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The Witcher 3: Time to Piss Everyone Here off Again

Well, I haven't played long. I got to Vizima and met up with Yennefer. Anyway. This game feels like the very definition of "generic" to me. It's like going to the Fantasy section of the library and picking up one of the 1000 page snoozers with some oversaturated art on the cover that ultimately turns out to be forgettable. I can't put my finger on it--it feels like the world is kind of forced instead of organic. Nothing feels particularly unique or grabbing about the story, the heroes, or the monsters. It's like...instead of making me care about the plot, it just tells me Geralt does.

Don't worry--I'll keep playing it. It probably gets better.
Is it your first Witcher anything?

Anyways, I just installed Hollow Knight which came with a breath of relief that it only clocks in at 9 gigs. It's nice to have a game that doesn't use 1/4 of my SSD.
 
Playing Witcher 2 before playing Witcher 3 did help set the world for me. That being said, my father picked up Witcher 3 and dumped hundreds of hours into it. It hooked him hard.

That also being said, I started playing Witcher 3 again because @Snuffleupagus started playing it, and I never actually played any of the expansions. Not only is it every bit as good as I remember it, but it may be the most well-crafted game I've ever played. What other games put so much work, dialogue and story into even the simplest of side quests? Honestly, I can't play things like Skyrim after playing Witcher 3, because it feels so dull in comparison.
 
Playing Witcher 2 before playing Witcher 3 did help set the world for me. That being said, my father picked up Witcher 3 and dumped hundreds of hours into it. It hooked him hard.

That also being said, I started playing Witcher 3 again because @Snuffleupagus started playing it, and I never actually played any of the expansions. Not only is it every bit as good as I remember it, but it may be the most well-crafted game I've ever played. What other games put so much work, dialogue and story into even the simplest of side quests? Honestly, I can't play things like Skyrim after playing Witcher 3, because it feels so dull in comparison.
Yeah, there's no part of the world that doesn't feel lovingly crafted.
 

fade

Staff member
Playing Witcher 2 before playing Witcher 3 did help set the world for me. That being said, my father picked up Witcher 3 and dumped hundreds of hours into it. It hooked him hard.

That also being said, I started playing Witcher 3 again because @Snuffleupagus started playing it, and I never actually played any of the expansions. Not only is it every bit as good as I remember it, but it may be the most well-crafted game I've ever played. What other games put so much work, dialogue and story into even the simplest of side quests? Honestly, I can't play things like Skyrim after playing Witcher 3, because it feels so dull in comparison.
Okay, but "dull" is the feeling I get from Witcher 3. Take the dialogue with Ciri in the intro. It's so dead-faced and flat to me. Same with nearly every interaction with Vessimir (sp?). The opening dialogue with Yennefer sounds like fanfic. I just get the overall feeling that the actor playing Geralt just doesn't want to be there. It doesn't pull me in. The whole idea of specially bred monster hunters is just so every-anime-ever that it's hard to see it as something special. The game has given me zero reason to care about the Nordlings or the Nilfwhatevers. Honestly, this was my same problem with Skyrim. There's all this stuff going on, but I feel like an outside observer. I don't know--it is lovingly crafted, but in the same way as a well-built suburban neighborhood. It's pretty, but generic. Generic castles, generic houses, generic landscapes, even generic overreactions from the townsfolks. It's probably just me. I'm probably just jaded, and this is just my personal reaction so far.

Again, maybe this will improve, and I will certainly continue playing it. If nothing else because I love RPGs.
 
Geralt being flat is entirely in character. He's had the vast majority of his outward emotion stripped from him. Other witchers have this too to some degree. Eskel is very flat too. Lambert not so much. Letho is even flatter than Geralt.
 
Finally installed and started playing Darkest Dungeon last night (which means @GasBandit will be swearing off it forever any day now). I had no idea that my characters would spend SO MUCH of their existence goofing off in town. And that gets expensive real quick.

—Patrick
 
Geralt being flat is entirely in character. He's had the vast majority of his outward emotion stripped from him. Other witchers have this too to some degree. Eskel is very flat too. Lambert not so much. Letho is even flatter than Geralt.
I'm only a little into Witcher 3, but the impression I've gotten from Geralt is someone laid back. Which I'm fine with. Usually characters who are stoic and have capability act like jerks, so I like Geralt who doesn't feel like he has to prove anything needlessly.
 

fade

Staff member
For everything I've said, there is one thing that distinctly stands out about this game visually: skies. The skies are gorgeous.
 
