I'm a huge fan of the Witcher, since I grew up on Sapkowski's books and the hilariously bad polish TV series based on the short stories. So when first Witcher game rolled out, I was super excited. And most importantly, I wasn't disappointed after playing it. I've played the game at least ten times since it came out, probably more. If that doesn't spell "great game" to you, I don't know what will. The combat system is a love or hate relationship. I personally love it. What a fresh change from usual clicking like a mad-man, Diablo (or Witcher 3) style. Sure, you gotta learn how to use it, but at least the game challenges you on that front. I love the potions and oils making, something that was really missing from following Witcher titles. Again, you gotta work towards making anything in alchemy, which makes the whole thing more believable. The skills tree was perfect, if maybe a bit unusual, but it's again something I missed in following Witcher titles. So on the front of skill trees and alchemy, I'd say first Witcher is far better that W2 and W3. The environment, especially what you're allowed to do, gets a lot of hate, but I'm kind of 50:50 on that front. The game doesn't flaunt it's an open world and it's not. The fact that you can't jump or get to places you see, unless the devs made a path, is kinda annoying, but it's just how it is. On the other hand, you visit so many different, beautifully made areas, that you surely won't feel bored by your surroundings. If you don't expect freedom Witcher 3 or Skyrim style, you most likely won't be disappointed. The story is pretty great and fits with books rather nicely. However, it is kinda obvious that devs didn't really believe in making more Witcher games after this one. Or rather, they changed the course of the story after they made this game. But if you haven't played this game already, it can explain a whole lot of things happening in W2 and W3. I just wish the game treated its female characters better.
This game is something else. I'm not sure if it's the crushing atmosphere of post-apocalyptic wasteland or the perfectly written story, but either way, it's a game I come back to regularly. The beauty of this game is in it's abundance of choices. And I don't mean just the dialogue options. This game has perfect character building system. Many other (fantasy) RPGs make you build your character by assigning millions of personality traits and skills and it's just annoying and confusing because "Hello! New to this game!". This is not the case of Fallout. The SPECIAL stats system is pretty straightforward and all characteristics are well-explained, so you know what you're spending your points on even if you're new to Fallout. The skill set is variable enough, but not so much that you'd spend hours over it. Simply put: The character building is neat and easy to use! The great thing about SPECIAL is that you give an extra point to this and take one from that and whole game changes for you! Sometimes it can make the game pretty hard, but it also offers you endless challenges. Add the many ways you can actually play this games and it really is a thing that lasts you for YEARS. I love the soundtrack. It's not intrusive, it adds to the atmosphere nicely and you don't get bored and annoyed by it (can't say the same about Fallout 3). The turn-based combat system is an interesting concept and while it can get kinda lenghty when many enemies are involved, I still enjoy it a lot. It certainly makes you think a few steps ahead. The easter eggs, humour and random encounters just add to the briliance of the game and it's pretty sweet you can still encounter new things even on your fifth or tenth playthrough. I wish I could give it four and half stars, since some of the controls aren't so user friendly (Fallout 2 deals with it though), but since I can't, I'm giving it full five. After all, the game is an older one and you gotta have patience with these gems.
One of the best, most touching games I've ever played. The story is beautifully written. All of it, all of the emotions and experiences of the main characters are spot-on, taken from real life and put into words perfectly. If you go through similar stuff as our heroes (and I do), you will definitely feel as if they're reading your mind. Some of the things discussed were real salt into my wounds and made me cry a lot, but I'd say it's a good thing – I wouldn't be crying if it was poorly written and I couldn't really emphatize with the characters. The mystery part, the thing in the woods, without spoilers – up until very end I had no idea what to expect, so it definitely kept me entertained and I wasn't disappointed after the reveal. The graphics are simply great, I really like the style. Possum Springs look lovely, characters look cool, what's not to like? Soundtrack is OUT OF THIS WORLD, I'd give the game two stars based only on the music! The dialogue options give you a whole lot of choices and you also have a lot of options when it comes to how you spend your day as Mae. I do wish the in-game days were longer, sometimes I only did a thing or two, but then again, time flies in real life as well. The minigames were a lot of fun, so no complaints there either. Only thing that kind of left me stranded were some of the open ends. Maybe it was the way I played and choices I made, but some of the stories kind of feel like they weren't finished. And since I loved the story so much, it really does leave me wanting more :) But thank to the variety of options, the game is definitely replayable (even though mysterious thing in the woods won't be so mysterious anymore), so I'm looking forward to the next run already! TL;DR: If you're looking for a breath of fresh air, something simply different, give this game a chance! This is not a sci-fi nor a fantasy, it's just a normal life of normal people affected by not so normal events.
I got this game, started it, it was nothing like I expected and I got scared I spent money on something I won’t like. Then I went and played it for nine hours straight until the sun started to come up. I was originally searching for some sort of city building strategy and I got an idea that this game is exactly that plus something more with it’s RPG and storytelling qualities. Well, in the end, only things you can actually build in this game are relationships with other. That and shrines, as long as you can support them. Instead of planning your town, you have to plan what your people will do, what to trade for, what to give up in order to succeed in a long run. Do you have big enough herds? Enough food? Do you have to find more farmers to harvest everything? Reason why I couldn’t stop playing it was because it is so hard. I had to restart three times until I finally got an idea what I should actually do to ensure that my clan will survive. I haven’t actually finished playing it yet, so I’m not so sure I will succeed, but the omens are looking good so far! This game makes you think and think hard about everything you do, because all your decisions have a real impact. You have to struggle to achieve your goals and I don’t really think you can really “learn the mechanics” to easily beat it. Maybe if gods are in your favour… The storytelling is awesome, the illustrations are great and your brain will get a real workout, what else can you ask for?
I love playing point-and-click games and I, in general, enjoy it more if it’s hard and frustrating. But there is a fine line between frustrating and absolutely impossible and unfortunately, this game crossed the line for me. I’ve tried twice and I haven’t finished the game yet, here is why: As mentioned before, there is, apparently, no logical connection between the puzzles and I often stumbled around clicking randomly on everything, hoping it would work. It didn’t I had to get a walkthrough, booo me. On the other hand, some of these puzzles are ridiculously easy that I probably shouldn’t call them puzzles at all. The hardest puzzle of them all was figuring out how to actually save or quit (hint: press F5). Also, I didn’t feel very motivated to even finish the game. It starts with super interesting plot, but it all disappears when you start playing. You’re a wanted man, yet you can freely talk to local police. The feeling of danger and oppression just isn’t there. It’s all very slow paced, there is no action (I’ve read there are some timed sequences, but I haven’t gotten that far) and it feels like you have all the time in the world, because there isn’t actually anyone searching for you after first few minutes. On a positive note, I really like the graphics. Yeah, it’s sometimes a bit of pixel hunting, but thankfully my eyesight is still pretty good. I also like the humour, but it doesn’t really save (for me) really slow-paced dialogue. Plus it's for free, which is a great plus for obvious reasons. To be honest, I will probably give this game another few tries in a future, because I want to believe that all those great reviews aren’t just a joke and I really can't let anything lie around unfinished. TL;DR: Download this game as long as it’s for free and you’re extremely bored / don’t have anything else to play. However, if you want something similar that will make you want to keep playing, I’d suggest Primordia (also available on GOG).
