Can't wait for this game to come out so I can stop seeing ads for it everywhere and having it be featured in every press release stream. Game looks cool, definitely going to check it out, but man has it been annoying having it shoved in all of our faces nonstop for over a year.
Everything I've heard about this game so far has 4 major sticking points I cannot escape:
The meta is inexplicably poor.
The deaths are often frustratingly bullshit.
The plot leaves threads loose and to the imagination of the player.
The runs can last hours and there is no way to save mid-run.
Yet despite all of this, the game is phenomenal, truly next-gen, and everyone should play it. Eh... it just doesn't add up for me! Not that it matters until I get a PS5 at a retail price but I hope they patch the complaints away. Most of it seems like it could be fixed over time... I just... don't actually trust this developer to continue development as it's not really a thing they're known for. I'm very curious to see where this all goes.
I just beat the game and to these points, yes some of the artifacts are pretty much non negotiable, especially the one that gives you a shield when you pick up resin, that thing doubles, triples maybe even quadruples your effective hp for any given run. It's ridiculously powerful. That said, there aren't that many artifacts in total and you are very likely to get all or most of them including the really important ones on pretty much every successful run. The real variety from run to run are the weapons and how they make you approach combat, and in that respect all the weapons are pretty well balanced.
In general I would say that people are kind of mislabeling this game, it's a roguelike for sure but it's not trying to be like old roguelikes. It seems to be attempting to evolve in a different direction. In most rogulikes replayability is the big selling point and it's important for every run to be very different. In Returnal there is much less emphasis placed on replayabilitiy, although it is there if you want to keep playing, and much more emphasis on the decision making and quick progression aspects.
As for the story, yes the ending is quite vague, although there is still a lot of supplemental logs that I need to read through that may make things more concrete. I called the twist really early, but wasn't necessarily disappointed by it. Even if it is just left up to your interpretation, I'm enjoying thinking on it.
I fully intend to keep coming back to this game, not for the usual roguelike reasons of wanting to see what crazy new run I can have, but because the game is just insanely fun to play and is very satisfying. In that respect it falls very much in the same camp as Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal for me.
I bet the driveless version will be quite bit cheaper, maybe even $100. The drive definitely doesn't save that much on cost, but locking the customer into only buying from the PS Store is hugely profitable.
Very happy with this episode, was afraid that normal difficulty would be too easy for Alex and he wouldn't need to really learn his abilities to win fights. Him finally dying and Vinny coaching him has made fights much more fun to watch now though.
This might be the first year the crew managed to beat Brad's filibustering techniques. So many flaws denied over and over again but they finally managed to wear him out. So happy with these lists.
@sakr: I'm just inferring here, but I really don't think Vinny intended for the point to get combative. The comments in videos with this kind of criticism from Abby usually prompts a lot of criticism of the cast for not asking her more about what she feels is the problem, see the Bayonetta incident. I feel like Vinny just wanted her to explain her argument to alleviate some of the comments calling her out on a passing complaint. Her argument wasn't fully developed on the issue, obviously because it wasn't a huge point for her and it kind of got awkward as they both continued to have disagreements on the minutia. Not a big deal, I'm sure they are still besties.
Bethesda is really shameless in milking it's acquired series. This would have been so much more interesting as a fresh franchise even if it was the same engine. Sure you don't get the brand recognition, but Bethesda is recognizable enough, and they wouldn't have to put up with the baggage of what Fallout is expected to be. Not to mention the damage this is going to do to what is a pretty sterling franchise.
Imagine if this was marketed as an experiment in the Rust style of game as a new IP. People would be so much more forgiving, and they would probably even still make a profit, since they got that sweet main stage E3 marketing. They would have a completely fresh IP with tons of potential, and still have Fallout as a healthy IP. Instead they get a decent profit in the short term, a severely damaged IP and a ton of lost fans.
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