Quote:
Originally Posted by CroFlames
When was the last time we did a GOTY thread? Quick search shows 2020 but that doesn't feel right.
I'm looking to get into something new - might try Expedition 33. But there's lots of oldie goodies I haven't played because I only recently replaced my ancient rig. So looking for ideas.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by GranteedEV
So far I've played the prologue and it's ####ing amazing
|
So I finished it the other day and I have to say, it's been a long time since I felt a game was that good. It really lived up to all the GOTY hype for me.
- the soundtrack was unique with its poetry and choral style and tight theming. There's one piece in particular I am gonna add to my spotify playlist
- the visuals, while not "high-budget", were jaw-dropping from an artistic standpoint combined with the baseline quality that Unreal Engine 5 allows. This really is how games should be developed in the modern era.
- the battle system was fun. Felt like something between Eternal Sonata and Radiant Historia, two JRPGs that have a couple of my favourite battle systems. I did get a little annoyed at some of the parry timings but maybe I shouldn't have played on expert.
- the powerup system, pictos, luminas, weapon passives, and a basic skill tree were all engaging. I ended up relying heavily on a couple specific picto skills - Cheater, Second Chance, In Medias Res, Survivor, Painted Power, Augmented Counter I / II / III, Energy Master, Energizing Shot, Marking Shots, Burning Shots, Burn Affinity, Burning Mark, Beneficial Contamination, Glass Cannon and Energizing Turn. Eventually on endgame content I also started using one called Inverted Affinity but it kind of felt clunky with my Lune build (Inverted turns heals into damage, and my Lune build used Typhoon which is a healing skill)
- the story, at a face level, feels (in a positive way) like standard JRPG fare, but I think where they knocked it out of the ballpark was, as with the soundtrack, its extremely tight theming. The main themes - escapism, coping with grief, and existentialism are so tightly wound around its lore and worldbuilding that the writing makes much more sense on NG+, which I'm speedingrunning through.
- Much like my favourite JRPG Tales of the Abyss, I liked how the last boss wasn't necessarily a "villain" and may very well have been "more valid". I think that should allude to which ending I chose.
- I played the French dub and that was cool too, never played a full game in French.
- speaking of New Game+, I beat Golgra NG+ on Expert the first time you meet her with Gustav, who's not really the best for that kind of endgame content. I had to tweak my pictos, luminas, everything to perfection (take the above, add in every possible "break" lumina, nearly every possible damage multiplier lumina, plus powerful on shot, plus greater powerful and greater rush, and rush on powerful, and double burn for sure IIRC) and execute a ton of perfect parries into counters and it might have been the toughest boss in the game for me / best accomplishment. I can't imagine doing that in a regular new game
- the one thing that really reminded me of why I love the genre was the exploration. It felt like a throwback to the 2000s when the genre peaked. Games in the genre over the last decade or so really lack this exploration aspect, either getting to absorbed in vast open worlds or being hallway simulators. This one did it just right.