[Aptorian]

Just finished this game and I thought it deserved a thread. I know there's a few here on the forum who've played it and I cannot endorse this game enough to anyone who likes fantasy.

Just to outline the games story and premise: War is coming. It's a viking themed fantasy world where the gods have died and men and giants live in peace. Then the Dredge come down from the north and war breaks out. The story is split between two storylines in which various characters travel the land in search of answers and safety. Your characters lead caravans and you have the responsibility of keeping people safe, managing the caravan and reaching your goals. It's a fantastic premise that makes you feel like you're High Fist Coltaine leading the Chain of Dogs through Scandinavia.

This game, more than any game I have played, feels like taking part in the story of a fantasy book. I've never seen a games story emulate the strengths of a book so well. The people who made it apparently come from Bioware and you can tell. The events that unfold and the choices you make along the way, like Mass Effect, pull you into the game. You feel personally invested because of the choices you make. And those choices can have some dramatic effects upon the stories events.

The game is apparently the first in a trilogy and the story also plays out that way. I can honestly say that this game has wiped every other series off the table currently in terms of anticipation for what comes next. I haven't been this excited about a sequel since Mass Effect 3.

Seriously go buy this game. It will probably be 5 dollars during the Steam Christmas sale. It's worth 50 dollars and your first born.

Now for the spoilers in case anyone who've played it want to way in:

DO NOT LOOK IN HERE BEFORE YOU HAVE PLAYED THE GAME!

Spoiler

I am curious about what choices people made.

I tore down the bridge at the Varl citadel. I wanted to save them since I doubted the city would survive.

I also allowed the crazy Ekkil to join my party after we stole his supplies and ran from his city. Turned out he was the good guy and that other one fucking turned on me and tried to usurp the Caravan. That made me fucking angry.

I allowed Rooks daughter to carry the Silver Arrow into the fight with Bellower. She died. I was sad despite finding her tiresome. But it was pretty fucking awesome too.

Did you guys let a lot of people into the Caravan? I accepted pretty much everyone I could and despite getting burned a couple times I think it was for the best. I generally tried to keep as open and civil a community as possible.

This post has been edited by Apt: 16 December 2014 - 01:08 PM

[Werthead]

It's good, although flawed. It does feel a bit Malazan, especially the way you have no idea what the hell is going on for about the first quarter of the game. Combat is good (gets a bit repetitive after a while), the story is tight and the shocks are pretty hardcore. The art style is beyond fantastic.

My big complaint is that it doesn't make sense that gaining experience and buying supplies are all tied to the same mechanic. I know they want to make things tense, but having to decide between levelling up your characters or buying food is rather dumb. There's other ways they could have made the game tenser without being just random.

Plus:

Spoiler

It's actually easier to let half the caravan die, as you then don't need anywhere near as much cash to feed everyone and the money you make along the way can keep you both fully levelled up and equipped.

[Aptorian]

Werthead, on 19 December 2014 - 11:42 PM, said:

My big complaint is that it doesn't make sense that gaining experience and buying supplies are all tied to the same mechanic. I know they want to make things tense, but having to decide between levelling up your characters or buying food is rather dumb. There's other ways they could have made the game tenser without being just random.

Plus:

Spoiler

It's actually easier to let half the caravan die, as you then don't need anywhere near as much cash to feed everyone and the money you make along the way can keep you both fully levelled up and equipped.

It was only towards the end of the game that supplies got scarce and people started starving or disbanding, so I didn't really feel that pressured. I actually leveled most characters up to 3 and 4 and few to 5. Keep in mind that I was playing on easy since I'd read the combat difficulty would at times be overly difficult.

I hadn't actually thought too much about the caravan's size. In keeping with the story I was just trying to keep as many people alive as possible and get them to safety. I imagine that if your caravan gets too small then you lose more people in the big fights because you can't match their numbers. I was always even or slightly at an advantage.

[Gnaw]

Apt, on 16 December 2014 - 01:08 PM, said:

Seriously go buy this game. It will probably be 5 dollars during the Steam Christmas sale. It's worth 50 dollars and your first born.

Liar. It's $10. But it's Mac compatible so worth the extra $5.

[Aptorian]

It will surely get a deeper discount over Christmas.