Two weeks later ... my little review after 90 hours in Deadfire (and yours?) :

[BillyCorgan]

First, i'm only 90h and level 16. I have not finished the game yet. I play in POTD, a wizard.

I read everything I find, I search, I take my time ... I enjoy.

 

So...

 

THE GOOD :

- Graphics, animation, lights...

- Ambiance and lore

- Soundtrack and high quality music

- Full dubbing

- Factional system, even if it is too "political" oriented

- Trees of skill and variety of playable characters

- Crafting and enchantments, special weapons

- The different approaches to solve certain quests

 

THE BAD :

- Balancing! I play POTD (without AI) and I feel like "normal". It's realy too easy (except 2, 3 fights)

- The exploration of the islands and the battles by boat ... quite quickly routine and tiring

- The crew system ... tasteless and also redundant

- The romances. No interest, worse to be flirted by Eder just before a fight, without reason ... makes me want to give slap to the one who has laid this option. In 2018 we really need this kind of silliness and obviously to not upset people it applies to the player whether male or female ... so as not to hurt anyone...

- The main quest ... which wants to be "urgent", but ultimately we can get lost in the side quests without impact ... no sense of urgency and danger

- Finally, as a rule, no remaining quest. It is well written ... but it is also very quickly forgotten (for me Obsidian it's just the opposite)

 

 

Now that it says, I take a lot of fun playing this game anyway. It's just that it could have been much better if the negatives I noticed could be corrected (for some). The deeper stuff, they will unfortunately remain there ... 

Perhaps that the DLC could correct some points too... 

[SonicMage117]

Only 90 hours you say? Smh...

 

That's more than most people here.

 

 

 

I thought I saw this review on Steam around the 2 or 3 hour mark the day it released.

[BillyCorgan]

To give an opinion on such a game with only a few hours is ridiculous ... whether it is a positive or negative opinion.

 

My steam profile if you want to check (i was 30h on Deadfire beta too) : https://steamcommunity.com/id/BillyCorgan81/

 

Edited May 21, 2018 by BillyCorgan

[algroth]

 

First, i'm only 90h and level 16. I have not finished the game yet. I play in POTD, a wizard.

I read everything I find, I search, I take my time ... I enjoy.

 

So...

 

THE GOOD :

- Graphics, animation, lights...

- Ambiance and lore

- Soundtrack and high quality music

- Full dubbing

- Factional system, even if it is too "political" oriented

- Trees of skill and variety of playable characters

- Crafting and enchantments, special weapons

- The different approaches to solve certain quests

 

THE BAD :

- Balancing! I play POTD (without AI) and I feel like "normal". It's realy too easy (except 2, 3 fights)

- The exploration of the islands and the battles by boat ... quite quickly routine and tiring

- The crew system ... tasteless and also redundant

- The romances. No interest, worse to be flirted by Eder just before a fight, without reason ... makes me want to give slap to the one who has laid this option. In 2018 we really need this kind of silliness and obviously to not upset people it applies to the player whether male or female ... so as not to hurt anyone...

- The main quest ... which wants to be "urgent", but ultimately we can get lost in the side quests without impact ... no sense of urgency and danger

- Finally, as a rule, no remaining quest. It is well written ... but it is also very quickly forgotten (for me Obsidian it's just the opposite)

 

 

Now that it says, I take a lot of fun playing this game anyway. It's just that it could have been much better if the negatives I noticed could be corrected (for some). The deeper stuff, they will unfortunately remain there ... 

Perhaps that the DLC could correct some points too... 

 

 

I'm not sure what you mean with the crew system being "tasteless". Beyond that, as I've said in response to Wormerine's observations I enjoy the interactive world map system as an addition to classic isometric RPG exploration but feel it is often treated as a replacement to the same, and in that sense I don't feel it's as evocative or as interesting as the latter can be (the latter can give you a much more detailed picture of whatever you run across than the former, be it the exterior of some ruins, an abandoned settlement and so on so forth). With regards to the island exploration and naval battles *specifically*, I've actually been enjoying both a lot - yes, I think naval battles could have a few more special interactions in the way of scripted actions that this ship or that might take (for example, what if the captain wishes to surrender instead of being sunk? What if a bounty turns out to be targetting the incorrect ship and the captain asks to parley and explain the circumstances? What if a crew-member spots a cargo of slaves on a slaver's ship, and you are forced to make the decision about whether to attack and sink the vessel with the prisoners included, or leave them be and thus let the slaves live? Etc.), but I enjoy the mechanics to it, and with regards to the uncharted islands I really like that they all seem to have their theme or small story that you can discover when exploring their encounters and so on, and aren't merely a random assortment of resources and enemies and that's about it. The fact that all these places seem to have their own story makes them a lot more worthwhile to explore, and I for one am looking forward to seeing what I find in those I have not yet come across.

 

Regarding time and so on, I'm roughly 78h in on my playthrough and have only explored about half of the map so far.

