Hawke64

Does the story remain grimdark throughout the game or gets anyhow more optimistic? The options for the first chapter (and their outcomes from the wiki) were not particularly inspiring.

Thanks to the bank holidays (and to ShadySands for the key), finished Citizen Sleeper. It is a visual novel with management elements in a cyberpunk setting (the MC is a runaway cyborg on a falling apart space station). I did not notice much branching in the dialogues - quite often the options were "yes" with different levels of enthusiasm, but the ability to fail or not to complete quest lines somehow alleviated it (there were timers and the MC needed to consume resources to avoid dying and/or death spiralling). The game used only the mouse (including the scroll) and Esc, and they could not be rebound. The most frequent action was dragging something across the screen - dice, items, cash, etc. So, while I did not find the dystopian narrative too compelling or the gameplay too engaging, it was generally fine.

Finished Death of a Wish. In short, it is a good action game with good controls and a variety of builds. Review: It was somehow funny to play DoaW alongside Saints Row - both MCs are very good at combat and prone to start it, but where the Boss is laid-back and has a social support circle, Chris spends most of the story being angry and causing unhappy accidents to his immediate environment.

Finished Saints Row. Shared the late-game thoughts here. After finishing the post-game, I would add that I would love if the side activities were more tightly bound to the main story and less numerous and repetitive, while the main rivals and companions had more dedicated missions. I liked the Eurekabator quest line - there were 3 missions, they directly referenced Marshall, and each rewarded with a cool gadget. The Food Truck ones, on the other hand, were very similar, not related to anything, and there were 5 of them. So, to unlock the final final mission I spammed the Lottery Ticket in-game cheat to get the funds required to build the final Criminal Ventures. I probably could go and finish all side quests, while the funds built up through the passive income, but I did not want to. About DDDA. I liked that the nights were dark and the random areas were not FOMO-inducing - there was nothing of note there and nothing to miss by not exploring them meter by meter, while they still provided the sense of travel and adventure, thus, being the opposite of Ubisoft's approach.

There have been small levels of DRM in some of the released games, e.g., Twitch drops, online functionality/multiplayer, one (?) game "can be started but can't be played without creating a player profile and save game online. It is fully DRM-ed!". https://www.gog.com/forum/general/drm_on_gog_list_of_singleplayer_games_with_drm/page1

Saints Row Sergio defeated. The context of the battle was fine, though I would not mind to have 2-3 missions dedicated to Los Panteros' lore. The Necromancer contract. And so the party decided to rescue this work of art. The nature in the game is beautiful. Unlocked the VTOL, which made the Threat side missions significantly easier. The aircraft was unlocked from the start in the previous SR. There was a hover craft and I discovered it only post-game. Randomly found several good cars and saved in the garage. The ones available by default were somehow harder to drive. These are loading screens with, I assume, the max settings. As I understand, the house was added in a free DLC. Probably the longest side mission chain I did not finish. Late-game spoilers (Marshall). The restored HQ. The final mission(s).

For random encounters without much positioning or any sort of tactics, it often feels like they should be over as soon as possible. The boss battles (with 1-2 large/very dangerous foes) usually require some strategy, have significance for the story, and are quite engaging (unless they are puzzle-like and require 1 very specific solution), but they would not feel that way without some low-effort (from the designers and the player) fights. So, yes, RTwP systems allow to speed up the later and focus on the former.

(Looking through my Steam library for RPG games with a party in any setting). If action-RPGs (little player's agency) count, then: Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen. Dungeon Siege III has quite a lot of combat, but technically there is a party (of 2) and some decent decisions>consequences. I also have it in my Steam inventory if anyone is interested. There is also Ember, which was fine (amusing, but, again, quite light on dialogue options). Any of Spiders' games - they all (except Steelrising) were party-based action-RPGs of variable quality. Sword Coast Legends was fine (?). Not sure if it is still available for purchase. There are several quite good party-based RPGs, though the combat is turn-based. Expeditions: Viking was good, with several outcomes and paths to victory (the PC's village not dying out). The sequel was prettier and the combat was better, but it also had more grind (may the conquest battles and random encounters be damned) and felt more shallow. In either game, the PCs' societies were not exactly pleasant, though it somehow depends on the roleplay. The above-mentioned Encased, Wasteland 3, and Shadowrun: Dragonfall and Hong Kong were excellent. Torment: Tides of Numenera.

