Being first and foremost a RPG player, a friend of mine offered me this enhanced edition a long time ago. It was different from what i was used to: Fallout, Baldur's gate, Arcanum, you name it. Still, it was well crafted in pretty much every regard. Despite that, i dropped it a first time, before trying again the following year. I generally roleplay my characters. My Geralt was ultimately on no one's side, because no one was on his side. This is partly the result of me trying to roleplay a character, as i said, but party because this was pretty much how i felt myself. The game forces you to choose a side. But i really was only ever interested in watching the idiots kill one another while munching chewing gum. As i recall it, the conflict in The Witcher is a stupid one. Both factions are made up of entitled idiots. The "pro-weirdo" faction was made up of violent egotists, while the other faction was made up of judgmental pricks. The game let you remain neutral... for a time. I remember that at some point, i reached a village in flames i think... and i wasn't able to procrastinate choosing a side anymore. But i couldn't resolve myself to chose any side. I was utterly uninterested in anything either had to offer. From a gameplay AND roleplay perspective. This was the last time i played The Witcher. Never played the sequels. I guess this means that while i liked the RPG, i disliked the setting, and could never grow to care about it. Probably an unpopular opinion. But this is how it is. Objectively, the RPG is good. If you can manage to feel something for the setting, you will probably love it. And you can't go wrong with that. It is not a shallow EA or Bethesda kid pandering, you-can-never-lose joke of a game, priced like it was good. You have here a proper RPG that rewards you -not immediately- but when it should. At times, i could feel this rewarding satisfaction that generally come with great RPGs. This is what quality is like. This is what we need to ask for.
I spent a hour trying to handle the first fist fight, and i couldn't The problem for me goes beyond the fist fight. I don't like 1st person games and RPGs. And Kingdom Come forces 1st person on you. You can't switch to 3rd like you would in New Vegas. 1st person it is. Only times you see your character is during dialogues. And this is another problem for me. Because this is the only moment you can have a 3rd person view of your character, and said character is dubbed... As if i was watching someone else talk. This simply prevents me from roleplaying at all because this robs me of the chance to create the character myself or identify with it. It is not about the character sheet here, but like how an actor creates a role. All i can do is try to pretend i am this guy i don't care about. That won't fly for me. This is why i like isometric RPGs like Pathfinder most. On top of that, the hour i spent trying to get the fighting system was exceptionally unfun. Partly because of this 1st person view i really can't handle. Partly because it is so unintiuitive. Partly because i hate fighting myself. And partly because i am much more interested in planning explorations or strategizing than i am in mashing buttons. There is a reason why i am not interested in having a console or playing with a controller. Those people who love 1st person views and brawls may like that. But all those things are things i genuinely abhor. This means that i couldn't even find joy in the nice realistic environements, sounds or clothes. I simply felt claustrophobic anguish for not be able to switch views, and irritation because i couldn't grasp the brawling system. And so, it took less than 2 hours for me to give up. And a month later, i uninstalled the game, probably forever. Before buying this game, you need to make sure the forced 1st person view and fighting system are down your alley. Or you won't have fun. Don't see this as a RPG. It is not meant to roleplay. Take it as an adventure instead.
We may debate whether they should continue selling more content for this game or make another one from scratch instead, but i my opinion, this RPG is basically Pathfinder on your PC. When it comes to tabletop RPGs, you tend to buy the supplements you find interesting amongst those that were published. Only Wizards of the Coast lost me by feeling the need to reset their setting with the 5.0. I stopped caring about D&D. "Through the Ashes" is a good example of what i mean. You basically play different characters in a different campaign. And actually, i wouldn't mind Owlcat selling a whole large-scale new campaign as a WotR add-on. This may actually end up being cheaper overall for the customer i am. These DLCs are proper expansions to the game, like "Tales of the Sword Coast" was for the 1st "Baldur's Gate". Same kind of scale, same pricing. This is an add-on policy that has existed since long before the word DLC even existed. Internet was just starting. This has existed for tabletop games, too. We spread our hate of DLCs along the years because of the kind of disgusting practices Electronics Arts is a specialist of: overpricing the cheapest crap, selling pay-to-win sh*t, crooking kids of their money, or cutting parts of a game to sell it in bits for twice the price, as they did with Dragon Age: Origins. Let's use our brain and understand that everything english speakers want to call "DLC" is not a EA type of scam. In the case of this one game, these are actual supplements. Not a base game that is sold bit by bit to cash on it. The game is a full experience even without any DLC. They create new aventures and buying those is actually merely about remunerating the work they did since the game shipped. Whether you find these expansions worth it or not is up to you. Hence, you can buy them or pass. It is not a pay-to-win. In my case, i consider purchasing this second season pass, too, because i simply like that they are ever expanding my beloved playground.