Okay, but "dull" is the feeling I get from Witcher 3. Take the dialogue with Ciri in the intro. It's so dead-faced and flat to me. Same with nearly every interaction with Vessimir (sp?). The opening dialogue with Yennefer sounds like fanfic. I just get the overall feeling that the actor playing Geralt just doesn't want to be there. It doesn't pull me in. The whole idea of specially bred monster hunters is just so every-anime-ever that it's hard to see it as something special. The game has given me zero reason to care about the Nordlings or the Nilfwhatevers. Honestly, this was my same problem with Skyrim. There's all this stuff going on, but I feel like an outside observer. I don't know--it is lovingly crafted, but in the same way as a well-built suburban neighborhood. It's pretty, but generic. Generic castles, generic houses, generic landscapes, even generic overreactions from the townsfolks. It's probably just me. I'm probably just jaded, and this is just my personal reaction so far.

Again, maybe this will improve, and I will certainly continue playing it. If nothing else because I love RPGs.
The Witcher 3 is very much fanfic level of writing and characterization. This might be due to the source material or it could be due to it being a very loose adaptation of novels. Probably both. The relationships are rarely earned (within the game's story, at least) and the plot is something you accept or don't. All that said, the world they created really breathes it's own life (at least in the snapshot you are passing through). I found the minor characters and side quest stories to be the most interesting. It was like peeking into the lives of the world's random peasants and nobles living in this dangerous fantasy world. I recommend not investing yourself in the main plot or characters. It won't get any better. But it sure is fun to be a tourist in that world.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Finally installed and started playing Darkest Dungeon last night (which means @GasBandit will be swearing off it forever any day now). I had no idea that my characters would spend SO MUCH of their existence goofing off in town. And that gets expensive real quick.

—Patrick
This is why you need a large number of characters you can rotate through. Stress levels will build if your roster is small, and you'll have to pay to use stress relief facilities like the bar or the church. But every week someone sits idle without doing anything, they lose 5 stress on their own.

But yeah, in combat, ALWAYS prioritize killing the stress-dealers over the damage dealers. Any female cultist or skeleton carrying a cup or shaman fish or pig with dangly feet walking on human arms is TARGET NUMERO UNO.

It also helps to start taking "medium" length quests, so you have a night to spend using survival skills - make sure everybody trains their stress-relieving survival skills so that you can deal with that shit on the road. Much cheaper than doing so in town, and it's better exp, too.
 
It also helps to start taking "medium" length quests, so you have a night to spend using survival skills - make sure everybody trains their stress-relieving survival skills so that you can deal with that shit on the road. Much cheaper than doing so in town, and it's better exp, too.
I’m not even to the point where the Sanitarium is unlocked, nor have I ever yet seen firewood for sale. I wasted almost 15min clicking around trying to find out why I couldn’t get them to switch to camping mode or cast camping spells in town until I discovered you have to have firewood to do that.

So far, the gameplay seems simpler than I was expecting, but the management aspects make up for that. And the art! The game is almost worth it just for the atmosphere alone.

—Patrick
 

GasBandit

Staff member
I’m not even to the point where the Sanitarium is unlocked, nor have I ever yet seen firewood for sale. I wasted almost 15min clicking around trying to find out why I couldn’t get them to switch to camping mode or cast camping spells in town until I discovered you have to have firewood to do that.

So far, the gameplay seems simpler than I was expecting, but the management aspects make up for that. And the art! The game is almost worth it just for the atmosphere alone.

—Patrick
It sounds like you're still really early in the game, like, STILL IN THE TUTORIAL early. You get firewood for free on medium and long quests (one for medium, two for long), when they start being offered. You can tell a quest's length at a glance by the number of pointy bits on its circle in the embarkation screen - a smooth circle is short, 3 pointy bits is medium, 5 pointy bits is long.

I recommend grinding level 1 quests until you have parties of level 4, then start sending them to the level 3 quests. It's amazing the difference a level makes, when there's only 6 total.
Also, the upgrades to the abilities and equipment will sound like it barely does anything ("What?! Spend 1000 gold to take this ability's stun chance from 120% to 130%, and only 1 point increase in damage?!") but it does make a difference because of how this game does the math.

