Also I should mention, it does have 1st person perspective available,
but like many games designed for 3rd person, subjectively combat feels
better in 3rd.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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The gameplay has me hooked.

While I have had some fun in the past with some of the Elder Scrolls
games, first couple of Witcher games, etc., fantasy RPGs are really
not my preferred genre. However, when a title is this good, none of
that really matters.

I would say this is the best game of this type I've played since
Skyrim. It is possibly better than Skyrim in a lot of ways, despite
being 3rd person (my preference is for 1st).

What I like:

- Satisfying combat that encourages a tactical approach / interesting
enemies
- Immersive world that creates just the right amount of tension (you
never know what dangers you're going to stumble upon next)
- RPG elements like skills, crafting, inventory etc. are well done so
that they don't feel like a chore
- F5 to quick save (comes in handy because there will be many combat
situations you'll want to rewind and rethink your approach)
- Story doesn't get in the way with tiring cutscenes or any of that
bullshit that's included in so many games as a way to mask lame
gameplay. Also no signs of woke/DEI bullshit that I've noticed.
- Feels like a PC game and not a console port
- Well optimized / high framerates with great visuals

What I don't like:
- Not all keybinds are mappable in the initial release

I never played the first Tainted Grail game, so I can't compare /
contrast, but I think Questline is onto a winning formula here.

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Rin Stowleigh <rstowleigh@x-nospam-x.com> wrote in news:ft563khlg2jjvi3p2gmf1el2hej9u2r1t9@4ax.com:

The gameplay has me hooked.

While I have had some fun in the past with some of the Elder Scrolls
games, first couple of Witcher games, etc., fantasy RPGs are really
not my preferred genre. However, when a title is this good, none of
that really matters.

Got the demo when it was first available. Played it for 20 minutes, and bought the game.

Even the early access (which did have problems) was really good, and the devs really did
pay attention to feedback.

Now 1.0 is out

Having the setting it does, comparisons with Skyrim are going to be everywhere.Yes,
swords and axes, yes, bows and arrows, yes, magic, yes, lock-picking, but it's not
Skyrim; it's a lot grungier. It feels more mediaeval and uncivilized.

It's also a lot of fun.

mpn.

--
Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos -- the only sysadmins that matter

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On Sun, 25 May 2025 16:11:13 -0000 (UTC), "Mark P. Nelson" <markpnelson@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

Rin Stowleigh <rstowleigh@x-nospam-x.com> wrote in >news:ft563khlg2jjvi3p2gmf1el2hej9u2r1t9@4ax.com:

The gameplay has me hooked.

While I have had some fun in the past with some of the Elder Scrolls
games, first couple of Witcher games, etc., fantasy RPGs are really
not my preferred genre. However, when a title is this good, none of
that really matters.

Got the demo when it was first available. Played it for 20 minutes, and bought the game.

Even the early access (which did have problems) was really good, and the devs really did
pay attention to feedback.

Now 1.0 is out

Having the setting it does, comparisons with Skyrim are going to be everywhere.Yes,
swords and axes, yes, bows and arrows, yes, magic, yes, lock-picking, but it's not
Skyrim; it's a lot grungier. It feels more mediaeval and uncivilized.

It's also a lot of fun.

mpn.

One thing I get out of this game that I don't think I ever really got
out of Skyrim is a tactical vibe during combat. Where I need to
assess the situation, think about the approach -- in some cases and at
some difficulty levels how can I use the terrain or environment for an advantage.

Combat in Bethesda games (regardless of Elder scrolls or Fallout
franchise) usually ends up with me quickly figuring out some formula
that works a little too well and just mowing down everything in my
path, taking a lot of the fun out of combat.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Sun, 25 May 2025 16:55:51 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
<rstowleigh@x-nospam-x.com> wrote:

One thing I get out of this game that I don't think I ever really got
out of Skyrim is a tactical vibe during combat. Where I need to
assess the situation, think about the approach -- in some cases and at
some difficulty levels how can I use the terrain or environment for an >advantage.

Doesn't Kingdom Come Deliverance provide this kind of combat as well?
Maybe you would enjoy that game?

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Mon, 26 May 2025 08:51:56 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

On Sun, 25 May 2025 16:55:51 -0400, Rin Stowleigh
<rstowleigh@x-nospam-x.com> wrote:

One thing I get out of this game that I don't think I ever really got
out of Skyrim is a tactical vibe during combat. Where I need to
assess the situation, think about the approach -- in some cases and at
some difficulty levels how can I use the terrain or environment for an >>advantage.

Doesn't Kingdom Come Deliverance provide this kind of combat as well?
Maybe you would enjoy that game?

I tried KCD 2 but didn't really care for combat or the inordinate
amounts of dialog.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Tue, 27 May 2025 08:19:49 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com>
wrote:

Various of the souls games have drop offs where you have to consider
where you roll or attack. Far too much in my opinion.

Some of the situations in TG:FoA could probably be filed under
"charming bugs" or "happy accidents". For example there's one
location with a relatively tough (depending on the game difficulty
setting, your level, choices made up to that point etc.) mini boss.
Instead of taking the longer well-traveled road up to him, I decided
to climb (well... hobble/jump) up the rocky cliff to him.

Funny thing is, he will not come down the same way.. it's a slight
jumping puzzle just to get up to him, so I guess he sees it as too
treacherous to come after me. He will launch ranged attacks briefly
if I jump back down the rocks, but then he decides to take off running
down the long road to get to me that way.

Problem is, that gives me a perfect opportunity to jump back up once
he gets far enough away, and ping him in the back of the head with an
arrow (and one only hurts him a little bit)... then he turns and comes
back for me, giving me a chance to hit him with 6-8 directly in the
face, and jump back down the rocky cliff just before he reaches me.
And then it repeats a few times until I've weakened him enough to just
finish him with my sword.

That kind of thing is more fun to me than some of the intentional game
design.

They just dropped a 1.2GB patch today, so I dunno... they may have
"fixed" some of my fun.

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