Yonder is basically Breath of the Wild, if you took out all the combat and replaced it with Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon. I've been meaning to write up a recommendation for ages. Great fun.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
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3cl1ps3I will build a labyrinth to house the cheeseRegistered Userregular
I'm planning to start a playthrough sometime tonight, I've played it a bit during Early Access but stopped until they finished the story.
I have to admit when I first saw this I just thought "oh good another Minecraft ripoff it's just underwater now" but everyone's talking about how great it is, do I need to give this one a look?
I'm planning to start a playthrough sometime tonight, I've played it a bit during Early Access but stopped until they finished the story.
I have to admit when I first saw this I just thought "oh good another Minecraft ripoff it's just underwater now" but everyone's talking about how great it is, do I need to give this one a look?
Yes, you really do.
It's underwater, it's beautiful, it has a story. It has reasons to go out and explore, and a distinct ending.
There's no plan, there's no race to be run
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
+8
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SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
I've put 18 hours into Shadow of War and just did the first siege of the game, which was pretty easy...likely because it was the first one. And a little while later I got ambushed by two ologs (a smaller troll) whose levels were much higher than mine. I summoned help, but my bodyguard got dispatched relatively quickly. I weakened one of the ologs down enough to help me out, but he also got killed when another orc captain showed up in the middle of this fight. I did kill the orc captain, and almost killed the last olog, but in the end he got me.
And then, to my surprise, he also broke my sword.
Then the game told me I could hunt him down to recover the pieces of my sword. And when I reforge it, it'll be stronger than before.
So I hunted him down and, after a somewhat drawn out battle, killed him. I thought I'd have to take the pieces and reforge it somewhere, either an actual location in the game, or in a game menu, but no. He just drops the new weapon and it's stronger than what I had.
Anyway, I've got a new sword and I'm using it to kill more orcs. And occasionally I get to do kind of boring story missions.
Slime Rancher is a great pick. There's exploring, some farming/ranching, and overwhelming amounts of cute. I've adored both games. Some other possible options include:
Stardew Valley - This one is definitely heavier on the farming aspect, and there's less exploring, but it's a delightfully friendly world to lose yourself in.
Castaway Paradise - It's basically a small animal crossing clone (but definitely not as good as the real thing).
Yono and the Celestial Elephants - A simple Zelda-clone where Link is replaced by the cutest elephant you've ever seen. (It is on the shorter end of things though, and has an actual end.)
Okami - There is combat in this, but it really nails the delight in bringing the landscape back to life, and you gain "experience" not by killing things, but by helping things grow, feeding animals, doing favors for people, etc. It's also really beautiful and really long (although it does have an end).
Dumb question but could someone tell me how to use the "code" tag? Chances are I'm going to jump on the humble bundle for Stellaris but will give away a large chunk of the rest of those games if I do.
@Kalnaur - and anyone else put off playing the Mass Effect series because of all the DLC hoops to jump through - this might be old news but I've only just seen that Origin is offering DLC bundles for ME2 & 3. They still aren't super cheap, at £21.99/£24.99 (not sure what that is in US$ but I'm guessing at 25/30) on top of the cost of the games, although they are presently 20% off, but they appear to contain everything. I'm guessing the ME2 pack only works with an Origin copy, but you should be able to plug your CD key from your Steam copy into Origin to add it to your account - same with ME1, and an Origin copy of that automatically includes its two DLC packs. ME3, of course, was never on Steam and required Origin in the first place.
Figured this information might be relevant to your interests! Finally, Mass Effect DLC is made simple!
I've put 18 hours into Shadow of War and just did the first siege of the game, which was pretty easy...likely because it was the first one. And a little while later I got ambushed by two ologs (a smaller troll) whose levels were much higher than mine. I summoned help, but my bodyguard got dispatched relatively quickly. I weakened one of the ologs down enough to help me out, but he also got killed when another orc captain showed up in the middle of this fight. I did kill the orc captain, and almost killed the last olog, but in the end he got me.
And then, to my surprise, he also broke my sword.
Then the game told me I could hunt him down to recover the pieces of my sword. And when I reforge it, it'll be stronger than before.
So I hunted him down and, after a somewhat drawn out battle, killed him. I thought I'd have to take the pieces and reforge it somewhere, either an actual location in the game, or in a game menu, but no. He just drops the new weapon and it's stronger than what I had.
Anyway, I've got a new sword and I'm using it to kill more orcs. And occasionally I get to do kind of boring story missions.
Story missions are kind of bland but then you start getting some that make you fight three orc captains at once and they become fun again.
A lot of the story missions will pull in orc captains and take advantage of them being far more interesting than any scripted encounter could be.
Dumb question but could someone tell me how to use the "code" tag? Chances are I'm going to jump on the humble bundle for Stellaris but will give away a large chunk of the rest of those games if I do.
Not a dumb question at all!
EDIT: And as @LD50 points out below, it's important to note that it's "codes" and not "code", which confusingly does something very different.
Also, if posting multiple codes as in the last example, they dispense in order. It's best to keep it to one title to save confusion.
