I was on the fence about playing this game at all once it was announced/released. It seemed good, but not something that would be entirely up my alley. I was worried mainly about the gameplay and the game focusing a little too hard on being cinematic and looking pretty but I am incredibly glad to be super wrong. That's not to say the game isn't gorgeous, it's honestly one of if not the most beautiful world I've experienced in a game. The world itself is absolutely a joy to explore and look at, and it all has an extremely unique and cinematic feel. It's small things like the way the camera slowly moves up as you approach the top of a shrine that breathe a ton of life into the world and the presentation that put this a step above nearly anything else of a similar quality. Simple stuff like climbing shrines not only feel fun to do, but are just such a treat to look at because the game is so absurdly gorgeous. I usually save the graphics and presentation part for later but this game just stands out so much in that regard it's immediately what pops into my head.
All that about the presentation and graphics being said, it also doesn't falter in the gameplay department whatsoever. I'm incredibly impressed with how simple the combat is and how I never got even a little sick of it. The big stand outs are the intense 1 on 1 duels, they always were a treat and felt very exciting and difficult. I do wish there was a slight more variety in attack patterns, but there also aren't an absurd amount of these so it doesn't weigh on it too hard. I was delighted to fight any group of enemies that were in my path and I got a rush of excitement the second I found a new mongol base to conquer. Not even diving into future abilities and items you unlock the very core of the gameplay is immensely satisfying. Each fight, even with lower level enemies feels intense and personal. Waiting for an opening to strike, timing a block perfectly to parry them and break their guard, or just overwhelming them with sheer force and attack. For the combat being essentially 3 buttons (plus stance changes to accommodate enemy types) and no combos to be seen it's insane how hard they nailed it that every encounter feels fun and exciting. Even beyond that the items and eventual techniques you learn throughout quests or just growing the skill trees keep the gameplay extremely engaging. None of them are required by any means, I found the sword combat so insanely satisfying I rarely pulled from my throw-able items unless I started feeling super overwhelmed but they all work extremely well and feel very useful. The mythic arts and a slight spoiler stance you unlock mid way through the game in particular stand out as extremely fun and things I did end up using a lot once I unlocked them. The only other big thing to mention in combat is the stealth, while it's almost entirely optional I found it to be pretty well done! I'm not a big stealth guy so I often decided not to use it and fought enemies head on but the stealth functions really well and there's a few tools and abilities to enhance it later on that made it a much more appealing option I drew from a bit more.
The story here was wonderful too, it starts out a bit slow but once I reached the climax of act 1 I was all in. The weakest part is the villain for sure, I don't want to dive too deep into spoilers but they don't really develop him enough for it to feel particularly personal. That's not to say I wasn't motivated to continue the story, there's other aspects to keep me engaged and wanting to save the world I was in but I wish the main villain had a bit more bite on him, and we personally saw some more of the evil shit he was doing so the hatred felt more personal. Aside from that I have no real complaints, it does everything extremely well. The sad moments hit really hard, the badass moments feel absurdly cool, and most of the characters were very likable. It isn't anything extremely unique but it's done very well.
That's kind of how I'd describe the entire game really, it doesn't reinvent the wheel but god damn does it nearly perfect it. Nothing stands out as particularly unique or special in the genre it's just fine tuned almost every aspect to an extremely great degree. I'm glad I decided to go back to this one, it was an absolutely phenomenal time.
but also hey sucker punch this was sick, would even love a sequel but like what if u made a new infamous lol that would be sooooo crazy like crazy enough to work? even? idk just an idea lol.
All that about the presentation and graphics being said, it also doesn't falter in the gameplay department whatsoever. I'm incredibly impressed with how simple the combat is and how I never got even a little sick of it. The big stand outs are the intense 1 on 1 duels, they always were a treat and felt very exciting and difficult. I do wish there was a slight more variety in attack patterns, but there also aren't an absurd amount of these so it doesn't weigh on it too hard. I was delighted to fight any group of enemies that were in my path and I got a rush of excitement the second I found a new mongol base to conquer. Not even diving into future abilities and items you unlock the very core of the gameplay is immensely satisfying. Each fight, even with lower level enemies feels intense and personal. Waiting for an opening to strike, timing a block perfectly to parry them and break their guard, or just overwhelming them with sheer force and attack. For the combat being essentially 3 buttons (plus stance changes to accommodate enemy types) and no combos to be seen it's insane how hard they nailed it that every encounter feels fun and exciting. Even beyond that the items and eventual techniques you learn throughout quests or just growing the skill trees keep the gameplay extremely engaging. None of them are required by any means, I found the sword combat so insanely satisfying I rarely pulled from my throw-able items unless I started feeling super overwhelmed but they all work extremely well and feel very useful. The mythic arts and a slight spoiler stance you unlock mid way through the game in particular stand out as extremely fun and things I did end up using a lot once I unlocked them. The only other big thing to mention in combat is the stealth, while it's almost entirely optional I found it to be pretty well done! I'm not a big stealth guy so I often decided not to use it and fought enemies head on but the stealth functions really well and there's a few tools and abilities to enhance it later on that made it a much more appealing option I drew from a bit more.
The story here was wonderful too, it starts out a bit slow but once I reached the climax of act 1 I was all in. The weakest part is the villain for sure, I don't want to dive too deep into spoilers but they don't really develop him enough for it to feel particularly personal. That's not to say I wasn't motivated to continue the story, there's other aspects to keep me engaged and wanting to save the world I was in but I wish the main villain had a bit more bite on him, and we personally saw some more of the evil shit he was doing so the hatred felt more personal. Aside from that I have no real complaints, it does everything extremely well. The sad moments hit really hard, the badass moments feel absurdly cool, and most of the characters were very likable. It isn't anything extremely unique but it's done very well.
That's kind of how I'd describe the entire game really, it doesn't reinvent the wheel but god damn does it nearly perfect it. Nothing stands out as particularly unique or special in the genre it's just fine tuned almost every aspect to an extremely great degree. I'm glad I decided to go back to this one, it was an absolutely phenomenal time.
but also hey sucker punch this was sick, would even love a sequel but like what if u made a new infamous lol that would be sooooo crazy like crazy enough to work? even? idk just an idea lol.