The Waylanders - Review @ Wizard Worm

Wizard Worm has reviewed The Waylanders:

The Waylanders Review - The Ancient Celtic Gods are Calling You! (Party-Based RPG)

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27 of 31 steam reviews are negative since release lol

Ouch. I don't think its all that bad. It looks nice, is running well (for me anyhow) and while the dialogue is way too modern for this style of game it grew on me a bit as I started a new game with the released version. At least grew enough that it doesn't annoy me anymore.

I can't score it yet as I haven't played enough. Could totally change direction later on. So all I can say at the moment is that its simply an average basic game.

It's really okay that a fantasy RPG not be very good. Imo, we shouldn't feel compelled to champion them all. It reminds me of how hesitant superhero film fans are to say anything negative about any superhero film.

I want to give this one a whirl, for now I figure maybe around fall it will have received enough patches/updates to have stabilized, somewhat.

It looks like something I'd expect from Pixar. I know there are a lot of people who are into this kind of art style, but it's a big no for me.

"12 hours of cut-scenes"

Blimey!

Is it a long game?

Originally Posted by JDR13
It looks like something I'd expect from Pixar. I know there are a lot of people who are into this kind of art style, but it's a big no for me.

Yes, it gives me Disney/Pixar feel as well which isn't a issue for me - its the complaints about writing that makes me stay away.

Divinity was cartoonish but outstanding. Need to play it to see I can’t judge based on the superficial esthetic

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
Divinity was cartoonish but outstanding. Need to play it to see I can’t judge based on the superficial esthetic

I must admit, I made a pre-judgement based on the relatively bare bones character creation system, poor loot options and uninspiring build variety, as highlighted by the reviewer.

This doesn't mean it would definitely be a bad game, also as the reviewer states, it could still be a fun ride, it just means it might not be a game to play to fill that specific cRPG itch but rather one to play in-between more deeper dives.

And that in-between games market is quite a competitive one.

There's nothing superficial about how a game looks. Graphics are one of the primary aspects in a game, and most people have a preference when it comes to visual style.

Have some more thoughts after playing another four hours today. It is still very rough around the edges and admit I was frustrated by the end of the play session. Some issues I found:

- Some things are not explained well. Aegis I had to go digging through the CODEX to figure out what it did. I found food and potion that said it increased Aegis but didn't actually explain what that was. Same for Utility, had no idea what that was till I dug it out of the CODEX. Maybe spoiled from games with more helpful mouse over tips I guess.

- Hovering over some items with merchants or inventory had "Missing String Line Entry" error (paraphrasing) which for a released game was bad. Super obvious error that I saw on 4 different items and that was near the start at two different merchants and one thing in inventory.

- Loot bags/chests/etc. have little rhyme or reason. A sparkling bag or chest just sitting in open grass. Granted many games do loot poorly but at times it felt like they just dropped something down on the ground for the sake of having something at the end of a path.

- Game handles quests a bit like missions. When you are not on a mission you have no followers with you (or they stand and wait at an entry point). Also super annoying (for me as I love my animal companions) the Wolf you get with the Ranger is only there during combat and no other time. You run around and explore as one type of modality and then a mission that requires combat your select your companions. Reminded me of A Knights Tale or maybe Xcom in that sense. Outside of the Wolf I am getting used to it but for me its not very immersive.

- It feels a bit linear on the missions. Pretty much follow the path from A to Z killing some things along the way and looting some random stuff plopped down on the ground or some minimal scene setting.

- Picking up some quests was a bit message board like even from NPC's. You would click on them and not even get a dialogue choice. Just a pip up box with text that you would right click through and then you got the quest. Like games where you read a note on a quest board. You didn't even get to talk to the NPC. Most of the NPC's are like that. One line or text, if that. Merchants don't talk and just go right to the sell/buy. Very little interaction outside of your followers and you can only talk to them outside of missions.

