Codex Review RPG Codex Review: Torment: Tides of Numenera

[YES!]

Codex creating butthurt like the good ole days...

Wouldn't it be nice if an rpg site had people on staff that actually liked rpgs? It seems like the function of this sight is too be edgy and full of drama instead of being an rpg site.

Prime Junta isn't really on staff, has actually said he's "not a codexer" and isn't very popular because he's too positive.

Good old days? You mean like a couple years ago when you joined? When the codex was an actual rpg site it created butthurt by attacking shallow and superficial console games and promoting actual rpgs. Now it does the opposite.

 

[Lgrayman]

I agree with some of the points in the review but what I struggle to comprehend is how the reviewer could possibly hate this game so much when he liked Pillars of Eternity. Praising that generic, dull mess of a game and having the audacity to say that this game was poorly written and verbose? Wow.

No, the writing was far better than pretty much any other video game for whatever that's worth, only surpassed by PST. There were plenty of choices and consequences, alternative quest solutions, reactivity based on what you've done (NPCs will acknowledge who is standing right next them, respond differently based on quests you've done up to that point, the order and method in which you completed those quests and your dominant tides), there are tons of skill checks (admittedly partially ruined due to them all being impossible to fail) and some of the areas like The Bloom are very memorable and interesting to explore. The combat isn't very good and is very easy, but still better than PST's and the developers were admirable in their choice to have almost no filler combat; virtually every other developer would've had adjoining rooms to The Underbelly filled with rats to kill or other such nonsense merely to pad out the game. The fact it still manages to come to a playtime of 30+ hours despite their refusal to pad it out is actually very impressive, much less worthy of scorn.

The cuts are a shame and their defence of it, as it turns out, was nonsense. The remaining companions are not especially fleshed out which is what they said would be the case in exchange for cutting 3 companions. None of them come close to the likes of Morte and Dak'kon and they're all fairly ordinary humans which is a waste, although a few of them are still quite good. The skill and effort systems are interesting ideas but very poorly executed as the review points out - you've got 0 points (inability) in Lore: Machinery? Who cares? You will still never fail to pass those checks. Character advancement, then, means nothing. Visuals and audio are whatever, fine I guess, nothing special but not awful like some seem to suggest aside from the character models which are gross and maybe once they fix the fucking permanent buff sounds you'll actually be able to hear the music.

8/10

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Good old days? You mean like a couple years ago when you joined?

Been here since 2003. Join dates mean nothing.

Also, "couple" means two...

When the codex was an actual rpg site it created butthurt by attacking shallow and superficial console games and promoting actual rpgs. Now it does the opposite.

Which you would know how, Mr 2017?

 

[Night Goat]

Wouldn't it be nice if an rpg site had people on staff that actually liked rpgs? It seems like the function of this site is to be edgy and full of drama instead of being an rpg site.

Didn't you say you were leaving?

 

[YES!]

Good old days? You mean like a couple years ago when you joined?

Been here since 2003. Join dates mean nothing.

Also, "couple" means two...

When the codex was an actual rpg site it created butthurt by attacking shallow and superficial console games and promoting actual rpgs. Now it does the opposite.

Which you would know how, Mr 2017?

Who were you in 2003?

 

[YES!]

Wouldn't it be nice if an rpg site had people on staff that actually liked rpgs? It seems like the function of this site is to be edgy and full of drama instead of being an rpg site.

Didn't you say you were leaving?

I'll leave if you guys tell me why you are all so into posting on an rpg site when you don't even like rpgs?

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

Wouldn't it be nice if an rpg site had people on staff that actually liked rpgs? It seems like the function of this site is to be edgy and full of drama instead of being an rpg site.

Didn't you say you were leaving?

Roqua never leaves.

Who were you in 2003?

Pretty sure I didn't have one in 2003. Just lurked.

I may have made a few posts with various accounts over the years, but I've only had one account that I posted a lot with before this one and I'll never reveal its naem! (or its pw cuz I forgot it)

 

[YES!]

Wouldn't it be nice if an rpg site had people on staff that actually liked rpgs? It seems like the function of this site is to be edgy and full of drama instead of being an rpg site.

Didn't you say you were leaving?

Roqua never leaves.

Who were you in 2003?

Pretty sure I didn't have one in 2003. Just lurked.

I may have made a few posts various accounts over the years, but I've only had one account that I posted a lot with before this one and I'll never reveal its naem! (or its pw cuz I forgot it)

So most likely you are twelve and think Zelda is the best rpg ever. And at least Roqua likes rpgs so I guess I understand why people state that I am him.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

So most likely you are twelve and think Zelda is the best rpg ever.

What is an RPG?

And at least Roqua likes rpgs so I guess I understand why people state that I am him.

Nah, it's cuz Infinitron ratted you out.

 

[ga♥]

Valley of Dead Heroes where you have to get through at least 3 combat encounters.

You know you can avoid combat at Endless Gate, right?

No?

I've been doing both of the sidequests at the same time

Spoiler

but when I go into Endless Gate I still get attacked by the cultists.

an Administrator - I am dumb. I just found what I needed to do to TOTALLY AVOID COMBAT in Endless Gate.

So now your TTON score passed from 9.0/10 to 9.5/10?

 

[YES!]

So most likely you are twelve and think Zelda is the best rpg ever.

What is an RPG?

And at least Roqua likes rpgs so I guess I understand why people state that I am him.

Nah, it's cuz Infinitron ratted you out.

When did he rat me out? I assure you he is not able to connect the two accounts.

 

[Malpercio]

It could be a bit more in-depth to be honest, but the part about the writing is A+.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

When did he rat me out?

Shoutbox I think. Or maybe it was Crispy.

I assure you he is not able to connect the two accounts.

