Incline Things are looking up, eh?

[luj1]

ATOM

Are you telling me people actually bought that crap?

It's the best Fallout-like RPG since Fallout 1.

Eh I am sympathetic towards ATOM under the current circumstances, but it has none of the charm of Fallout. It's a blatant clone and completely sterile

 

[Drowed]

Eh I am sympathetic towards ATOM under the current circumstances, but it has none of the charm of Fallout. It's a blatant clone and completely sterile

No doubt it's a clone - which is not necessarily something bad, it's worth noting. But the part about it being sterile, I think it depends a lot on the "flavor" you're looking for in the game. From what we can see in the Codex's review itself, and from what many people have said, those who don't know Russian culture will probably lose much of the content. Which is a shame, but there's not much that can be done about it. I guess the problem with the ATOM's setting is that it switched Fallout's retro-futurism, something that has a practically universal appeal, by something that only a small group of people would be able to understand (and appreciate).

Take out the retro theme from Fallout and you have a somewhat generic post-apocalyptic game, and that's what ATOM ends up being for the average player. But still, the mechanics are solid enough and the game currently seems to have a lot of content. I'm playing it right now and even though it's not rocking my world, I'm having a fun time.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Eh I am sympathetic towards ATOM under the current circumstances, but it has none of the charm of Fallout. It's a blatant clone and completely sterile

That is exactly my point. All these nu-iso RPGs are inferior rehashes of older, significantly superior games. Fallout 1/2 >>>>>>>>>> ATOM or Underrail or Wasteland 2 or AoD, BG saga >>>>>>>>>>>>> Kangmaker, PoE 1/2, D:OS.

 

[Mark Richard]

ATOM

Are you telling me people actually bought that crap?

It's the best Fallout-like RPG since Fallout 1.

Eh I am sympathetic towards ATOM under the current circumstances, but it has none of the charm of Fallout. It's a blatant clone and completely sterile

Just imagine a Californian studio trying to clone S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and how on the surface it might appear similar, but underneath would be a totally different beast. The attitudes and beliefs of the development team would seep into the bones. I think ATOM achieves the best case scenario, which is to reignite what you love about Fallout without making you wish you were playing that game instead. The distinct Eastern-European outlook permeates every aspect to make it feel both familiar yet different.

 

[DJOGamer PT]

Eh I am sympathetic towards ATOM under the current circumstances, but it has none of the charm of Fallout.

That's right ATOM is not as good, it's better.

 

[turkishronin]

Eh I am sympathetic towards ATOM under the current circumstances, but it has none of the charm of Fallout. It's a blatant clone and completely sterile

That is exactly my point. All these nu-iso RPGs are inferior rehashes of older, significantly superior games. Fallout 1/2 >>>>>>>>>> ATOM or Underrail or Wasteland 2 or AoD, BG saga >>>>>>>>>>>>> Kangmaker, PoE 1/2, D:OS.

Underrail has better gameplay than any RPG released in late 90s

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

It's a decent game, but come on. Constant loading zones, slightly enhanced Fallout-type combat with barely any real tactics (use ability 1 off cooldown, use ability 2 off cooldown, etc), boring dialogue, almost pointless crafting system, constant OCD looting of trash... I would not call that great gameplay.

 

[Black Angel]

Constant loading zones,

A reasonable point.

slightly enhanced Fallout-type combat with barely any real tactics (use ability 1 off cooldown, use ability 2 off cooldown, etc),

Nope.

boring dialogue,

Try again.

almost pointless crafting system, constant OCD looting of trash...

Both of these are tied to one another, and I'd soon assume this isn't the fault of the system but *your* fault of not being able to leave unnecessary loot behind.

 

[turkishronin]

It's a decent game, but come on. Constant loading zones, slightly enhanced Fallout-type combat with barely any real tactics (use ability 1 off cooldown, use ability 2 off cooldown, etc), boring dialogue, almost pointless crafting system, constant OCD looting of trash... I would not call that great gameplay.

You like DAO's combat

 

[Saduj]

those who don't know Russian culture will probably lose much of the content.

I didn’t look at it that way. I still experienced the content, I just didn’t know what it was referencing. So it was new to me rather than some wink wink reference. Might actually be better that way.

Having the game set in Russia ( and written by Russians) when I know very little about Russia made it more interesting to me.

 

[Catacombs]

Eh I am sympathetic towards ATOM under the current circumstances, but it has none of the charm of Fallout. It's a blatant clone and completely sterile

That is exactly my point. All these nu-iso RPGs are inferior rehashes of older, significantly superior games. Fallout 1/2 >>>>>>>>>> ATOM or Underrail or Wasteland 2 or AoD, BG saga >>>>>>>>>>>>> Kangmaker, PoE 1/2, D:OS.

Underrail has better gameplay than any RPG released in late 90s

Underrail is a great game, but it's a stretch to say it has the best gameplay compared to older games.

 

[Drowed]

Yeah, I think Underrail is a fucking amazing game. I'm suffering from the delay in Expedition's release. But even though I think its gameplay is top notch, saying it's better than "any RPG from the '90s" is pushing it too much.


