Hawke64

I guess, there is some emotional investment in the studio and the game, so criticising it might be taken as a personal offence, especially on Larian's own forums. It is somehow disheartening that releasing an almost-complete MTX- and DRM-free AAA without DLC plans is seen as exceptional, instead of the bare minimum. Also, I am unsure how many people have reached the last act and the ending or whether other reviewers took into account the future patches. --- Checked what would happen if Shadowheart is not recruited by the end of the first act - she catches up at the area transition and offers to team up. If still refused, the artifact teleports to the PC during the long rest between acts. Also, I watched a speedrun with the mid-game ending (which I had achieved on my own). Most of the path was familiar, except breaking into the final area of Act 2. The whole run took about 10 minutes and was mostly glitch-free. Should try it myself, though I don't think that it would be possible to reach the "normal" ending quickly, considering the few unavoidable (?) boss battles.

The review probably aligns most closely with my experience. On a related note, the companion arcs in Act 1 go a little weird if one does not rest enough and in Act 3 the final battle(s)

Larian's D&D game still does some things well (non-combat application of spells, traversal abilities, and quest lines going throughout the whole game), fails miserably at others (encounter design post-Act 1, the implementation of multiclassing, the reactivity post-Act 1, the limited support of non-combat non-evil options in late-game, writing, animations and VA**), but certainly does not have MTX and DRM (Steam updates is another thing and I've been playing on Steam through Family Sharing). Though, it will be in a better state after a year or two (using players as testers after EA is a common practice, but not a welcome one). Also, the third act is more stable than the second act in The Waylanders (a game I somehow liked, but it is not a high bar). **the PC is almost always smiling slightly (helmets solve it outside of the camp), occasionally spouts OOC environmental comments, and there are no voices for older, orcish or dwarven PCs. --- Ironically, the guardian was my favourite character. (Act 3 spoilers):

From my experience, playing a "good" character usually leads to various levels of slaughter, which is more noticeable when a random goblin has a name and can be interacted with prior to that. On the other hand, I've got (Act 2 ending spoilers) Also, the tiefling refugees throughout the game. While I haven't played the Dark Urge Origin specifically, I suspect that most of the unavoidable evil-aligned choices are bound to it. I might try to see whether anything changes from using the tadpoles at the end. Edit. Agreed, though they are somehow avoidable and it could be worse - there could be survival elements or equipment durability.

To elaborate the previous point (the questionable design decisions), in several cases, the NPCs told me to find them Baldur's Gate without telling where exactly ("the house on the left from the bridge") and without any quest markers. In Act 3, a boss And the end-game made me appreciate Ukaizo with its 2 optional combat encounters even more: About the combat becoming more integral for the good-aligned characters: Additionally, the time limits were not clear, while the semi-open world structure did not work well with locations being in "temporal bubbles" with limited number of possible entrances and the camera being tethered to the active party member.

The last part of a side quest: This was very odd - the door looked wooden, thus it was reasonable for it to be either destructible or possible to lock-pick. On the other hand, I was following a guide for this quest (wouldn't have found the door otherwise and, as far as I know, there was no other way to progress the main quest). The ending of the most important quest in the game (heavy spoilers): I am not sure why, but I wanted to kill this guy. But I also was in a bit of a hurry story-wise, so just proceeded to the exit and never saw him again.

