Just as the previous one, I’m very disappointed by this DLC. It’s different from the main game, but not in a good way. It consists mainly of narrative bits and stealth sequences, the latter ones are very weak. The stealth didn’t work well in the main game and it’s even worse here: the animations are slow, the controls are glitchy and it’s very frustrating to be forced into stealth with the excption of two short sequences. Also, I had several bugs that forced me to reload older "hard" saves because I didn’t get a weapon from a specific enemy or the final boss just didn’t show up in his last phase - both events were already saved by a checkpoint and I lost a lot of progress, was force to torture myself by repeating the chapter again. The only thing that might make this DLC interesting is the story, but you can (and should) watch that in a video instead. The DLC has no value in gameplay and is a pure waste of money. I advise everyone to avoid buying it.
This might be one of the worst DLC I've ever played. It ditches everything that made the main game great and instead turns it into a stealth and escape piece. No more horror, only annoyance and frustration. Also worse design overall compared to the main game, perspective and cutscene direction are weird and sometimes even involuntarily funny (when a quicktime event icon for example is shown right above the head of an enemy which makes not only the enemy unclear to see but also gives the situation a weird sense of comendy which clearly is not intended). Avoid. Play the main game, it's great. Skip the DLC, it sucks and will not be fun if you've enjoyed the game.
First and foremost: This is a game meant to be played in VR. Not necessarily by the developers, I don't know - but it is made vor VR, it is made for simulated depth and free hand controls. On a flat screen you play a gimmicky game in total darkness while creating your environment by painting dots onto the walls. Which is nice for some time, but won't be fun for endless hours. But once you start to play in VR, suddenly the dots are not just colored but you can see how far they are away, you get a real feeling of your surroundings. Having the ability to control your pointing device independently from your viewing direction also ehnaces the game greatly. It's less then 2 hours from start to finish, way less if you hurry. But in all honesty, this is one of the games I use to showcase VR. It really is that good ----- as a VR tech demo. DonÄt expect a huge AAA title, but a really unique experience.
This game is a perfect demonstration of how not to make a platformer. The controls, the collisions, the overall feel, the precision - they all feel off. You will die hundreds, thousands of times (which is okay in general because checkpoints are very frequent) while most of the time thinking "why did he slide off? I was standing on solid ground?", "Why did I fall, I grabbed the rock?", "How could I miss that, the crosshair even lit up?!", "Why didn't he jump, I released the button in time?!" and so on and so on. Compared to other platformers where you see your mistake and know how to correct it, this game has to be learned pretty hard because you have to get used to do it "wrong", to jump too early to press buttons at awkward timings etc. Yes, you can learn it. Yes, checkpoints are frequent and fair. But no, of the whole game feels glitchy, unresponsive and therefore unfair, you have failed at crating a platformer. I have sunk a few hours into this game because people told me I need to "get the hang of it", so I completede the game and even got a few of the "no death" achievements. And now, after some hours and a lot of getting used to the game I can say: Yes - it IS completely broken, unfun and really, really bad. It just feels wrong, even after completing it. Avaoid at all costs. Truly one of the worst games of it's kind. I was hoping for updates to fix the broken controls and systems, but unfortunately this game remains broken and unfun.
I am at the same time amazed of how much detail and creativity this game offers and shocked about how hard this game fails at almost every aspect of gameplay and features. So many great things. The atmosphere, the ability to call other people and get actual helpful stuff, the cinematography, all the small details in animation or behaviour. Awesome! But this is, after all, a game. And no, I'm not one of those guys saying that there are "too many cinematics", I like them and they work. I mostly like them because you do not play while watching them. What does not work: ~ Controls. I had to google if I don't understand something and found: Everyone agrees that the controls suck. Even the biggest fans claim that "it takes a while and you will learn to appreciate the game on your second playthrough when you've learned the controls better". Which I find very funny, even the biggest fans defend the game by saing "yes it is really not fun to play until much later". ~ Stealth. There is a stealth system in theory but it is more than broken and dysfunctional. At best it is "wait and walk around so that no one sees you", but that's it. ~ Action. You can fight and shoot, but don't. In a mixture of controls, difficulty and camera perspective, fighting is not really an option. ~ Difficulty. I've searched the web about this problem as well, but most people seem to find this game quite easy. Are those just fans that completed it several times? Because no matter on which difficulty you play, you will die all the time, over and over. ~ Boss fights. While in general creative and interesting, all the other points together make those fight a huge pain. Simple tasks like throwing a grenade into a tank or even just running away (!) and shooting the boss (!!) are every tricky because of camera and controls. And while I don't know how hard they are on higher difficulties, I lost three health bars on the first boss and died severa times on the second. --- Watch a playthrough instead.
Back then, I loved this game so much. Mainly the physics were the best I had ever seen, and sadly, in parts, they still are. I remebered the game as a fun hack'n'slay in which you throw enemies around and into walls and laser grids, metal would deform and stormtroopers would grab onto things like the NPCs in GTA IV. It wasn't deep, but it was fun. -about ten years later- Now, I repleayed the game and was hooked immediately, great start. Force-blasting whole buildings into shattered pieces, what a feeling. But after a few levels, I realized how bad the fighting in this game is. The physics-based combat feels great, but I've spend more time ragdolling on the ground then actually playing. in almost every fight there are a few enemies that spam attacks that knock you over, and by the time you stand up again the next projectile hits you. This might sound like one little "git gut" thing, but this problem specifically ruined the game for me. I remebered it to make you feel like a mighty Sith, yet you feel like the playball of some bullies, being thrown around all the time. The fighting is really bad - force powers are great, but the very second you cannot win by pusing enemies around, the game breaks. Physics: 6/5, in parts still reference today! No other game I can think of tried to copy this. Just imagine throwing an enemie against a metal fence and the fence does not break but DEFORM in a realistic way! Presentation: 4/5. Great design, not great level design. In one level you are in a plant world and every force blast makes the whole flora wobble, another time you are in the belly of a beast. Graphics are great for the time and "okay" today. Gameplay: 2/5. Force - awesome. Whole rest - nope. Bad. Just not good.
This game reminds me of early alpha builds, Postal 4 is a good comparison: The controls feel off, aiming is just weird, hit feedback has no punch. Ragdolls fall forcelessly to the ground, even worse: at a lower, laggy framerate. Weapon sounds are weak, animations are stiff. I could continue this, but the main point is: This is sold as a full release, for 40€. This is not only a joke but an insult. Give this game another year and it might become something. At its current state, it does not even feel likle a beta. Want more? - The menu breaks after a few minutes. Escape works, but no more settings, you cannot even quit the game. Happend to me during control changes. - The intro is not redone, it is just an ingame rendering of a random guy watching the original 480p video on a screen. Might be a funny idea, but looking at the rest of the game I guess this is another sign of lazyness, greed or lack of interest in the title. - The graphics might be a subjective thing, but the game ditches the thick black outlines from the original and uses a minimalistic comic look, now it looks more like traditional 3D models with some comic effects. Even here the developers insult XIII's legacy. I will wait a few weeks for a patch, but I doubt you can fix this in any time less than a few months. IF the developers even try to get this done. Again: We are talking about a 40€ full release! I would rate it way better if it was (1) 15€ or less and (2) Early Access. This is what it feels like right now.
