No Rest for the Wicked

Normally if you see "pre-order bonuses" , they happen until the game gets actually released. So my surprise about this "Founder's Pack" decision was big. - Buy the game WAY BEFORE the 1.0 release to get the pack - You get the items... when the game gets to 1.0. Not before. Now people bought it to not miss out on the rewards, only... for the game to be delayed. Then the Founder's Pack window gets pushed as well. Only for another platform release to have its own FOMO window. Because this is bloody FOMO. There's no reason for that, other than FOMO for FOMO's sake. Just meld the EA rewards with the FOMO rewards, and call it a day. Or if you really want that extra dosh, just make a Supporter's Pack - trust me, players will buy it if your game is worth it. Look at Deep Rock Galactic. But... no? This is playing with the goodwill of your players. And I cannot advocate for this. All because, and I quote, " You wouldn't want to miss out on this one! " . Seriously Moon Studios what the hell.

↑ 23 found helpful

While I do recommend to play the game, I am not sure I'd advise buying it in its current state. One thing to note in particular is that the game is unfinished, but I have no idea what can or will change in the future. For this reason I will assume the core of the game will stay roughly the same and am judging it based on that. Anyway, to me this game seems like an attempt to merge the "diablo-like" and the "souls-like" mechanics, at which it kind of fails. The exploration is all Diablo, the boss fights are all Souls--but without the scale of the former and the execution of the latter. Combat tries to reimagine how souls-likes do it, but the devs focus on the least important parts (stamina management and dodging) while fumbling the most important ones (character movement, build variety, available tools). The presentation is phenomenal, the narrative is captivating. For some reason this game reminds me a lot of Vagrant Story, both stylistically and in the way its story is told. As for coop play, couldn't try it, I assume it makes gank fights slightly better. I have played up to the current "end-game" content and got my character to level 25 in the process--frankly, it doesn't feel like there's anything to do in the game that's worth doing. After the rest of the story gets added, grinding resources may become more worthwhile. Until then I give this game a 7 out of 10. P.S.: some areas (where the view distance is high) tank my FPS into the lower 10s, so keep that in mind if you have an older CPU or GFX card.

↑ 2 found helpful

Good combat mechanics, Weapons were nice and fealt different, what i didnt like was the customization of equipment, but worst of all was the attacks of the monsters. A big mob can grab the 2handed axe and unload it in a huge downward swing and plunge it to the ground, and a milisecond after it will have picked it up and hit you again for a second chain.. i mean come on

↑ 3 found helpful

red flags all over

↑ 4 found helpful

I must be in the minority here but this might be one of the worst games I've ever played. They want you to approach combat methodically and to pick your moments. Stamina managemant is very punishing if you overextend yourself. Honestly the combat feels great, weapons are weighty and impactful. What doesn't feel great is that the only thing they know how to do is throw gank squads at you and abuse delayed swings to punish your absolute abysmal stamina recovery/consumption. Adding to that it seems like every enemy has a ranged attack they will immedietly resort to the second you step even slightly out of range. Which makes every combat encounter feel awful as youre constantly punished for stepping back and taking your time to try engage enemies in a smart way. Combine all that with dreadful walk speed every combat encounter just feels like a slog you're barely in control of. Loot drop rates are also abysmal. I was literally stuck using a weapon I didnt enjoy for hours because the game absolutely refused to drop me anything that scaled with my current build/stats. I also couldn't respec because of course they locked that behind endgame content. In the end of after grinding for hours I had to jump through hoops to craft a basic bottom tier weapon simply to be able to try out a different playstyle. Why not simply purchase a new weapon from a vendor you say? Well the vendors all refresh based on real time! So if they're not selling what you need then screw you of course! The game looks gorgeous but the maps are all a confusing maze of constant dead ends and locked doors. They try and do the Soulslike interconnected maps but without any of the satisfaction. Another thing is if you miss a very important early upgrade the devs thought it would be a good idea to put your one and only storage chest at the verrrry top of the town, then through a door/loading screen, then down the longest set of stairs you've ever seen in your life. Then guess where the merchant to sell is? That's right! All the way back where you spawn on the lower levels of the town. Why? Who know's just to waste even more of your time. Does most of this come down to skill issue? Probably. Was that still the most miserable 10 hours ive spent in a game in a long time. Absolutely. The game tries to combine Soulslikes and ARPGs and then ignores everything that makes both those genres work. /rant

↑ 11 found helpful