This game is unimaginably horrible and it's baffling it's the hill so many are willing to die on. There is no enemy variety, which is for sure a good idea for a modern open world game. There is no spell variety either (26), which again certainly was a great idea for a modern rpg based solely around it's magic set at a magic school, but hey Harry Potter has always had a terrible magic system so ¯\(ツ)/¯. For reference Final Fantasy (1987 NES) has triple as many spells (60), and Skyrim a more modern open world game for comparison has over 100 AND both those games have multiple combat classes besides magic. The game will let you use the "unforgivable curses" but it has no morality system to give any meaningful consequences to your actions because according to the devs it would be "too judgmental on the game maker's part". The world is empty, which is always a problem with open world games (not remotely a fan of the genre tbh) and every door is a loading screen. The game is also a buggy mess and anyone saying otherwise is just lying, the game literally has Denuvo lmao. But none of this is surprising, ignoring the original author for a moment, every trailer made it look lackluster and it's made by the developers infamous for Disney tie-in shovelware.

And now for the elephant in the room... The game doubles down on all the racism and antisemitism of its source material, anyone saying Terfling had nothing to do with this game is bending the truth. The official Q&A for the game on their site says they worked closely with her team so it perfectly fits her world, and that it does a little too perfectly. The main premise is squashing a goblin rebellion riddled with antisemitism. The goblin rebellions are not new to the franchise, they are a thing mentioned in the books and expanded material as something the students learn in history class. And what were all the rebellions about? The lack or basic rights like using wands, and checks notes wizards attempting to enslave them "as house elves" but we’re supposed to believe they’re still the villains throughout the franchise?
Which brings us to the next topic, the house elves... As in the source material Hogwarts is run by slave labor and the franchise doesn't want us to look deeper into what that means, waving it off with "well they like it". But if wizards can attempt to enslave goblins as “house elves” what does that actually mean, what exactly is a “house elf” and why doesn’t the series creator want us to examine it? The head house elf at Hogwarts becomes a companion, so you don't actually get to own a slave but you still get one by proxy. The game also lets you decorate the Room of Requirement with mounted house elf heads, with how controversial this aspect of the books has always been idk who on the dev team didn’t think “maybe we shouldn’t keep the mounted head of a sapient creature decoration item”. Again none of this is surprising given the source material where they decorate houses with elf heads and the kids put little hats on during christmas, oh isn’t it so cute and whimsical? And the fact that one of the lead devs was a gamer gate youtuber (them stepping down was never going to divorce the game from these elements). The game is also a prequel set in the 1800s so it can't actually effectively deconstruct the issues with the source material, the goblins are still the anti-semetic bankers, the house elves are still slaves, and the ("good") wizards are still the good guys that have every right to oppress them. Just like Terflings own politics and the politics of the source material the game's message is about preserving the status quo, nothing meaningful can change and it shouldn’t cause we have a continuity to uphold damnit!
The game also throws in the series "first trans character" who they named "Sirona Ryan", this is a name of a Celtic goddess (as many people will point out in an attempt to ignore criticism, despite the origin not being the issue with the name) but just like "Cho Chang", "Anthony Goldstein" and "Kingsley Shacklebolt" it's certainly a choice out of all the Irish names to deliberately use that one for your first trans women. Sirona was also very obviously thrown in last minute in an attempt to save face and say the game was divorced from Terflings and her raging transphobia, but as you can see the game is quite the opposite.
But you know despite all that 9/10 IGN-ostalgia am I right!

In conclusion this game is truly the “Legacy” of this franchise and I can see why fans say “this is everything I ever wanted in a Harry Potter game” because this is all the franchise really truly is. I certainly hope everyone who bought the deluxe edition for the sole reason to spite a minority the author is actively harming daily love their overpriced shovelware and fuck off. Remember yall were the same people in the 90s who hated and wanted to boycott the books for being “satanic” and "progressive". (spoiler alert they never were)

And for anyone who can’t let go of the franchise because of “childhood” and cause “it’s so magical”, let me recommend “Earthsea” by Ursula K. Le Guin, “Discworld” by Terry Pratchett, and “Percy Jackson” by Rick Riordian. None of those series are perfect and have their fair share of problems, but they were written by authors who actually cared, who actually took criticism and grew from it. You can let go and grow too.

