Like Timelines, there's no Linux version on launch, again! This is getting old GOG. Don't advertise Linux support if you don't have the installer ready! This is getting frustrating. I'll revisit the review when I can actually play the DLC. Ridiculous.
I'm putting up this limited review without checking out the main (sandbox) game first because I wanted to tell fellow Linux players that GOG hasn't yet released that version yet. People deserve to know. While Egosoft has been very good about supporting Linux with the X series... and X4 in particular, the Linux version of Timelines on GOG is MIA as of 6-22-24. I guess most people wouldn't notice as they play the Windows version, but I primarily play the Linux version and I was very disappointed to see 7.0/Timelines is missing from the download area despite paying for it. Sure I can play the Windows version, and have been... But I was specifically looking for the Linux version. That said... Yes the Timelines DLC works, but no - you will NOT get Timelines specific content in the base X4 Foundations game. The 7.0 *update* is free, NOT Timelines. I don't know why anyone would think that's the case. Second... if you don't really care for the Timelines specific game format, you apparently won't get the Timelines specific unlocks in the main sandbox universe. That's annoying if you don't play the game in the manner prescribed in the Timeline missions - in my case I dislike flying fighters because my reflexes aren't anywhere near what they were when I was 20. Thank you arthritis and nerve damage. I usually let the AI handle fighters while directing fleet scale battles from capital ships, or at the very least medium class combat boats (with appropriate AI enhancement mods). I haven't really tried the 'normal' game yet - the sandbox as I spent time getting frustrated in the Timeline missions first. I have a few pet peeves on the controls and such I haven't had time to check to see if they were fixed yet as the Timelines missions so far have been fighter classes. If I could award 1/2 stars, I'd probably give 3 1/2 stars, one full star off for GOG not releasing the Linux version, or at least telling people it's not ready yet in a way that's obvious.
I'd really give this game 3 1/2 stars if we could give halves. But I'm rounding up instead of down simply because I liked the overall story rather than the storytelling specifics. The game is beautiful from a graphical and artistic point of view. The overall story kept me engaged. However, the game gets repetitive and the story is fairly predictable the further along you get. The crafting system is not really useful, more like an appendage that seems like someone on the dev team said "Oh... we forgot to do something with all these metal monsters other than destroying them." There's really only two weapons that matter. The whole thing feels like a console game with overly simplistic game play and characteristic shallow linearity rather than a deeply engaging RPG with replayability. I never bothered playing it twice because there's no point.
I've owned this game a long time. I even had the original when it came out on DVD back in '09. My review will be solely about the GOG version of the game, not the original nor the versions for sale elsewhere. Thankfully, GOG's stance on DRM means you no longer need to sign in to EA/Bioware's servers to play this game fully. That's a major plus. The game is fully functional and needs no such online activation- something the original game often flubbed. This in itself is a UX improvement worth a couple of dollars, IMO. The game play is the same flawed experience as it ever was. By flawed, I mean the combat system and crafting system was never the best - and this is no exception as it's exactly the same game otherwise. The same annoyances exist in the GOG version as the Steam, DVD, or EA online versions. What saves this game is that it's an immersive story to be told with slight differences depending on the player's race and class. It's more of an issue in the beginning rather than the main story, but it will crop up from time to time later on as well. That said, the story does run on rails just like any other Bioware title new and old. Ultimately, you've got a choice, but the choices are going to be the same each time you play the game. If this bothers you, don't buy it, but keep in mind that nearly every single game from this era has the same kind of linear story. Some are just a little better of covering it up. Any computer made in the past few years most likely has the resources to play this game. If there are issues, it's probably hardware reliability related and not the game that's at fault (insufficient power/bad PSU, bad RAM, and failing storage devices are most common hardware failures people mistake for game bugs but in reality are hardware failures).
I've been playing Cyberpunk off and on since about a year after it released. Things had been largely ironed out and most of the problems, aside from balance at the higher end, had been fixed. Then came version 1.6x which broke the Sandevastan acceleration overlay for me making it a flickering unusable mess. Well, that was annoying but one could just change one's play style and get over it - because they never fixed that. Then came 2.x and what they promised is... not what I consider delivered. Now there's a miniboss around every corner for no logical reason except it's supposed to make the game harder. Annoying. NCPD now will actively attack you even if you're trying to help them out in the various gun fights across the city or following up on the various NCPD scanner hustles if they see you draw a weapon or attack someone. The damning thing about this is you can't tell if this is NCPD going from being utterly useless as in pre 2.0, buggy behavior, or if they've become actively malicious in supporting the gangs. Extra annoying. Then there's the vehicle mechanics. Pre 2.0 they were nothing to write home about but you could at least get by. The motorcycle was by far the easiest way to get anywhere. Now, they supposedly made the vehicles heavier and easier to steer according to the notes... yet I swear they're near uncontrollable at this point, swerving all over the road ways at the smallest twitch of the controller, and that's the vehicles that were already in the game. The new ones with weapons seem to be worse, and their weapons are pretty useless. Get into a gunfight with the NCPD? Fun a couple of times... but after that the novelty wears off, the near uncontrollable vehicles become something you want to actively avoid. Stick to Jackie's Arch or another motorcycle and avoid the mechanics. Verdict? Avoid buying just the base game at this point unless you have access to 1.5 or 1.6 content. It's an exercise in frustration rather than fun.
I have heard this game compared to Fallout, and I suppose that could be, except the apocalypse is a solar system wide ... and it's yet to happen. This comparison would be imperfect at best. The game is closer in both theme and through many overt and obscure references to "Firefly" and "Serenity". That's largely irrelevant to the gameplay itself. The story is there, the problem is, most of it is so obvious what it's trying to be that it's verging on the painful. This game is trying to be "Firefly the Game" without the trademark, yet I don't feel like it's really scoring the goal. The stories are there, but to me as a Firefly fan, it just falls short. There's NPC interaction in your party much like you'd expect in Dragon Age, Baldur's Gate, or Neverwinter's Night, but much of it lacks the wit that keeps that back and forth engaging. The stories are at the exagerated extreme end of anti-capitalism fare, and the obviousness of the moral choices might as well stand up and scream "Pick me! Pick me!" while the other side suggests moral choices that would make the Robber Barons of the late 19th century cringe. It's an interesting play, I don't consider my money wasted - I bought it on sale - but it's not stellar based on the stories alone. Not a home run, more like a solid hit with no men on base. The game engine seems rock solid on my modest gaming system - Ryzen 3600, 32 GB RAM, AMD 5500XT 8GB, Intel NVME SSDs, with a solid 60 FPS at 1440p resolution at ultra detail. The RAM useage never seems to exceed 5 GB VRAM and 12 GB system RAM. It's never crashed on me after several solid days of play. I wish I could say this is Obsidian at its best story telling, but it's really a mediocre story RPG with a solid engine under it. They've had over a year of patches and DLC at this point, after all. My verdict: wait for a sale.
