@Pizzamorg This has been killing Rebirth for me. I'm on chapter 8 and we have had three chapter where the pacing just dies to put in mini-games and a bunch of nothing. Chapter 5,6 and 8 have really hurt it so much that I had to take a break for a month.
I’m about 30 hours in. I’ve fully settled into an incredibly satisfying gameplay loop. The combat is stellar, the world is beautiful and the characters are numerous and interesting.
The game lacks the seamlessness and fluidity in how it’s stitched together expected from modern releases but perhaps its biggest shortcoming for me thus far is that Team Ninja’s narrative reach has clearly exceeded their grasp. Frankly, it’s a bit of a mess. Once it becomes clear that your choices matter very little, any narrative intrigue is lost and the games overarching story just becomes somewhat uninteresting, despite some great characters, interesting moments and a consistently fascinating setting.
Once I resigned to the fact that this game is, in the most literal sense, a direct open world translation of Team Ninja’s usual dopamine drip of incredibly tight and versatile combat, loot gathering and menu ticking, and nothing more, I’ve been able to fully appreciate what has been achieved here.
Whether firing the game up for a quick 15 minute session, or losing 2 hours to completing some of the most engaging open world busywork I’ve encountered, it’s always rewarding, off the back of its truly excellent combat and snappy navigation.
Sometimes it’s fun to sit in front of the screen and just video game. It’s why I still regularly fire up Nex Machina. This game scratches that same itch for me, and then some. It’s solid. In hindsight, I think had Team Ninja poured their efforts into just telling a straightforward, compelling story within this framework, we would have a more cohesive and focused final product.
Anyway, duty calls. There’s a fellow running amok over there!
@Black_Swordsman In case you didn’t know, there are greatswords and a large breadth of options for customization.
@Jimmer-jammer That's more like it! Looking forward to playing it after finishing DeS and then RE2 Remake, RE4 Remake, Death Stranding and Jedi Survivor, then after RotR I'll be eyeing up that plat for LotF. Do you think you will plat RotR?
@Black_Swordsman Nice! Got a great slate of games ahead of you. I likely won’t plat RotR, or at least not right away, simply because there are too many other games I’d like to get to at the moment. I did nearly 100% the first region, so I’ve got a good start on it and I may still slowly work my way there in the background.
As of right now, I’ve got FF XVI DLC around the corner, Shadow of the Erdtree DLC on the horizon, I’m eyeing up Stellar Blade and Banishers and just bit the bullet and picked up FF VII Rebirth 😅 That’s not to mention Dragon’s Dogma II, which I’ve decided to hold off of for a bit, whatever other indie releases jump out at me and my existing backlog which includes the likes of Jedi Survivor. My gaming plate is full and then some.
This current gaming buffet seems to be feeding a lot of folks. Good luck with your plate!
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” C.S. Lewis
Once I resigned to the fact that this game is, in the most literal sense, a direct open world translation of Team Ninja’s usual dopamine drip of incredibly tight and versatile combat, loot gathering and menu ticking, and nothing more, I’ve been able to fully appreciate what has been achieved here.
This is the way i have played it from the beginning i love to restore order in bandit camps etc, pray at the shrines to get skill points and generally clear areas as i move through the map the story keeps it all moving along but i am not in
any rush to get to the end.
@Max_Headroom Yeah, it’s an absolute blast. I really appreciate how the game goes out of its way to remove any obstacles that might get in the way of just having fun. I find the moment to moment gameplay actually far more engaging than the much compared Ghost of Tsushima. The world is livelier and the customization far deeper than anything Ghost offers. Where Ghost excels is marrying its story, themes and world to its gameplay in a more cohesive whole. I really hope players don’t sleep on this, it’s a solid game.
“Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.” C.S. Lewis
@Max_Headroom Yeah, it’s an absolute blast. I really appreciate how the game goes out of its way to remove any obstacles that might get in the way of just having fun. I find the moment to moment gameplay actually far more engaging than the much compared Ghost of Tsushima. The world is livelier and the customization far deeper than anything Ghost offers. Where Ghost excels is marrying its story, themes and world to its gameplay in a more cohesive whole. I really hope players don’t sleep on this, it’s a solid game.
Spot on.
The bottom line as you say - dont buy this thinking its going to play like Ghost of Tsushima its nothing like it and in my opinion better because of it.
One of the things i have seen slated by some reviewers is the amount of weapons, clothes etc you pick up on your journey but that is for me another massive plus as breaking the guns down at the blacksmith quickly gets you your much needed weapon upgrades.
I know this game will not be everyone's cup of Cha but for those who have already completed GoT and who want something different give RoR a try you may find you are quickly hooked.
For me the volume of loot wasn't so much the problem as much as the loot is just straight up bad. Even after the credits rolled, I still dunno what like 90 percent of the rolls on gear even did. Or even when I did understand what it did, it was completely lost on me why I'd want it. I think I managed to max out a set bonus once in the entire time I played and noticed absolutely no difference at all.
