Carradice: On the same boat. Shedding cash on unfinished titles is often a bad idea. But this one might be the exception, just for the sake of both playing and supporting it. This is a game that dares to be a bit different from others, and ticks a lot of the right boxes.
It's certainly interesting. I haven't put in much time yet (work is killing me! - but I guess in times like these I should be grateful I have a job even when it can be taxing) but it's pretty dense even in this early stage (I hadn't realized they're shooting for like a mid 2021 full release date).
I haven't tried the "open world" main game yet, just the "tutorial" - which is basically a full mini-campaign. It's nice to get into the game, as it walks you through the mechanics and gives you a bit more of a guided experience, which helps because it seems a lot of people dive right in to the open world and just get slaughtered by RN-Jesus and random mobs. The campaign is there to let you make progress, play a storyline and get your feet wet - it's actually nice.
The game has an awesome amount of lore, and the music / visuals are incredible - you can really "feel" the origins of it as a years long D&D world that they built up over many, many play sessions. It can be dense and while the game is VERY playable and stable, it also has a lot locked out (you can see where your companions have massive skill trees and upgrades, but I think right now you're only able to get them to level 2).
It's slow going but the devs promise that the initial "reading" curve is tempered as you go on - if you're like me you're really diving into the lore and journal to learn about the world so this can take up a bit of your time. It's a bit "dense" but not quite cumbersome - you have to be in a certain mindset to play the game.
I like the companion combat (it could use a bit more tooltips but as I play I get how you're supposed to use skills to dance around the board). People keep comparing it to Darkest Dungeon - it's really a lot closer in lethality and mechanics to Dead in Vinland, a game I LOVED.
Overall, I'm enjoying it. It's still early and there are a TON of mechanics but it doesn't feel overwhelming. Managing your caravan seems like it's going to be a lot of fun. It's a caravan sim that doesn't feel like a management game, in a good way. Sort of smashes together Banner Saga, Dead in Vinland and Expeditions Conquistador with a choose your own adventure / text based game.
There's another cool aspect that I think it going to be really interesting as well. You can upgrade your Vagrus (the "character" you play) with skills. There are skills that play directly into game mechanics (think bonuses to combat and world exploration) and other skills that simply offer up new dialogue options - your knowledge of the world. It's going to be cool to juggle whether or not you want a guy that can persuade, negotiate and understand the history of the world with those skills that give you tactile benefits in combat and exploration. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.
I'd say if you're on the fence, wait it out. If you want to support them in the early going, dive in and check it out.
Quick question - does anyone know if the free "Prologue" that you can download is the same as the tutorial campaign in the purchased game? I downloaded and installed the prologue - can I delete it if it's the same thing as the first campaign in the full game?