GET AN ANTIQUARIAN as SOON AS YOU CAN. She's crap for damage, but make her be the one to loot every container. Your money problems will go away. Her one truly useful combat ability is the one that makes somebody else guard her, because in addition to shielding her from most damage, it will buff the PROT and DODGE of her protector, and that buff stacks. Also, she's not completely useless in combat, she can do moderate damage with her regular attack even if she's all the way on the back line, and her piddlyass heal is enough to bring someone back from Death's Door, which is really sometimes all you need.
 
It sounds like you're still really early in the game, like, STILL IN THE TUTORIAL early.
I’ve only been through two dungeons.
I’ve only just opened up the Shieldbreaker and the Blacksmith.
I promised myself I was just going to install it and go to bed.
An hour and a half later, however...

—Patrick
 

GasBandit

Staff member
I’ve only been through two dungeons.
I’ve only just opened up the Shieldbreaker and the Blacksmith.
I promised myself I was just going to install it and go to bed.
An hour and a half later, however...

—Patrick
I didn't get the shieldbreaker DLC. Mostly because I couldn't think of which halforumite should play her :p

I'm serious about the antiquarian, though. Even those dumb "unspent torch" curios start giving you an unspent torch AND a 500g antique.
 
While I don't own Witcher 3 yet (the progress I made before was from a rental though I still have the game save), I'm enjoying the Gwent beta going on right now. I'm assuming it plays pretty similar to the Witcher 3 mini-game, so I'll be in better shape for that whenever I get Witcher 3 complete edition.
 
The Gwent from the Gwent beta is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more complex than the Witcher 3 version. If you're good at the beta, you won't have any issues.
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Would love to play Killing Floor 2. But i am gonna wait till it is on sale again.
Smart. Shouldn't take long. Of course, being in Germany, your play time window might be a little different than ours... we generally play around 2a-4a GMT... I'm not sure how that translates to Germany, but I bet it's dog-ass early as fuck.
 
Smart. Shouldn't take long. Of course, being in Germany, your play time window might be a little different than ours... we generally play around 2a-4a GMT... I'm not sure how that translates to Germany, but I bet it's dog-ass early as fuck.
1am GasBandit time is 8am Germany time.

—Patrick
 
Ducktales Remastered

[Blatantly copied Steam review] I played this game when I was a kid. And sure, parts of it were hard and like most games back then, you'd have to start from the very beginning. But in this modern age, even since SNES, you at least had checkpoints. I got halfway through the Amazon level, then died in the second half. When I was brought back to the level select and went back, I had to start from the very beginning. Screw that. I don't have the time or patience for that anymore and I would hope a modern remake would accommodate for that. Heck, even the SNES remasters of the NES Mario games had checkpoints.

Also, it's annoying that you can't skip dialogue and the only way to skip cinematics is through the pause menu.

So yeah, I give up on this early. It's tried my patience.

Remember Me

It's...okay, but there's just not enough there to keep me interested. The concept is interesting, but the story, dialogue, and overall execution is lacking. The combat is very Arkham Asylum and I like the idea of making your own combos, but there's no way I'm going to remember all the button combinations myself.

So...I'm 2 for 3 so far on disappointing, recently purchased games.

I'm almost afraid to load up the Resident Evil 1 remake and be disappointed with that, too.
 
Resident Evil 1

And we're 3 for 3. Fuck this game, too.

And sadly, because I got them all through Humble Bundle, I can't refund any of them. Waste of goddamn money.
 
Resident Evil 1

And we're 3 for 3. Fuck this game, too.

And sadly, because I got them all through Humble Bundle, I can't refund any of them. Waste of goddamn money.
I will say this about REmake; It's the very best version of what it's trying to be, but what it is is a style of game most people got sick of in the 90's. I still dig that old school survival horror shit, tank controls and all, but I fully get why it's not the magic it used to be.
 
I finished the main story of Monster Hunter Stories and I’m working on The Tower of Illusion. It’s intense! I’m hoping to catch the strongest Monsties here so I can build a really strong team. I’m finding some of the Monsters with the red titles pretty hard.
 
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