Pros: I really like the music Lots of shiney things Some great characters Cons: Inconsistent writing Juvenile tone Poor pacing Lack of basic pc control options/functionality/interface customizations Lack of depth It is old news as far as the cyberpunk genre goes The more I play it the more I realize it isn't about very much and hollower it feels Replay value nonexistant - your "choices" are mostly inconsequential and your backstory is irrelevant I've realized that if it weren't for the cyberpunk setting and what I thought I was getting terms of story and mechanics (deep choice and consequence rpg) I'd never have bought the game. All that aside, I'm having fun and hope the game gets some much needed tlc and will eventually be worth more stars.
I'd really like to give this a better rating, but I can't. The graphics and art are really well done. Creatures are better than Ragnarok. But, thats about it. The story is lackluster and too short to be an expansion compared to Ragnarok. The side quests aren't anything special and a couple in particular that had great promise are left undeveloped. Unfortunatley it seems like the quality of life improvements included with the mod were given far too much weight. The stash improvements should have been gratis and extra time should have been spent on the story and quests. This is weak and in retrospect I'd only buy it at a significant discount. Verdict: Monster, Level and Environment Artists: You killed it. Story Team: You got work to do, lots of it. Quality of Life: You aren't carrying the team.
I feel as though the choice of a card game as the combat mechanic ultimatly harms the delivery of a great story full of interesting chracters, locations and difficult choices. The card game scenarios can be figured out through reasoning and some of the mechanics are interesting, but the resource gathering is point and click nonsense. If gwent had been thrown out and the focus had been on creating a compeling graphic novel I'd give this 5 stars. As it is the gameplay does irreparable damage to an underdeveloped story.
The rating is based on mechanics rather than vision. In particular I found it impossible to engage the bandits in the Stolen Heirloom quest even as I ran alongside them. I'm a warrior runnind down my enemey, we are abreast, what in the name of the gods prevents me from cutting them down? I have to wait until a pre-determined ambush position is reached even if I am on top of them? I love the premise, I love the nuance, I love bones, but some of the implementation needs polish. The game deserves a 5 of 5, but I can't provide it with such a silly situation vexing me.
