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Recent reviews by Mass (Adam)

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1 person found this review helpful
22.0 hrs on record
Outer Wilds Cycle:
1) Receive gift
2) Play game
3) Gift to others

It's just that good, everyone needs to experience the wonder you experience when you play this game
Posted 17 December, 2023.
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6 people found this review helpful
91.5 hrs on record (91.5 hrs at review time)
Let me preface this review: I adore this game, and I had a ton of fun with it. There's a lot right with the game, and I'll list them later. I wish I could give a "Mixed" review, but that's not an option so I'll give a "No" for now.

I will say that it probably helped that I tempered my expectations for this game, because it does a lot of good. However, it really does a lot of bad, too. I'll start at the negative at the top, and go to the positive at the end, to be in line with my "No"

Cons:
  • Optimization. This game does not run well, even on the absolute best hardware. You can see struggling with brand new cards, and it feels like FSR is there as a crutch to help it run respectably. It can look really beautiful, but games that look far more impressive run better and there's no real good reason for that
  • Traversal. You're slow. You have limited stamina (O2) even in towns where that shouldn't be a concern, meaning in the areas where you'd have reason to actually stay around for a while, you have to go slow. It's a hassle, honestly
  • Combat. Shooting doesn't feel that good, and while I am not super surprised by this, it could still have felt a bit better. Space combat is also... Well, I suppose if you build a custom hyper mobile ship this might not be so bad, ultimately it felt like I just bought a tank and attached auto turrets to win fights for me. Not very fun, it just got it over with. Funny the first couple fights though
  • AI. The enemy AI is not very smart. The friendly AI is not very smart. Nobody is very smart. It is a shame
  • Immersion. NPCs are kind of lifeless, there's loads all over the place which really break the flow of the game, the dialogue camera leaves a lot to be desired as well. It's hard to really get into it when you talk to an NPC, they stare at you with dead eyes and unmoving or the camera acts weird, and then you teleport to your next destination which gives you a boring load screen because moving there yourself is a pain
  • Basic options. Why is there no FOV slider? Why is there no ability to adjust resolution separately from monitor resolution? It's 2023, get with the times
  • Pacing. It takes a while for the story to get going, and you get hit with a big fat fetch quest extravaganza in the story. It's not fun, and I feel like there were ways to make it far more interesting than they did for the most part

Mixed:
  • Exploration. This is a game that WANTS to be about space exploration, but is ultimately a game with a few good towns and other random bits and a lot of dead rocks. Which, while realistic, is not exactly ticking the enjoyment box for me. Or for a lot of people, probably. And that's fine for some, not for others. I don't mind it that much I suppose, so it's Mixed. I see what they were going for
  • Skill System. I love the idea of the perks, and there's some cool stuff you can do, but it's hindered by both needing a challenge AND needing a point. This really limits your options in what you can take
  • Difficulty. This is just going to be different for everyone, but it feels far easier to become extremely powerful on foot while ship power is lacking. This can lead to a very lopsided difficulty experience, where you try to adjust the difficulty higher and suffer extremely in another aspect of the game. It's disappointing, but not heartbreaking. I'm not here for the difficulty, ultimately, and I bet a lot of people aren't either
  • Map. I'm a Morrowind Boomer, I do not care about the lack of maps. I didn't even know a local map EXISTED until I accidentally opened it. However, this is a feature that should exist, so it's a Mixed
  • Bugs. I expect them. A game of this scope has to have them somewhere. They're usually minor, and I'd say it's probably the least buggy Bethesda launch experience I've had. Impressive in its own right, there. I dare say this isn't even the buggiest 2023 release I've played, which is really saying something

Pros:
  • Speech. It is better than ever. You have SO many options, and so much variety. The speech minigame, while far from perfect, is definitely more interesting than a % check. It's also fun to use in combat
  • Companions. They're actual characters in the world, they respond to other NPCs you talk to, they have opinions on things and tell you so. I enjoy all of them, and I think they're all interesting and well written
  • Factions. Factions are always the butter to the open world bread of a Bethesda game, and this is no different. I liked all of them a LOT, and some were super interesting to go through, offering different challenges and a lot of world building
  • Engine improvements. I know everyone loves to say "their engine is just gamebryo". Every engine is derivative. Would you say Unreal Engine 5 is literally the exact same as the one from Unreal Tournament? Of course not. That would be ridiculous. The same applies here, they've added a bunch of new tech to the engine again like the real time global illumination (looks fantastic by the way). Maybe some issues ARE the engine, but I feel most aren't (probably, I am no engine expert and neither are most people complaining about it), and you'd lose how easily modded the games are (which is one of the big things about their games). There's room to grow, but they keep adding to it in good ways. Keep it up
  • Writing. I think the story they offer is very interesting, different twists and unexpected things. I already mentioned factions (well written too), but there's also bunches of SUPER interesting side quests to find in the game. Pacing could be better at times, but I already wrote about that as a separate thing, so this can stay as a Pro

There's a true masterpiece hidden in here, and I'd rank it decently on my Bethesda tier list, but in comparison to other offerings of this year and some prior ones too it leaves a fair bit to be desired in several key departments I feel they need to really double down on. There's a lot of good to pull away from this game, and I hope they can see my criticisms and the criticism of others to know what parts can stay, and what to be worked on. Maybe not to patch Starfield indefinitely, but for their next big game. That one could truly be incredible if they put the time and the love needed into it, to bring it up to where it needs to be to stand above the pack

TL/DR: Great game, I had a ton of fun, you may well have a ton of fun, but with the lack of a "Mixed" option I have to say "No" because there are some glaring issues and I know a lot of people will be bothered by them. Read up if you want to find out for sure if you'll be into it
Posted 2 October, 2023.
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