Recent reviews by Tetsuo ShadowKnight

Steam is selling us fake CD Keys for this game. I bought mine last night and already had my SE account linked to my steam and gmail. Steam wont refund the purchase because the game time is 1 time use. Even though I haven't been able to log in and play the game or redeem the code. Buyer be warned, just go the SE website and purchase game time and updates through SE. Steam lost my support after this.

I cannot support a game that has a terrorist group's flag in.

How many years later and I still am not able to play the game due to bugs. First try a few days ago and my stamina bar is gone, parkor is buggy as heck. I kept getting stuck on things on the ground, whole commands the game wouldn't read or had input lag.

So I validated the files, restarted my computer and the game. Now I am stuck in the hospital getting my bio wristband and home dude stops moving. I guess I will just restart again. Seems like the game isn't finished.

I saw Mark play this and I was blown away and wanted to try it out... Totally worth it.

I just cannot recommend a game I have to verify the integrity of the files every other time I open it because the ffxiiiimg.exe just goes away.

Once again another swing and a miss. Story isn't interesting and not much reason to return to places after you have been there, done that. The world doesn't really change much and factions are as factiony as you think they are, they only provide a discount and winning them over only takes a quest or 2.

Weapons and Armor are just recolored for different corps, and for a Dev team that didn't want to do things like romance and stuff for the main char and crew, did it for the crew and NPCs anyway. They just cut all the corners and I expected more.

I really want to like this game after coming back to it from 8 years ago, but they ruined every aspect of it. There is an illusion that you can play it any way you want to, yet once again your choices rarely change anything. IF you don't swing one alignment or another fully you will be hindered and not able to equip some of the most powerful weapons. Story is nice, yet general issues will make the majority of the game play not fun.

Issues like enemies clipping into the ground and being able to still shoot you should have been fixed years ago. IF you are a ranged character this isn't that much of an issue, yet we all know we are playing this to mostly be a Jedi / Sith. Your companion's stats no longer feed of their equipment, but feed of their affection towards you? Some real Power of Friendship BS.

On top of all that the game isn't difficult at all and you will always be several levels higher then the area you go too. I am on Balmorra and about to finish up everything except heroic quests and I am lvl 40 where the world cap is 21. I like that I can solo everything, yet there is no reward or accomplishment feeling from it. There is just hours of bad filler between story line cut scenes.

So I cannot play this game nor even buy the "new" ver. Steam says I cannot buy it for myself again or I will "not receive an additional copy. Seems super sketch and really sucks. I guess I will just have to let it go.

For 35.9 hours I tried to like this game, yet everything good about it I can say something bad. Overall the game was ok at 5/10. I have played the entire Gothic and Risen franchise and enjoy games like this, yet this tired so hard to be some what like them while adding new mechanics. It was a swing and a miss for several of them. Most of the game felt unfinished even in 2023.

1. There should have been a lot more lore in games like this. The lack of reading material outside of a select, very few missions seems incomplete. Very little is given via conversations and mostly pertains to the current world affairs. Not game breaking, but feels lacking and unfinished.

2. The weather system seems half implemented. It is never a real threat outside of the beginning area and only dictates what you wear. That can be mitigated by other means like food, off-hand items, or passive abilities.

3. Crafting is a secondary thought and not necessary. Simple as that. I used it to craft the basic leather armor and fang weapon, but other than bandages everything can be found or bought. Never once needed to craft at a campsite.

4. Camping is a secondary thought as well, never made sense because you are always a few hours (game time) away from a town and the beds in a player house or Inn always buff you better. You inventory will fill up way before you need to sleep causing you to go back to town anyway.

5. Inventory doesn't make sense in the capacity that it is present. No, just because you got a bigger bag does not mean you can lift it while it is full. They didn't use a stat system I guess in part to make it more "realistic", yet it did the opposite.

6. Why no stats? What is wrong with stats? It would be more realistic if your stats increased over use, and not by level. This could have been implemented to support the inventory system and skill/abilities along with health / stamina / mana. No experience required.

7. Armors make little sense too. Heavy armors should have negative stats towards stealth and stamina, but currently it is too much and there are little to no skills that help with wearing heavy armor. Honestly just get the pathfinder gear to omni weather and protection. To get some of the best armor/weapon(s) in the game requires multiple playthroughs with careful planning of what 4 items you will need to "pass down". I guesstimated about 4-5 playthroughs to get the full set of Tsar that fit my play style.

8. Getting stuck on things and dying, always a deal breaker and I am looking at you AC Odyssey!

9. Not sure where you find better gear other than merchants. The game made it sound as if I would find good stuff, yet I just beat the Heroic Kingdom story and I am still getting iron and cloth armors in loot.

10. There was little need to explore anything post getting about 5-6k in silver. No lore while exploring, not even backstory on the big baddies. After getting to desert I stopped bothering because second hand loot from missions and just random boxes while traveling gave me plenty coin. Like mentioned above I was not crafting and only buying stuff, so that says a lot that I was able to just skip most of the game's content.

11. I really did skip a lot of content because I forgot about it and it is never introduced in the game. Never enchanted anything, never went to any of the 2 DLC areas. Out of sight = Out of mind. Didn't need any of it though so it must have been made as forgettable.

So much of the game is missing and there are game breaking bugs that are present to this day. I am on a play through right now where the cookies for doors do not show up anywhere. Whole testing grounds are missing access, conversations that lead to nothing, quests, etc.