Depois de 96h de Starfield e ter feito um pouco de tudo nesse mundo eu concluo que a Bethesda tem problemas sérios de design pra resolver. Problemas esses que considero básicos, parece que os devs ficaram imersos no desenvolvimento desse jogo por tanto tempo que não viram problemas óbvios, que são notados nas primeiras 10h de jogo.

Starfield é burocrático, mas não de um jeito engajante como num simulador ou em Papers Please, ou de forma que acrescente narrativamente e que se mescla bem ao jogo como em Red Dead Redemption 2, Starfield é burocrático de maneira burra.

Vamos há um exemplo simples: Fazer upgrade na arma.
1- Primeiramente o jogo ensina muito pouco sobre isso, mas com experiência em jogos da Bethesda da pra imaginar que existe uma bancada de armas.
2- Na bancada descubro que antes preciso liberar no mapa de habilidades a habilidade de upgrade de armas.
3- Pronto, mas antes preciso encontrar uma bancada de pesquisa para pesquisar os upgrades de armas
4- Mas também não vou conseguir boas blueprints se não tiver pontos de habilidade em pesquisa (coringando já).
5- Depois de gastar seus pontos de habilidade ainda precisa de materiais muito específicos para conseguir abrir as pesquisas e e assim, poder fazer as melhorias de arma.
6- Esses materiais podem ser minerados (MUITO TRABALHOSO, tem que ie no planeta que possui o material e, às vezes, montar um posto de mineração, que é caro e chato de fazer) ou comprados em algumas lojas, mas que lojas? O jogo não possui mapa das cidades. Depois de pesquisar no Google encontro as lojas que possuem os materiais.
7- Porém recursos são bem pesados, e você provavelmente vai ter que voltar andando lentamente até a bancada de pesquisa e de armas.
8- Finalmente faz o upgrade e depois de matar dois inimigos você encontra uma arma melhor. O sistema de melhorias de armas mais uma vez se prova burro e inútil no jogo, e isso se repete com vários outros sistemas (sistema de entreposto, alimentos, etc).

A liberdade é grande, mas não é recompensadora, você pode fazer o que quiser, mas nada além das missões principais e de facções vai ser interessante. Ser curioso nesse jogo é triste, por que TUDO que você vai encontrar é NADA. Ou no máximo várias localidades repetidas geradas proceduralmente.

A história principal e das facções são legais, da pra curtir. Mas a escrita, os personagens, os diálogos, é tudo muito chato, eu odiei todo mundo nesse jogo (exceto a Andreja).

O combate é satisfatório, entrega bem. Os gráficos são satisfatórios, entregam bem.

O design de missões geralmente se resume a: busca tal coisa pra mim com fulaninho em tal planeta, chegando lá o fulaninho vai pedir um favor pra poder te dar a coisa. Isso se repete tanto que eu já estava prevendo essa estrutura em toda missão.

Tenho milhares de coisas ruins pra apontar ainda: sistema de peso, menus horríveis, bugs (ainda tem muitos), o fato do jogo estar inacabado, etc, mas deixa pra lá. No geral a experiência não é tão ruim, só tinha potencial pra ser melhor.

I didn't feel like editing all my notes so this one's coming in hot

the menus, ui/ux, and maps are nothing short of awful and the emphasis on fast travel, witcher vision, and waypoint markers make starfield one of the least convincing game worlds in recent memory. an endless sequence of vacuum sealed content boxes strung together by constant menus, loading screens, and teleporting, and bolstered on all sides by hundreds of procgen wastelands full of crafting junk

it's frustrating that there's something here I think I could like, but it's completely obstructed by design decisions that only make sense if your first and last priority is scale. aside from some dungeons and sidequests it feels like your only options are to be led by the nose like a dog or left to wander nothing areas for the rest of your life. a critical bug had me chasing my tail for over an hour on one of the essential planets and I was bored out of my brain so I can't imagine how sterile the non-essential ones must be

can't weigh in much on the RPG side of things cos I barely saw it in 10+ hours. it's like a cryptid where people keep swearing it exists but I'm still not convinced. can say that the dialogue options I've seen aren't too far off from the YES / YES (SARCASTIC) / NO (YES) we know and love from FO4 tho. writing doesn't go full head trauma this time around as quickly but everyone's a Quip Bastard or a block of wood so it's kinda six of one half a dozen of the other. the most memorable moment was when heller went chris dorner on the new atlantis police department unprovoked, but somehow I don't think that was what bethesda intended

perks/skills are as lifeless as expected. 10% more damage with shotguns or 10% damage with pistols or 10% damage with energy weapons or 10% damage with rifles or carry 10 more pounds or have 10% more health or..... zzzz

less I say about space and ship combat the better. everyone knows it wouldn't be better handled through a menu, but what this review presupposes is... maybe it would?

