My opinion on the game has shifted somewhat since that "glowing review" comment
Infinitron quoted here; I wrote that in the first blush of infatuation with it.
Even so, IMO Roxor is being overly hard on the game, although I agree with some of his main criticisms. It's true that there's rather little "game" in the game; it's basically a combat system with the barest skeleton of a game around it. If you don't enjoy the combat, there isn't much else there to carry it, and even if you do, it does eventually turn into a grind.
On the other hand, that combat is really fucking good. There's a massive variety of enemies which not only have different stats and special attacks, but which also behave differently, requiring different weapons, tactics, and abilities to defeat effectively. Same thing with the gear -- a two-hander has different tactical options than a flail, axe, or spear; thrown weapons have their own uses, and so on. I also differ with him about the perks and the way they support different builds and tactics. To pick one he didn't mention: the skirmisher. Start with a beggar with reasonable base melee and ranged skill, and then on level-up pick whichever happens to award more points. Give him the Quick Hands perk. Then lob javelins, hatchets, or bolas at the enemy as they close in, switching to your main weapon when you get into melee range. These are also great at taking out tough second-row enemies that would be otherwise hard to get at, pikemen or necromancers for example. -- And note: I'm not saying this is
the way to build a successful party, but it is
a way, which depends on a different mix of stats and perks than the ones Roxor proclaims to be the only viable templates.
And as a matter of fact I especially
liked the hidden stats for recruiting. It meant that early on I was looking for the cheapest beggars and cripples possible, giving the hopeless ones a woodcutter's axe and a bandanna and sending them raarghing at the enemy, while carefully cultivating the promising ones. Later on when I had money, I was scouring the settlements for specialists, and either whooping with joy or howling with disappointment, depending on what I got when I hired them.
Also -- I've gotten way more joy out of the game playing on Ironman/Veteran than any other setting. It's not masochism: it just requires you to git gud, figure out which contracts to accept, and know when to retreat in good order. The game loses a lot of its edge if you're not playing Ironman and can save-scum your way out of trouble when a fight goes pear-shaped for whatever reason.
But. Roxor is right in his main criticism: the game does turn into a tedious fucking grind after the initial hump. There is a lot of variety in enemies and battles play out differently on different terrain types, but that variety does eventually exhaust itself, and new battles will start feeling pretty much like previous battles you've won, except with enemies that get progressively tougher as you level up. There is only a limited range of mission types to take, and eventually you'll run out of new ones. It'll start to feel like a chore, not fun anymore.
However, Roxor is mistaken if he blames this on lack of variety or flaws in the core of the game -- the combat system, enemy variety, gear variety, or map variety. The problem is that the game is too long and progress is too slow after the early game, and, as stated, there's not enough there in terms of objectives and strategic gameplay to keep things moving.
Given that they're a very small team and probably don't have the resources to make a deep, broad, fleshed-out strategic game on top of what they have, if I was them I'd just speed up the mid to late-game progression with faster XP and equipment gains. The game would be shorter but ultimately more fun.
All in all I did enjoy BB a lot -- I got way more fun hours out of it than Roxor did, mostly I think because I played in Ironman mode -- but it did wear thin over time. It's a hugely impressive first effort, especially considering the team size, and I hope they'll build on the excellent core they have here to make the game the core deserves.
)), but that we actually do know stuff about games/RPGs.
