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khapaleaf · 1 month

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Done with my unfair run, finally (well, I was done with it on the 10th, but I wanted to celebrate by gorging myself on extremely sour candy, and afterwards I needed a day to calm down). It took me longer to finish than I had initially anticipated, but it was a grand experience filled with fun times. Anyway, trying to organise my thoughts here, because it will be interesting for me to see whether my opinions will change over time later on, and so into archiving mode I go.

First things first, I think Owlcat did a fantastic job at making this versatile and complex setting accessible to those who are not entirely familiar with it. Prior to playing the game, my own knowledge of this universe was limited to a small number of short stories and a much bigger number of memes without context. Yet going into the game, I never felt overwhelmed with new information, and felt right at home in the Koronus Expanse (or about as much as one can in this grim and unforgiving setting). The in-game glossary and the informative mouseover parts that can appear during dialogues to briefly explain what this or that organisation does, or who that person is and so on helped immensely in helping to ease into it. Bless all developers who do this, honestly. The soundtrack (10/10; not a single bad track, a triumph of a mood-setting music that seamlessly blends with the visual style), art design (pretty fucking metal – love the skulls everywhere; and it is also very interesting to see how Owlcat makes progress with each new game in terms of graphics), and characters all also play a big role in making the game a cohesive and truly engaging whole, and allow to uncover the myriad of complexities native to this setting. I laughed, I wept, I felt a myriad of powerful emotions. This is really it, this is what I want in my rpgs! And I want to play it over and over and over again. Fortunately for me, my brain is wired in a way that allows me to do just that without getting bored.

The main story itself is ultimately not all that complex, but the way it is built up within the game is genuinely interesting and engaging even despite the relative emptiness of the post-Commorragh chapters. I like that the planetary quests are structured a bit like self-contained episodes, while at the same time falling neatly into the puzzle that paints the bigger picture of the state of the Expanse. Still, I wish that there was a kind of overarching red thread present throughout the narrative like in the Pathfinder games (even though, yes, I get that these are vastly different settings and narrative experiences). For example, in Kingmaker, the kingdom has to resolve numerous issues throughout the years, but the threat of Nyrissa destroying it altogether looms over the heroes at all times – that is the kind of red thread I am talking about. It seems to me that there is a distinct lack of such a detail in this game, but if it were actually present in the story, the momentum after the third chapter would not have been lost, and it would have added some gravitas and an emotional punch to the later part of the game. Maybe there should have been more focus on Theodora’s involvement in the grand scheme of things, and how it affected the present timeline, maybe there should have been an overarching antagonist... There should have been more interactions with Nomos, definitely. Still, even with the blemishes, the story managed to draw me into a state of fascination and infatuate me with its vast cast, even though at times it felt as if I am taking part in a quietly moving tragedy, with every small decision slowly leading to a point of no return (but it fits the setting, so no complaints there). And really, this is not my first time loving a game with a less than stellar closing chapter. After all, both Tyranny and Kotor 2 stand among my favourites.

I do wish that it were possible for the player character to be a bit more involved in/written into the setting in terms of reactivity to their background and selected class. The amount of variation in the character creator with all of the different backgrounds, archetypes, skills and triumphs and so on is phenomenal, but the fact that it is all there pretty much only to serve the game mechanics side of things instead of the narrative is honestly a bit of a letdown. I suppose that this could be related back to Theodora’s insistence to forget their previous life in one of the earlier dialogues, but the option to acknowledge the character’s background would have been a fantastic touch nonetheless. I thought it was ridiculous that my first (and main, as is customary for my playthroughs) character, a voidborn, had the option to ask Vigdis to explain just what the hell a voidborn is, and how their lives are structured, but no actual option to relate to her on that level. Of course, it is entirely possible to disregard those questions completely, but then there would not be much to talk about with her, unfortunately. And she explains things so poetically, too. Just... give my character the option to relate to this experience (even though, as far as I understand, the rogue trader cannot be too voidborn-y, otherwise they would not have had the option of becoming a rogue trader in the first place). They did apparently add in some reactivity options along with the big patch back in February, but I do not have a save from that early in the game, so I cannot check whether anything at all was written in for this particular instance, or if this reactivity meant something else entirely.

Also, when it comes to the player character, I am still not entirely sure whether I enjoy the conviction system or not. I like that it restricts certain items, decisions, colony projects and such to specific conviction levels, but I do not like how it ties into the endings in the sense that one with the highest rank overrides everything else without taking into consideration the actual decisions made in the game. Basically, do tell the story of my character’s deeds, but do not presume to know what they were motivated by. My character had the most points in the Iconoclast branch (though it was roughly equal points-wise with the Dogmatic branch prior to the lock-in), and was described as an open-minded, merciful soul because of it. Open-minded, perhaps, certain in-game decisions do point to that being a possibility, and I do not even mind the fact that the Imperium feels the need to go to war with the entire Expanse because of those decisions – this fits, more or less. But was she merciful and compassionate? I do not think that a person who servitorises people left and right, uses them as fertiliser, thinks that cutting out the tongues of servants is a great idea to emulate, executes entire noble families as a precautionary measure, nukes and purges whole ass planets, and pretty much channels her inner Camellia on a regular basis is the space mother Teresa that the game makes her out to be. She is a basic bastard, but she is my basic bastard like all of my characters are, but I enjoyed her journey and I am rather protective of her, for lack of a better word. Perhaps it is a minor thing, but I do not like that the narrative makes assumptions about my character like that. And what of nuance? Sure, she did offer help to certain individuals, but it was done more from the point of view of someone who wants to ensure their loyalty, not someone who is genuinely concerned for said individual. That one dialogue with Cassia in particular was a defining point in her character building.

