Peaks of Yore

I bought a few games completely blind this week on a complete whim due to having time off, plus many gigs of ISP download left. My version of completely blind = no reviews, 'how bad can it be' attitude, 'give it a chance', trailers and gameplay text only, no googling, no forum wars. This game is fantastic - totally impressed! Core gameplay loop involves attempting to climb mountains. Skills are improved as you try different mountains. Items gained. Insights gained from NPC's & environment. Its truly simple concept. I'm 10 mountains in so can't comment on the end game, but right now totally loving the progression. Pros: - progression of difficulty is smooth and roughly matches the improvement of skill and equipment. - I am a casual climber and this is realistic enough not to be a complete turn off. - The sounds + birds are soothing. Generally not a fan of artificial environments compared to the real thing, but they found something that worked. - fluid mechanics - sometimes you gamble and succeed on a jump and it feels fantastic. - sometimes you gamble on a jump and fail... and you realize its completely your fault. - Meeting the occasional NPC and finding new treasures to accumulate - Scenery Cons: - Seagulls can go die in a fire (not really, just I want to throw a brick at them). - be warned - the pause button isn't a real pause - you are mostly safe, but in the menu screen you can still move and fall if you press the wrong button on accident. - You can't be the goat :) If I keep enjoying it, I will purchase the DLC and update.