There are 2 more narrative pushes - (a significant) one at the end of Act 2/beginning of Act 3 (you get your objective for the rest of the game), another The companions have some development in Act 2-3, though I liked my party in Solasta more. I cannot find explicit faults with Larian's D&D game's narrative structure (the PC is interested in the main plot, the plot goes from personal to spoiler, there are twists, the side quests are related to the main objective, etc.) but it was as engaging as Solasta. I suppose, my specific play style (stealth, persuasion) does not align well with what the developer was going for, but I do appreciate that they at least tried to support it. There is no XP for picking locks or completely avoiding encounters or finding side paths, though all of them are present. There is reactivity in the immersive sim-like design approach, but to some extent it could have been done as dialogue options in choose-your-own-adventure games (it also falls apart in Act 3 with the boss you threw off the arena, climbing back up for the post-battle cut-scene*). Additionally, I agree that classes should have been more distinct with more unique interactions (e.g. some investment in Sleight of Hand was required to pick locks). I suppose, though there is no day/night cycle (NPC schedules) or more destructible environment. On the other hand, I like that it is possible to ignore quite a lot of content. Agreed, my RP is defined by the choices I make as much as the options I skip, which I cannot do if there are no such options. Regarding the stat distribution, I had thought that I would be able to fix them by level 3-4. I was mistaken and the lack of the level progression screen was most unpleasant at that point. I generally don't like to fail because of RNG instead of my (poor or not) choices and I would strongly prefer static skill checks or the Take20 option. There is a difference between failing because of conscious roleplay decisions (none of the party members can do X) and rolling a 1. The former is an interesting story point, the latter is reloading. For me, watching a reliable and well-researched plan with transparent logic and its implementation is more interesting than dumb luck. ---- Finished the game. In the final parts, combat becomes more integral for the good-aligned characters, which was a problem (solved by dropping the difficulty). Also, the game failed to recognise several "creative" solutions to boss battles. Though, it was most satisfying to skip the boss' monologue (with its fancy mo-capped cut-scenes and VA) and just throw the b... oss of the platform with telekinesis (I tried the explosives first, but the corpse-to-become had Uncanny Dodge). Also, getting a closed helmet or a masked hood resolved the weird facial expressions in the "field" cut-scenes (the ones in the camp still had it). Overall, the game often felt like fighting questionable design decisions, despite the generally high reactivity, interactivity, and being able to ignore a lot of the content. It was nowhere close to Pillars of Eternity or Tyranny and somehow worse than Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous (despite the long and slow dungeon crawls; on a positive note Larian's D&D game was shorter, ~40 hours vs ~120**) or Encased. I will try to replay it at some point, but probably just to check how far I will be able to get with some specific builds. Also, one screenshot for the final cut-scene (an HDD-related bug, no spoilers): *I would post screenshots, but not sure that I should, considering the spoilers. Though, the foe in question was shown in several trailers. **On the other hand, I never wanted to complete all quests and was trying to stick to the critical path and RP, while in PF I wanted to see and do everything (and the RP supported it).

Spoiler-free screenshots: I actually would not have noticed otherwise. Edit. Also, the mask resolves the issue with weird facial expressions almost perfectly ("almost" - can't wear it during rest). Sent the hand to pickpocket and explore. Discovered 2 things - the hand cannot pickpocket, but can initiate a dialogue. Couldn't jump there myself, so decided not to spend a spell slot. Spoilers for a companion quest:

I've throttled my CPU to ~60% due to overheating (it's still 6 x 2.2MHz), so can't comment on the spikes, but the only time where I had FPS drops was in Act 3 with the Daylight spell on. After several hours of spelunking through the sewers and googling, I have to agree. The combat balance has become 4 vs 8+, the map markers have disappeared (except one), a certain quest that is critical for progression is not marked as such (haven't finished it yet, because I don't know where the public place the NPC mentioned is and I can't ask anyone else about it). There are time-sensitive quests, but I don't know what their triggers are (location, main quest progress, travelling between areas, long rests, etc.). On the other hand, some events in the camp progress only during long rests. I suppose, Pathfinder: Kingmaker at least had clear and visible timers. --- Seeing Larian's interpretation of certain companions, while possibly not inaccurate considering the context, still is as pleasant as getting kicked in the face. Then again, in BG2 some of the BG1 party members died unavoidably and stupidly. Progress-wise, hunting 2 bosses I need to end the act. If anyone knows where the smokepowder barrels are in Act 3, the information would be most welcome. Some spoilers for companion quests (mostly technical parts): On another note, Withers helpfully informed me that I do not have any romance active. Alas, I was unable to confess my feelings to him.

Forgot to mention - several quest lines span through the whole game and it is possible to meet some random NPCs from Act 1 in the city (as everyone tells the PC within seconds after meeting that they are going to Baldur's Gate). On a negative note, there are no quest markers* on the city area map, but the buildings are marked, so it is possible to remember where to find the NPCs. *1 marker for a companion quest.

Spoiler-free screenshots: I should not have gone there. There was nothing that interesting. It is possible to talk to cats. Also, to big magical cats. Some spoilers for the end of Act 2 (nothing significant, no bosses or important dialogues).

Yes, the formation is in order of joining the active party, so it is necessary to re-add them to to make the formation stay (it occasionally resets if done by dragging portraits). In most battles, you can switch to the characters out of the dialogue (the button is in the lower left corner) and position them better. It is possible to check which actions led to which inspirations. So far, I've got the most points for the Outlander and the Sage backgrounds, fewer for the Urchin and the Acolyte ones. I don't think so, only the current level on the Inventory screen. There should be some helmets available a bit later. --- Reached the city and Act 3. The final battle of Act 2 was curious. I think, most of the plot twists took place between the battle and the city. Regarding Bhaal, Somehow all main antagonists seem too talkative and boring. The former is possible to minimise, which I appreciate, though not to avoid completely. The sandbox/immersive sim-like design does not mix well with the cut-scenes. Also, there have been 2 unique and unexpected endings where the PC died (under the spoiler tag). I am curious how many more are there.