Happened to me with the skill tree too, about 90 percent of it was either stuff I didn't know what it did or I just didn't see the point of it at all. And because of the weird limitations on the tree of needing x points in say dexterity before you could buy certain nodes with skill points I think I got to the end with like 70 unused skill points and any points I did spend in the tree I did not notice at all in moment to moment gameplay except stuff that specifically offered new gameplay, like the grappling hook assassinations or the unarmed parry. But anything that gave me x percentage to some ultra specific thing, you could convince me it was bugged because I did not notice it at all.
For me the volume of loot wasn't so much the problem as much as the loot is just straight up bad. Even after the credits rolled, I still dunno what like 90 percent of the rolls on gear even did.
As i said in my last post " I know this game will not be everyone's cup of Cha" some loot may be pointless as you can have so many similar things with very little difference in their stats but if you ignore that and think of it as a means to get lots of money for the stuff you want or dismantle to make something else or upgrade your good stuff it shouldn't be a deal breaker.
I also ended up with a huge amount of money too with nothing to use it on now you mention it. Just a completely broken economy, as you are flooded with mostly useless loot and the gear at the vendors is all randomly rolled so you just sell your bad loot and gamble for more bad loot. Once I realised that I just dismantled everything and never bought anything again beyond the cosmetics you buy with those silver plate things.
I also ended up with a huge amount of money too with nothing to use it on
Didn't you use it to keep your stores full so when you fast travel all your depleted stocks are replenished?
Its obvious you dont like the game and that is your right as a paying customer i just hope gamers reading your negative views are not put off and miss out on what i think is one of the best open world games i have played in years.
I also ended up with a huge amount of money too with nothing to use it on
Didn't you use it to replace stuff you were low on so when you fast travel all your depleted stocks are replenished?
Its obvious you dont like the game and that is your right as a paying customer i just hope gamers reading your negative views are not put off and miss out on what i think is one of the best open world games i have played in years.
Oh does it take money when you clash the stones at the flags? I didn't even notice. Ooops.
And I dunno, I posted a review in the review thread and I think it reflects I am not negative on this game, just rather mixed. It is your perennial six or seven out of 10.
I do wonder what you feel about the game when you are done with it, versus how you feel now.
Oh does it take money when you clash the stones at the flags? I didn't even notice. Ooops.
No when you visit the flags and touch it (R1) all the bullets, arrows potions etc are replenished from your store so you need to keep the stores stocked up.
And I dunno, I posted a review in the review thread and I think it reflects I am not negative on this game, just rather mixed. It is your perennial six or seven out of 10.
I do wonder what you feel about the game when you are done with it, versus how you feel now.
I am 32 hours and 56% in and am still enjoying the game, i dont think that will change, i only play a couple of hours per night so am unlikely to get bored.
I am 32 hours and 56% in and am still enjoying the game, i dont think that will change, i only play a couple of hours per night so am unlikely to get bored.
I guess for me, I was enjoying the characters and the story, but Act 3 is such a mess narratively it definitely changed how I felt overall. The gameplay loop remained fun throughout though, so if you don't care about the story / characters and are just enjoying the loop, I think Rise of the Ronin is one of the better games for keeping it fun right until the credits roll.
Man, talk about a gut punch! After spending a fair amount of time helping the ever determined Ine Kusumoto gather materials and medicines to administer to those suffering from the effects of cholera, I ran off with the rapidly unraveling Genzui Kusaka to burn down a building stocked with provisions. I was legitimately mortified to see Ine bust in. A true ‘hand in the cookie jar moment! Predictably, she let us have it, verbally cutting us down through simple logic. I didn’t really know how to respond. I just felt really bad. It’s quite the feat that through character work alone, the game elicited such a strong emotional response from me. The overarching narrative is overly ambitious but the characters are well written and well realized, leading to some really great interactions. Of course, I could have done these bond missions in a different order and likely not have felt this way but I’m glad it happened like this. I’ve now almost 100% both Yokohama and Edo. Still loving it.
As an alternative to what I hear is already a stellar soundtrack, how about playing along to this? I certainly plan to once I get the game in a couple of weeks, if I decide I want a change of audio that I feel will still fit/suit my playthrough.
"(Music is) a purposeless play. This play, however, is an affirmation of life" (paraphrased) - John Cage
And after 90 hours, that’s the platinum 😄 Completed on Dusk difficulty. Didn’t think I’d end up going for it but I truly loved my time with this game. The moment to moment gameplay is phenomenal. If I didn’t have other games to get to, I’d spend more time exploring Midnight mode. Might come back to it one day. Thank you Team Ninja!
@Black_Swordsman If you’re going for the platinum, biggest word of advice: Deishu Takahashi is at the military academy in Edo! He’s a required ally bond and very easy to miss. Cheers!
I am having a bit of a break from RoR at the moment and am giving Alan Wake 2 a try I love RoR but have spent so many hours on it i needed to play something else, i will finish it when i have finished AW2
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