Recent reviews by Bored

I started out really enjoying this game. In fact there is a lot there to enjoy. I haven't gotten too far but the base combat, the early story, the companions so far all work for me. However the further along I went the MORE and MORE it bothered me that there is no real party/group mechanics for conversations. The whole fact that whoever initiated a conversation (or had one initiated via proximity) is essentially the only character that can do anything and is the one all skill checks are based on just sours the experience in a way that is hard for me personally to move past.

I really like using my player character as the face of the party, but having to rely solely on them regardless of circumstance makes me feel compelled to build them certain ways. Having other characters around with useful skills for situation just sit back and do nothing leads to a desire to save scum. It's also just straight up immersion breaking to have characters who should be stepping in for something just sit back completely useless. It's the kind of thing that really generate a dissonance I personally just find grating.

I'll probably push through the game on a new character more set up to be the face of the party, I'm sure I'll enjoy it, but I'll still having that grating annoyance with something that I feel like should be a core aspect of a party based crpg. Mostly I want to enjoy the more having fun talking about the different choices and such with friends, if I didn't have friends also playing the game I'd probably feel like I wasted my money not waiting until it's cheaper.

This may seem like a pedantic complaint and it probably doesn't affect most people, but it's something that for me personally feels like a core feature missing and bothers me to the point it hampers the experience.