I always had mixed feelings regarding this. I still own the original DVD I love the setting. This crepuscular feeling you have while wandering this dying world was new in RPG in 2009. This is bleak and done pretty well. But it means that the tone is monotone. Playing this is like accepting EA's EULA: by using this software you agree to be a hero that will save the world at a personal cost (or to give away some of your rights for the sake of endorsing corporate greed). I wish i had the choice, at least Because of the setting, it is a lot about combat. That could be ok but this means the game lacks enough meaningful NPCs to meet, hub quests to explore, lived-in areas, or lighter content that would detract from the main plot and make this gameworld more multi-toned Some underground areas, notably the dwarven homes, are genuinely inspiring to explore. But again, this idea that the world there ended, and fighting all the time the very limited bestiary makes for a monotone exploration. The writting is good, and i always felt a lot more could be done with the setting. But then, EA bought Bioware just before release, forced them to cut parts in order to sell those as day 1 DLCs, and post-release became exclusively about selling more cash-grabs, rather then ironing bugs out. This game is the last song of a zombie. Characters are memorable, but at the same time, i never liked any of them. This never happened to me before or after. What is more, there are too many who would jump you no matter what species you are. At some point i wondered what the dog wanted with me. And i grew to hate the camp. One is ok, not half. Why set up a place to blabber? Because talking while adventuring is "bad"? It would help make the tone less monotone, if anything. I always hated the leveling system. Restricted, with very few build opportunities. Small linear trees with no flexibility Not a bad RPG. Not a perfect one either. Maybe it will suit your taste better than mine. Only 1 way to know
I read people who complain about how buggy it is. It IS buggy af indeed. But the thing is: Bethesda came to Obsidian months before release and told them: "Hey Obs bro, we're going to rush Skyrim next, so since we don't want to compete against ourselves you will release New Vegas in 3 months. Yeah we don't give a damn about what you started, thinking the release will happen 9 months from now, what we love is righteous indeed, it is $$$. Make sure you do a good job, and remember than you will only get your bonus paid if you reach 90% on Metacritic. What? You don't think you will be able to reach 90% under these conditions? Aah... Too bad, bro, that's too bad... But not my problem." This is the story. Obsidian had other problems, and one of their games got canceled late in dev by Sony if memory serves right, and this is how the company almost bankrupted before launching their Kickstarter for Pillars of Eternity as a last ditch effort to survive. So yes, New Vegas is ugly and buggy, and many things have been cut and some feel awkward as a result. To top it off, it uses a buggy, outdated engine that Bethesda never cared to repair because it costs money. I still like Fallout 1 and 2 better, but New Vegas manages to make good use of 3D for its purpose and to restore into the game some core aspects of Fallout, despite Bethesda's reluctance ( NV could make their crappy FO3 look like the crap it is *ahem*). New Vegas has been a major success for a game that had so little staff and time. So, why did Bethesda refrain from contracting them again for another spin off Fallout game? Well, think for yourself. NV is the only 3D FO that is a proper RPG with proper Fallout dark humour and impertinence. They understand the brands they use, like Nuka Cola or the Brotherhood. They understand their themes and fun and caricature. It is the only 3D FO that asks proper questions and gives proper roleplay opportunities. Bugs? For once, they are not the devs' fault. Use mods on the Nexus.
Quite frankly, i played Skyrim for the 1st time a long ago and hated it. Progression was boring, world was plastic and lifeless, as any other Bethesda game. Examples? Perks and spells. There are way too few spells and most of them are the same exact spell (first spell grants 40 armor, 2nd spell 60, 3rd 80, etc). Perks? "Novice restoration Spells cost 20% less". "Adept [...] 20% less", "Expert [...] 20% less", "Master[...] 20% less". Here, you spent 4 perks for the same perk. And this is true for every last school of magic. All the game is like that, up to the the NPCs and the infamous randomly generated (but very repetitive) fetch quests. Go kill the bandit leader, the troll, the giant... Dialogue is oftentimes 1 option. Roleplay possibilities are weak to say it nicely. Skyrim at its best is a hiking simulator. Not a bad one, mind you. I do like the game now, but because of mods. Mods make Skyrim, not Bethesda. Moding has changed tremendoulsy over these past 25 years. They patch the engine with .dll and add next generation stuff everywhere you look. They develop Roleplay, and immersion, and the world finally feels alive. Skyrim without mods loose most of its value You can't mod Skyrim 1.6.x basically. Mods rely on a centralized plugin called SKSE. And lately, Bethesda forces updates for trivial reasons. Anytime they modify an unimportant detail to their paying mods, they mess up SKSE and every last mod that use it (most mods). The moders have to solve the problems and patch, and one week later, Bethesda patches a door in a paying mod... and destroys everything again. The last version of the game that is safe is 1.5.97. Moders more and more work for the 1.5.97 and very few mods are up to date with the last Beth version Abellius is right. If you can't roll it back to 1.5.97, as things stand now, it is worthless. Unlike you love Vanilla Skyrim, which is not something i can not comprehend. But if it is the case, by all means, take the DRM free version on GOG, really.
