I must say that my expectations for the first part of KOTOR were minimal. Until last year I've never played it and I've gone through KOTOR 2 twice back in the day, and that game stuck to my mind due to great writing and slew of characters, but I digress. It's nice to see a Bioware game where they were still a developer which gave it their best to provide a solid narrative and world building. Your character starts as a blank slate, and from there you can choose several classes which later lead to certain Jedi or Sith powers upgrades and techniques. On your journey there are numerous companions that follow you and interact with you depending on your Light or Dark side preferences. And there are consequences which can lead to some interesting interactions between you and them. The standout companion from this game is definitely the HK-47 (which can be missed!) a android which has a wisecracking mouth. Combat isn't difficult there is the classical pause and then choose your tactic by using the weapons, or force powers. I have to give credit to the music, which is made by Jeremy Soule and it is fantastical. Once you hear the tunes and for specific planets you are transferred to Star Wars worlds. Top notch. Also the design of certain worlds has that nice nieche which gives a throwback to the movie locations and from the comics, which I think is important if you want to immerse yourself into this universe. The design of certain locations and the space ship Ebon Hawk shows what Bioware is going to perfect in their sci-fi Mass Effect series. If I had a gripe with the game, basically that the roleplaying element is downplayed here, it's like the creators wanted you to finish the game as a Jedi, because in some moments as a Sith you get less quests and the game can be pretty hard at the end. I must say that it was a chore to make it work on Windows 10. I would highly recommend it to the Star Wars fans and to CRPG fans which need another fix.
First of all I really dig the setting, I think the 18th century style is rarely explored in video games, especially in adventure type games, and the developers Big Bad Wolf have overdone themselves with the lavish exterior and interior style of the manor and it's surroundings. As for the character designs, some are solid while the others are on the brink of uncanny valley and are quite unpleasant to look at. (for example Gregory Holms, this face can make you see the geezer in your nightmares!) They should also used a little bit of polish on their movements and emotional responses, except for a slew characters they mostly look stiff and wooden and even comedic when there is a attempt to make a exagerated expression while a dramatic scene is happening. Voice acting, ugh, this is also a mixed bag for me, the main character Louis is offputting, they should have found a actor which would put more conviction and interest in the character because in some crucial plot revealing moments he sounds like he only reads the text he was given. Now for the gameplay itself, it's almost like a classical point and click adventure games, you click on the shinny things, get information or collect what you can, speak with other characters etc. It's a interesting thing to see the dialogue as a possible battle system (but I do think that Disco Elysium surpassed that in every sense) where you utilize the skills which you are assigned at the start of the game and then gradually upgrade through skill points or if you collect books and manuscripts. If they attempt to make another adventure game like this they should strive to upgrade the system further. And lastly the story is totally bonkers and over the top, but I do like the moxie to make something like this in day and age when video games are mostly served to certain type of audiences and there is no imagination... This is a good game, with visible flaws but I do hope the developer will rise to the occasion for the next game.