So here I am, trying to make a cohesive portrait in my mind, taking mental notes on what makes my character tick, and then the ending slides come up, and introduce their own static idea of what my character was like. Oh well, I suppose such are the limitations and restrictions placed on the character due to their native environment being a video game. Perhaps I could simply ignore this part, as I did with the whole kidnapping shenanigans timeline in WotR. Something to think about, I suppose.

Fortunately, the other characters, both the companions and the support characters are all a colourful bunch. And largely consistent in their attitudes and beliefs! Each of them speaks and acts in ways unique to no one but themselves, and I really like when the companion characters specifically chime in with their opinions and even have their own back and forth interactions in conversations. There is a lot of that, more than in any other Owlcat game to date, I would say. Still, when it comes to the companions specifically, I wish there were more deeply developed ways of interaction present. What I mean is that there is no option to really get to know them and become confidants, if not friends. I do feel attached to them as a player, but I would like to see my character actually interact with them more outside of their personal quests. Talking to Pasqal while he is being involved with all of the tech stuff on board? Cool! Cassia visiting the rogue trader to ask for their advice? Excellent, give me more of that, please. Getting drunk with Jae? Absolutely fantastic and hilarious (well, that was actually part of her quest, but it was still pretty unique bit, I think). I wish there were more scenes like that throughout the entirety of the game, but that is honestly my wish for any game that features companions.

On a smaller note, I also think that the book excerpts, letters and notes were wonderfully written, and I could easily imagine the personality of the author behind them, their worries, their beliefs and their desires in life.

I do think that there should have been a bit more voiced dialogue, especially when it comes to non-companions, to get a better feel for their personality as well as their presence in this world, but at the same time I am also not at all upset that a huge bulk of the dialogue happens through nothing but pure text, as I generally prefer to read and skip past the voice acting in video games on subsequent playthroughs, anyway. Unless the lines are really good, of course. And what is actually voiced is fantastic – Owlcat always manages to pick voice actors that are so vibrant and memorable and are a joy to listen to, always. Even now, I can read a line, any line, and imagine that it is spoken by Ekundayo or Jaethal, for example, all with their unique speech patterns and inflections. Here as well, the voice actors did such a remarkable job of bringing life to the characters, that I find it easy to imagine what their unvoiced lines sound like.

That said, I did not particularly enjoy the voice sets for the player character this time around, at least initially. It seems to me like they all have a bit too much personality, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I am used to selecting these voices as a mere formality (so that the character would make noise when they are hurting in combat, or when they find something on the map), not as a pretty damn defining feature for my characters. It definitely took time to adjust. Still, it was an interesting experience, because these voice lines, somewhat surprisingly, helped me develop the character even further because I go into games without having a clear vision of what the character is going to be like, and instead develop them on the go. But! The voices for the dudes are all kind of revolting to listen to. Unfortunate, but not surprising, because I also disliked all but one in the Pathfinder games. They all sound like they have a fish bone stuck in their throat and need someone to german suplex them to get it out, looney tunes style. How will I ever experience the romance with Lady Cassia under these conditions, damn it?

Speaking of romances, I think it is hilarious that the one my character ended the game with (Marazhai) is on the opposite spectrum in terms of pretty much everything to the one I wanted her to end up with (Yrliet) before playing the game. On my first run, I was certain that the latter caught a bug sometime during its course, and thus ended abruptly without even having a proper start, but apparently Yrliet does not like it if one decides to stab a dude in the neck in front of her, as it was later explained to me. Not a fan of such colourful methods of courtship, then. But it is fine, I would rather see the characters fit together rather than force anything by having my character act in ways that do not fit them to keep the romance going. So in comes Marazhai. The dude definitely has some enviable home decor skills, is very useful in combat encounters and deals a ton of damage, sends out a bunch of his kabalites to kill the enemies of the dynasty, gives not one, but two very cool and useful buffs (and they are intangible, which means more place to equip all sorts other beneficial items – and there is such a wide variety of items to choose from, it is incredible), and is pretty hilarious overall. Also! He managed to take out nine fucking participants (five of which were at full health) of the Aeldari ambush all by himself after the rest of the party was taken out of commission. That was the most clutch moment of the game for me. So... A worthwhile investment, I say. And, most importantly, he and my character actually fit. It is stupid and hilarious, perhaps unintentionally, but they fit.

