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The KF guys ranked Witcher 3. Said it was great and apparently showed up Bethesda at their own game. The main criticism they had was that it was too deep. A neurotic box checker (me) will have a hard time because the overabundance of tangents will severely impede forward progress.

I don't think it has Bethesda levels of replayability since you're playing a character and not your own character. but I don't see that as a negative. In fact, I don't really see the game as the same type of beast as a Skyrim at all and would far more readily compare it to Bioware's take on the genre, specifically Mass Effect.

If you take the game as just a story-driven action rpg then it's far better written than anything Bethesda has done but Beth are the only ones attempting the same type of grand sandbox. Again, it's not a criticism of CDPR - Witcher 3 is a special game which will be held up as one of the best of its time.

I just wish its npcs had better AI. They're either nailed to the ground or start the same movement cycle every time you spawn into an area.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

That's been my experience. Tangent central. The main 'problem' is that the side-quests are often really nicely crafted, and there are 100s of them. It's just so hard to walk on by and not help that old lady exorcise her daughter (and then stop her trying to ride off with the inheritance. There's always some cheeky endgame). Also I kept collecting kit I couldn't use yet :/

Still haven't finished the main storyline, even though it's markedly grander still, with some great voice acting and facial capture. Many eloquent beards. But the main storyline is the only thing that levels you up enough to wear those fancy side-quest boots...

Can't really claim any of the above are really the game's fault though. Can't fault em for creating a really rich world, and a complex storyline, and wanting you not to miss out on any of it. Only thing that's weak about it really is the combat, which is primarily about hopping. Even with the magic thrown in that gets a bit samey over time...

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When you get the side-step down, combat becomes a lot better.

And remember, Witcherettes: Always be Quen-nin!

Wait that's the hop no? The stamina-free dodge? Seems like it's all I did.

The new-ish total mod with a combat revamp looks intriguing tho

The B button.

I've not looked at any new mods but remember the combat rebalancer for Witcher 2 making the game far too easy.

Well, I realize few of us here are playing the new Cyan game, Obduction, but I am (and I think Yoda is). Allow me one tiny screenshot from my first session in-game yesterday:



There have been a few fun nods to the diehard Myst fans (some of the most loyal gaming fans out there, I suspect), and I am thoroughly relieved at how thrilled I am with this game so far. After radio silence from Cyan for more than a decade, this is worth the wait.

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Yeah felt a bit like a win button to me. There wasn't much you couldn't just consta-dodge.

The 'Enhanced Edition' mod seems to push combat and load outs into a touch more of a Souls zone. Animations for potions, tanky and light-fast builds etc. Seems like it's a much quicker time-to-kill generally for both you and enemies though, but with more punishing take on dodging. The combat stuff is around 13m41s.



Seems like they've done some intriguing stuff to skills trees etc too. Might give it a whirl. But would want to start from scratch again

On a scale of one to Stardew Valley, how are you finding it?

Ha ha ha! Well, I have WAY too many hours in Stardew Valley (with no end in sight -- something about repetitive farming games that I find addictive).

Obduction will have a definite ending (and I will be VERY sad when that happens, so I'm in NO HURRY to rush through this). I've clocked about 7 hours in game since it dropped yesterday, and I think I'm still in the first, opening area of the game. Lots of puzzling things out (not PUZZLES, no inventory, etc.), lots of mindbender story-based thought processes.

Anyway, I've not been disappointed so far -- and we Cyan fans have had at least three years to build our hopes up about this game, so I'm relieved to find it's measuring up to my expectations easily.

Nothing quite matches stepping into a new Cyan world with no clue what to expect!

I've witnessed your time with Stardew Valley on Steam and hoped that my recommendation hadn't caused our beloved Aus to turn into a gaming hermit!

I watched the Giant Bomb quick look for Obduction and while it's something that I know wouldn't jive with me, I'm sure glad it exists.

Yeah, I'm tickled to see Cyan and the Miller brothers back in the saddle. I've had plenty of a-ha moments already, and I love those.

Stardew Valley is currently my default game. If I want to just crash a bit, and don't even want to read (want something a little more mindless than reading), it'll be Stardew Valley at present. I'm going to restore that blasted community center if it kills me. LOL

Please forgive my crudity, but this Enderal is a pain in my balls.

A. Noid.

One of those deals where you scrounge like Tom Hanks in Castaway, and are expected to be The One True King or something when its all done. I run from wolves, thats how lethal it is compared to Skyrim Total game overhaul, BUT THERES NO GUIDE BOOK! Well theres one in german.

It is beautiful, and I know that it needs to gain momentum, but I feel like Im forcing myself forward right now.

I'm still playing PS2.

I tried the team's previous total conversion mod, Nehrim for Oblivion, and didn't get a lot out of it other than appreciation that a team of amateurs had made something so professional.

Sounds like there's an easy solution then: just learn German! Wenn du Deutsch sprechen kannst, kannst du die Bedienungsanleitung lesen.

Enderal seems interesting to me, but I own Skyrim on 360 not PC, and if I picked it up during a sale to mod, I'd just want to sink in another 300 hours in the main game first. So I'm going to pass on this one. I do miss beating people to death with my shield though.

Dropping back in to mention that I'm about to start Mankind Divided. Will report back when I've got something worth saying.

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I haven't really done more than the first cut-scene, but this looks like a big step forward from HR. I don't remember ever being able to parkour a shortcut like this.

There's definitely a feel of a slightly clunky Dishono(u)red about Mankind Divided.

I'm 12 hours in and am motoring along quite nicely. My last mission was incredibly tough and in the end I resolved it by spamming the invisibility cloak and energy rechargers.

I'm not above that.

Finally got through the tutorial/train/wakeup muddling. Stopped there hoping that it lets me loose a bit more now.