Évaluations récentes de Bidderlyn

Played BG3 and then this back to back. So its hard not to compare.
BG3 is the better game, this game is the game I had A LOT more fun with.

The lighthearted plot lines are silly, the janky dialogues are unintentionally funny and cute.Not sure if intentional or not but It captures a lot more the "authentic" d&d dungeon crawling I'm familiar with and love. I can play this game effortlessly with my friends and alone and just have a good ol time.

That is not to say the game is "good because its bad" its actually good. Beneath the fun and engaging layer of jankiness there is a deep layer of character building to explore.

I also really appreciate the dungeon maker in this game. You can create your own adventures or play with tons of great modded campaigns and additional classes, races, subclasses, found online. I feel like this is a game I could have hundreds of hours of fun with to explore and create for.

Not for everyone maybe, but I highly recommend it if you find any of these points appealing.

Its a positive review, I love the game, but Im going insane about one thing:
Cards who encourage stalling fights (healing cards, fatal cards, exhume, etc.).
Those cards can be fun but their use case is often "I will use my fatal against enemy X, now I'll be waiting for my Exhume to get my fatal again, then use it against enemy Y when I shuffle the perfect hand so I wont take damage. All the while I play super defensive and trying to not kill my enemy so i can farm fatal" just feels odd and un-flowy. Exahusted cards should never return to hand in any way, and fatals + heals should all be Ethereal so players don't get encouraged to reshuffle the deck 10 times until they create the perfect hand opportunity to utilize their fatal / heal moves.
The solution for me to not be annoyed by it is "just dont use it this way" but I do like to play competitively and I consider this a masterfully designed game with competitive elements, I can't just not engage with a mechanic I know will serve me competitively, it would feel like a handicap.

Didn't mean to rant, Its actually my only issue about the game and I wouldn't go this far if I didn't love the game otherwise. Everything else is perfect, this isn't even a big deal nor does it even happen in most runs. Buy it immediately.

I love this game, I played >50hrs in the non-enhanced version and this one is even better.
However unfortunately its one of the most unapproachable things because of the Technology system which is just "Analysis Paralysis - The game"

The Planetary management is amazing, the art is simple and concise. shooting projectiles into space tracking the enemy orbit is as satisfying as it gets. This feels like a genre defining game that only just fell short of realizing its potential due to some questionable design choices.

2 aspects the game severely lacks that if they could improve it would elevate it from "good" to "exceptional"
* technology system. Very basic and unimaginative. I pick exactly the same technologies every time because I know that it works, feels very solved before you even interact with it. "reacting to my enemy" with technologies is not viable as its not realistic to change path mid-game. Just learn 1 good path and stick to it, which is very strict and is a shame. The technologies are also very messy in their design and overwhelm the player, there is too much things to consider and you either get into analysis paralysis or follow a path blindly. I wish Technologies were more concise and less overwhelming.
* No replayability or personlity: The game unfortunately has no real personality, your planet is just a planet and you essentially play the same game every time. You can do things different but it does not feel like a new experience. Even adding a type of government that would give you different unique starting bonuses would go a long way to make the player feel they are in a "new game". Even some random events, or have different techs available each time, would go a LONG way in making me interested in playing it more.

There are other minor things, the intel mechanism feels very tacked on and bland. You either max it and go precision or you don't and go ballistic, no inbetween is viable. Many mechanics could lean on each other in a more elegant way to create a better experience in this game generally.

Overall the game is great, im just frustrated about these pain points because I truly love the art, concept, and feel of it. Cheers devs, great work overall

I have waited for this game since I played SWAT 4 as a kid. It does not dissapoint.

It hits on all marks:
Amazing atmosphere and immersion, possibly best FPS immersion I've had
Attention to details and storytelling through details is extremely well done
Engaging and Dynamic AI with your team and enemies
Surprising replayability considering how well everything seem "handcrafted"
Tactics and cooperation are very important to do well
Amazing gameplay and gunplay

I did have a few bugs or occasions where the AI got "stuck" or acted weirdly (like civilian running away from the cops towards the terrorists, or Suspect AI shooting through dense smoke) but its very far inbetween and Im generally impressed with the AI behavior and varied personality and responses which keeps every engagement fresh and nerve wrecking.

