Yeah, i'm finding this one super open. It does the same thing the first does - kinda hub and spoke type central points that you can head off from, but these spokes now have more paths leading off of them, more verticality, more secrets, shortcuts and loops. It's not a flat walk from one end to the next style open world, but it is open and full of stuff to do and see. 

I really, really like the way it is laid out and, like sth like Death Stranding, it forces me to often stop and look at the world and think about what the right way to get somewhere is. 

Plus, some of those save systems are fucking mahoosive.

Yeah, I keep finding new stuff, even on paths i've already travelled. Sometimes it's my own discovery, sometimes it's a pawn that saw something before. And if i really don't fancy a walk...I just take an oxcart. It's easy enough.

Call the police or something

It's the way of things these days. A mountain you can't climb. Micro transactions that I still don't know how to access and would be oblivious to if it wasn't for the OUTRAGE. Three second loading screens. Beaches that aren't proper beaches, merely sand where the sea meets the land.

His character is a fat thief coincidentally called gurt. Gurt likes throwing creatures over cliffs.

Do you not think there's a circular road there because they put the mountain in first? You know, like how roads tend to work in real life?

Surely since you're that clever you must have thought about that?

It's clearly no Unicorn Overlord.

Only in your mind.

Blocks100 wrote:

Here's the full world map when revealed in NG+

Spoiler:

Circled red region is the 'mountain' where you can't go.

Awesome.

Minnesänger wrote:

Blocks100 wrote:

In age where open world RPGs tell us 'see that mountain?, you can climb it', this one tells us you can't.

This is kind of the fundamental difference here - just because one RPG offers mile wide, millimetre deep pre-chewed gameplay, doesn't mean every RPG has to follow that trend. It'd reductive, and one open world can do things different from another. It does no one any good to hold a genre of games to a certain bunch of "essential" standards. Roguelites must have build variety? Returnal says no. Deckbuilders should avoid RNG? Balatro says no. Open Worlds must let you traverse every single inch of the map otherwise be defined as linear, corridor games? GTA3 says no. Mafia says no. Dragons Dogma says no. 

It's a corridor RPG if you follow that road, but there's a hundred paths off it. There's no bunny hopping up the side of the mountain, no sucking stamina potions and praying it doesn't rain. These are not inherently better choices by default. They are different ones. It's elegant curated design. Leaving Venworth, the circular road asks you to go north or go west, and each path holds a hundred possibilities. 

Maybe try not to insult people who don't hold your same viewpoint by calling them dim? It's honestly quite shitty, Blocks.

It's daft trying to make out that a mountain is shit design or something that wasn't even thought about. It's an obstacle to be navigated. You can walk round (two separate ways I'm sure, where you'll experience different journeys), take the ox cart or chuck a port crystal down in Melve and save yourself some time. But they're all gameplay driven.

Same as encountering a downed bridge. If it's one of the small wooden ones you could wait for a repair. Lure a Cyclops over to it and create your own bridge by knocking him into the gap. Pop a harpy smoke thing and grab on to them to get you across. Or trek up or down the river for another crossing. It's good design, not something they've not given any thought to ffs

Is this really spoiling the game for you? I honestly don’t get it. The game maybe, for me, GOTY even with its faults. I’m trying to understand why part of a map being greyed out is a killer.

Only with DLC.

Had an unbelievable session on this tonight. Started near the border and picked up a couple of pawns who needed to kill a Cyclops for a reward. No problem, I headed straight to where the drake is scrapping with one so it can do all the hard graft while I snipe from safety from the ballista. Job done, leg it back to town and send both pawns back with a decent gift.

I pick up another two hardcore pawns, one being an old friend in Geif, both of them needing another Cyclops bumped off. I decided to go exploring because I wasn't anywhere near a place I know they mooch about in, I ended up on an epic adventure through mountain passes and caves, killing a couple of minotaur and a 'clops in amongst the usual goblins and Saurians. I kept pushing and ended up all the way to the land of the cat people, by a waterfall. It's a nice change of scenery, looks scorching hot so I suppose I can see why some of the outfits are a bit on the skimpy side. Geif was getting a fair tan on the old buttocks.

There's fuck all by means of a settlement here, ruins everywhere and even the roads don't look like they see much action. Bumfuck nowhere is what it feels like to me. A spot of timb raiding, dodging a scrap with a drake and after getting stuck into a griffon and actually killing it after I thought it had escaped, I've had to turn off because it's stupid o'clock. I hate ending a session away from a town like this, I prefer to send the pawns on their way, sell my shit and upgrade any equipment if I can in preparation for the next session.

I'm getting handy with the old spear now too, there's a decent stun move which slows enemies down and an energy shield which keeps you out of mischief which are pretty cheap to keep on using as the stamina cost is minimal. I realized that the spear thrust thing can also get you safely across huge gaps too, although it won't save you from fall damage. Need an inn to unlock more stuff.

The map is absolutely gigantic too, I was travelling for ages and when I pulled up the map to see how far I'd come it was a pitiful distance, much less than I was expecting. Plenty of life in it yet

Paul the sparky wrote:

Also, are pawns cross platform or not?

Hmmm, my initial instinct was to say no - friend search would only be friends on that platform. But...pawns in the general population? Maybe. 

If anyone on PC or Xbox wants to search for Momo Letour they can find out.

If it doesn't work by name search, can always try "Search by Pawn ID". Will drop the ID in here later.