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It's a brilliant game and one of my all time favorites. Glad the technical side has gotten better so people can truly enjoy it.

@ukiduck Thanks. So it's essentially a bridge game (still an essential entry in the series) just like the 3rd.

Question @ShogunRok or anyone familiar with the situation. Does that new game recently released in Japan serve as an epilogue to the CS saga (similarly to Trails in the Sky 3rd) or a beginning to new arc? I would look it up myself but I try to avoid any spoilers.

I think the overarching narrative and returning characters is ultimately what makes this series special. Most games don't bother with that sort of thing, and it's understandable but you certainly have to admire the sheer ambition and scope of the project. People who decide to invest in it can have a gaming experience similar to a big book series or a TV show (or MCU to a lesser extent).
I'm currently playing TOCS1, after finishing all of the previous games and I really appriciate how they establish each arc and handle plot points from earlier games throughout the series. Each of those arcs offers closure and theoretically can be enjoyed as a standalone but having the knowledge of prior events and recurring characters is what makes it unique, culminating (I assume) in something akin to Avengers Infinity War/Endgame, which similarly is much more impactful if you watched the prior movies.

I'd recommened anyone interested in the series (and most specifically the story, characters and lore) to start from the beginning (Trails in the Sky). Granted I haven't even played the Cold Steel arc yet but everything I've seen so far and everything I've read points out that it's an overarching storyline, even if specific "arcs" are relatively self contained (think Marvel's Infinity Saga), characters reappear and plot points are continued.

P.S. very helpful article, including a timeline for the series: https://www.rpgfan.com/features/So-You-Want-To-Get-Into-The-Trails-Series/

Man...I've been plying the first "arc" of the Legend of Heroes series - the Trails in the Sky trilogy - for some time now and I'm seriously impressed, pretty much instantly became a fan and I'm not even a huge JRPG guy overall. Still need to finish Trails in the Sky 3rd and then spend some serious cash on four Cold Steel games.

Wait...so apart from the usual "7? Ugh! PASS!" (I know, backlogs and all) now we're closing a studio because a game got a 7?

@Octane Yeah that makes perfect sense! What was I thinking

VIP Demo? Seriously...?

I didn't like Cavill for that role but I was willing to give them a chance, maybe with the right makeup, facial hair...

It's even worse than I imagined lol.

Glad to hear it, even though I still haven't played it. What got me discouraged wasn't the review scores ("oh my, only 70 on Metacritic... must mean its garbage") but the fact that numerous sites mentioned that there's a lot of combat in it and it has always looked looked like the least interesting aspect of the game by far.

Sad news and strange timing for me personally, as I'm currently enjoying Obsidian-created worlds, playing Tyranny on PC after finishing Pillars of Eternity on my PS4.

Obsidian is such a great studio and one of my favorite developers overall, so if they were to be acquired by Microsoft I at least hope it would help them get them the funding they deserve, though I'm afraid they could end up Biowared of just thrown to the wayside like other studios in recent years.

Also wonder what it means for Pillars of Eternity 2, since I was really looking forward to playing it on PS4, hopefully it still gets released.

@eltomo This is an RPG (think Deus Ex..or maybe play Deus Ex). First person combat + guns doesn't always equal a FPS. For some reason it seems to confuse some people as even the developers feel to need to stress that this is an RPG at every turn.

Regardless of this particular case, by now gamers should be well aware that due to various reasons games may end up looking slightly different (often for the worse) than during earlier stages of development. This downgrade hunting is really getting old and unless it's a blatant case of false advertising we should all just move on with our lives, especially since most of the "downgraded" games end up looking amazing anyway.

@johncalmc Yeah, thanks for the info, looks like I'll have to check it out at some point.

@johncalmc My question is how OS II compares to the first game in terms of tone, characters and the story. You've mentioned stellar writing and well written characters and those things were the weakest points of the first game so it's kinda surprising to hear reviewers praising it so much. Also, while I appriciate a lot of the humor of the first one, I found the tone overly goofy (for the lack of a better word), how does it look in the sequel?

