Hi guys, well, to be blunt... Is this game any good? And before some arsehole starts saying 'Go read a review', I'm not after a review. Just answer me a few questions if you will. My main thing would be, are your 'Pawn's' unbearable like I've hear? Talking all the time and what-not? And is the combat any good? Because a few people have been saying It's awfully clunky.

Thanks to anyone who arn't going to be utter pricks.

Purpz

Pawns talk constantly, but you can tell them to shut up and they won't yap so much.  I only played as a mage/sorcerer, so the clunkiness of the combat is hard for me to judge.  You can rain down meteors though.  That's pretty cool.

I got the game a week ago and have had trouble putting it down. It's quite janky at times and the lack of a reliable fast travel can be a bother. But as someone who always used fast travel in Skyrim, I haven't felt too bad about the traveling. The pawns can be quite chatty but I haven't been annoyed by them yet and the combat is surprisingly fun; just make sure you try out a few vocations first to see what you like. It's definitely not for everyone, but I feel like I got my money's worth. The constant reminder to buy the DLC is a bit annoying every time you get past the title screen though.

Thanks lads, definitely going to pick it up. I was just really worried about the whole 'Talking a fuck load' deal, which seemed to be a big thing. But as long as I can put duck-tape over their mouth, metaphorically, of course; That doesn't seem that bad. The 'No fast travel' isn't really that much of a big deal, as I love 'RPing' in games, like in Skyrim, i never fast-travel'd. I though it was very immersion breaking.

Also, I'll probably be playing an archer, so hand-to-hand won't be a huge issue; Hopefully.

Thanks again, I'm hoping to sink a lot of hours into this game.

GG

Purpz

Irrelevant for most people but just so anyone knows. This game hates CRTs. You can't read jack-shit.

@Purpz said:

Hi guys, well, to be blunt... Is this game any good? And before some arsehole starts saying 'Go read a review', I'm not after a review. Just answer me a few questions if you will. My main thing would be, are your 'Pawn's' unbearable like I've hear? Talking all the time and what-not? And is the combat any good? Because a few people have been saying It's awfully clunky.

Thanks to anyone who arn't going to be utter pricks.

Purpz

Any good? Depends, do you like action RPG's? You do? Then yes.

Are pawns "unbearable"? If by unbearable you mean "I am not going to take the time to give them good gear, teach them good tactics, give them a good build, or put them in the wisdom chair until they talk at a rate I like?" Then yes they are unbearable. However if you should bother to put actual effort in then no, they are anything but.

Combat? Easily superior to any other action RPG I have ever played save maybe the souls games. The dragon fight near the end of the game is easily the best boss fight I have seen in the last 5 years.

@Purpz said:

Hi guys, well, to be blunt... Is this game any good? And before some arsehole starts saying 'Go read a review', I'm not after a review. Just answer me a few questions if you will. My main thing would be, are your 'Pawn's' unbearable like I've hear? Talking all the time and what-not? And is the combat any good? Because a few people have been saying It's awfully clunky.

Thanks to anyone who arn't going to be utter pricks.

Purpz

I love this game and can't stop playing it. It's a little quirky, e.g. the "love" mechanic in this game is really bizarre and random. Totally unexplained how it works too.

Personally the combat really does it for me. It think it's simple to learn but has some decent depth. Not a lot of menu stuff you have to worry about it in fights. The Boss/large creature fights are super fun, the Monster Hunter influence is a big plus for this game.

But what I love best is little things that often aren't in games like this like being able to do light parkour and double jumps. yeah might have been nice to have fast travel, but being able to interact with the landscape more than a typical RPG is really welcome.

As for Pawns, they are easy to ignore. And if you don't like what your pawn has to say, you can basically command him'her to not talk much. That doesn't help you wiht your rented pawns of course, but you can turn their subtitles as well I believe.

EDIT: I did forget to mention the worst aspect of the game. Which is the missables and no warning quest cancellations. Wikia and such are starting to decent info on this so you can avoid this kind of thing, but it does blow when you eff up a chance to play a quest tree.

Yes, it is good. I play the game a lot.

I gave up after having to walk 20 minutes to a quest spot and not being able to find the item needed to complete the quest. I wanted to like the game, but it's a chore to play.

You may in up finding the game tedious at times because of the traveling. But overall the game was decent.

First, the bad:

Difficulty is fucked, with the first couple of hours being really tough while you get used to what areas you can and cannot be in, as well as just grinding out some levels and equipment. After that, the game is a breeze, with your leveling far out-pacing the enemies you fight. Then, the last hour is a nightmare (at least for me) when you've become cocky and stopped carrying around health items. That's when the game throws 10 super-powered creatures at you at once. Pawns talk A LOT and usually say the same five lines when you're in a specific area. You'll most likely just tune them out after awhile though, I know I did. Story is non-existent, and the characters for the most part are bland.

HOWEVER: I love this game. It's wonderfully awkward in it's execution but totally charming for it. The dialogue is straight-faced period English and you'll grow a soft spot for some of the characters in spite of yourself. One-dimensional as he is, the Dragon becomes a pretty compelling character in the final bits of the game with some interesting philosophical quandaries to throw your way. The combat is tons of fun even though you'll never really need to use most of your abilities. The character animation is what really sells it I think, everything just looks so snappy and realistic. For as much as the game wants to hammer home how dull the pawns are, I got attached to main one. The ending even has a nice little arc for your little buddy which I won't spoil of course.

I've gone on way too long I think. It's a very charming game, and you shouldn't let the reviews lead you to believe the game is mediocre. It's equal parts bad and good, it's a surprisingly deep game in both its mechanics and its themes, and it'll suck you in if you let it.

Hey guys I kinda want to rent it, but is this game bullshit? Will it stress me out or what? I just need a pitch first before I go dive in.

@Phatmac said:

Hey guys I kinda want to rent it, but is this game bullshit? Will it stress me out or what? I just need a pitch first before I go dive in.

what does that even mean?

I think most of the preceding answers to the OP, have what you seek.

The biggest problem with pawns speaking is that their subtitles take up half the already limited screen space. Luckily, the game gives you plenty of options for turning this, and other HUD elements, off. I just turn everything off, because I can tell anyway when my health is low as the screen turns a red hue and the sound becomes distant.

I enjoy the game.

I don't mind my pawn talking, but I think it depends on the type of person you are. I just let them talk. As for the combat it is A LOT less clunky them most RPGs. The only way you could call it clunky is is you compare it to a fighting game. As the player you have to learn the system for choosing a blow/spell/etc and executing that skill...but if you pay just a tiny bit of attention it is rewarding.

It took some time for me to get into this game. I was initially planning on trading it in after I had finished it, but now that I'm in NG+ I really don't want to.

The combat mechanics are definitely the game's strong side. The story gets pretty good later on also.

My only gripe is that fast-travel is severely limited in the first play through.

I have completed the game and am still playing it. I can't remember the last time I did this.

For me, this is my current game of the year and only time will tell, but I think in years to come I will look back on Dragons Dogmas as the best RPG of this generation!

Love this game!