No one has rated this review as helpful yet
1 person found this review funny
Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 239.1 hrs on record (13.9 hrs at review time)
Posted: 2 Apr, 2021 @ 10:16am
Updated: 23 Apr, 2021 @ 3:53am

Update on my previous review:

I will state the obvious stuff first to get it out of the way.
This game has bugs. Lots of them.
It feels like Remnant: From the Ashes. Down to the environments, Rhom, Swamps. Etc.
The endgame is a DPS race against the clock, very similar to WoW's M+ Dungeons.

Then here's my take on it: It's fun as hell.
Granted it takes a lot from other games similar to it, and fails to add the features that made them unique, but it does a good job at what it does. It's a looter shooter with a great storyline, though basic.

Story-
The MC is bland and one dimensional, arrogant and often too brash and impulsive to think things through. But you kind of expect that level of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ from a Demi-God wannabe who has the powers of space and time. Especially when they drop the powers suddenly in your lap.
I gathered no real fondness for any of the other characters, and I'm not going to include spoilers, but your interactions with them, even through the bonus dialog is a bit meh. You end up hearing the same thing parroted by multiple characters, and it gets boring quick.
The shopkeeps, which there are only four in total, have zero impact on the feeling of the game, even though you often spend time evaluating gear and debating on what to buy for some time. It would be easier to have vending machines similar to borderlands, but even those had personality. And I'm not going to get into the specifics of certain individuals who hold multiple roles, but, at the end of the game, they sit in their static little stalls, with the same stuff laid out in the same way, regardless of the environment you are in. Just like they are immobile, hollow, set pieces akin to a coffee mug or a crate.

Environment-
It's standard. Tundra, Temperate, Tropical, and Desert. Or, if you prefer : Reisum, Earth, Corsus, and Rhom. If you don't know what those are, it's all in this wiki. https://remnantfromtheashes.wiki.fextralife.com/Locations
However, those are static locations, not procedural, and no variations. Down to exactly which mobs you fight when and where. Chests are all in the same spot, and highlight that there's little to no interaction with the environment. You can't jump. You can't really explore. The map is confusing and underwhelming. The minimap doesn't have a North cardinal direction indicator or outlines of the area. There isn't any reason to look for pots, bottles, interactables, or context commands. You can only get loot from two sources, mobs or boxes. The item collection is even boring using an auto loot button to just pick up everything in a zone after you "gather" your iron (one of three items used in crafting) and chests. Basically it feels in a lot of ways like you are in a very pretty picture, but that's it. Just it. There's no life. There's no movement. There's no dynamic element to it. It's probably the most disappointing thing about the game for me. Even the journal entries are just plain text written poorly that provide no impetus to read on.

Gameplay-
It's fun. Like watching Pacific Rim sort of fun. Don't question it, and just do it. You will get caught in a cycle of shoot and roll, then shoot and roll, then shoot and roll, then... but... it still remains fun. Even in endgame where you are literally just min/maxing and tweeking little things here and there, fine tuning your gear and trying to pump out the biggest numbers, it remains fun. For me at least. Not any of my friends, though. My own brother gets frustrated by the roll mechanics, how often he gets caught on geometry or poorly clipped objects, and the seemingly unstoppable ability of the same four enemies knocking him into a corner where he can't escape. Oh, that's something else. There's two enemy types. Humanoid and Creature. The creatures are plain, no real character, and very one note. You have three varieties, each with the standard troupe rank and file. Small fodder units that swarm, bigger versions of them that also swarm, and boss versions of the same. There's some ranged ones here and there, but they are all pretty much the same. There's targets on the ground or targets in the air, but mainly on the ground. The humans follow the same standard pattern, even the fellow altered, which you can basically only tell that they are altered by their journal entries. Small shooty, small runner guy, big shooty, boss shooty. So, you can see that they put a lot of thought in them. On a side note lore wise, and this isn't a spoiler, they say that out of the original group half a million, seventy thousand remain. I'm fairly confident that with the amount of enemies they throw at you, you would wipe out the entire human population in one play through, which, ironically, you want to save for some reason. But it goes back to the original point I made earlier: don't think just shoot. Then you'll have fun.

Multiplayer- There's only a handful of quests, that you play again and again, until you max your character out. Then you realize that it doesn't really matter, because end game has a different progression tree that you have to max out too. So, when you're playing with your friend, they normalize all your gear, similar to Time Walking, and even if you're in full tier gear, you still end up doing basic ♥♥♥♥♥ damage. Which is nice in it's own way, leveling the playing field so your friends who are lower level because they gave up on the game already don't feel like they are completely useless. The key is mods anyway. They make your character strong, but it doesn't really matter in the end because you can put them on any piece of gear. Well, I say that but, you can only replace one of the two mods with one you choose, so if the gear doesn't have a second slot mod you want, or one that is just plain useless, or the random stats are bad, that gear is trash. That makes it hard for you to find the perfect piece of gear for any build, and even legendaries are subject to some degree of randomness. So, it's just a game of luck. Which makes playing with your nerfed character in your friends game sort of worth it, because maybe you can get a piece that rolls well with the stats and second slot you want that you can then level up to your current level which will have minimal impact on anything except the highest tier of the game. It's all very frustrating and unrewarding. Oh, and there's bugs that can sometimes cause you to lose all your gear, wipe your inventory, and lock your abilities. Even your ability to resurrect yourself.

Sound-
It has it.

Music-
It also has it.

Overall I'm going to recommend buying this game for three reasons:
1) The more people that buy it, hopefully means the more voices that the devs hear and are willing to listen to. To improve the product and get it out of alpha (which is what it feels like).
2) It is fun for what it is, if you close your eyes and just play.
3) Misery loves company.

Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny Award