Recent reviews by Egg

Free HK.

Never forget 2021.

o7

Hämis 👍

Absolutely spectacular from start to finish, a true masterpiece of its time.

A little unstable every now and then, but nothing gamebreaking.

For a day one release the bugs have been negligible in contrast to the overall gameplay. Looks as though CDPR are already on the ball and patching as well, so I look forward to smooth sailing as I move into side content, and later on, future playthroughs.

Some points, good and bad;

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Bad -

- Geometry isn't always what it seems, speedrunners are going to have a field day with slopes that launch you into orbit and clips that let them skip segments. This seems far too intrinsic to the game's engine to ever be fixed, but makes little odds to casual players. Still though, it's a negative. Can be pretty immersion breaking to find yourself stuck in a wall or launched fifty feet into the air without warning.

- Enemy stealth detection can be, strange, occasionally. Sometimes you'll get spotted where it really shouldn't have been possible, other times you'll be standing right in front of an enemy that's hunting you and they won't notice. It works well enough if you aren't 100% stealth focused, but I was and it was painful at times. I'm sure CDPR will eventually iron out these instances, but for now it's something that needs to be put up with.

- Most cars handle like a sack of bricks, there's really no reason to not use a motorcycle unless you are roleplaying. This one again seems like an intrinsic element of the game that probably wont get fixed, but it is what it is.

- Melee combat feels very lacklustre which is a real shame. This one is mostly opinion, but as that crazy who usually opts for melee in shooters, this one really strikes home hard for me.

- Weapon sway in the options is set to "On weapon" by default, anyone reading this switch it to "On camera" and thank me later :)

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Good -

- The obvious one, graphical quality is what this game is built on. And it really is beautiful. Everything from terrain to people to weapons is a true work of art. Par for the course by the standards of CDPR at this point, but it's good to find out the hype was justified.

- Ditto for sound quality, the voice acting and careful design of environmental sound is stunning.

- Dialogue feels smooth and natural, Vs personality is clearly mature, but perfectly written so as to not be set in stone. It truly does feel as though taking the reigns of how the story progresses is like slipping into a comfy pair of old shoes. This close attention to character development also serves as the perfect bedrock for the theme of the main story and it shows.

- Continuing on from that note, the story is gripping and compelling, setting the perfect tone for a formless plot like that of a futuristic mercenary. I avoided any and all spoilers before the game's release specifically so I could drink in how CDPR decided to spin it, and boy am I satisfied with it after seeing the conclusion.

- Stat and perk progression is done well, the way that seperate layers of substats are incorporated into the main numbers make you give real thought to where things are allocated which is a very welcome deviation from the way RPGs usually spin things. It's clear CDPR learnt a lot from the Witcher when designing these systems, and the level of refinement shows it.

- Quickhacks as an element of combat are awesome, very rarely do environmental combat features feel good to use in games like this, but they really hit the nail on the head here. Kudos for the innovative design.

- The gunplay is satisfying and responsive after fiddling with some options to customise it to your tastes. Nothing extraordinary here but it serves its purpose.

- Side content and random encounters are well thought out, generally satisfying to complete, and provide a wealth of lore about the city and the people in it. Another lesson learnt from the Witcher it would seem.

- Runs like a dream at 1080p on a half decade old rig with a 2060 shoved in. Performance is pretty great even with RTX on and everything cranked up, was expecting this to be where the game fell short the most but I have to say i'm pleasently surprised.

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In conclusion: 9/10

The game needs spit and polish, and some core systems are a little wack, but the thing as a whole is a true beauty.

Would highly recommend to anyone who is still undecided.

Beware all ye who enter here; there is no escape from PoE once it sucks you in.