all in all it's a mess. bethesda's signature open world fractured and dashed across the stars; a marriage of some of the worst aspects of both pre and post morrowind eras with a slew of new unforced errors added to the mix. modders will fix what's fixable, I'll keep drinking that garbage, and the world will keep on turning

can't wait for skyrim 2

an even better version of an already 5/5 game. an adventure game, a crpg (in the vein of planescape: torment), a detective sim, a sprawling choose-your-own-dementia jamboree, a dreary mucking-around in self-destruction, inner dreams, despair, love, hope (?!), and loads of politics. you're the sorry cop, the hobocop, the broke-dick disco king of dire debauchery. an absolute scumbag who, just maybe, wants the world to be better. you have the coolest partner, kim kitsuragi: a moral anchor of sorts—sympathetic, albeit amply capable of becoming... displeased with you. it all depends. there are many ways to blaze your trail through revachol. in the milieu of computer games, disco elysium is a rare flower reeking of human life, history, and the yearning of loneliness in a capitalist shit-world. breathe in the stink and let the heartless wind run its fingers through your hair.

„Humans, I have loved you all. Be vigilant!“
- Julius Fučík, famous czeck writer, in 1943 in prison shortly before being executed by the nazi party

Never have I played a game so in love and so scared of humanity such as this one, so deeply interested in its future while trying to not commit suicide by representing it directly. The post-capitalist ennui that covers it inmerses you in a world full of desperation, sadness, regret and also love, hope and humor.
I don't think comparing it to Planescape is a good look for any of the games. They are interested in telling completely different stories that should be enjoyed on their own. Yet, if you like verbose games with beautifule prose, you'll see some things in common with how both of them are incredibly glad to be able to tell you the stories they were shipped with.
Discovering the history behind the world was probably the most gratifying experience I ever had on an rpg, with characters and places coming alive constantly during my playthroughs, and I STRONGLY recommend everyone to play it if you can, because, honestly, this feels like the punctuation mark for a paragraph of a decade of videogames.

I'll be honest in admitting that the mental damage I endured over the years from purposefuly subjecting myself to the clutches of the internet had made me apprehensive and cynical of Disco Elysium's preceeding reputation, but having gone through its rollercoaster of drugs, alcohol and communism, I am truly glad to be able to add this one to the list of all time great CRPGs that continue to be undisputed as the smartest videogame experiences you can have.

Having the confidence that even Planescape: Torment lacked, Disco Elysium ditches the combat completely and takes the biggest strength of the genre to immerse the player in his own perceived virtuousity and egotistic idealization, dice rolling from a caricature of extreme ideology to the next, only to have such deified facade shattered and mocked as the cracks start to reveal what is behind the constructed mask. Dystopic and endlessly ravaged, Revachol opens up its angry chasm to reveal an unflincing sad mirror in its politically charged inhabitants that reflects back to us a vast ocean filled with boats blindly passing by each other in the mist blasting Sad FM.

Immensely thought provocking, always hilarious, and with some of the best interconnected writing I have seen in the genre, Disco Elysium has definitely cemented itself as a modern age classic that will make even the biggest game bro go "yes, please, keep politics in my game!". An unabashedly leftist game that manages to avoid falling into the usual misgivings of being obnoxious, obvious and self centered as its contemporaries often do, and that beautifully exposes our innate ability to project our deepest grudges and hangups into unreachable dreams and expectations that further disconnect us from the acceptance and understanding we so demand from others. In the end, everything is escapism. But we can never truly escape, can we? Whatever I end up saying about Disco Elysium says more about my view of the world than the game itself, but I think that's what makes it such a great piece of art.

You did look fucking cool smoking that cigarette, Kim. And you knew it.