and Lords of Xulima.

Ender Lilies. Defeated Hoenir, the Keeper of the Abyss, and Miriel, the Beloved. Not particularly fond of bosses with a lot of adds, especially when both cause collision damage and move swiftly/teleport. The MC now has even more tentacles and thick red veins on the legs, up to the knees. Which probably means that the ending is close. Also, the bosses gave the two traversal abilities I was missing, so going to backtrack and loot everything. Story-wise, it is coming together - which character did what and why, though there are still some missing pieces.

That quest, A Refuge from the Present, is a backer reward and involves an unavoidable turn-based battle with infinitely* respawning demons. Also it is a Fallout reference. Nothing is lost from skipping it. *requires to interact with 3 statues, while the interaction icons are not visible clearly.

It's been a few years since I played it, but The Outer Worlds was as good as any first-person RPG with action elements can be - definitely beats TES IV - V by being more concise and having meaningful skill checks (as opposed to the mini-game in TESIV). Not sure about the difficulty - can't quite remember. But exploring in-doors areas was great and there was no railroading. Pentiment. Played for an hour. The controls are uncomfortable - the MC does not seem to run by default, there are too many invisible walls, the mouse becomes inactive after using the keyboard. In terms of GUI, there are too many pointless animations, tooltips for NPCs are useless (they show the portrait; not the description of who the NPC is and how they are related to the MC or where they can be found), the map is 2D while the locations are mostly 1D. The pacing has been slow - some dialogues being unavoidable is the fault of the genre chosen - much harder to stealth through a cut-scene trigger in an adventure game than in an immersive sim or RPG. On the bright side, the MC's backgrounds have been referenced and they provide new dialogue options. I guess, I've chosen a wrong time to play it - Pentiment needs longer sessions to appreciate it. I am also unfamiliar with the setting, which does not help.

There was dedicated stealth gameplay - you could skip quite a lot of the critical path by stealing an item, not to mention stealth kills.