I decided to finally play through the series before Avowed is released, and with this being a gamepass addition I was excited for the chance. With that said, this games combat turned me off so much I almost put the game down for good. I didn't mind real time with pause in DA:O (in fact it's a top 10 game to me) but in this game it just made combat so unenjoyable, at least early on. Having a party of 6 to control and with such depth into the unique classes and little explanation of the games combat, it quickly gets overwhelming and I just wasn't having enough fun to want to learn the complexities. When it was time to level up I found myself struggling to properly know how to best build my character and companions. During combat there is far too much going on, and I just was not invested in the various classes to care to research how to effectively play the 6 different characters I was expected to control.
Now while I normally play games on normal/hard difficulties, I decided to lower this games difficulty down to Story-mode, as I still wanted to experience the lore and worldbuilding of the game. This was the best decision I think I could have made. I was able to use just a few guides online to help with leveling up all my characters, and just enable their AI presets to have them auto-control during combat. Even if they weren't making full use of all their abilities, I didn't struggle with combat encounters. I could give them armor/weapon upgrades as I found them in the world and really just manage their inventories while I breezed through the game exploring and questing.
The story is where this game really shines, and I found myself pretty invested in not just the main story but also many of the side quests. Going into each new area exploring and gathering up all the side quests was a lot of fun. Unfortunately the game isn't even close to being fully voice-acted, so it will often get a bit wordy. However you can skip a lot of the unnecessary dialogue and still have a good understanding of what is going on.
The companions overall were kinda meh to me, I really only cared for Aloth and Zahua. But they were a decent enough group overall even if they don't hold a candle to the best the genre has to offer.
The White March DLC that was included in this edition is a must, as it is very well written, has much more voice acting, and has some of the coolest maps in the entire game. I have seen many even prefer it to the main questline.
Another thing to note is carry weight is not in the game and you can loot grouped up enemies at the same time with 1 click. Its actually kinda nice because you just get so much loot its insane especially in some of the bigger dungeons and in the DLC. Most of it was junk to sell, but plenty of unique upgrades will be found in the major areas. They give you your own hold early on called Caed Nua which is really cool, and I loved selling all my junk and then investing in rebuilding it. I was able to fully upgrade Caed Nua and still have well over 100k by the time I was ready to start Act 4, however I did explore every map the game had to offer.
Overall the game really shines with its story, quests, and exploration. That is what has made an impression on me and why I am leaving the game with fond memories and excitement for the Deadfire Archipelago. I recommend giving it a try if this is a genre you enjoy, even if you want to play it on story mode like I did.
Now while I normally play games on normal/hard difficulties, I decided to lower this games difficulty down to Story-mode, as I still wanted to experience the lore and worldbuilding of the game. This was the best decision I think I could have made. I was able to use just a few guides online to help with leveling up all my characters, and just enable their AI presets to have them auto-control during combat. Even if they weren't making full use of all their abilities, I didn't struggle with combat encounters. I could give them armor/weapon upgrades as I found them in the world and really just manage their inventories while I breezed through the game exploring and questing.
The story is where this game really shines, and I found myself pretty invested in not just the main story but also many of the side quests. Going into each new area exploring and gathering up all the side quests was a lot of fun. Unfortunately the game isn't even close to being fully voice-acted, so it will often get a bit wordy. However you can skip a lot of the unnecessary dialogue and still have a good understanding of what is going on.
The companions overall were kinda meh to me, I really only cared for Aloth and Zahua. But they were a decent enough group overall even if they don't hold a candle to the best the genre has to offer.
The White March DLC that was included in this edition is a must, as it is very well written, has much more voice acting, and has some of the coolest maps in the entire game. I have seen many even prefer it to the main questline.
Another thing to note is carry weight is not in the game and you can loot grouped up enemies at the same time with 1 click. Its actually kinda nice because you just get so much loot its insane especially in some of the bigger dungeons and in the DLC. Most of it was junk to sell, but plenty of unique upgrades will be found in the major areas. They give you your own hold early on called Caed Nua which is really cool, and I loved selling all my junk and then investing in rebuilding it. I was able to fully upgrade Caed Nua and still have well over 100k by the time I was ready to start Act 4, however I did explore every map the game had to offer.
Overall the game really shines with its story, quests, and exploration. That is what has made an impression on me and why I am leaving the game with fond memories and excitement for the Deadfire Archipelago. I recommend giving it a try if this is a genre you enjoy, even if you want to play it on story mode like I did.