[Jayngo]

I kinda skipped your review, since I'm only 24 hours in. I have not had much time to play since release and it's killing me.

 

On of my concerns was the fact that people are beating this game in under 50 hours. When I think of classic cRPG's, I think of games taking 80+ hours to complete. Seeing that you are at level 16 and 90 hours in, gives me great hope! I'm level 9 and 24 hours in. I believe the base level cap is 20? If so, that puts me way over 50 hours for my first play through. Mind you, I'm playing on Normal mode and I don't read all the lore books (I may at one point), but I will explore every inch of that map!

Edited May 21, 2018 by Jayngo

[Mikeymoonshine]

I kinda skipped your review, since I'm only 24 hours in. I have not had much time to play since release and it's killing me.

 

On of my concerns was the fact that people are beating this game in under 50 hours. When I think of classic cRPG's, I think of games taking 80+ hours to complete. Seeing that you are at level 16 and 90 hours in, gives me great hope! I'm level 9 and 24 hours in. I believe the base level cap is 20? If so, that puts me way over 50 hours for my first play through. Mind you, I'm playing on Normal mode and I don't read all the lore books (I may at one point), but I will explore every inch of that map!

 

Tbf I am pretty sure POE1 was beatable in about thirty hours but it took me 110 I think. I do agree that the main quest is massively lacking but the game overall is not lacking in content and I mean story content not pointless filler content. They have just put a lot into factions this time around and they probably consider that main story content too as it does tie into it. 

[lonelornfr]

- The romances. No interest, worse to be flirted by Eder just before a fight, without reason ... makes me want to give slap to the one who has laid this option. In 2018 we really need this kind of silliness and obviously to not upset people it applies to the player whether male or female ... so as not to hurt anyone...

 

I have to agree that the whole romance thing in deadfire felt terrible. There's no need for romance options in a crpg, so if you're going to half a$$ it, just don't do it at all.

 

Other than that i'd say a lot of us are being harsh with deadfire because we expected so much, but it is a good game at its core and i'm confident a lot of its flaws will be polished in time.

[Jayngo]

 

I kinda skipped your review, since I'm only 24 hours in. I have not had much time to play since release and it's killing me.

 

On of my concerns was the fact that people are beating this game in under 50 hours. When I think of classic cRPG's, I think of games taking 80+ hours to complete. Seeing that you are at level 16 and 90 hours in, gives me great hope! I'm level 9 and 24 hours in. I believe the base level cap is 20? If so, that puts me way over 50 hours for my first play through. Mind you, I'm playing on Normal mode and I don't read all the lore books (I may at one point), but I will explore every inch of that map!

 

Tbf I am pretty sure POE1 was beatable in about thirty hours but it took me 110 I think. I do agree that the main quest is massively lacking but the game overall is not lacking in content and I mean story content not pointless filler content. They have just put a lot into factions this time around and they probably consider that main story content too as it does tie into it. 

 

So PoE base game took me 60 hours. With both WM expansions I topped out at 96 hours. I loved it.

 

I will say, the quests in this game are great, even the fetch quests in Neketaka! I mean, fetching ingredients to make a drink so a guy could throw up a gem?? Brilliant. I will say, I tried to reverse pickpocket a bomb onto him, so he would blow up and save me the gathering, but alas, the way he was positioned, I couldn't be behind him to do so.

 

Anyway, I'm 24 hours in, still have not visited the Gullet in Neketaka and have probably opened (fog of war removed) MAYBE 15% of the Deadfire world map. I really feel I'll put more than 50 hours into this game.

 

EDIT: I believe that fetch quest I mentioned above actually happens in a different city, but you get my point.

Edited May 21, 2018 by Jayngo

[Yenkaz]

I don't know about the faction system being "too political". Absolutely none of the factions are truly supposed to be easy to pinpoint as the "good" one.

 

- The Vaillians start out represented as the more benevolent faction, but quite quickly it becomes clear that the initial impression is cherry picking with serious infighting in the faction, as well as others pointing out that they are only there for profit and will leave areas without such financial interest alone.

 

- The Rauatai are militarists and imperialistic (both militarily and culturally)... but unlike the Vaillians, they are far more interested in other things than simple profit, and the Huana they are culturally invasive towards have customs that included a caste system and at times just outright stupidity (eating the whole fruits including the seeds on a starving island...)

 

- The Huana are the local culture being invaded by outsiders and they have a social distribution of wealth... which doesn't work very well and their local culture, as noted, is hardly presented as without fault.

 

- The pirates are pirates. I got nothing and never bothered working for them yet. The only good pirate is a dead pirate*.

 

*The watcher is not a pirate, he/she is a privateer. Totally different.

Edited May 21, 2018 by Yenkaz

[Jayngo]

I don't know about the faction system being "too political". Absolutely none of the factions are truly supposed to be easy to pinpoint as the "good" one.

