So another of these small reviews...

[VincentNZ]

I figured I might just add my opinion on the game to the mix, since I have just started a new game with the blessings, although I have not finished the game in my first playthrough.

Generally I can definitely say, PoE 2 is an excellent game, which I find more enjoyable than the also great PoE 1. I was doubtful about the pirate theme and the more sandbox-type gameplay, but it works really well. My biggest praises go to the VA, which I found to be very immersive to the point that I would have wanted this in PoE 1 as well.

Also the ship combat is a fun feature and synergizes well with the exploration, and in general the sidequests and the main story are intriguing.

ANother thing that I really wanted got fully fleshed out and that is the skillchecks in the textbox encounters. I think these little stories stand for themselves and it is a great way to give meaning to small unmarked quests and could be even further expanded on.

 

I do have a lot of rather small negative points though, that stick out more, since the game is so good:

 

- There should be a tutorial for ship combat, and it should be expanded upon as a feature for quests and the main story. There should also be more enemy and faction vessels on the map, later in the game it gets rather empty.

- Tied in to this: Why are no seamonsters attacking? Where are the krakens, leviathans etc. that must haunt these oceans? This is most disappointing.

- The combat system works, but there are obvious issues with armour penetration, balance etc.. Needs to be looked at, because some spells/skills are just useless against certain mobs, which can turn some mobs in undangerous meathunks.

- Related to this: Difficulty is rather low. This is partly due to balance and mostly I would say because level scaling does not seem to work right now, you level too fast, when you try to do all sidequests, and you level up fast in the beginning. Should be adjusted. Maybe there should also be some mobs, that are always scaled (Nemnok and the Dragons come to mind) so that they will always be at least two levels further than the player.

- While the amount of content is great, and I appreciate the many small dungeons, with their own little stories, I would like to have some more background on the locations. What is that temple for? What is the story behind this cursed swamp? Basically the stuff you would read on terminals in Fallout.

- There could also be a few more islands, some areas seem rather unpopulated. Also there should be more ports or the ones we have should be expaned on. Not Neketake scale of content, but similar to Furrantes pirate haven.

- Some bugs need to be quished, I only had one crash so far 5 minutes into my first game, though, but I read a few complaints.

-The framerates drop heavily over the course of playing, I think it might have to do with changing areas often, or with switching to sailing and fighting there. Also the loading times are horrible, when you are not on an SSD. This should really be fixed.

- Companions: This is a bigger one, saved for the last. I do not think that the companions are rather shallow, but their quests are a bit uninspiring since they all work in the same way and remain unconcluded and with no consequences or different outcomes. I do not like the decreased party size, and the companion interactions bound to quest stages make sure that all interactions between them will be over after a couple of hours. If you have only 7 companions, then they should be really interactive. Otherwise you will just be on a Mass Effect level.

- Romances are definitely shallow. While I have no problem that every gender or race wants in my pants, it is all a bit fast and random. I had Tekehu in the party for 50 minutes, got him to rep 2 in that time, and the random level of initiating dialogue made him come at me, before anyone else. I guess I will always choose Xoti, but I suppose I will really have to wait until she randomly comes up to me. Basically you do not have to work for it either, there seem to be two dialogues and then you are a couple. Then another one, where you bonk, and nobody ever speaks about it again. I mean in Mass Effect, I could call the Alien of my choice to my room, and in BG2 this was a much more immerisve "task" with different outcomes, and maybe even a baby at a much later stage.

Generally I really do not care as much for my companions than in the first game, and much less than in BG2. That is a shame, which is further enhanced that I only have one spot free in my party so I am missing out a bit on the interactions between characters.

 

So thoughts anyone? What do you guys think about the game and my points? Any additions, criticism or explanations?