This review contains spoilers
This was a mess I enjoyed playing and really like certain elements of but it was still a mess! So strange in that I feel like there's a version of this DLC in another world that works as a narrative conclusion; it feels like this could have been a great way to wrap up the game's themes of moving on from loss and gambling on the chance to build a better future, and it is if you squint, but there are so many strange, strange design choices (or just flaws) here that are made to serve that. If there had been any kind of hint at the importance that the Divide supposedly held to the Courier in the base game, if Ulysses was more reactive to the player's choices throughout the game, if ED-E's death actually felt like it meant something- this could have put a lovely bow on New Vegas thematically. I had fun with it, the ending conversation with Ulysses made sense for my headcanon about my Courier's personality and history, but under different circumstances I think I would have hated this.
2 Comments
@Snigglegros exactly like everyone knows him as the guy who will not shut up but I wish we got to talk more to him! The final conversation with him just feels like it kinda falls flat of what it could have been after three previous DLCs of buildup; Lonesome Road feels unfinished in a way that most of the game doesn't which is a shame because I like a lot of what's here- it just needed to actually be fleshed out. it's pretty common knowledge that Mr. Bear and Bull was gonna be a companion in the base game who got cut, and just like all the companions in the game his character deals explicitly with something he had in the past that was taken from him. Difference is that all the companion questlines where you help them overcome their pasts have you mostly doing that through non-dialogue objectives and travel with dialogue options being the climax, but any character development you end up helping them earn feels real because you actually went through hardship together to get there. Ulysses has a worldview and understanding of himself shaped by loss but it's affected his philosophy in a way more dramatic way than say, Arcade's history with the Enclave affects him, and yet Arcade's questline involves having multiple conversations with him, taking him on a road trip, and THEN having one last talk with him. With Ulysses one conversation is enough to make him realize that his plan to blow up the Mojave is lame and that his refusal to make a new home instead of destroying yours is cringe. dude lures you all the way out to the heart of a wasteland so you can watch the place you call home burn and then if you pass a speech check he's just like "hmmmmm maybe I've been a bit too dramatic" it makes me feel sad!! people would like Ulysses if we actually got to talk to him outside of a few Eyebot Skype calls and that final setpiece, imo
Snigglegros
7 months ago