Saints Row is an interesting juxtaposition of a coming of age story with the usual Power of Friendship and cartoonish violence, gang violence, and the very modern job market. I found it particularly touching after almost 4 months on LinkedIn. It is also a stark contrast to SR2, at the same time being a logical evolution of the series, with the previous entries How the Saints Saved the Christmas and Gat Out of Hell. But ultimately, it is a story about imperfect people in an imperfect world doing their best (through violence)*. So, while the party is not investing in education or researching renewable energy or creating legal job opportunities for people from disadvantaged backgrounds, one of the companions donates toys to orphans and there is an actual cat who is unharmed. The graphics and visual style are fine and I found them more appealing with the visual accessibility settings and some filters. As is, they seemed a little too detailed yet some animations were occasionally too minimalistic, but as mentioned, it fit the general style. The controls are comfortable and rebindable, though the aim assist felt a bit too strong by default. The combat felt simple but functional (when compared to Devil May Cry, which might be an unusual example), though I have not used the special abilities. Same for movement and driving, but there are flying suits, which are more grounded than the superhero abilities from SRIV. The range of customisation options is excellent and includes body sliders, layered clothing, and several voices. On the negative side, the missions have been linear so far, and I am 50% in**. The side missions and collectibles are nice, though I would have preferred them being available from the start. As is, their availability is bound to the main story. The number of the save slots is limited to ~16 (not sure, but not enough to save every other main mission). Disabling the online DRM requires adding a launch parameter to the executable. Overall, I would recommend it with the right expectations. *just finished the game. It was about the Power of Friendship. The final mission was very touching and well-made. **one choice for the main story. --- Nioh 2 is an exploration-light (mission-based) Souls-like with a linear story, a quite (for the lack of a better word) shiny (visual-effects-heavy) combat system, and absolutely horrible inventory and loot. Aragami 2 is a decent stealth game. You also can jump there, unlike Aragami 1. It was sad that the developer closed about a year ago. Soultice (EGS) didn't run. Haven't played the rest. --- I am curious about Citizen Sleeper, though I might dislike it. There is no Light: Enhanced Edition looks visually appealing. So, if no one else is interested, the key for either would be appreciated.

https://www.ign.com/articles/dragons-dogma-2-mods-undercut-capcoms-controversial-microtransactions-dish-out-infinite-save-slots Somehow a modder adding essential functionality to a $70 game seems rather odd. Just how hard it was for Capcom to implement manual saving with several characters and into several slots if Bioware managed to do it 25 years ago with BG1 and 10 years ago with an engine for multiplayer FPS? To Dragon Commander.

Sorry for the late reply, but yes - if the combat tutorial has started, backing out is not possible. Some random info on the no-kill run: There's a knock out/non-lethal combat system. The fatigue damage does not scale with anything, so it is possible to KO a foe in one turn + surprise turn. The one possible inconvenience is that the PC gets tired as well and will need to sleep without foes around (by passing out and passing time). A companion recruitment spoiler: Technically, you can reverse pickpocket, but the number of timed explosives is low and so are the crafting materials for them. Not all side quests can be resolved without combat, so having a party (who also can hit people on the head) is recommended. The Magellan Station is enormous (as far as I know, it was the starting point in the EA) and easily can take 30% of a playthrough. There's nothing comparable to it later. The writing in the low-Int playthrough is significantly different. The only thing I can recall about the survival elements is that I was low on food at the beginning of Act 1 in my critical path run.

The holograms seem to count towards human kills (at least one of the guides says so), but a full pacifist/stealth run should take about 4-5 hours when you do only critical path and know exactly what you are doing (there is a step-by-step guide on Steam written and tested by me). Death of a Wish. Defeated 3 out of 4 main bosses. So far so good, though I liked the silent MC in Lucah more.

Saints Row The team building is going well. Got a new hat. Death of a Wish The game is unintentionally funny. And there is a cool garden.