BIG EDIT:

I didn’t look at it that way. I still experienced the content, I just didn’t know what it was referencing. So it was new to me rather than some wink wink reference. Might actually be better that way.

Having the game set in Russia ( and written by Russians) when I know very little about Russia made it more interesting to me.

That's fair, but I'd still say you end up losing some of the content, yes. It doesn't mean that the content that is there is no longer interesting or don't have something new to say, but it does mean that your experience is limited by what you can understand directly from what has been said.

Let's say a certain character is inspired by a certain writer. If you don't know the writer, you will form your impression about the character based on what the game shows you. But if you know the context in which the character was created and the intention behind it, you can have a much more complete and broad view regarding the attitudes of said character, which can even change the meaning of certain attitudes of him within the game for you. Now you have a knowledge that transcends the game, because that knowledge has been left implicit.

The same goes for references to other works, to music, to personalities, to situations or places. Any reference when well used brings more information than what is being said explicitly. This, for example, is a great challenge to translations, it's very hard to be able to translate phrases that maintain not only the literal meaning of what was said, but the parallel and/or alternative meanings. Idiomatic expressions, puns, historical expressions, etc.

So, yeah, you can play a game without understanding the references and still like it, in the same way that you can read a translation of a book and like the book. But if you have the chance to go through this same experience again with the knowledge of the content you didn't have before, what you will experience will be something quite different.

 

[FeelTheRads]

slightly enhanced Fallout-type combat with barely any real tactics (use ability 1 off cooldown, use ability 2 off cooldown, etc),

Nope.

Yes.

boring dialogue,

Try again.

Oh, really? Try again having an opinion?

How about you try again, newfag?

Newfags clinging to some new game that has a vague oldschool vibe and then pretending they're totally hardcore, while being unable to actually play the old games are the worst.
Same story as with the likes of AoD and Dark Souls.

I liked Underrail a lot, but its fanbots are almost as stupid as those of AoD. And if I'm not mistaken you're a fanbot of both. One more and you hit the jackpot of stupidity. Do you also think Dark Souls is an extreeeeeme game, too?

 

[luj1]

It's the best Fallout-like RPG since Fallout 1.

Eh I am sympathetic towards ATOM under the current circumstances, but it has none of the charm of Fallout. It's a blatant clone and completely sterile

Take out the retro theme from Fallout and you have a somewhat generic post-apocalyptic game, and that's what ATOM ends up being for the average player. But still, the mechanics are solid enough and the game currently seems to have a lot of content. I'm playing it right now and even though it's not rocking my world, I'm having a fun time.

Yup that's what I said. Fun, average game but that's enough to be better than most in this age of decline.

That said, claiming it's the best Fallout-like RPG since Fallout is kind of a weird statement considering it's a copy-pasted Russian bootleg of the same. In terms of flavor and worldbuilding and reproducing what Fallout accomplished back in the day, Underrail is probably the better Fallout-like.

 

[DalekFlay]

It's kind of a weird split for me. Singleplayer AAA stuff is mostly better than it was 5+ years ago, but most of it is being drown out by a bigger focus on online services and it feels like a ticking clock to some degree. Also while it's mostly better it's still not comparable for me to the "golden age" of the 90's and such. Indie and smaller team stuff is more interesting and often old school in style, but I find a lot of it pretty bland and expected. So it's a mix too.

 

[Tweed]

Behead those who insult Underrail!

I just assume every upcoming game is shit so I can be pleasantly surprised if it isn't and smug when it is.

 

[aeroaeko]

mmmmm...... ELEX..... mmmmmm...... 2 ....... mmmmmm...... yes...... ELEX...... but....... 2....... mmmmmmm.....

 

[HarveyBirdman]

Cyberpunk 2077
- It's going to be a very fun game.
- Will it be a good RPG? TBD.
- Nah I'm just fucking with you. It'll be a great RPG.

The Outer Worlds
- It won't be anywhere close to the game you hoped Tim and Leonard would make upon their triumphant reunion, but it'll be a solid game worth replaying
- See you in 5 years when you're on GOG. (sorry Cleve)

Bloodlines 2
- Everything we've seen so far looks like a game masquerading as a sequel to bloodlines, ironically
- Long way to go on development. We shall see.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
- Not an RPG
- I loved Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker. Haven't played a Nintendo game since then. Maybe one day I'll do something to rectify that inequity.

Baldur's Gate 3
- It exists
- Larian is capable enough, but their campiness might be a problem

Elden Ring
- Man, that trailer was corny.
- Man, I don't really care. I trust the dual fonts of games and literature here.

Kingdom Come 2
- Yay

ELEX 2
- haven't played ELEX

Realms Beyond
- I see hexagonal combat tiles, and I immediately think this game should be a pure strategy game while the RPG part should be nixed

Stoneshard
- don't know anything about it. not like you read this far down my monologue anyway, so my lack of knowledge is inconsequential here
- looks cutesy

Sui Generis
- I like seeing innovation, but I can't for the life of me figure out why you would include twitchy combat in an isometric RPG.
- should be 3rd person over the shoulder

 

[Kyl Von Kull]

Some of you are so popamole it hurts.

