148 people found this review helpful
1 person found this review funny
6
Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 111.5 hrs on record (0.1 hrs at review time)
Posted: 27 Sep, 2022 @ 6:21pm

Can you play this game first in the series? Kinda depends what angle you're coming from, but let's see...

Can you play it first and not be lost in the story? Absolutely, 100%. It has its own standalone story that focuses mainly on new characters and local lore, and will tell you everything you need to know.

Can you play it first without spoiling the previous games? Again, yes 100%. It spoils very little about the previous games (the Sky trilogy). It basically says "stuff happened" and that's the about the extent of it.

Can you play it first and still have the optimal experience? Not exactly. You will more understand the weight of some elements if you know the previous games, their revealed lore, the factions in them, etc. A few characters from the previous games show up again, and one of arguably the best character arcs in the series reaches its conclusion here—having started 2 games prior. That arc still has enough buildup in this game to have some emotional punch, but it can't match what you'd experience if you played the Sky arc first.

But ultimately very much yes, Zero is a valid and acceptable entry point. All the previous games are available on Steam and go on sale for cheap, so up to you. If this game interests you more than others, you can't go wrong with it as a first foray.
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2 Comments
jmporkbob 27 Oct, 2022 @ 8:13pm 
@dwarfplanets At some point, you just have to let people do what they want to do. I, too, recommend that you start from Sky, but Zero is a perfectly acceptable entry point. If you always try to force people to do it one way, you're just going to turn them away from the series. Whichever of the reasonable entry points is most compelling to them is where they should start.
truefiction 27 Oct, 2022 @ 7:52am 
To anyone reading please don't start with Zero! There's no reason to start here because (a), Sky FC is meant to be the intended starting point for trails and (b) Sky FC is much cheaper than Zero. Yes, Crossbell is largely self contained, but you'll be spoiled badly for crucial moments in Sky.