Alright, I'm happy to report that the area I started with the turret fight did indeed start to get a fair amount more interesting in terms of exploration, and more challenging in terms encounters and healing resources. I am running dangerously low on healing items and health in general right now, so it's good that the resource management is starting to reveal itself more. I did make a pretty squishy character this time around though. I'm a Charismatic Psyionics and Small arms specialist, trying to branch out into either science or tech, and maybe a bit into criminal.
In terms of the exploration, it seems there are a lot of different ways you can progress through this map, and I've been cockblocked a number of times because of my build. This is a very good sign and I'm happy to see it. Stats will play a big part in what you can lockpick, hack, brute-force through, and disarm, but there are also items you can collect that will aid in achieving that ability score needed. Sometimes the item is enough, sometimes it's just not. While I wish this system still had an element of chance with a percentile role included in the the action, it's pretty cool finding different ways to progress through a particular situation. Clearly not a novel system, but done well here so far.
As of right now, I don't regret the purchase one bit, and would say I'm even happy with it at this point. We'll see how this difficulty curve evens out, but each level-up has seemed nicely impactful so far which is also a big plus. I still think it could be a fair amount more difficult from where I'm standing at the moment, but I would definitely hesitate to call it "piss-easy." Another difficulty setting above Tactical would be greatly welcomed, but I'm not sure if I need to put my current playthrough on hold for it. Maybe for a replay! We'll see how the next few hours of gameplay go I guess.
