Upon coming back to this game (I managed to fix the cutscene problem I was having) after playing Here Comes The Pain, I have come to realize how much of a downgrade this is.
It's so slow by comparison, not helped by the fucking stamina bar mechanic which, while realistic I suppose, just slows the gameplay down to a complete fucking crawl and makes combat so unpleasant because you have to manage your stamina on top of the injuries you receive which will result in moments of just standing still and holding the select button in order to recover.
The story is nowhere near as compelling to go through as HCTP, mostly because the VN style choices are now super fucking limited, for the sake of having fully voiced cutscenes.
I'll admit I appreciate the cutscenes but at the same time, HCTP was incredibly special because of its freeness ensuring that no two playthroughs felt the same.
Creating a character for these is just the fucking worst, constant losses because of your stats on top of the neutered combat just makes it not worth it to me.
GM Mode is a neat little novelty though and I'm a bit surprised it got dropped after this game.
All in all, I don't think I'm gonna finish this one. It kind of leaves a sour taste in my mouth because of how sluggish it feels in comparison to its predecessor and all because they added something needless to the experience.
It's so slow by comparison, not helped by the fucking stamina bar mechanic which, while realistic I suppose, just slows the gameplay down to a complete fucking crawl and makes combat so unpleasant because you have to manage your stamina on top of the injuries you receive which will result in moments of just standing still and holding the select button in order to recover.
The story is nowhere near as compelling to go through as HCTP, mostly because the VN style choices are now super fucking limited, for the sake of having fully voiced cutscenes.
I'll admit I appreciate the cutscenes but at the same time, HCTP was incredibly special because of its freeness ensuring that no two playthroughs felt the same.
Creating a character for these is just the fucking worst, constant losses because of your stats on top of the neutered combat just makes it not worth it to me.
GM Mode is a neat little novelty though and I'm a bit surprised it got dropped after this game.
All in all, I don't think I'm gonna finish this one. It kind of leaves a sour taste in my mouth because of how sluggish it feels in comparison to its predecessor and all because they added something needless to the experience.