@Bonbonetti Yeah they were definitely going for the horror vibe in this trailer. I've never played Stalker personally but heared great things about it. Combining the best aspects from Metro and Stalker has great potential
I just hope they'll manage to integrate the open world elements effectively, given that the previous two games were mostly linear.

The vistas in this game look striking and the interactions system is promising. I hope we'll have some sort of loyality missions. That's one thing that ME: Andromeda actually did good...it wasn't just A mission - you got to know a character, then did some smaller missions usually, then had a big loyality mission and then some sort of closre with the character. Read Dead is not an RPG but it would be nice if there was some depth to it.

Hopefully at least one of them will be really good.

A good obsession to have if you ask me.

@Rob_230 On the contrary, they're picking up where they left off trying to depict the cycle of violance and offer a nuanced (hopefully) take on how it can affect a person (which games generally don't do).

I pretty much agree that the first one had the perfect ending and didn't need a sequel but since they've decided to do one that angle seems like a reasonable choice.

Hmm..."gods" who left the world but left some "mysterious" technology behind, relentless invaders who crave that "ancient power", an AI partner who tells you what to do...sounds familiar?

It's funny how a game that hasn't really been show can win E3, but for me it's definitely Cyberpunk 2077. After reading the details from the presenation and seeing how pretty much all journalists are raving about it this is shaping up to be of my dream games (Deus Ex on steroids) So...

1. Cyberpunk 2077
2. Last of Us: Part II
3. Ghost of Tsushima

“We’re making a game about the cycle of violence and we’re making a statement about violent actions and the impact they have on the character that’s committing them and on the people close to them”

This quote goes in line with where I think/hope they're going with the character of Ellie and it might not be pretty.

Some other news from the interview with one of the devs at the Gamespot stage show:

1) He adressed the concerns that the game is too colorful by saying it still has that "noir" feel during the nights (day and night cycle) and the story is definintely noir, they just wanted to showcase something different
2) He emphasized this is an RPG, despite it being first person (some people for some reason have touble connecting the two)
3) Much more focus on verticality (a huge apartment complex with many floors, vendors, quest givers etc)

Swinging around a popluated (finally!) city like that does look great. It's too bad that the "side activites" seem like the typical open world fluff.

@ApostateMage I was thinking the same, hope they'll have Japanese voice acting for this.

I was surely intrigued with the feel and look of the last year's trailer but you never really know how the game will feel until you see some gamplay. This looks amazing and I love that they took the more realisitc/grounded route instead of being needlesy flashy. It also seems like the combat will be more tactical and not super fast which is another plus to me.

I've always thought that TLOU pretty much ended perfectly and didn't need a sequel. But this looks stunning and judging by the first section we're going to get some more nuance to the characters (something that is largely missing in most video games). I'm really curious to see where they go with Ellie and her development considering what's she been through and it could very well go quite dark (those first trailers certainly suggest that).

Definitely an underrated series, which some probably mistake for just another FPS on the market filled with them. Personally, I don't care about FPSs but both Metro titles with their mixture of tense atmosphere/horror elements, exploration/survival and the setting are without a doubt among my favorities games this generation.

@FoxyGlen I imagine that the system may be hard to balance properly. Some reviewers state that the game can be quite difficult when trying to spare everyone and even low level enemies can kill you.

I've always thought that combat is going to be the weakest part of the game based on all the gameplay videos. It's not a dealbreaker for me, since the other elements of the game seem really interesting.

While browsing the reviews I've found two quotes that illustrate my point about games (and this particular title), namely that we need more AA titles that take risks and try to do something else and that this may be, liked it seemed from the beginning, a hidden gem.

"In a market saturated by AAA titles, Vampyr is an excellent example of why we need more AA games. It's not the prettiest or the smoothest experience, but then again, it's really not trying to be. What Vampyr wants to do is tell the story of a newborn vampire who holds the fate of post WWI-London in his hands; the focus is on story, atmosphere, and making hard decisions that have hard consequences." RPG Fan

"And yet, the credits roll on Vampyr with the realization of how seldom we see an open-world RPG experience like this, where being a citizen with a responsibility to a place and its people feels personal, even if that investment lies in who looks delicious tonight. Vampyr is certainly shaggy and rough in the technical department, but its narrative successes still make for an impactful and worthwhile experience." Gamespot

@get2sammyb I'm not sure if anyone else asked it before, but could you elaborate some more on the side content? You mentioned the handful of side quests but are they actually good and fleshed out or mainly serve a distraction?