I do own another edition of the game on GOG. 4.6/5 I loved "Planescape", played 10 000 hours "Baldur's Gate", tried many RPGs since then. AAAs ended up disappointing me, and i stopped bothering 10 years ago. I played "Original Sin" I/II, "Dragon Age: Origins", "Fallout NV", "Wasteland", some others. While those are worth your while, i had to buy Kingmaker in 2021 to really find what i was looking for. You can play this game in so many different ways, it makes me dizzy. "Pathfinder: Kingmaker" showcases a living world, with people, stories, fates. It adressses perfectly what a proper RPG should be like: it is about how the world itself lives. Not about the 'underlying mechanics and lore', like "Pillars of Eternity". Oftentimes, details will change depending on which order you do things. You may miss some you never knew about and then find out the next time you play. Dialogues change depending of what you did before. You can recruit bandits to be your "tax collectors", or simply end them. You can be righteous, or you can slander, exploit, steal, swindle, kill or lie. You can recruit 'beneficial' (to you) a**holes in your government, or get rid of them for the sake of justice. But the game never presents you with any 'ideal solution'. At times, you may have to choose the 'least bad'. Life is a lot like this and this makes this world relatable. The game is long (1100h for me so far. I really take my time trying stuff, experimenting, reloading...The DLCs are worth it). There are so many ways to build a character, it takes time to figure out the kinks of Pathdinder's system. But at the same time, it is not mandatory to try. Straightforward builds are efficient, fun, can be played right away, and are not the 'least effective solution'. Itemisation is good, progression is fulfilling, exploring is rewarding, replayability is high. Many basic tasks are not uselessly automated, although i miss BG's special arrows. I can only recommand it to anyone looking for an actual RPG
As the title say. Bethesda knew how dangerous taking over Fallout was. They took every sprite of Fallout 1 & 2 and recreated them faithfully for F3. But even if you make something look like a cookie, that doesn't mean it will taste good It is not an utter disaster. It is just that everything is bland. Bethesda added their own thing to Fallout. The same thing they add everywhere. Their love for blandness -Kms of subway. After some time you just KNOW there will be ghouls. You never run short of hallways with ghouls -A building. Obviously it is a factory of sorts with mad robots inside. Again -Someone ahead. Ah not a local, merely the 15985469 raider of the week -lvl 25 All the fauna and population disappear to give place to level scaled crap that was meant to be rare. Everywhere -Once you destroy the Enclave and reach a decent lvl you will start to encounter enclave soldiers ALL THE TIME The quests are grade school level. Bethesda decided that choice in a RPG mattered (indeed). That being mature did too, but they couldn't bring the usual shallow edginess others use by adding sex or make children killable, because PEGI. So instead, Fallout HAD to give a chance to nuke a town. Randomly. Just because evil. With nothing to ground your character. Wasteland 2 adds this option too but it bears a heavy meaning for Roleplay purposes. Not with F3. But this is worse than that. The main quest is the dumbest, lamest thing i ever saw in a RPG. Daddy left, i miss daddy, let's run after daddy. Oh ! here is Daddy >>> main quest completed. Here is your achievement boy ! OMG Bethesda recreated an environment that looked like Fallout but failed to make anything with it. They used brands of the Fallout universe, like Nuka-Coca of the Brotherhood, with no purpose. They don't get that what matters in a RPG is how the world feels and lives. Everything they put in this shell of a world is meaningless, senseless, tasteless and disjointed. The world doesn't work. It is an addition of maps
I backed this game just after its Kickstarter. Let's make long story short: this game is just addictive. Excellent lore, where some of the medieval legends might actually be true, satisfying battles (despite some debatable mechanics when it comes to moving units on the battlefield), well written and designed campains and maps, beautiful graphics (that are not AAA, but are much better than what i expected at first), good immersion... I spent several blank nights each time i tried a new beta version. And now, it's at last out. Worth trying it, definitely. This game deserves much more than its poor press coverage.