Regarding DD2, the saving system seems to be (not going to get it, so comparing to the experience) the same as in DDDA - one save file per PC/account. As mentioned, can be easily bypassed with Windows Explorer and creating your whole party can be done with Steam Family Sharing (but one would have to go online with each account to upload and download the AI companions). Though, it is really inconvenient that the game lacks such a basic thing as manual saving with several characters. I suppose, it is tied to the online system, which, unlike saving, is a gimmick. Regarding MTX in Capcom games, I can remember the MTX being in their games for quite some time. They definitely were added post-release to DMCV and were present in Monster Hunter (which I refunded). --- https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/no-more-heroes-and-resident-evil-devs-cult-shooter-shadows-of-the-damned-finally-gets-a-pc-release-this-year https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/if-working-overtime-on-aaa-games-with-giant-budgets-is-the-only-way-to-succeed-then-maybe-the-industry-deserves-to-die-says-rpg-veteran-david-gaider-there-is-another-way-to-be I definitely would not object to lower system requirements, no DRM, and no MTX.

Just in case, PC Gaming Wiki says that the Steam version is DRM-free. So, it is possible to download, zip the folder, and put on 2 external drives as backups. It also should be possible to run without Steam, just from the *.exe.

It sounds rather odd - the people who purchase on GOG are less likely to trust their continuous access to their purchases to the publishers' whims (or whatever Amazon is). On the other hand, the ones who use streaming services are less likely to bother with backups, which are the main feature of GOG, or concerns about ownership and preservation, while Steam has a wider selection or titles. So, odd.

It's a visual accessibility option + the Retro filter. The trailers show that the game would look different without them - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAvdbvX79H4. I suppose, if there was a dedicated cell-shading option, like in Prince of Persia 2008 reboot, I would have preferred it.

29% on the save file, I think? Just got the actual recruits and started planning to rob a train. And yes, the quest line was fun. The dialogue with Gwen was good as well (as a rather friendly rivalry).

Death of a Wish Steelrising The lowest settings which somehow still required 6GB VRAM. The depth of field and some other settings could not be disabled completely. The hat-hiding toggle kept resetting. The weird mix of English with some French words added was rather unpleasant to see. It should have been either consistently English only or French VA with subtitles. The French is not present at all, by the way, while the proper nouns vary in spelling (e.g. a chateau, an estate, or a p(a)lace when referring to the same location). Saints Row The LARP quest line.

The dragon thing is the main story line and, if it is critically important, does not get much better, though is sort of justified by the plot (?). The end-game and the DLC island are similar, with the latter being unintentionally funny, story-wise.

Social stuff (or self-expression, if one is being generous), like gold watches. Not really useful, but looks so shiny. Steam points are similar - you can customise your Steam profile, so everyone knows that you like XYZ, or give awards to comments or guides, so everyone knows that the comment was helpful/ridiculous. In general, the social features on Steam and them being bound to purchases might encourage the potential users to use Steam (and, say, not Epic) and purchase more. While it does not work on everyone, most humans are social and value the sense of community (because that other player with an animated anime avatar is definitely a part of my community /s).

If it is similar to DD1, it is an action game first - the roleplay options were rather limited. --- Death of a Wish has been released. It is a sequel to Lucah: Born of a Dream. https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/death-of-a-wish-review-a-brutal-and-beautiful-experiment

The Blackwell series. Finished. While it looks mostly (different games have slightly different styles) good, the logic of the puzzles often eluded me, while the story included a bit too many holes. Though, I do not play adventure games often. Also, the games should have been bundled together more explicitly - each of them is short and the story in the later ones does not work well on its own. Steelrising. I suppose, while the level design in Spiders' games has never been their strength, combined with the awful visual design (every surface shines) and terrible performance (at least, it stopped frying the CPU with the said CPU safely throttled), it is significantly more noticeable and does not make a good impression. On the positive side, the controls are rebindable, 5-button mice supported, the Assist Mode allows to disable losing "souls" on dying, which is convenient (considering that parrying with 25 FPS is rather challenging). Saints Row. Slowly progressing. So far, it seems like a very nice story about friendship and comradery (or PG13-appropriate gang violence in the US), which is rather nice. Death of a Wish. An excellent surreal action game with engaging combat and unique visual design.

https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/build-your-own-rpg-bundle The price is suspiciously affordable, but Fanatical is a well-known platform and (most of) the games in the bundle are good. Except Mortal Shell, but for this price, it is adequate. I will probably get the OST/DLC for the ones I like.

I actually would like to see the system implemented more widely in single-player only RPGs. Specifically in DD (the saving system was extremely poor, I would add), it was possible to create your own party via Steam Family Sharing and several accounts. Granted, every pawn had to be levelled up separately, and the behaviour respec books provided more reliable results than training.