Today I started playing this game for the first time. At first I was impressed by the ambitious design of the systems and the pure incline that is the hardcore mode. But I just finished the tutorial and I must say I'm unsure whether to continue playing.
The tutorial mostly failed it's purpose to teach me anything. I got a super rushed lecture on swordfighting that turned out to be completely useless in the real world. I was taught how to ride a horse while being hunted by a mounted archer that killed me because I had missed the prompt telling me I could gallop, a prompt I missed since I happened to be running for my life. That's about what I learned.
Other than that, the tutorial can be summarized as an interactive movie where you watch Henry make retarded decisions that makes you facepalm. I thought this was an RPG? Why am I forced to roleplay as an imbecile?
I don't really see the point of the first two locations in the game. The game tries so hard to make me care for the starting village and my family, but it's just a place where I practiced swordfighting and did a short fetch quest for my father (and refused to throw manure at a German's house). The second location was just completely pointless, it's just a random time drain and the little gameplay available could just as well have been cutscenes, not that the game is lacking in those.
After escaping I make my way back to the village and encounter a bandit. Since the game actively informs me that fights are deadly and should be avoided if possible, I run away only to sneak back and defeat him by knocking him out. In the village I encounter a looting neighbour and am railroaded into berating him for looting the dead. In a game with a "Civilians killed" and "Times jailed" statistic. Who designed this!? Did they think I hadn't already looted every
loot container corpse I came across? Did they think any player wouldn't have?
After watching some more cutscenes heavy-handedly telling me I should hate "dude that killed my parents", I am introduced to "dude that will steal my sword". In a role-playing game with diplomatic and stealth elements, as well as deep reputation mechanics, the game opts for a "Batman Arkham" fight intro where it might as well have been Penguin taunting Batman before loosing henchmen on him. I'm severely outmanned, so I do the logical thing the game has conditioned me to at this point: I run away. I leave the bastards in my wake, dashing confidently towards the main gate... and hit an invisible wall. "
No!
There's no running from a trainer battle!"
Panicking, I run towards a corner of the village, hoping to separate my attackers and maybe take them on one at a time. This fails, and two of the henchmen corners me and beats me to a pulp. I furiously await the game over screen when I'm teleported back to where the fight started, treated with a cutscene of "dude that will steal my sword" beating me up and gloating how fighting him was pointless, before the cavalry arrives and saves me.
Cue more cutscenes, diligently reminding me I'm supposed to hate "dude that killed my parents" and "dude that stole my sword", before I'm treated with a Max Payne-esque dream sequence where the goal once again is to let yourself be defeated.
I wake up in a new location, gets told about the stash, and the tutorial seems to be over. Why did the game even bother with the earlier locations, why not just start off here? Or at least condense what happened into an actual tutorial that teaches you stuff? Ugh.
So what I'm wondering is,
does the game get any better after this point? Does it actually use all those awesome-looking character systems to create great role-playing possibilities, or is it just more cutscene bonanza where you're railroaded into being a dunce?
PS.
In Talmberg the Lady asked me to describe the events of how the home village was sacked. And I have no idea what is happening in this conversation. Why is every choice a skill check? What's the point of choosing what part of the story to tell her? Why is there an out of place "epic choice"-timer?
To make it even more confusing the camera bugged out and pointed at the wall during the entire conversation.
