The artistic direction, voice acting, and animation are wonderfully implemented. Each character felt distinct, and I like Sally as our sarcastic sidekick. I like that almost everything I clicked on prompted a comment from Grimoire and Sally, many of which were witty. The puzzles were decently enjoyable. There were a few times when I wished I could access the case files & evidence list while solving a puzzle or completing a disposition. The auto save function didn't seem to save perfectly for me as I had to replay a section after loading the my save the next day, which brings up the next point, you cannot skip already read texts. Additionally, there is no text log, so if I accidentally double click, I wouldn't be able to check what the characters just said. Overall, these annoyances were minor. I enjoyed the game, but the abrupt ending lacked payout value and dampened the overall experiences a bit. Still, I look forward to the next game, hopefully with various improvement.
Deadfire is a game about your adventure, about you as an explorer, and about how you navigate through the conflicting ideologies of the people of Deadfire. The bread and butter of POE Deadfire lie in its robust side content. Explore wherever that interests you, fulfill whichever quest that amuses you. The main story itself is unfortunately quite short and simplistic, but it tackled the topic of colonialism and its impact on the people on different sides. The combat in Deadfire is seamless and enjoyable. You are able to customize your companions' battle AIs in depth. Combat relies on positioning and tactics instead of excessive pre-battle buffs. There are many unique weapons and equipments with game changing effects. Speeded-up walking/sailing! The game is definitely not perfect (e.g., the naval text combat system isn't fun, the game has many loading screens). All in all, I still enjoyed the game greatly and look forward to more from the developer.
