- Joined
- Apr 15, 2010
- Messages
- 21,144
With all the diablo clones going 3d, I never expected a game going backwards to SNES graphics to be the most satisfying one of them all. But it is. I'm shocked to look at my steam time played and see that I put over 30 hours into it over the weekend. I can't remember the last time I was absorbed like this into a game. It's almost like I'm in high school again. And the game is still early access to boot.
what makes this game great is the skill system. each character has 4-5 trees, with the skills themselves like a vastly superior version of titan quest/grim dawn:
+There's no mastery bar skill point sink. There are masteries, but they are on a different xp track and unrelated to skill progression. Instead, putting lots of points in a tree boosts its main tree skill, which in turn provides minor stat bonuses.
+the skills themselves are a lot more fun to use. Most are synergies, but for each skill (the + in the above screenshot) you can pick out of 2-3 active skills to boost. so even if you don't like a particular skill odds are you'll find something that suits you
+there are cross-tab synergies that let you build up into 3-4 chain reactions of different shit. pretty fun to experiment with.
only difference is that there are a hard set 4 classes, each with their own tabs and there's no combining them. But that's ok, each class is easily the equivalent of grim dawn's entire masteries system considering how much better thought out they are.
the itemization is similar to diablo 2, except each class has their own unique weapons and there isn't much variety. Templar can go sword/shield or sword/tome depending on whether you want more offense or defense. warden only has bow/arrows. berserker has 2 kinds of claws/gauntlets (I think). warlock has a staff/tome
That aside, the items themselves are heavily customizable. as long as you have enough resources you can eventually roll whatever you want on the side stats (unique items have pre-set stats and sometimes unique abilities, and the main stats are entirely based on the item's level and rarity), no cheaping out like diablo 3 does with only letting you enchant 1 stat. the sets also seem to be much better thought out. they usually boost synergy skills rather than active skills so instead of locking you into a handful of builds like diablo 3 does just about any build that uses those synergies can make use of them.
game has 4 acts right now, with a fifth that is supposed to be on its way.
All in all if you like big fat skill trees and committing large scale extermination of elves/orcs/undead/local fauna picking this up for 10 bucks is a no brainer. Although the game says you're reliving the experiences of heroes I felt more like Stalin or Hitler by the end of the game. and apparently this game is a one man project. like grimoire/stardew valley it's amazing how one person can make giant corporations look like complete bitches.
what makes this game great is the skill system. each character has 4-5 trees, with the skills themselves like a vastly superior version of titan quest/grim dawn:
+There's no mastery bar skill point sink. There are masteries, but they are on a different xp track and unrelated to skill progression. Instead, putting lots of points in a tree boosts its main tree skill, which in turn provides minor stat bonuses.
+the skills themselves are a lot more fun to use. Most are synergies, but for each skill (the + in the above screenshot) you can pick out of 2-3 active skills to boost. so even if you don't like a particular skill odds are you'll find something that suits you
+there are cross-tab synergies that let you build up into 3-4 chain reactions of different shit. pretty fun to experiment with.
only difference is that there are a hard set 4 classes, each with their own tabs and there's no combining them. But that's ok, each class is easily the equivalent of grim dawn's entire masteries system considering how much better thought out they are.
the itemization is similar to diablo 2, except each class has their own unique weapons and there isn't much variety. Templar can go sword/shield or sword/tome depending on whether you want more offense or defense. warden only has bow/arrows. berserker has 2 kinds of claws/gauntlets (I think). warlock has a staff/tome
That aside, the items themselves are heavily customizable. as long as you have enough resources you can eventually roll whatever you want on the side stats (unique items have pre-set stats and sometimes unique abilities, and the main stats are entirely based on the item's level and rarity), no cheaping out like diablo 3 does with only letting you enchant 1 stat. the sets also seem to be much better thought out. they usually boost synergy skills rather than active skills so instead of locking you into a handful of builds like diablo 3 does just about any build that uses those synergies can make use of them.
game has 4 acts right now, with a fifth that is supposed to be on its way.
All in all if you like big fat skill trees and committing large scale extermination of elves/orcs/undead/local fauna picking this up for 10 bucks is a no brainer. Although the game says you're reliving the experiences of heroes I felt more like Stalin or Hitler by the end of the game. and apparently this game is a one man project. like grimoire/stardew valley it's amazing how one person can make giant corporations look like complete bitches.
