Nryn
Cipher
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2013
- Messages
- 255
Credits are rolling after 60 something hours, and I think Deadfire is a bit of a missed opportunity due to how uneven its content is. It overcame a sluggish start and seemed incredibly promising when I got to Fort Deadlight and then Nekataka. The game's cracks became easier to notice and harder to ignore the longer I played, preventing it from being the BG1 -> BG2 jump I hoped it would be. Spoiler-free thoughts on the game as a whole:
What I liked:
Overall I hoped the game would be a New Vegas-esque Pillars game, but given the exodus of writing talent at Obsidian, Deadfire unsurprisingly fell well short of those expectations. The onus then was on Deadfire's gameplay improvements to make up for this writing decline. As much as I enjoy some of the core system changes, it's hard to recommend the game in its current state since there is no challenge to put those core system improvements to good use without intentionally crippling one's party. Hopefully this will change and Deadfire will see a patch cycle similar to POE1.
What I liked:
- Itemization is one of the best in recent memory, with most unique items having unique enchants that reinforce the item's strengths and weaknesses. Deadfire's approach to itemization serves as a great counterpoint to Larian's abject itemization in D:OS2 where the Diabloesque "item fever" approach devalued unique and legendary items as item levels were the only criteria that really mattered, and thus, items needed constant replacing. In contrast, I found a Sabre in Deadfire's first real dungeon that was irreplaceable even at end game due to its unique abilities and enchants.
- I had more fun tinkering with Deadfire's underlying systems than I did with POE1's. Multiclassing, limited engagement, preemptive (combat) casting of immunities to certain spells, surprisingly potent potions, and the aforementioned itemization all combined together to make my party feel powerful in a way POE1 never managed. It's very unlike Sawyer to leave in so many ways to utterly break the game, and long may it continue.
- Most quests have multiple ways to complete them, including non violent means. Fort Deadlight, in particular, was probably the pinnacle of the quest design in Deadfire due to its multitude of scripted approaches. I also appreciated that I could outright murder important NPCs and still finish the game. On another positive note, the game also takes a leaf out of Fallout 1's book since one can go straight to the end of the game if one knows where to go, and the means to get there.
- Splintered Reef and its accompanying "Paradise of the Mind" quest gave me such strong BG2 flashbacks, in that it is an entirely optional area consisting of an hour+ long quest, unique lore that provides context to stuff in the critical path, and some of the more challenging encounters in the entire game.
- Most of the open sea content felt unfinished at best and filler at worst. There are entire "islands" that consist of a single small screen with a fight against half a dozen enemies lacking lore and context. They reminded me of a poor man's version of BG1's wilderness areas. The uncharted islands are often the only points-of-interest worth visiting, and once a player realizes this, the open seas of Deadfire seems incredibly content starved.
- Dungeon design was immensely disappointing, and arguably even a regression compared to the expansion-less POE1. The first real dungeon I encountered (under the Gullet) turned out to be the largest dungeon in the entire game, and even that barely took me an hour to complete. Most dungeons can be finished in under 10 minutes, and there's a conspicuous absence of puzzles. Deadfire's dungeon design on the whole compares poorly to even the tedious Endless Paths from POE1, which speaks volumes of how lacking Deadfire is in this regard.
- Encounter design suffers because the game's (lack of) difficulty and underpowered enemy abilities do not take into account how powerful the player gets. As a result, even though there are ambushes aplenty, the actual encounters are even less threatening than POE's was at release. Dragon fights and the final boss were absolute pushovers, and I'd wager the default AI scripts would manage just fine without player intervention as well. Comparing these fights to the Adra dragon in POE at release is night and day; the Adra dragon encounter was unforgiving before I realized that the dragon can be paralyzed with some effort, and then there was the horde of lesser enemies one had to deal with as well. If one brings White March's encounter difficulty and design into the picture, the comparison gets even worse for Deadfire. Concelhaut, the monk pain-trains, Llengrath, etc. were an order of magnitude more engaging to fight and defeat than anything in Deadfire.
- Speaking of enemies, the bestiary felt as if it barely progressed from POE 1 to 2 despite a complete change in the setting and its accompanying climate. Most of the enemies in Deadfire are recycled from POE1, which robs the player of tension on encountering a new enemy type one has not seen before. Despite being a sequel, the bestiary of Deadfire would not be out of place in an expansion to POE1, which is particularly damning.
- While factions are better implemented compared to POE1, they can't hold a candle to those in New Vegas. Deadfire's factions barely have a handful of quests each, and lack satisfying quest arcs. The 4 main factions are fashioned out of the same template of self-centered groups that require the watcher's help to get ahead at the expense of others. There is nothing particularly thought provoking or morally ambiguous about any of them, and it's to the game's credit that I could finish the game without aligning with any of them.
- Deadfire's companions are probably a frontrunner for Obsidian's most forgettable companion effort to date. They are simple one dimensional characters, with a short companion quest and barely any worthwhile content besides. There's nothing in the game that comes close to Durance's explosive conversations from POE1 or Boone's haunting companion quest from New Vegas.
- The Main quest was absurdly short and lacking in content. I'd wager Deadfire's critical path is 60-90 minutes of content stretched over a game that can last dozens of hours. As flawed as POE1's main quest was, it at least had some semblance of a narrative arc that was built up gradually. Deadfire's narrative arc is as unsatisfying as it is abrupt.
- If there is ever another Pillars game, I'd be happy if it had nothing to do with those Gods and their origins because they've been the focus of the narrative two games in a row and the narratives have been lackluster both times. Deadfire might have had a more satisfying main narrative arc if it were entirely about dealing with the day to day workings of factions and their conflicts, as New Vegas did, instead of being diluted by the Gods of Eora and their bullshit.
Overall I hoped the game would be a New Vegas-esque Pillars game, but given the exodus of writing talent at Obsidian, Deadfire unsurprisingly fell well short of those expectations. The onus then was on Deadfire's gameplay improvements to make up for this writing decline. As much as I enjoy some of the core system changes, it's hard to recommend the game in its current state since there is no challenge to put those core system improvements to good use without intentionally crippling one's party. Hopefully this will change and Deadfire will see a patch cycle similar to POE1.
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