gamesandtings

I haven’t finished it – not sure I will but I really should.

There are so many things that I really like about the game and for the majority of the time, I did enjoy myself. I attempted to explore every nook and cranny, admiring how seemingly simple looking maps were able to be folded onto itself, enveloping intricate paths whilst affording opportunities with the GLOO gun to tread new ones. And for the majority of the time, there were rewards to be found – be it audiologs or neuromods and it felt like the player was compensated for their curiosity.

I enjoyed the setting; I wasn’t bored by how singular in nature it was. I felt that that helped contribute in “grounding” the experience, making it a more cohesive world that didn’t try to stray too far from what it was: a space station floating in the near abyss.

I’m a still a tourist in this genre, bar playing Bioshock and its sequels along with the latest iterations of Deus Ex, I’m still a novice. This obviously caveats what I do have to say; as what seems to be unexplored or unexploited territory for this game might simply be inchoate for others that are far more familiar.

But my frustrations have grown to a point where I don’t care to see this journey out. Nearing what seems to be near the end, the lack of resources has exploited how poor the combat can really feel. Approaching the end has funneled the game into a more combat heavy focus – maybe my own impatience in wanting to complete it has contributed to this but the constant stream of military bots searching for me as highlighted how blunt and clumsy the combat can feel. I’ve got to a point where resources are so precious I’m unable to craft the very resources I need to power through. When I’m abundantly blessed with constituent parts bar the one I need most, it just feels like an inelegant way of limiting the player in their chosen approach.

As for the praise I did give for rewarding the player in exploring (which helped drive my enjoyment for the 20 hours I played), it has exposed its failings in how malformed its progression feels. For example, constantly finding plans for the various things you can craft yields nothing more than a gentle jingle – maybe the multiple blueprints could help to lower the crafting costs of making said item.

There is an enjoyable experience in this game and I do want to get back to finishing it. It will have to wait, my time on Talos 1 will float in limbo.

Tentative Score: 6 neuromods out of 10 required for Hacking Lvl 5. 

Updated: So, I had to go back and finish it. My mind hasn’t changed even though I was able to hack all the troublesome robots and breeze through the last section of the game. The ending is undeserved to say the least.