Unfortunately, no, but the animation speed in general is decent and a lot of the combat encounters are avoidable. Though, those that are not, may last long. It might be a Steam issue - if the game receives an update during downloading, the progress resets. --- Staged 2 prison breakouts. Isolating and assassinating the guards one by one was the way to go. Wrapped up what I wanted in Act 2 and proceeded to the point of no-return. Reached the final battle of Act 2. Relatively spoiler-free technical observations: In terms of the general quest structure, I am impressed how many quests are optional and how much effort is put into them.

Tried Stray Gods (a musical visual novel). It looks and sounds very good, the controls are fully rebindable, and 5-button mice are supported, though I have encountered a rather unpleasant bug - on the second launch of the game, the save were wiped. Happened only once and when I specifically was testing whether this bug was present, but one should be careful and backup the save files.

The proportions of the faces seem to be somehow off (especially for the elves) and sliders would have fixed that at least. I think, Dragon's Dogma, Dark Souls, and Saints Row (which isn't even an RPG) had both body and face sliders and it was possible to make both "serious" and goofy characters, should one wanted to. SR2 also had different walking animations and layered clothing, while DD:DA had the height slider. --- Some relatively spoiler-free similarities to D:OS2: Got through 2 DC30 locks after several reloads, which didn't lead to anything too interesting. Then watched 2 large groups of NPCs killing each other in real time, because none of my party members was in that combat encounter (the rogue looted one of the bodies before teleporting out). Reached the point-of-no-return message in Act 2 after running in circles for an hour because I didn't understand how to spawn the critical quest items in the area. Also, some of the cut-scenes trigger only if the NPC sees the PC, thus, they are easy to avoid, but the game occasionally assumes that the PC has talked to those NPCs. A very specific example (Act 2, mid/end): On another note, there have been 2 battles during the Act that triggered right after dialogues, without a way to get out or prepare.

If anyone backed Stray Gods, the keys are out (my email with the key was marked as spam at first, so should be careful). Edit. The launch trailer:

Just in case, it is possible to reset the camera to face north, Home by default (rebindable and might be more comfortable if closer to WASD). Sort of a spoiler: ---- Still in Act 2. Got the first and probably the only non-Origin companion. Visited an optional area called the House of Healing. Would like to know the opinions if anyone has seen it. Regarding the guardian (spoilers for D:OS2):

Context Menu (RMB by default) => Examine. The one Sturdy object I needed to destroy had 22DR to piercing damage and immunities to everything else. Went down from a grenade detonated by a fire arrow (for some reason, the Fire Bolt spell resulted in lower damage). I think, I've reached Act 2 (the second map with DoT) and some issues are starting to show: Also, does anyone know what are the options in that area to negate the DoT (the stronger one)? And completely unrelated to the things above, the cut-scenes with shorter characters are done quite well - when I was hugged by a human-sized NPC, the NPC kneeled first. Additionally, one note about the guardian (light spoilers for Act 2):

Some story elements remind of D:OS2 as well, such as but not too much.

Thank you. I suppose, those subclasses fit their backgrounds best, so I'll stick with them. I think the success also might be related to the popularity of the IPs used. Baldur's Gate, D&D, and Larian itself are well known, especially with those D&D YouTube shows (Critical Something, haven't watched). I agree that the cinematics, multiplayer, and the advertisement campaign appealed to the more general mainstream audience, even if I was not fond of the latter (I prefer text articles or trailers but not the developers talking). The game has some interesting systems, but it also skips a lot of explanations, making decisions for the player. Though, I must admit the automation for some of the more routine options is welcome (e.g. supply selection during camping or companions' subclass selection). I guess, The Age of Decadence might have some similarities in terms of options, but also was extremely niche. Funnily enough, it is possible to switch to the other party members during dialogues and reposition them. But Ao forbids they help with the in-dialogue skill checks. I can't quite understand why, but it certainly is a deliberate design decision (one of the last updates on Steam mentioned it) that might have something to do with the MP aspects. Then again, in Wasteland 3 it was possible to switch the conversation to the other player (and their characters' skills) in one click. Regarding dangerous areas in Grymforge, On an unrelated note, the red dragon looks quite nice (screenshot): --- Edit. Is there any clear indication what causes events to progress, not counting the "Finish everything before proceeding" message, which, I assume, means the start of the next Act? E.g. (small spoilers for Act 1): Is it stepping into a wrong area or progressing an unrelated quest?

