I bought this game a year(ish) after it's initial release, and so far I've beaten it about 5 times. It's simply one of the greatest RPGs I've ever played, on top of being a pretty historically authentic game that tickles my inner history nerd. A great return to what RPGs are meant to be and couldn't be more excited for the upcoming sequel.
I bought both the original and the "Enhanced" version, having never played either before. After an hour(ish) of playing it, I uninstalled it, installed the ScuumVM version (GOG's version of the original game) and the difference was staggering! Much of the below carries over into the rest of the game, NOT just the first hour: PROS 1. Subtitles 2. It runs CONS 1. The game uses custom black bars on either side to force widescreen compatibility, as the original is standard 4:3 ratio. This is only an issue because those "custom black bars" made it more difficult to traverse through the game. In the GOG version (like all other 4:3 ratio games played on a widescreen monitor) the black bars are not actually part of the game, you can't drag your curser accross them, they represent the ends of the playable area. So how do these "custom black bars" negatively impact the game? Those "custom black bars" ARE actually part of the playable area, and you CAN drag your cursor across them. This means when you attempt to travel to a different room you have these giant bars on the sides that you MUST drag your cursor across in order to do so. It's very awkard, and makes it all too easy for you to screw up, or travel to the wrong rooms, at no fault of your own. 2. All the custom menus are simply gross. 3. They SOMEHOW made the graphics noticeably worse. They're buggy, blurry, and choppy. Any nuances found in the original game's graphics were completely lost in this version. This includes the cutscenes. How they managed to make graphics from 1997 actually worse is almost impressive. 4. Conversations were near-completely broken, often jump cutting to different parts of the same conversation(s). 5. Cutscenes would abruptly end before completion. 6. Shooting was COMPLETELY broken, often working only half the time, if at all. Ultimately, what GOG lists as the original version was actually fun, and I beat it after uninstalling the hot garbage that is the "Enhanced Edition."
I am at a loss for why this game seems to have several negative reviews. It's one of the best games I've ever played, and by far the best in the Metro game series. I've played it twice now, and will likely do so again, it's an absolute masterpiece, even without the expansions that only make the game even better. A must play! The ONLY negative I can conjure up here is that the game heavily relies on you playing the first two games before playing this one.... that said, you SHOULD be playing those first anyways. What's wrong with you?! Great game! 10/10!
Man, 26 years?! Whew! Alright so the game is very faithful to "Beneath A Steal Sky," Joey is as fun as ever, the plot is (disregarding some minor plot holes) pretty good, and the puzzles are pretty good despite like two of them being a little too abstract. Overall, I love this game as much as the original. PS: The ending truly hurt me, this game has a VERY emotionally impactful ending that brought me, a 31 year old man, nearly to tears. This game is far from forgettable. However, if I had one major complaint, it is that the ending's mood was quickly shifted to a more possitive tone that felt a little abrupt. Great game, be sure to play the original first as this game is less impactful without you first doing so; it's free and you have no reason not to!
Lemme get some things out of the way first. The story is fantastic. The story had me near tears at times with how powerful, awe inspiring, and beautiful many of the themes were. Eothas was simply absolute perfectly written and performed, I wish that had been longer. The deep philosophical themes help further push this story into the realm of highbrow entertainment. I imagine those who know little-to-nothing about philosophy in general may have found the story lacking, pacing aside. I cannot possibly explain how perfect the Eothas part of this game I just loved, I couldn't wait to talk to him again and learn more about the character and his motivations. This is where we begin to have issues however: Because Eothas is so well done, and because many likely wanted to rush the game to talk to him as the story progresses, the game seems create dumb barriors that make no sense that stop you from rushing, which normally wouldn't be a huge deal if the game also didn't constantly remind you of how much of a hurry you should be in. This sense of urgency it forces on you ultimately hurts it, and it does this even with much of the DLC as well. For example, Eothas will say "I'm going here, I will not wait long" and you may want to do that, but you can't because the game makes you do a ton of petty crap (or grind) in forced-preparation for much of those meetings where he says practically the same thing, why tell me to rush if you're gonna force me not to. Don't tell me to hurry if I can't, and don't tell me to rush at all if the game is already too short. Rant aside, there are other small issues, like so much space but so little to do. I played for nearly 70 hours, which is 30 more than what GOG says is the average playtime. Very little to explore given the amount of space. Durance not being in the game was sad. Other good things: Loved the pirate theme, the boat combat, the OST, the new cultures, and all the lore you stumble upon that connects masterfully PoE1 to PoE2.
