The game is what it advertises itself to be and it does it well. It is a "simple to learn difficult to master" game but it never pressures you to play any particular way. Style and creativity are two factors I personally find sorely lacking in my other motorsports simulators and games as largely the grind is simply endless, as it should be, however the atmosphere and flow of the gameplay offers me a great respite from it when I need. ++The drifting, also somewhat simplified compared to the simulation games (and IRL obv) it feels like a great representation of the ideas and physical process of initiating and maintaining drifts in useful and stylish ways both. +++The atmosphere, calming, forgiving, inviting. As an anxious person sometimes I just like to pick up my controller and let my mind ease into the game when I need it. It helps.
I started playing this game this morning with modest expectations for this title, it didn't have much of a reputation at all yet in my social circles, but I was pleasantly surprised to find most of my day slip away while exploring this new world and its creatures. I still have a long ways to go before I can fully review the story or game mechanics but so far (8 hours in) and I'm still very much exploring both. The atmosphere and setting is familiar but different enough from other IPs that it doesn't feel boring and "tropey" to me yet and the characters have been interesting enough to give me trouble deciding which party members to have with me at any time in the KOTOR-like story/party system. The game plays like KOTOR in many ways like world-building and exploration but with a combat system closer to a Witcher game. The combination of both gives the game a relaxing feel most of the time while playing but with satisfying faster-paced combat encounters to keep things lively. My only real complaint so far is that I'd liked to have more variation in the setting, npcs, and equipment. What is there is all very solid mechanics-wise but I do feel a bit constrained with my character build at this point in the game and people, both randos and story characters, have very limited interactions with the player and with eachother. Overall well worth a play for anyone intersted in story driven RPGs and I'm looking forward to playing the sequel after I finish this one even though it does have a few lacking elements and feels a bit dated.