I really liked Elex, but it’s NOT an improvement over Gothic or Gothic 2, games by the same studio that are more than fifteen years old.

Kingdom Come? It had no idea how to use its systems. They quickly become trivial, even pointless. It’s a better cinematic-heavy ARPG than most, but that’s not saying a whole lot. And that combat system was so obviously unfinished it hurt.

Any time someone praises The Witcher 3 for its brilliance, I want to puke, and I actually enjoyed most of that game, despite the garbage gameplay. Lots of 3D ARPGs have better writing: New Vegas, for one. Mask of the Betrayer.

The truth is, there hasn’t been a whole lot of RPG in ARPGs lately. Even in Elex, the Domed City stuff stands out so much because it’s unusual: a fabulous set of linked quests inside a great RPG city. The other cities don’t quite have that, or at least not with the same density.

KCD would’ve been better if it ditched most of its RPG elements, which were either useless (combo perks you can never use) or they made the game’s difficulty trivial (once your stats got around 8-10). Lots of stuff that was well conceived in theory, but didn’t quite work in practice.

Kingmaker, on the other hand, was absolutely more fun for me than Baldur’s Gate 2, even with the decline in quality at the end (although that makes it a true spiritual successor to BG2).

AoD is great. I loved Atom even though it was derivative, but it’s not necessarily a bad idea to copy the best CRPG ever made. Underrail I could never understand the appeal of.

And while I’d never go to the mattresses for POE 1/2, let alone D:OS 1/2, the idea that they did nothing innovative is bullshit. They just weren’t that good. Tyranny had an awesome character creation minigame that establishes your place in the world—more games should do that.

Anyway, monitor your popamole levels carefully, people.

 

[Reader]

Fallout 1/2 >>>>>>>>>> ATOM or Underrail or Wasteland 2 or AoD, BG saga >>>>>>>>>>>>> Kangmaker, PoE 1/2, D:OS

Sophisticated

 

[Roguey]

Elex...

Kingdom Come...

...The Witcher 3

The key to understanding Codex is Location: Europe

 

[JarlFrank]

Realms Beyond
- I see hexagonal combat tiles, and I immediately think this game should be a pure strategy game while the RPG part should be nixed

What the actual fuck.

 

[ArchAngel]

Realms Beyond
- I see hexagonal combat tiles, and I immediately think this game should be a pure strategy game while the RPG part should be nixed

What the actual fuck.

More like HarveyBirdbrain, right?

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Some of you are so popamole it hurts.

Unmeme yourself, citizen.

I really liked Elex, but it’s NOT an improvement over Gothic or Gothic 2, games by the same studio that are more than fifteen years old.

Nobody is saying Elex is a straight up improvement over Gothic 1/2, but it is a direct continuation of that type of gameplay, and while it's worse in some ways than those games, it's better in others. Gothics were much more cohesive and tight, and a more polished overall experience, but ELEX is larger, has more interesting factions, has a lot more C&C, and better vertical exploration. So if you loved Gothics, you should love Elex.

Kingdom Come? It had no idea how to use its systems. They quickly become trivial, even pointless. It’s a better cinematic-heavy ARPG than most, but that’s not saying a whole lot. And that combat system was so obviously unfinished it hurt.

Not really, I was using its systems throughout the game (stealth, reading, reputation, etc), and the combat, while it needs slight modding, IS the deepest melee combat in a video game, once you understand how it works.

Any time someone praises The Witcher 3 for its brilliance, I want to puke, and I actually enjoyed most of that game, despite the garbage gameplay. Lots of 3D ARPGs have better writing: New Vegas, for one. Mask of the Betrayer.

Nonsense. The plotlines in Witcher 3 aren't that good, but the dialogue writing, the quests, the interactions are all unprecedented in a video game in terms of their integration into cutscenes and visual presentation and sheer scale.

The truth is, there hasn’t been a whole lot of RPG in ARPGs lately. Even in Elex, the Domed City stuff stands out so much because it’s unusual: a fabulous set of linked quests inside a great RPG city. The other cities don’t quite have that, or at least not with the same density.

KCD would’ve been better if it ditched most of its RPG elements, which were either useless (combo perks you can never use) or they made the game’s difficulty trivial (once your stats got around 8-10). Lots of stuff that was well conceived in theory, but didn’t quite work in practice.

Maybe if you are the AoD type, but for many of us, RPG goes beyond C&C. We enjoy good gameplay, good exploration, good combat, good writing.

Kingmaker, on the other hand, was absolutely more fun for me than Baldur’s Gate 2, even with the decline in quality at the end (although that makes it a true spiritual successor to BG2).

I forgive you.

 

[Reader]

the dialogue writing, the quests, the interactions are all unprecedented in a video game in terms of their integration into cutscenes and visual presentation and sheer scale

RPG goes beyond C&C

So. The Witcher 3>>>>>>>>>Fallout 1/2?