Despite minor issues Its still a great game. There's plenty of content which I still haven't seen and can't wait to find out about.
All I wish going forward is just more polish, realism, and content of what we already have.

EDIT: Played some more, I still love the game and recommend it. Two things I did notice more is how Suspect AI sometime "cheats" and wallbangs you, and how mission briefings are often not accurate. But honestly, its not as severe as people seem to make it be.

I started using some mods to Tune the AI behavior and the game is even more enjoyable that way.

Great story-telling game in this short & sweet adventure!

It was very engaging finding out both what happened to our character as well as what happened to the world around us at the same time. The atmosphere and mystery kept growing eerie as events unfold which kept me curious exploring what's next.
The visual aspect of the story is good & simplistic, which serves well for conveying the atmosphere and immersing further into the tone and the plot.

As you boot up the game and start your first race - it is pure fun.
You got different races, different strategies, thrilling exploration - Great great great. What could go wrong?

Sadly, for me the game completely falls apart as I advance from its first stages to the mid to late stages.
It becomes an unhinged micro-management chore system, By this point, my strategic choices are extremely limited and I usually already know I have won/lost. I have already made every important decision earlier on and now its just maintenance with not much happening. I know what I'll do next, its just about waiting and keep clicking those upgrades I need and taking planets when I can. Taking care of my galactic empire feels like a constant chore rather than resembling any sort of gameplay or strategy.

The seconds worst thing is the pacing of this game. Don't even think about multiplayer, I have tried it multiple times as im a MP RTS fan and I have never managed to finish a game. It takes too long, and the mid-game part (the chore part) is where everyone decides "Ok lets stop here, maybe continue tomorrow" yet tomorrow never arrives. Every time we decided to re-do. No one wants to keep playing if they had a bad start, and the game takes 3 hours at the very minimum to "complete".

Its a pretty neat sandbox game I'll be honest. I would recommend it to people who won't mind slow paced strategy games where you role play as a galactic species. It does a neat job at that.
I would not recommend it to people like myself, who need something else to do rather than strategize for 10 minutes then wait and live in stalemate while clicking chore mechanics.

REVISION 2023: Picked it up again with the Ultimate Bundle and gave it a fair second try.
Many of the game faults are still present, but with Automation and a lot more content I find myself able to focus on the story themes and impactful decisions of the game which are fun and interesting to explore. When played as a strategy game with maximum efficiency i still can not recommend this game due to the overwhelming amount of chore-mechanics you must do, but if you just want to enjoy the many themes and stories of the game while accepting sub-optimal play simply automate everything and enjoy the magic of a cheesy galaxy epic playing out for you

Ive spent over 3000 hours on AOE2 (DE, HD, and disk) so this review is looking at aoe4 from that angle.

I am not going to talk about the balance of the civs, because that is something subject to change and will be fixed within the next months as I know Relic are good at that department. I will rather talk about the identity of the civs and how they play out.

Pros:
* The sound is amazing. This is the best sound design in any RTS ive played, and im putting it first for a reason. Each civ has its own sound design around it, the sound is dynamic and constantly changing in a fluid way to fit the environment - Superb.
* There are 8 civilizations. Yes, 8, and it is great. Some people out this as a ♥♥♥ saying "ugh but AOE2 started with 11!" and I can't stress how wrong those people are. Those 8 civilization have the same amount of complexity and content that 20 civilizations have in AOE2. This is the amount of content and variation I expect, not just cookie-cutter civs replicating each other with some minor tweaks. I feel like a Nomad ♥♥♥♥♥♥ when Im playing the Mongols, and like a city-builder when im playing the Abbasids. Superb job.
* I love the new age-up system. The 1st reason it is so good is it keeps the pace of the game going while your TC works. The 2nd reason is it allows for more viable scouting. Seeing your opponent's landmark both hints you what his play is going to be and notifies you that they are going up. Such information is crucial when strategizing, and it wasn't available in aoe2 (and only mildly available in aoe3).
* Good Variety of maps upon release(17 i think?)! The map design is excellent, even though some spawns are less fair than others and need to be fixed. It is very fun to play out even the same civilization on a different map and get a very different experience and insight into that civ. The fact the maps are generated also adds alot to the experience and makes scouting even more viable and crucial to the gameplay.
* For the casual SP players: Game has great tutorials, and a very unique and fun singleplayer campaign with a lot of historical insights. I appreciate the new approach.

