Recent reviews by Kajeed

I was looking at co-op friendly games that would offer some sort of rpg mechanic for character progression. My friends were swearing by the magical powers of things like Space Marine, or Helldivers.
I found this game and decided to give it a quick, 2 hour try, and report back.

It's been 16 hours...
I've already accepted the fact that I'll keep playing until I reach endgame. I'll limit my game to one or two characterrs, so I can start "fresh" by the time my friends join.

And that's the thing about Wayfinder: It hooked me up immediately.

The art-style works! It's colorful and magical, and I can quickly understand where enemies are, while still pause from time to time when I discover a new area and just soak in the level design.

The gameplay feels crisp! I thougt having only 4 active abilities in a character would make things repetitive, but the fact that your main weapon is interchangable and you can change your combos based on it (and their unique powers), and that you can alter your skills gave me a depth of active gameplay I've been loving.

On the more long-term, strategic side: I can see all the elements I like in an rpg. There's a character trait 'tree' that offers bonuses and specific improvements to unique abilities. There's improvements to stats, and plenty of item customization to decide turning a scrawny glass cannon into a tank for a fight or two.

The way the gameplay progresses, I understand there's an overworld that is immutable, and random events a-la Diablo will happen there at given intervals. Then there's 'lost zones', which are themed dungeeons with semi-random structures, which you can run plenty of times.
You can edit these dungeons to make them slightly more dangerous (and, based on the endgame stuff I'm seeing, you can further enhance the dangers and rewards later on), so you know there's chances to try new stuff often.

I will say however, I see 2 elements that could be improved:

The story starts slow and feels predictable at times. This gets compounded as some quests force you to rerun the same area you've just finished several times, in different variations to collect a single new element.

Build complexity and character uniqueness. Within a single character, all build potential is limited to passives that either enhance your stats (you pick which stat) or slight buffs to your active skills. Adding some actual actives or radical changes (beyond upgrades) to active skills would be a huge welcome, that would make two different players using the same guy feel like very different characters.


If you've read this far, do me a favor and buy the game. You'll like it. If it's full price, you'll still have put enough hours into it to maximize whatever standard of 'fun hour per dollar spent' you might have. And if you see it in offer, don't think twice. This is a great game, and more studios should try this approach.

I emerge from the depths, dreamless.
In my hand, a relic from a distant past. This amulet will let me hide better from my enemies.

I am on my last leg after fighting the strange entities that were lurking below. But my god frowns on drinking potions. "A small price to pay for deeper knowledge of ancient magics".
I will have to get creative to heal up...

The nearest town is several miles away, and my lamp ran out of fuel. The thick amber fog surrounds me, costing me my sanity, as I desperately look for a small animal to drain. I can barely see the glow of the moons...
I curse my luck. I shouldn't have eavesdroped... But that villager spoke of a strange cave, and I thought I could make some easy money.

If I die, maybe I'll dream of something.

This game could be good, but it isn't.
If you're looking at a computer DnD game, you'll eventually hear about Pathfinder: Kingmaker.
On the surface, this game reminded me of classics like NwN or Baldur's Gate, with the added bonus of all the crazy shenanigans that Pathfinder added to classical DnD. And that's how I invested over 100hs on the game, testing out builds, chasing the perfect BiS items for specific classes, finishing quests.

As a time-sink, this game was worth whatever price I paid originally, but as an RPG experience I'd say I could have been better off had I never known this title.

All games have problems, and ambitious RPGs are no exception (we all still joke about Skyrim's physics), but some issues are not due to the size of the project, but due to poor direction.

PF:KM has two big issues.
1- The story becomes convoluted and the more you advance, the less player agency you have. I'm talking about scripted character deaths, cutscenes that go against your entire build/character development, and overall degradation of the personality of the few NPCs that end up being relevant. By the last chapters of the game, I was no longer invested, and I couldn't manage to care about the ever-changing (yet always increasing) stakes.

2- The difficulty of endgame/high-level content is abysmal. This seems to be a common pitfall for DnD games that dare thread the 15+ lvl content, even if some games managed to do it correctly (NwN: Mask of the Betrayer is a great example of good execution).
You will face hordes of trash mobs doing gimmicky things just to be force you into some playstyles. From every single enemy starting at lvl 14 having AC 40+, and permanent blur/haste/similar, to all enemy attacks doing some sort of ability damage, the prevailing strategy is loading up on mass heal scrolls, greater restoration scrolls and just spam these until the encounter is over. Rinse and repeat unto the next dungeon.

There is no satisfaction in high-end combat. Going turn-base feels like a chore, and letting things progress in real-time mean either immediate elimination or getting so OverPowered your martial characters kill everything by themselves.

And forget about playing this game as a pure caster, unless you enjoy hurting yourself on a regular basis.

[ ] Do you like shooting things ?
[ ] Do you like looting things ?
[ ] Do you like slight rpg mechanics in your FPS ?
[ ] Do you like single-player MMOs that can still have online at your convenience ?
[ ] Do you like low-brow humour or plots that don't take themselves too seriously ?

If you've ticked more than half of these boxes, then Borderlands (2, Pre-Sequel, 3, etc) is for you.
The art-style was a clear break from ultra-realism in the FPS genre, and heavy use of shaders and lines became an aesthetic declaration that kept on improving edition over edition.

If you've played Warframe or Destiny, think of this as a more story-driven , contained example of these. The name of the game is weapon-hunting, and boy there are lots of them.

I believe this is a breath of fresh air to traditional RPGs that should make any fan of Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale very happy.

I won't spoil the story, but let me tell you about the way Larian handled complexity and intertwining options: They did an amazing job. I felt that at any given point I could change the outcome of a quest or an interaction, and the railroad needed on a computer game wasn't visible at all.

Combat-wise, this game brings in elements that don't pop up on RAW 5e, but I'd say that any DM interested in making their combat engaging could learn a trick or two from these additions. Larian borrows heavily from their previous hit, Divinity. You'll see pools of oil that can be turned into a fire hazard, or barrels of water that can be targeted with a handy lightning spell to electrocute several targets. This also means your characters will be more at risk, and this enhances the sense of strategy and positioning that comes from PnP dnd.

Don't get me wrong, this is a beautiful game and (as you can see on my profile) you could spend hours in it.
But there is hardly any progression. What you do at character creation and what you do after 100 hours is the same:

Kill monsters with shiny guns. If you don't have a group to play with , you won't be able to access the most entertaining content (raids). So your experience will be 'kill faster, live longer' instead of seeing any puzzle.

A great game to start exploring the world of roguelikes. Also a great game if you enjoy killing Diggles.

Una continuación más que digna a la fantastica saga que viene siendo Unreal Tournament.
Esta entrega es criticada por perder un poco la velocidad que caracterizaba al UT, pero la variedad de estilos de juego presentes y la capacidad de la inteligencia artificial para adaptarse lo vuelven un juego muy recomendable.