You can choose subclasses for the companions? I thought that the optional aspects are shown in red and possible to change (e.g. spells for wizards)? Also, I have discovered that there is non-lethal combat. After killing 2 hostile children and a possible companion. So, my issue with the UI is that, firstly, it is too small (just 30-50% larger and with the images on the icons filled instead of outlined) and secondly, spread out between the quick bar and the context menu with some actions possible to bind to keys and some not. The non-lethal stance is on the Passive abilities tab, while the dual-wielding is on the left from the bar. Picking up or examining an object or a character is in the context menu, pushing is on the quick bar. Considering the complexity, I doubt that it could be much better, but if it was at least gathered in one place and pointed out earlier, it could be comfortable. Though, there are a custom bar and the default interaction with objects usually makes sense. Unless you are a rogue and the object is locked, then you try to open it instead of lockpicking. In the full version, the guardian (the introduction line in the Character Creator "You need a guardian. Choose one") is a character who visits you in dreams and claims being the one who has saved you from certain death. In EA the introduction was "Who do you dream of?" and, as you said, if you dreamt about your grandfather teaching you to fight or a shadow druid who killed your family (in case if the robe and the jewellery were not clear enough), well, the following scenes were not exactly pleasant. So, I am glad that it was rewritten. A screenshot from the character creation screen: For Origins, the guardian is customisable. Tested with Wyll.

A fully custom halfling rogue with the urchin background. Whose friends and family were killed by.. something (bandits? Goblins? A flood?), while the guardian looks like the former neighbour whom Rogue (it is the name) had not interacted much with. I've just got to the first cut-scene with the guardian and the impression was similar to meeting Camellia. Might be because of the combination of appearance and animations. Screenshots: Also the HDD occasionally leads to rather amusing cut-scenes (Raphael). The NPCs look at the PC and not where a human's head would be, so reasonably good. On another note, I've found Withers and the hirelings. They are fully predetermined (class, name, and appearance) with 1 sentence of background story, so there might be no way to create another custom character in single-player. From what I've read on the forums, it is also impossible to kick out other players' custom characters if continuing the playthrough alone.

Played for 3-4 hours. The immersive sim/sandbox aspects, traversal abilities, and the applicability of non-combat spells are impressive. The camera distance and tethering to the active party member are not. The cut-scenes are mostly fine, but the auto-comments and facial expressions from the PC sometimes miss. Also, it seems that several evil deities were removed from character creation and most hairstyles clip through tiefling horns and elf ears. Not sure if I should put the screenshots here or in the Pictures thread, so spoiler-free screenshots: Style-wise, the D&D game seems lower on Larian's humour. I guess, if it started from the point before the kidnapping (like Dragon Age: Origins or even the festival in Kenabres in WotR), it would have been better, but due to the variety of locations, require more resources to implement. Gathered the party and reached the Goblin Camp, which was the same point I had reached in EA, though this time from the north and talking to NPC (instead of wandering randomly). Also, it is possible to set Grease on fire, but, thankfully, the fire does not spread. And, I think, blood is possible to freeze with cantrips. Most importantly, halflings can reroll failed checks which decreases the number of reloads per hour (loading times on HDD are longer than I'd like). Some screenshots from the road and the refugee camp (what was available in EA as well): Overall, so far the game has been significantly more enjoyable than DOS and I hope that it will continue beyond the EA tested area.

Yes, it does seem a bit off. I suspect it's because of the settings (medium/low for textures/details) or the HDD and the hair looks better on high/ultra/SSD.

Thank you, but I haven't defeated Malenia yet, just ran out of time yesterday. The Assassin could reliably get the boss to the second phase if I kept the spirit alive, but not much farther. The fully-upgraded tower shield and moving backwards mostly protected from Vergil's move (not sure how it's called, Waterflow Dance?) if I had enough stamina, while running under the boss protected from the Scarlet Rot Flower jump. So I am going to look up the guides, try to level up more, and try again. On another note, the only other DS boss with similarly aggressive regeneration was Lud/Zallen from DS2 - the surviving tiger went berserk after the first one was defeated. Though, the tigers also were perfectly beatable solo - the bosses' HP boost from the summons and their general inability to survive long enough made them harmful.