Good write up.
A minor warning for anybody looking for buy/no buy guidance from reviews: don't.
The reviews in all the aggregation sites and some previously reputable sites (and retailers) are tainted by console (and game card) warriors down voting/up voting the game for reasons that have nothing to do with its technical, gameplay, or narrative merits. (No need to go into those sordid brand loyalty matterd.)
One of few trustworthy reviews was from DIGITAL FOUNDRY, primarily graphics tech anslysts, who accurately summed it up as "SKYRIM meets MASS EFFECT".
If those two names have meaning for you, you already know what to expect from this game.
If not:
- it's a game, not a simulation
- there is action/violence but it's not a shooter or space combat game.
- graphics and graphic design are contemporarily good but the game isn't eye candy
- What it is is a Bethesda Softworks game, which means that while presented as a role playing game, it is a structured as a freeform, sandbox game were the player is free to do or not do any of the scripted assignments in most any order or not at all.
- the player has options but there are consequences to the choices
- the game is a slow burn and rewards patience, and is built around exploration, discovery, and experimentation.
- replayability is well-nigh infinite. It offers a modified version for restart, with gameplay changes, and the game allows for shared gamer MODificationS. Right now for PC, early next year for console and cloud gamers.
People have been known to spend months and even years in Bethesda RPG games.
(Guilty as charged.)
You have been warned.
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