To preface this, I want to stress that this game was something I was very cautious about because my expirence with the majority of Adventure Games is quite negative so I bought this on sale thinking that if I hate it then at least I'm not out much. Boy was I mistaken. GOOD THINGS -Ridiculously immersing with an insanely riviting plot. -Protaganist deaths are cool to watch. -The voiced dialogue was pretty good. -The story fails to spoon feed, which is good, ambiguity adds realism. -Challenging puzzles. -Didn't encounter any game bugs or lag. -The music is fresh and feels almost alive. -No hint system. -Very well paced. -Datapads were all well written, even had some typos, which for me is good for believability. -The isometric art is to die for, well done, so well done. -Very dark and sometimes it's downright disturbing. -The finale left me wanting more. Like a sequel. -Overall this is a beautifal game. BAD STUFF -At times it was difficult to tell where the protagonist was in a room after entering. -Pathfinding was lacking from time to time. -More "monsters" would have been nice to see. -Didn't care for the "Direct to Menu" (as i'm calling it) that appears in the top right corner when highlighted with curser. It can get in the way. -(SPOILER) (SPOILER) (SPOILER) (SPOILER) (SPOILER) (SPOILER) (SPOILER) (SPOILER) (SPOILER) The protagonist remaining on the ship made little sense considering you walk right passed what appears to be working lifeboats.
So I actually bought just before it's launch after doing tons of research. I'm a huge Obsidian fan and have been since "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II" so I thusly took a massive leap of faith only to greatly feel bad for doubting Obsidian. PROS - Compelling and intriguing storyline. An actual plot. - Well mapped out and interesting characters. - Stunning isometric visuals. Simply stunning. - XP reliant on exploration opposed to combat. - Quality DLC. Actual freakin' expansions! - Breath taking soundtrack. - Old school Classic RPG - Quality voice acting. - Lots and lots of lore. - Many hours of gameplay. - Your own personal keep. - Multiple ways to complete a single quest. - Decisions actually matter. - A good variety of enemies. - A large variety of difficulty settings. - They brought back "Big Heads" as a toggle option. - Open platform. - Big variety of playable classes and subclasses. - Massive re-playability. - Challenging gameplay and puzzles. - Tons of different upgrades for your character and companions. - Several companions and even ones you can purchase. - Some economy mechanics involving your keep. - Pretty large world map. - The option to toggle audio commentary. - Enemies you kill do not randomly respawn. - Very few bugs and glitches. The game is well updated. CONS - No romance options. Not even prostitutes. - Your keep is defaulted to you, you cannot choose your own. - The DLC basically requires you to be close to max level. - The constant fog of war after already discovering an entire area. - The cheat to kill the fog of war doesn't effect entire map nor stay activated. - Not a huge fan of sleep bonuses but this is a minor complaint. - The voiced to text-only ratio is a bit unbalanced. Prefer either all voiced or all text-only. CONCLUSION In my opinion, the Pros far exceed the Cons and therefore I give it high marks. Also, this is one of the few games I have ever given full marks to. However, some of the things I felt this game lacked will likely be in the sequel because the truth is, if they put everything they had plus what I felt was missing then it is likely that the sequel would have nothing more to offer and thus suck so this is why I give it full marks. If you haven't already, buy the game now or buy it on sale, just buy it, it's more than worth the money no matter the price tag. This is Obsidian premiere IP and it is a strong one.
