EARLY GAME SPOILERS

a great step in the right direction for RPGs. I remember following the trailers for this game as they kept coming out, and I was so excited to have a realistic medieval RPG. the game came out, and I played the hell out of it for about 3 weeks. goddamn, this game is hard. in all honesty, I never completely figured out the combat system. the RPG elements in the game are great. you have to actually grind to learn the combat mechanics of the game, and this game definitely does not hold your hand in the slightest. the opening part of the game when your parents are killed is genuinely one of the most emotional scenes in gaming that i've seen. I think this gives a really genuine motivation to Henry within the game and also for the player behind the screen. the scenery and setting in this game is also great. I love seeing real-life places during this time period and being able to interact with historical figures and settings realistically. I think that Henry is one of the strongest and best-developed characters in modern gaming. I love that he is not some legendary hero from the start (looking at you, Dragonborn from Skyrim) but is instead just an average guy. if anything, other characters in the game seem to think less of you at the start. this makes the relationships you develop with characters throughout the story all the more significant and realistic.

I think that this game didn't catch on as much as expected because it had too steep of a learning curve. the game is EXTREMELY realistic, and i think that that turned a lot of players away. fast traveling is nowehere near as simple as in games like Skyrim or Fallout, the combat mechanics are quite difficult, and the game in general takes a long time to play and make progress in. these are not bad characteristics at all, but i think they are the main contributors for why i stopped playing the game. the game is realistically slow, and the story takes a long time to progress. I "gave up" after about 60 hours of feeling like i made very little progress. these features do not make the game bad, they are just ones that don't personally draw me in.

the game also does not run well on the PS4 at all. my PS4 was the only console I had at the time that could run this game. running poorly on the console is not necessarily the game's fault, really, and i have so much respect for the developers for making such a complex game with such good graphics. the PS4 just did not run the game well for me, which did leave a sort of bad taste in my mouth. if/when i pick up the game again, i will for sure be playing on my pc.

Overall, a very good game. great characters, awesome story, immersive setting. not a perfect RPG, but is still better than most. i hope someday i get the desire to play the game again like i did when it first came out.