Hilariously mocking parody on thumbs down review, sadly on Russain for now, maybe later I'll translate it, or you can do it instead.
"In batman I was just using 1 button, in witcher they made me use 2. now here I must use more what are we getting back to stone age?"
"i know only 3 types of ratins is 8-9-10/10 7/10 my bros say is no game"
I agree with whoever said (Luckmann?) that quest "forbidden technology" is shitty - because you can only make correct action during first talk with quest giver, not after you evaluate and speak with the guy near weapon.
But that can be said about many quests, they have odd ways of triggering and some odd logic to them.
I don't know why people praise C&C. Perhaps they experience game at different pace than I am, but while there are some choices inside quests, the C&C is nothing but awkward (you learn about it mostly by speaking to the boss of the faction who evaluates your actions). Meanwhile, logical, fluent C&C like factions fighting each other or reacting to your actions, I don't see much. People been mocking Fallout 4 references here, but in F4 I remember factions and companions attacking each other. At least I think if you say turn brotherhood companion into rebel, brotherhood would attack you and him on sight. Here 2 cleric bros jump pack around viking village solving quests and nobody cares really. I was waiting for something more random and natural, not to face consequences only if I press some button (if I ever even will, since I'm already in a faction anyway).
Vikings constantly nagging me about opening my character screen is even more annoying than guards praising your restoration skills in Skyrim. What, your character screens are made of wood or something? It's metagame action, way of using inventory and checking stats, goddamit.
Game seems to designed like mmo, where you proceed from one batch of quests in area into another. There are even normal mobs (beakers) that become more powerful in further areas. It is not designed for my way of play personally (literally moment into the game and I joined Clerics, grabbed their armor & weapons and psionics).
Although there are Suggestion options (cleric special skill) in viking quests, I've seen at least 1.
I don't understand why people praise factions either and think they are morally complex. They're made of popular things today - vikings, basically Skyrim larpers; BOS from Fallout & mad max raiders/outlaws. Since game requires you to get huge amounts of XP (final upgrade is level 25?), you just work from one to another, and since there are high tier weapons and skills for everybody, it's not like there are actual underdogs and not. If anything, power armor training in New Vegas was more "incloosive" than any spells or equipment here.
It's not "hmm I nobody must choose correctly whom I associate with and evaluate these factions", it's "well, gotta reach dat level 15, time to switch from viking quests to outlaws".
The story of the game is also thery awkward, with sudden cutscenes and flashbacks at some places, although I like some hints on old world like posters. So I am interested in knowing what is the story about really, what are the world hearts, and just what will happen. So I guess while they reused a lot from what is popular today, they put their own derpy twist on everything.
Meaning world design (like in most PB games of worth really) might be stronger point here, as even old monuments and things to sight see serve some purpose (like big dam or farms). Although sometimes they lack in most obvious things (Cleric base has no actual hospital/doctor to teach you Chemistry?).
I still believe them trying their hand in open world game is just sorta going modern and their design is completely not suited for very big open area game. It's to much nonsensical stuff and hard locks and respawning trash murder mobs that don't even have unique ways of dealing with them (weak spots, specific anti-armor weapons - you just grind for weapon for MORE DAMAGE). Enviromental dangers are exception but even they are awkward (step on random stone, SUDDENLY CATCH FIRE).
The combat is just bad, as well as character system. I especially like "turn stats into skill points to invest into skills that give you more stats".
The exploration and something gothic-like about this game keeps me going though, grinding from one hardlocked character option to another. In many ways it's same ocd drive that AoD used to make you keep going I think.
Part of it may come from my supressed slavic fetishism of "PLAY NOBODY NOT LIKE CASUL BIOWARE CHOSEN ONE STALKER SUFFER SQUAT UNTIL LEVEL 700 YOU CAN NOW USE IMPROVED STICK WITH STONE ON IT".