I played a bit at launch and liked it but saw some bugs were popping up repeatedly , after finishing Atomfall I decided to come back especially as I heard it got an update in the time between. Went in with a fresh new install and couldn't get past the first computer tried several more times including staring a completely new game and same result. After a month of no response on the fourm here on gog and unable to get on the discord, I'm not going to waste time with this mod anynore . The part of the game I was able to play was a solid take on how the UK would handle a nuclear war , lots of unique variants of the things we known as well as a few unique elements that build on the late 50s early 1960s look of London . However due to now being unable to play or get further , nor can I can confirm my pc is the issue and it's my rig or not due to lack of repose I can't give this more than a 2/5
Full disclosure: I am a backer of the kickstarter! The game has been a blast to watch develop, Rat Tower has been very upfront about changes & developments throughout their process. To which I've had a chance to play a lot of the pre-Early Access version of this title. It has a lot of small but thoughtful details from real time cooking and enviromental interactions with fire that a lot of modern rpgs, including ones that made the Dungeon Crawl rpgs a genre in video games have seemingly left behind. Flexiblity of builds allow for diverse approahces that allow Immersive sim like approaches to several things. If you try it, it may just work even if it seems silly in any other game.
What can I say abut VTMB that hasn't been said? It's one of the most well made translations of a table top rpg to virtual RPG ever made. With it's amazing humor and characterization thanks for 5 amazing writers who all seemingly have a lockstep rarely seen in games with this many writers, nevermind other mediums. I can't give it enough praise on that front. I've always played a "Gangrel", the more brutish of the clans, not because I think the others suck or I want to play the brutal class. Just simply, it's the one that calls to me the most. You may find the clan that calls you, or you may hop around the clans. Either way it's a fun narrative experience full of choices for each clan that make them stand out from each other. Two reasons reason it's a 4/5: 1. because of the broken state the base game is in and forever will be, unless of course Activision ever tries to go for a remaster/remake, which they've been slowly doing with their more prominent best sellers. 2. The only real atheistic changes you can make to characters are based on what clan you select and the armors or mods. While It wasn't 100% common place to be able to customize everything about appearance, it was still head, skin and hair selection that was common in 2004's rpgs.
Vampyr puts you in the shoes of Jonathan Reid, a doctor returning home from WW1's front lines to find London battling Spanish Influenza. He is suddenly attacked & brought into the world of vampires that lived alongside humanity. You are then set on the path to find out why you were made a Vampire & what's going on. This game doesn't flinch away from the horrors of a viral outbreak ravaging the land, so if the current situation as of writing (April 9th 2020) has got you down, this won't pick you up. On top of that it's got an atmosphere of typical depictions of London of the time with cobblestone everywhere, rustic buildings & industrial factories at the edge of town all shown through mostly foggy streets lit by candles, small fires & the moon itself. All the accents and designs are spot on due to majority of the cast & crew being western European, though the dialogue may not be the greatest. On Gameplay, the combat system is clearly taking from the From Software "Souls" combat, with more a focus on the faster elements of Bloodborne, but not as refined. It adds a stun system that is a meter slowly drained via the offhand weapon until you put them into a stun state where you can feed on your enemies. Outside of combat you freely roam a large set of 4 hubs & speak with the few people who roam or have no choice but to be out on the street. You get to learn about them & uncover their own personal mysteries in dialogue sequences that feel like a mystery game, you can even get locked out of questions, quest & rewards for answering wrong. And the game locks you in to any choice made via an aggressive auto-save system with no way to go back without modding. On the front of sounds & the music, It's is very string focused orchestra with pieces reminiscent of Wojciech Kilar's on Dracula though there are a few times Synths come in. Complimented by folly that sells impacts. It's over all a great game but not prefect, hopefully a sequel or prequel is made to fix it's issues.