Say what you like, but he can backtrace your butt and tell the cyber police.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Valley of Dead Heroes where you have to get through at least 3 combat encounters.

You know you can avoid combat at Endless Gate, right?

No?

I've been doing both of the sidequests at the same time

Spoiler

but when I go into Endless Gate I still get attacked by the cultists.

an Administrator - I am dumb. I just found what I needed to do to TOTALLY AVOID COMBAT in Endless Gate.

So now your TTON score passed from 9.0/10 to 9.5/10?

Joined: Feb 3, 2017

 

[ga♥]

Valley of Dead Heroes where you have to get through at least 3 combat encounters.

You know you can avoid combat at Endless Gate, right?

No?

I've been doing both of the sidequests at the same time

Spoiler

but when I go into Endless Gate I still get attacked by the cultists.

an Administrator - I am dumb. I just found what I needed to do to TOTALLY AVOID COMBAT in Endless Gate.

So now your TTON score passed from 9.0/10 to 9.5/10?

Joined: Feb 3, 2017

 

[ga♥]

Tyranny would be comparable in terms of map size, but Pillars? Absolutely not.

How do you reach this conclusion without a scale? Also comparing Tyranny to TTON map sizes is frankly too much.

 

[ArchAngel]

Wouldn't it be nice if an rpg site had people on staff that actually liked rpgs? It seems like the function of this site is to be edgy and full of drama instead of being an rpg site.

Didn't you say you were leaving?

I'll leave if you guys tell me why you are all so into posting on an rpg site when you don't even like rpgs?

So we can make butthurt fags like you leave.

 

[Kev Inkline]

Btw, does anyone know why they decided to keep combat to a minimum? It seems a very odd decision, considering they had WL2's combat system.

It was in a response to demands from a lot of vocal backers. Not very surprising considering that it's a PST successor. Unfortunately, that did not translate into more effort/quality into the storytelling.

It didn't translate well into Italian either.

 

[Lord Andre]

I agree with some of the points in the review but what I struggle to comprehend is how the reviewer could possibly hate this game so much when he liked Pillars of Eternity. Praising that generic, dull mess of a game and having the audacity to say that this game was poorly written and verbose? Wow.

Actually this is a good point. In nuTorment at least there is a story under the purple prose and it doesn't drag on for a thousand hours so fuck it I'll finish it. It's not even that boring, it feels like playing a shittier version of Age of Decadence if Age of Decadence could be a snowflake with a messiah complex and shit systems (see what I did there hue hue).

PoE on the other hand was bland as shit, the story was a pretext with no plot hook and it buried you under tons of copy pasted trash mobs and MOBA style loot. I couldn't finish such a piece a shit for the same reason I never finished Wasteland 2 - I won't play the same encounter 10 times in a row like a lobotomized retard.*


* Except Underrail which is an excellent game but there the fucking system actually supports that kind of gameplay.


The problem with nuTorment is that it fucks up basic shit. That's what is infuriating. Purple prose, really ? How many experienced writers were on that fucking team ? Every fucking retard who ever tried to write something knows the most common mistake is overwritten flowery descriptions. How do you fall in the most common trap of writing ever. This is fan fiction tier dumb fuckery.

How could you cut out half the character system (foci) ? Why the fuck do the character portraits look like shit. Why are the models shit ? Why would you make TB combat with a large number of enemy combatants ? Why ? Why, after more than a decade, do I see replicated in a professional studio game, the infamous bugbear conga line from Temple of Elemental Evil ? Can we not advance as a species ? Must we forever repeat the same mistakes till the end of time ?

I understand you can't insert coins into a game designer and out pop masterpieces but could we cover the basic shit for fuck's sake, just the basic shit.

Rant over, but just in case anyone who ever dreams of making a wordy rpg reads this: In the era of widescreens don't make me read walls of text across long lines because humans don't read with their peripheral vision they read in the middle area where you can actually focus, so use a fucking column like Age of Decadence or Shadowrun or you know... books... or don't, just know that you're a piece of shit...

 

[Freakydemon]

I liked it a lot but there's no denying there's a lot of potential in there they just never tapped into, either out of resource constraints or just the old guard losing their touch. Obsidian has completely gone down the drain and InXile are just stuck making decent games but nothing really new and invigorating. A toast to the new guard and may they bring much incline.

Spoiler

Larian is still ace though, this is an indisputable fact.

 

[Kras Mazov]

Rant over, but just in case anyone who ever dreams of making a wordy rpg reads this: In the era of widescreens don't make me read walls of text across long lines because humans don't read with their peripheral vision they read in the middle area where you can actually focus, so use a fucking column like Age of Decadence or Shadowrun or you know... books... or don't, just know that you're a piece of shit...

AMEN

My neck hurts after 3h of playtime 'cause reading by moving the eyes only is not possible.

 

[YES!]

When did he rat me out?

Shoutbox I think. Or maybe it was Crispy.

I assure you he is not able to connect the two accounts.

Say what you like, but he can backtrace your butt and tell the cyber police.

What? No, no one has an official connection I assure you. You can backtrace all the butts you want you fucking weirdo.

 

[YES!]

Wouldn't it be nice if an rpg site had people on staff that actually liked rpgs? It seems like the function of this site is to be edgy and full of drama instead of being an rpg site.

Didn't you say you were leaving?

I'll leave if you guys tell me why you are all so into posting on an rpg site when you don't even like rpgs?

So we can make butthurt fags like you leave.

Don't most fags butt's hurt?

And you are saying the community of this site, a supposed rpg site, is made up of people so fucking retarded that the post here without liking rpgs to hurt the feelings of people who do like rpgs?

You, sir, are the exact target audience for this sham review.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

 

[TT1]

Nice review, PJ. A lot of truth in this text.