Originally: 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 decided going to waste time with this mod anymore . 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 . Updated portion: The Bug that caused me to be stuck has been addressed... KIDNA, it now only happens occasionally but I'm able to reload and sometimes it doesn't happen, other times I'll just have to give up trying that terminal/control panel. Why? Still DON'T KNOW . Team FOLON have announced their intentions to become an indie dev outfit that will be making games separate from modifying existing Bethesda titles so I came back as "Pork and Rabbit" came out and will now be looking at this as the attempts at a fallout new vegas type game by fans than a simple modifcaiton. With that said while there's plenty new to do, it still ultimately is limited by Fallout 4's engine limits which you can tell the team put work into working around as best they can but still have odd moments like getting a bridge next to THE London bridge as a settlement. but all the NPCS who were there don't seem to register as settlers though they stay in the area doing their NPC routines. There are times where enemies who have been rather push over will get the drop on you and critically injury/kill your character. While more realsitic and in the style of TTRPGs that fallout takes spirit from, it is kind of an annoying thing to have a ghoul suddenly be able to pop my characte'rs head off. The Friendly NPCs and companions are all well written though there's some strangeness in audio quality, like the Crystal Palace announcers sounding crystal clear at times thought clearly modified to be Ghouls/Thamesfolk(an aquatic looking variant of ghoul who hang/live near the the famous River made for the mod). But on the other hand the Mend, while it has the in universe reasoning of being a pirate radio, it sounds very distant and tinny at parts especially for some of the songs specifically made/recorded for Fallout London put through the radio filter. This wasn't a bad first attempt but still led to notable amounts of "Wait what was that they said?" moments. This occasionally pops up with some NPCs but not many. The storyline is kind of typical fallout affair in some ways: You wake in a vault-like faciality, you're accidentally broken out, you get the Attaboy (a fallout London version of the Pip-boy) and after a tutorial dungeon that mostly is focused on combat and looting, you're unleashed on the world with a rather clear goal as you suffer through a train crash that leaves your character partially disabled from being their full selves.' You are looking into what you were doing in the facility, who the mysterious Smythe is & who attacked the facility to begin with. It's not rocket science in terms of complexity of writing, in fact you may figure out a few of those lingering questions before the game starts giving you purposeful hints. As you can see the game is solid fun times but bugs like the one I originally detailed and simply the engine showing tit's age is keeping me from giving it a 4 , even if it those issues didn't exit I'd still hesitate to give it a 5 based on some elements of the production which make it not a fully enjoyable experience. This however may not hurt you feelings toward it. So I give it a middle of the road 3/5, would be a 2.5 if I could vote that way. If thed game above sounds to your taste, warts and all. Go ahead. Otherwise go find another game that might scratch your itch. though for free, if you already have played fallout 4 several times, this may feel like a nice bit of fresh air.
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.