@get2sammyb Thanks, that does sound pretty good!

@get2sammyb I've only skimmed through the review, since I want to know as little as possible before playing it (it helps that the developers didn't show much of the game so far, I feel like they only showcased one level) but I'd like you to ask you about the story. I know you said that it got you hooked from start to finish, but how does it compare to other great story driven games? It is of particular interest to me, because outside of the setting it's what will probably make or break this game for me.

I did contribute to it and I don't regret it! It's an awesome game and I'm really happy that it's selling well.

@Tsurii For some strange reason the game loads before displaying the main menu and takes a loooong time. Other than that, at least to me, loading times here are okay, nothing terrible in game, loading saves doesn't take too long (or maybe I just get numbed by the initial loading when launching the game and lose the track of time )

@Doctor_BK The saving system can be a pain in the ass (how much of a pain depends on your playstyle). I'm still early in the game but there are cots scattered in the world where you can sleep (and save) and the manual save drinks can be used strategically.

I love (good) fantasy myself, but there are TONS of fantasy games out there, it's nice to have a good realistic game for once! The historical setting really provides enough intrigue here, especially with how cinematic the game can be.

@FoxyGlen That's a great comparison especially when it comes to the NPC routines Gothic was famous for. In Kindom Come they really put effort into that, for example the characters even change before they go to bed!

Great review @FoxyGlen. This game harkens back older western RPGs (and no, let's not muddle the term RPG even more because of modern standards, this game is the very defintion of role playing) in terms of number of systems and complexity and I personally love that.

@naruball Even though I couldn't wait and bought it already, waiting at least a few weeks if not months is always the most reasonable course of action with those big open world games.

@Bonbonetti You're exactly right, it's the area between AAA games and indies that suffers the most. It's a shame too, since many gamers straight up dismiss those games just on the basis of the all important scores.

Another aspect that in my opinion plagues the gaming industry (or pop culture in general to an extent) is that we rarely give enough praise to games that go against the grain and try something different (like this game or the upcoming Vampyr) instead of streamlining the exprience to reach the mass audience.

@Tasuki I'd say it pretty much delivers exactly what any reasonable person who followed the project might expect: hugely ambitious and complex but also pretty divisive and janky with some performance issues. I've been following the game closely for a few years now and I took a leap of faith, ordered a few days ago and my copy arrives today, can't wait to get immersed in the world!

On a side note, what really bothers me is that some big budget productions like Fallout or Elder Scrolls and even the Witcher get a free pass on the numerous glitches, bugs and such while the smaller productions often get torn to pieces because of the same reason and get really low scores.

This is a big open world game and it needs as much polish as possible, just like every other title of that scale (let's not forget games like Skyrim and Witcher 3 had their share of issues) so I'm okay with it. I know it sucks for those with bad Internet connection though.

The incorporation of the overworld view with the chibi characters seems like a questionable decision considering how much better the game looks in the "regular" view.

This video pretty much sums up why I'm execited for this game. There are several advantages of making narrative driven games on a smaller scale and this is definitely one of them.

Never had a chance to play it, and this one always seemed the most interesting to me out of that group (Ico, the Last Guardian). So I'm probably in for a treat.

I'd also like to see some more full-on remakes down the line.

I expect some jankiness, performance issues and bugs...and a bunch of gamers complaing how "boring" it is. Having said that this game has a huge potential and is one of my most anticipated titles this year. Like I said elsewhere it seems to have all the makings of a future cult classic (at the very least).

I love the fact that they want to focus on the characters as individuals with a backstory rather than just some random NPCs to kill (I love when games do that, even if it a little touch, like all of the scientists in Prey having names). One of the benefits of a smaller scale.

That's what I like to hear. Good and engaging story is what often makes or brakes open world games for me (not a coincidence that some of the best open world games also have good storylines to fall back on). Without it I feel no real urge to immerse myself and explore the world.