 

- The Vaillians start out represented as the more benevolent faction, but quite quickly it becomes clear that the initial impression is cherry picking with serious infighting in the faction, as well as others pointing out that they are only there for profit and will leave areas without such financial interest alone.

 

- The Rauatai are militarists and imperialistic (both militarily and culturally)... but unlike the Vaillians, they are far more interested in other things than simple profit, and the Huana they are culturally invasive towards have customs that included a caste system and at times just outright stupidity (eating the whole fruits including the seeds on a starving island...)

 

- The Huana are the local culture being invaded by outsiders and they have a social distribution of wealth... which doesn't work very well and their local culture, as noted, is hardly presented as without fault.

 

- The pirates are pirates. I got nothing and never bothered working for them yet. The only good pirate is a dead pirate*.

 

*The watcher is not a pirate, he/she is a privateer. Totally different.

I generally agree in your assessment of pirates. In fact, I'm not wanting to be a pirate in this game. Trying to be benevolent, etc. However, you need to go to the pirate isle where the pirate council resides. THAT is a cool room and the quest you get from the head pirate is awesome.

[Wormerine]

Deadfire lacks people. It full of ideas, ideologies and philosophies, but very few people. Companions seem like a good canditates to show more human side of each faction, however, there is little to them, outside getting upset of you do something against their prefered faction. I know Pallegiina is fanatically devoted to Valian Republics, but I really don't know why. Same with Maia or Takehu. At least I know why Serafim hates slavery. 

[Yonjuro]

 

I will say, the quests in this game are great, even the fetch quests in Neketaka! I mean, fetching ingredients to make a drink so a guy could throw up a gem?? Brilliant. I will say, I tried to reverse pickpocket a bomb onto him, so he would blow up and save me the gathering, but alas, the way he was positioned, I couldn't be behind him to do so.

 

    Now there is some out of the box thinking. Well done. I wonder if there a high enough stealth level would make this possible....

[algroth]

 

- The romances. No interest, worse to be flirted by Eder just before a fight, without reason ... makes me want to give slap to the one who has laid this option. In 2018 we really need this kind of silliness and obviously to not upset people it applies to the player whether male or female ... so as not to hurt anyone...

 

I have to agree that the whole romance thing in deadfire felt terrible. There's no need for romance options in a crpg, so if you're going to half a$$ it, just don't do it at all.

 

Other than that i'd say a lot of us are being harsh with deadfire because we expected so much, but it is a good game at its core and i'm confident a lot of its flaws will be polished in time.

 

 

That was their stance with the first game but unfortunately the playerbase saw that as a shortcoming the first time around, because "y no Pallegina romance she bae" and so on. I reckon the devs were between a rock and a hard place about it at the end of the day, between their awareness for the playerbase's desire for romance but their own ambivalence to the same.

 

I think there is room for the romances and companions in general to improve once the reputation/disposition system is fixed/tweaked. But we'll see.

[Katarack21]

I don't know about the faction system being "too political". Absolutely none of the factions are truly supposed to be easy to pinpoint as the "good" one.

 

- The Vaillians start out represented as the more benevolent faction, but quite quickly it becomes clear that the initial impression is cherry picking with serious infighting in the faction, as well as others pointing out that they are only there for profit and will leave areas without such financial interest alone.

 

- The Rauatai are militarists and imperialistic (both militarily and culturally)... but unlike the Vaillians, they are far more interested in other things than simple profit, and the Huana they are culturally invasive towards have customs that included a caste system and at times just outright stupidity (eating the whole fruits including the seeds on a starving island...)

 

- The Huana are the local culture being invaded by outsiders and they have a social distribution of wealth... which doesn't work very well and their local culture, as noted, is hardly presented as without fault.

 

- The pirates are pirates. I got nothing and never bothered working for them yet. The only good pirate is a dead pirate*.

 

*The watcher is not a pirate, he/she is a privateer. Totally different.

Important point: The Pirates are the only people *actively hunting slavers*. The VTC *employs* them, and the Ruatai ignore them.

[Nefarious7]

My only real gripe is the ease of play. Didn't hit pause after level 13. Didn't cast a heal after 15. It's just ridiculous. Love everything else. Just wish it was a real challenge, or any challenge at all. Best part of the game is levels 5-10 where you go into over leveled content and worn your add off trying to beat it underleveled. Then you level out of that zone and there is nothing left to challenge you.

Edited May 22, 2018 by Nefarious7

[BillyCorgan]

Another point that disappoints me, I'm level 20 for hours now and I still have half of the missions of companies to do ... and I must be 2/3 of the main quest.

 

It's a shame ... it's redone as in "pillars 1" and his last act ...

 

And i don't speack about money... I own all the boats, I upgrade all my legendary elements if I can ... and I have more than 700,000 Pc! Until level 12/14 it was ok but after that it's anything.

 

Yet I go back because I love the game, but these "little" things are so bad ...

Edited May 23, 2018 by BillyCorgan