First of all, I'd like to point out the fantastic new travelling system. No more using resources for teleporters and having to worry about running out of them for upgrades. I also really enjoyed the new methods of moving throughout the world and the incredibly regular stream of upgrades one gets. As well as the number of challenges, secrets and generally quite big map. It took me almost 13 hours to finish at 100%. With the first Dig, it was almost 6 hours. Usually, I have a lot to say about games but here, I can only say that almost everything just feels right. The only downsides for me were that there are still not enough meaningful boss encounters. The only one stuck in my mind is the very first one. A funny cut scene and pretty decent mechanics. After that, until the final boss, there really aren't any encounters that feel as significant. And the last boss is very easy once again. Beat it on the first attempt, just like in Dig. Overall, I loved every minute of it and already can't wait to see what these bots are up to next!
Maybe it's because I'm not as smart as the average person (even though there's evidence to suggest the opposite) but it took me over 14 hours to finish this game. Of course... I finished it 100%, getting the alternative ending before the regular one. But with an amazing game like this, how could you not? I'm still considering looking around the mansion to listen in on some dialog I may not have read yet. The concept is incredibly unique, the design fantastic and the gameplay-wise execution almost perfect. The flaws are only minor - like not being able to rebind keys and the keyboard/mouse controls being pretty weird. And maybe one or two puzzles that I felt wasn't well-designed. I also would've appreciated more challenge throughout the game. Because until almost the very end, puzzles are mostly straight-forward. Basically just find 1-2 key things, use them and you're done. Although I have to say - on the other hand, I think there was one case where that wasn't enough and I was wondering "So what does the game want me to do?". I guess if they would've done more complex puzzles, one would have to have maybe some sort of "clue progress indicator", especially since the player character moves very slowly and so one would spend ages just wandering around or end up using a walk-through. Travelling times can be annoying once you've explored enough of the mansion as it is. I wish they would've let players start at different clocks at the beginning of the day by letting you CHOOSE the clock each time that you start a new day. It also seems like they released this game with no thought of support after release. Maybe they simply haven't earned enough and can't afford to invest the time in fixes? Which may also in part be due to the awful title which kept me from playing the game for quite a while too. But it definitely is worth the investment. And I hope that we will see a sequel despite the possibly lackluster sales figures.
I'm not sure where all those high ratings come from because I still find this too buggy to be enjoyable. Most importantly - when your creatures are in a fight, you can't pick additional creatures that are not in a fight from your panel because the "these creatures are involved in a fight" thing simply doesn't work. Most of the time, the creatures are in the category "other". One would also think that it's pretty simple to only play a certain phrase only ONCE, not repeatedly until you finally finish a level. Finally, I find it pretty annoying how regularly you get hit by enemy waves in this game. There is barely any time to simply explore and plan one's dungeon. And sometimes not even for your creatures to get food and payment. I guess if that "creature activity" panel actually worked, you could pick creatures that are idle to fight. But... that's simply not possible. And you can't even pause to study the HUGE skill/perk/whatever tree in peace! Who the hell thought that that is a good idea?!
... and also still my favorite Klei game. What a shame that Klei seems to have no intentions of creating a sequel. Played through it twice on the 360 way back when and now that I've found it here, I'm starting fresh again. The controls and animations are stunning, no other game has ever made it feel this good to sneak around and dispatch enemies in a stealthy manner. Everything one does has a good feel to it and if one thinks that a jump would go farther than it actually does and one is caught as a consequence, the last check point is usually right around the corner. Which is just how I like it - the ability of replaying tough challenges without having to play minutes of easy stuff leading up to them. Lots of levels and unlockables also make this a game that you will enjoy for quite a few hours.