♥♥♥♥:
* AI is incompetent compared to previous AOE titles. If you are a new player this may not be a problem, but veterans of AOE will find the AI lacking.
* Im sure it will be fixed, but there are alot of pathfinding bugs, hitboxes issues and the Hotkeys can't be customized enough. Still, going to put it here until this is fixed.
* Wobbly animations and lackluster graphics, at least in my opinion. Some people find it beautiful I guess.
* Some late-game games cna be terrible. If both players are defended and have trade the game could last 3 real time hours. It happened to me twice already, its not a fun conclusion to the game. Resources should have an end at some point, it also adds a layer of strategy to outlast your opponent's resources. It doesn't always happen here.
* It is VERY HARD to tell units of the same department apart when they are bunched together(M@A and spearman for example), this is crucial when judging combat engagements. The outfitting for many of these units need to be changed, many blend into each other. Basically all infantry units blend when they are grouped in mass, and you can't tell whats what without pausing and hurting your eyes.
* Civs are too "Focused" on a certain play or aspect, which leads to a "Rock paper scissors" mechanism which is too aggressive and transparent due to the fact they are so different and streamlined towards a certain playstyle, You will often sigh in frustration as you match up against a civ that counter the meta play of your civilization. Working around the counters is fun, and it is more innovative than what "Rock, Paper, Scissors" suggests, but unlike many RTS games, I find that playing against the style of your civilization to counter your opponent puts you at a major disadvantage rather than a minor one

I overall do recommend it if you are a fan of RTS. Still think the game might be abit undercooked at the moment.
Part of my recommendation is trusting Relic - They will address the issues.

Edit 2023: Great game, as expected, the issues that were expected to be resolved have been resolved. The civs are very balanced, the hotkeys can be customized, I'm very happy with how things turned out :)

Would recommend it to aoe2 fans and for those who like doing the singleplayer campaigns.
Will not spoil or go into detail but this time the campaigns are really good both in storytelling and in level design. The new civs themselves are much better than the civs we got last DLC, and actually feel like core aoe2 civilizations. Both civs play differently than other civilizations, yet still have that "familiarity" to them and are easy to pick up and play.

If you are new to the game I would not recommend it though, you still have alot of other good campaigns to finish and other civilizations to burn through before you should pick this one up.

2,000+ hrs in both HD and DE and I'm more hyped each day about this game and how much depth and content it delivers. Still feels like Ive only scratched the surface of what the game has t ooffer.

Would make a longer review, but I wanna get back to playing.
This is the best game you could get.
Buy it.

The 2 new civs are a mixed bag. I am looking forward to upcoming changes, which hopefully change my review on this DLC, but currently the 2 new civs are simply not AOE2.

This is not about them being OP or underpowered, I am sure the balance will change in time. This is about them being gimmicky and unfitting to the aoe2 scene.

Each of the 2 new civs has a "one trick pony" strat, which makes their play very one dimensional. Burgundians go for their OP UU and spam. Sicilians go for 5TC boom ---> First crusade tech or donjon rush. You can do other stuff, but then you are not playing to the strength of your civ. Their lack of other options in the tech tree forces them to play this way.
Furthermore, the new unique tech in the castle don't feel like aoe2 technologies. They rather feel like a trap-card in yugi-oh, or a fantasy trope of some kind. You bend and shape the dynamics of the game by a click of a tech(suddenly all your vills turn to soldiers, what?). This does not allign with the smooth transition and chess-like gamestyle we had so far, and I do not appreciate that. Its also very unimaginative, lackluster, and borrowed from another game (AoM).

Devs have tried to get rid of tower rushes for ages and for a good reason - it felt awkward and meme-y, now they implement them back again with Sicilians, with further meme-y strategies that simply make the game looks stupid. Flooding the map with UU is not fun unless you are under 11 years old and have zero cleverness about your play.

Again, being OP or underpowered is not the issue. I believe in the devs ability to balance after patches. Its the identity of those civs, and the identity of the game which are at risk.