I'm only a few hours in and having fun so far.
I really like the world building and the primary premise, though the narrative itself seems like it's going to be pretty straight-forward. I'm a little disappointed that this isn't the video game version of The Quantum Thief, but I guess that's asking a lot. The environments feel like a more believable version of what Deus Ex: Human Revolution was striving for; even the same-y corridor spaces have a lived-in look to them.
Gameplay-wise, the key to combat is deliberate combo execution. It reminds me a little of the combat in the recent Batman games, but it feels faster paced (the timing constraints seem to be tighter) and less balletic. You get a warning when enemies are about to attack, but there is no counter system; your only option is to dodge or interrupt their attack with an attack of your own. If you dodge an attack mid-combo, you can still resume the combo afterwards, as long as you time it correctly and continue attacking the same enemy. There are only 3 combos (3, 5, 6 moves) [Edit: derp. I just unlocked an 8-move combo. I guess there could be more], but you can customize each move past the opening move in the combo so that it can serve one of 4 functions:
- deal more damage
- regenerate health
- reduce the cooldown on your "S-Pressen" (super) moves
- duplicate and greatly magnify the effect of the previous move in the combo
In addition, you have the aforementioned "S-Pressen" super moves and some ranged powers that have certain kinds of utility in and out of combat. Part of the fun of combat so far has been to figure out the "combat puzzle" of how to redefine the combos in response to the enemies I'm facing.
Graphically, the game looks pretty good, particularly the lighting. There are a few spots where they shove some low-res console textures in your face (particularly in the intro sequence), but for the most part, stuff looks great. I like the AR visual cues (it's a nice change of pace from painting everything climbable bright white or yellow) and the typography/visual design is quite nice.
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