The combat! I approached it cautiously because, while I do enjoy turn-based combat, I did not actually like what I saw of it in WotR, because it seemed a bit too wobbly to me, as if the camera was swimming all over the place whenever I tried moving the party, and that made me nauseous (I never finished the fallout-bunker-type side quest due to this). To my surprise, I ended up enjoying it very much from day one, even with my immensely stupid decision to experience the game on hard difficulty during my first run of the game. I am not going to say that it was an easy task, but it was fairly manageable, and I also think that it actually helped quite a bit with making the story feel more fittingly uninviting and grim, given the amount of obstacles the characters had to overcome. Thus far, I have three full runs in total: my main run, which I did twice now, and a kind-of-sort of gimmick run with three officers in the party (plus three other characters to bash enemy heads in), though playing an officer and controlling a party member that happens to be an officer feels different to me, and I have to admit that I did not actually enjoy having the main character be one.

For my unfair run I decided to take my first character, partly because she is the one I consider to be my main, and I wanted get a more polished version of her journey, partly because I read a brilliant comment of someone saying that the warrior class is shit in this game, and my character is indeed a warrior. Well, a warrior/psyker/assassin, with the psyker disciplines being telepathy and biomancy (some people shit on telepathy, too, but it is my favourite due to offering quite a few ways to debuff and damage enemies). Still, I became curious whether she is fit to handle the unfair difficulty. And she is! My strategies may not be the best, and my builds do not allow for instantaneously killing the big bosses (oneshoting a creature with over 20000 hp? In your dreams, maybe), but they do get me through the entire game without me ever needing to lower the difficulty. And at the end of the day, so long as there is more of the enemy on the floor than there is of my guy and their party, that is the only thing that matters. Here are some of her greatest hits.

Considering that she is a bit of a hybrid build, and thus has to juggle between more ability scores than a pure warrior class, I think the results she can show are pretty good. These are all from the last zone, of course, but she is indeed able to hold her own in a fight and dish out substantial damage, both mental and physical, throughout the entirety of the game.

Overall, I was expecting the unfair difficulty to make me feel like the tussles with the wild hunt in Kingmaker did – as if I am about to experience explosive diarrhoea and vomit at the same time. And while there were numerous times when I felt like a single enemy attack could dismantle my entire party (fortunately, that tension is all part of the fun for me), ultimately as the companions levelled up their archetype abilities, and the number of available actions and manoeuvrers grew bigger, most of the fights stopped presenting a challenge in a way where it felt that the deck is truly stacked against them. I often felt like going into the difficulty settings just to check whether it is still set to unfair. Still, while I do not think Owlcat has plans for such a dlc just yet, I would actually enjoy going through a purely combat-focused one, perhaps with a planetary multi-level dungeon with an extravagant amount of dudes to have mega tussles with. More challenges, please!

But I will also admit that I do not yet understand how to build some of the party members to make them valuable in combat. Idira should be extremely powerful, in theory. And she is, but she is also doing way too much damage to the party and often gets taken out of commission during the first round, and look – now the party has to fight a shit demon on top of these other twenty guys. I am missing something crucial here, a way to prevent that from happening, a way to reduce the perils of the warp phenomena from occurring. Could it be the difference between a sanctioned and unsanctioned psyker? Mine is able to spam both damaging abilities and buff the party when the purple warp bar is at full capacity, and yet no demons will be summoned, what the hell?! Heinrix is another character that I do not know how to build properly just yet in a way that would make him strong on the lower levels. Passing out during his own quest? Pathetic!

I know it is my own fault for failing to build him properly, but come on dude, work with me a little!

I have not yet grown fond of the space battle mini-game within the game. I can see them being thematically necessary an largely unavoidable when taking the setting into account, and yet I appreciate them only slightly more than the puzzles in their previous games. I think I would have liked them more if the battles were presented in storybook format (with skill and equipment checks and so on) in order to make them feel less like padding in the game. Oh look, the green field is now positioned in a way that forces the ship to fly in the opposite direction of its enemies! And now the damaged enemy ship is attempting an escape, and now our guns cannot even reach them, and now they are successfully leaving the battlefield. And I have to reload the entire thing and try to shoot them down immediately because I cannot accept anyone making a successful escape. I understand that one enemy ship escaping still counts towards our party’s victory, but I need to see everyone in pieces.

Well, I am probably forgetting about a number of smaller details I would have liked to talk about, but the main thing is that I loved the game. Top 3, definitely! I will not deny that there are quite a few blemishes that hold it back, and there is still a lingering feeling that it game could have been even bigger and more complex, if only the development time was longer. Hopefully, that potential will be tapped in a sequel, if Owlcat ever decides to make one. And I hope that they will stay true to themselves when they do so.

#rogue trader #just taking a couple of notes for my future self to read #i wish i had notes on my pathfinder playthroughs #but only memories remain #well not this time #anyway onto my fourth playthrough i go #maybe then i will find #a place in my heart and a space in my mind for the space combat sections

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