I don't usually write reviews, it's not my thing. But I feel like I just have to say something here, make an effort to convince people to experience this beautiful game. Last night I finally got all the achievements, so I suppose now's the time.

So, the game is very story heavy, that's granted. There's a lot of cutscenes, and I'm not going to say the pace of the game is slow exactly, but more that it has its own pace; something you'll no doubt get used to. There are 4 Acts, with the game really opening up after you finish the first Act with fast-travel becoming available as well as, 'Lotuscape' which I'll get into a lil'more detail on later. The story's fairly interesting, and the characters are all very likeable; though I wouldn't say they're the strongest points of the game (Yun'wuyue is my favourite! Beautiful and shrouded in mystery).

Combat's really fluid, and excels far ahead of TW3's combat (which, let's be honest, was pretty braindead lol). If you play on the hardest difficult, Challenge difficulty, the game's actually quite difficult; and featured two of the hardest bosses I've fought in any game. Like, harder than any Dark Souls boss. Easily took over 100 attempts on one of em'. Combat never got boring, and the skill, 'constellation' (basically a skill tree) is big enough for you to keep trying new builds or skill combos well into the game.

The main beauty of the game however, is the music and just how visually beautiful it is. The game never fails to create a befitting atmosphere, and you get completely drawn in. The OST is probably my favourite, and I'd compare this game to the second Assassin's Creed game, and the first Witcher game in that sense. I mentioned the game having a lot of cutscenes: I took most of my screenshots during the cutscenes, so they rarely get boring.

The kind of, 'home base' in this game is a place called, 'Lotuscape'. It's like a... beautiful island? I don't know how to describe it. Super relaxing place with nice music; lots of greenery, waterfalls, ponds and even a hot tub lol All the crafting in the game takes place here, and material gathering is mostly done by things called, 'Pact Creatures'. You gain pact creatures by killing their leader (side quests), and you can send them on adventures to gather materials, into a mine or even catch fish for you. You're also able to grow and harvest crops, as well as go fishing yourself. There's a huge house too with an open area you're able to fully decorate and furnish with hundreds of craftable items. Most recipes you'll learn by researching. When you research something, it consists of playing a small mini-game like in Cooking Mama, but a lot simpler. There's over 70 things to research, so you won't be running out anytime soon.

Finally, for completionists, this game isn't *that* easy to get all achievements. For one, you have to play on Challenge Difficulty and there isn't that much information out there available in English. It's not undoable though, so don't let this put you off (I don't know the language at all, and I've been able to do it). I've even written my own achievement guide, which you're free to check out. It was an overall extremely satisfying experience, so I still do highly recommend it.

If you're still not convinced, I've made a YouTube video showcasing all my screenshots with my favourite tracks from the game playing over it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbktzwEjtWI&t=30s&ab_channel=Ky%C5%ABGreywolf%E2%80%A0

TL:DR Better than TW3 ;) (well not reallyreallyy, but it's hella good!)