I kinda jumped into this without really knowing much about it, after remembering I got it as a freebie from EGS a while back. Had no idea it was a story-heavy soulslike, basically.
I really enjoy this game's combat. Despite its jank, its a really solid take on soulslike combat. Better than the usual for me, definitely better than something like Mortal Shell. The combat focuses more on using vampiric skills and the like. While there's definitely some jank, and the enemy variety isn't too great, it feels satisfying. The main bosses in particular I really liked. I played on Hard without embracing (euphemism for "biting their neck and sucking up all the sweet sweet blood", biggest source of exp in Hard) anyone, so I was constantly underleveled, being lv25 at the end when enemies were 30-35. This makes a huge difference in this game. I also liked that it actually felt like choices mattered, as most main quests end up putting important NPCs' fates in our hands, and their lives directly correlate to how "healthy" the multiple districts are.
On the story side of things, I thought the main quests were great and I really did enjoy the writing and the crazy alternate history shit the game pulls. It was definitely engaging and the main reason to play the game, carried also by fantastic voice acting (specially from Reid).
Sidequests fared worse though. Sidequests almost always felt inconclusive. If I found out that someone was a murdered, I couldn't do anything about it other than tell them they're a cunt. Well, that or embrace them, but embracing people gives you a worse ending and I was determined to get the best ending. Though honestly, with how much a fucking asshole so many of the side characters are, I was compelled to kill them just because they deserve it, not because I want the exp. But yeah, imagine finding out someone is literally a murdering asshole and all you can do is talk about it with them and then nothing happens to them the rest of the game. This really ruined most side quests, they just default back to the status quo as if you never did them unless you take matters into your own hands. Honestly, the game was better when I finished them all up and just focused on the main story.
The other big gripe with this game, besides the sidequests, is that it just honestly runs like fucking ass. The game does look great, but not to the extent where it should chug and stutter this damn bad.
Still giving it a 4/5 because I just did enjoy it that much despite those two huge flaws.
Oh yeah, lastly, shoutout to the OST. A lot of the time it kinda falls into the background and I don't notice it much, but the West End theme alone is 100/10 so it evens out.
I really enjoy this game's combat. Despite its jank, its a really solid take on soulslike combat. Better than the usual for me, definitely better than something like Mortal Shell. The combat focuses more on using vampiric skills and the like. While there's definitely some jank, and the enemy variety isn't too great, it feels satisfying. The main bosses in particular I really liked. I played on Hard without embracing (euphemism for "biting their neck and sucking up all the sweet sweet blood", biggest source of exp in Hard) anyone, so I was constantly underleveled, being lv25 at the end when enemies were 30-35. This makes a huge difference in this game. I also liked that it actually felt like choices mattered, as most main quests end up putting important NPCs' fates in our hands, and their lives directly correlate to how "healthy" the multiple districts are.
On the story side of things, I thought the main quests were great and I really did enjoy the writing and the crazy alternate history shit the game pulls. It was definitely engaging and the main reason to play the game, carried also by fantastic voice acting (specially from Reid).
Sidequests fared worse though. Sidequests almost always felt inconclusive. If I found out that someone was a murdered, I couldn't do anything about it other than tell them they're a cunt. Well, that or embrace them, but embracing people gives you a worse ending and I was determined to get the best ending. Though honestly, with how much a fucking asshole so many of the side characters are, I was compelled to kill them just because they deserve it, not because I want the exp. But yeah, imagine finding out someone is literally a murdering asshole and all you can do is talk about it with them and then nothing happens to them the rest of the game. This really ruined most side quests, they just default back to the status quo as if you never did them unless you take matters into your own hands. Honestly, the game was better when I finished them all up and just focused on the main story.
The other big gripe with this game, besides the sidequests, is that it just honestly runs like fucking ass. The game does look great, but not to the extent where it should chug and stutter this damn bad.
Still giving it a 4/5 because I just did enjoy it that much despite those two huge flaws.
Oh yeah, lastly, shoutout to the OST. A lot of the time it kinda falls into the background and I don't notice it much, but the West End theme alone is 100/10 so it evens out.