- Inventory. I could find no way to group or sort. What you can see in it depends on which character you are on as well - as only things the character can use will be visible. While that seems nice it was hard to know my entire inventory at times. No auto-sort and if you sold things they didn't move to fill up blank spaces. Maybe I am missing something - some button to use to do that. The in-game help is very poor and mostly limited to the CODEX.

- After one mission I killed the boss. I went to explore a bit more and my screen went blank, got loading, and then I was back at my "base" which is a boat. I thought maybe I had hit a key in error so I traveled back, via the map (you can fast travel to certain places via your boat), to the same place. Picked my crew and finished exploring and found a few more treasures and items. BUT there was no way out. The exit kept teleporting me back to the start of the mission map. After 30 minutes of running back and forth and checking everything (and there wasn't much to check, it was a minimal map), there wasn't anyway out. The mission had two connected maps. You entered at point A, and there was no exit from that point where you start the mission. You then travel to B and zone into point C. Kill the boss and then the game auto-teleports (without any warning or button to press saying "Finish Mission") back the ship. If you end up going back, with no more boss to kill to trigger the exit, you get stuck there. I was stuck in the two small maps in an endless circle. Poor game design - either block being able to return or provide an exit. I had to reload, do the fight again, then save once back on the ship.

- Combat is a bit clunky but not being a combat person I am okay with it even if I find it less enjoyable than other combat in games.

- At this point the dialogue, which had bothered me the most, bothers me the least and find it more enjoyable.

The story has me intrigued to see what happens so still going to play but IMO it needs a lot more polish and fixing up … and I think its a bit frustrating to play as you are somewhat learning by trial and error how to do things and what things do.

If they continue to work on it maybe it will at least become less frustrating and a bit more enjoyable.

That being said this is all just my opinion based on what I personally tend to find fun or annoying in any game I play.

We really need to stop putting any stock in proclamations like "from ex-Bioware and Telltale devs". Hundreds of people work on the average Bioware game, and just because you animated some grass or whatever certainly doesn't mean that the next RPG you work on is going to be good. Though maybe the grass will look nice.

Originally Posted by JDR13
There's nothing superficial about how a game looks. Graphics are one of the primary aspects in a game, and most people have a preference when it comes to visual style.

My point was it might still be a good game. I really dislike cartoon esthetic myself and I was turned off by DoS. Took me years to even try it. But what a game. I wouldn’t want to miss out by skipping a game due to that preference. Point is probably moot with this title though.

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
My point was it might still be a good game. I really dislike cartoon esthetic myself and I was turned off by DoS. Took me years to even try it. But what a game. I wouldn’t want to miss out by skipping a game due to that preference. Point is probably moot with this title though.

Oh I agree. I just meant that the art style is a big no for me. That doesn't mean I wouldn't give the game a try if I thought the other aspects were good enough.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem very solid if you go by the user-reviews.

I really dislike being harsh towards indie games and while I am sure there are less scrupulous indie companies out there, I like to think most are putting a lot of effort and heart into their creations.

I am still playing but there is a bit of a feeling of "slogging my way through" to enjoy the story and the like. I want to like it but it just is missing … something (outside of some polish) … that I find hard to explain.

Anyhow 10 hours is not really enough time to fully judge so going to give it at least 20-30.

Originally Posted by wolfgrimdark
Anyhow 10 hours is not really enough time to fully judge so going to give it at least 20-30.

Really? To me, 10 hours is a significant amount of time. If the game isn't clicking with you by now, chances are it's not for you. I can't imagine investing 20-30 hours in a game just to determine if you like it or not.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Really? To me, 10 hours is a significant amount of time. If the game isn't clicking with you by now, chances are it's not for you. I can't imagine investing 20-30 hours in a game just to determine if you like it or not.

I'm a little on the fence I guess. If I really disliked it 10 hours would be plenty.

Ouch can't say I'm surprised the game just isn't ready for release.

I've been saying that for months.

(I assume that) Few here thought this would be ready at launch. Give it a year or two and we'll see. Perhaps it will become a good (or at least okay) game.

I hope the negative reception does not hit the studio too hard. Always nice to see enthusiastic independent developers.