And it's freaking awesome. The maps have a slightly different kind of "unreal" feel... they are more Nali worlds than generic cool looking places , the whole quest is immersive.
Villages , forgotten temples , ghost towns , swamp , skaarj territory... all the elements for an unreal-ish RPG are here. The map themselves have a refined architecture , and nearly perfect lightings. I noticed a few map bugs though (imagine how frustrating it is to climb the whole MoonSpire , waiting the skylift in vain as one of levers is stuck)
Most enemies are pityfully weak (wildlife) but your weaponry isn't better (first ranged weapon barely as effective as the unreal 1 stinger) , so skaarj warriors are suprisingly hard to beat (adds to the "nali" feel)
The altfire has been stolen by the spell system , which plays a major role. You gain exp in differenc magic schools depending on what you cast ect... RPG style. A few spells are redundant (especially the protective spells , 3 of them give 100 armor at 40% protection) , others are well varied , none are really overkill (but still powerfull enough to beat titans... there's a whole family of them later in the game)
One truly unique feature is potion mixing. Though it is unlikely that you will find yourself short on health on lower difficulty levels , it is always nice to manage your own supplies. At first it sounds simple - leaves , fruit , fruit to heal , leaves , eggs , eggs to gain mana... but theses slith eggs are poisonous and you lose health when swallowing the potion ! No problem , you can still add holy water to purify it... and the headache begins , thoses custom potions need to be done with surgical precision or everything is wasted... it feels quite rewarding to do a great purified mana potion or even a speed potion , tossing skaarj hearts in your soup... (there are more complicated potions I haven't figured out yet)
The quest is very long , it's not like you can go on a speedrunning spree... the game is slow-paced , and that's not a bad thing. You can take your time to thoroughly explore maps , read books , chat with fellow nalis , or mix fancy potions. Considering the potential size of your inventory and spellbooks , the game needs to be slow , or this would be unplayable. You rarely have to slaughter bunches of evil beasts at once , using quick spells and staff bashing.
Villages , forgotten temples , ghost towns , swamp , skaarj territory... all the elements for an unreal-ish RPG are here. The map themselves have a refined architecture , and nearly perfect lightings. I noticed a few map bugs though (imagine how frustrating it is to climb the whole MoonSpire , waiting the skylift in vain as one of levers is stuck)
Most enemies are pityfully weak (wildlife) but your weaponry isn't better (first ranged weapon barely as effective as the unreal 1 stinger) , so skaarj warriors are suprisingly hard to beat (adds to the "nali" feel)
The altfire has been stolen by the spell system , which plays a major role. You gain exp in differenc magic schools depending on what you cast ect... RPG style. A few spells are redundant (especially the protective spells , 3 of them give 100 armor at 40% protection) , others are well varied , none are really overkill (but still powerfull enough to beat titans... there's a whole family of them later in the game)
One truly unique feature is potion mixing. Though it is unlikely that you will find yourself short on health on lower difficulty levels , it is always nice to manage your own supplies. At first it sounds simple - leaves , fruit , fruit to heal , leaves , eggs , eggs to gain mana... but theses slith eggs are poisonous and you lose health when swallowing the potion ! No problem , you can still add holy water to purify it... and the headache begins , thoses custom potions need to be done with surgical precision or everything is wasted... it feels quite rewarding to do a great purified mana potion or even a speed potion , tossing skaarj hearts in your soup... (there are more complicated potions I haven't figured out yet)
The quest is very long , it's not like you can go on a speedrunning spree... the game is slow-paced , and that's not a bad thing. You can take your time to thoroughly explore maps , read books , chat with fellow nalis , or mix fancy potions. Considering the potential size of your inventory and spellbooks , the game needs to be slow , or this would be unplayable. You rarely have to slaughter bunches of evil beasts at once , using quick spells and staff bashing.