Also also, you can only use the "codes" tag once per post; posting multiple times if you have a bunch to give away is absolutely fine. (It won't show up properly after making the post until you refresh the page, and it won't show up properly in the post preview either, so don't worry about those.)
I'm guessing it's their way of keeping discounts feeling fresh so like fools we wait for big sales, avoiding purchases until we can get cards out of them while actually missing out on better deals at say Thanksgiving.
Who would be such a fool?
*crafts badgers*
Badger crafting?
I'm currently closing in on the middle to end of Gloria's mind in Psychonauts, which apparently means I'm just two worlds away from the end, more or less. It's . . . fine? I'm not sure why everyone has such love for it, to be honest. Yes, the characters are goofy and the scenario is weird-ish, but hell, I've seen weirder in games before. The powers are particularly unusual, excluding maybe Clairvoyance; light things on fire, shoot things, block, high jump/float, throw, etc. Also, it bears the hideous markings of Double Fine point & click adventure games. My inventory is clogged with items ranging from "only used it once" to "useful in a collectibles collecting sort of fashion", but nothing with the oomph, say, a hookshot or bow or whatever. And though the conspiracy brain was fun, it delved right into "find the right item for the right thing" component of those p&c games.
Am I in the minority of finding such mechanics wearying?
Anyway, the platforming and collecting of things is pretty solid and I can't really find anything to moan about there, I'm just not sure what's driving me on at this point other than getting a scant few points for my team. It's mechanically competent while still impeded by sameness. The story is interesting at the same time that it's canned and rote. I dunno, maybe I'm just the rare non-fan of Psychonauts. Or at least I'd give it closer to a 70% rating.
If you're already past the fish mind and the milkman and don't rate the game highly because of their characterisations, then I don't think the game will click any harder for you.
The best part is that, not having it to hand, I dug up that old cheat sheet @SmokeStacks made by Googling "smokestacks codes penny arcade". And it worked.
(And who won't get the batsignal from this post because I typo'd the name. D'oh!)
I feel like all I play on PC lately is master race wank. Walking through a mysterious house unlocking mysteries (EDITH FINCH), talking with robots on a train about what it means to be robot (SUBSURFACR CIRCULAR) and pondering what one life matters (TORMENT). I think I need the equivalent of a chicken parma with chips as a bit of a palette cleanser after all this.
Also HELLBLADE is so good I cannot find the words. I don't understand what goes into a thing for this to be the end product. Art has been around for a while, but this kinda art? I dunno man, maybe it was implied before but it hasn't been presented like this in the past
I feel like all I play on PC lately is master race wank. Walking through a mysterious house unlocking mysteries (EDITH FINCH), talking with robots on a train about what it means to be robot (SUBSURFACR CIRCULAR) and pondering what one life matters (TORMENT). I think I need the equivalent of a chicken parma with chips as a bit of a palette cleanser after all this.
Also HELLBLADE is so good I cannot find the words. I don't understand what goes into a thing for this to be the end product. Art has been around for a while, but this kinda art? I dunno man, maybe it was implied before but it hasn't been presented like this before
A lot of love and care and attention to detail. As much of Senua's experience as possible was drawn from interviews with people who suffer from the same things Senua does.
Huh, Unbox is 50 cents over at GreenManGaming. I remember hearing that game was....decent. Probably worth the 50 cents, esp since I found a quarter on the floor this morning.
Mainlining for 20 cents is a crime! I really liked that one and probably paid 5 bucks for it.
I keep wanting to buy The Uncertain (heh) but now that episode 1 has been reduced to
30 cents it doesn't fill me with confidence that episode 2 is around the corner.
Unbox, The Last Door and Goblins and Grottos are also worth a look in I reckon
Does anyone have recommendations for a game that's similar in scope/style to Yonder?
I got it a while back and my girlfriend tore it to pieces while she was sick, like 40-50 hours in a week.
Now she's interested in another similar experience to maybe stretch out over more than a few days!
I was thinking Slime Rancher, maybe? Anything else come to mind?
durandal4532
Slime Rancher is a great pick. There's exploring, some farming/ranching, and overwhelming amounts of cute. I've adored both games. Some other possible options include:
Stardew Valley - This one is definitely heavier on the farming aspect, and there's less exploring, but it's a delightfully friendly world to lose yourself in.
Castaway Paradise - It's basically a small animal crossing clone (but definitely not as good as the real thing).
Yono and the Celestial Elephants - A simple Zelda-clone where Link is replaced by the cutest elephant you've ever seen. (It is on the shorter end of things though, and has an actual end.)
Okami - There is combat in this, but it really nails the delight in bringing the landscape back to life, and you gain "experience" not by killing things, but by helping things grow, feeding animals, doing favors for people, etc. It's also really beautiful and really long (although it does have an end).
@Kalnaur - and anyone else put off playing the Mass Effect series because of all the DLC hoops to jump through - this might be old news but I've only just seen that Origin is offering DLC bundles for ME2 & 3. They still aren't super cheap, at £21.99/£24.99 (not sure what that is in US$ but I'm guessing at 25/30) on top of the cost of the games, although they are presently 20% off, but they appear to contain everything. I'm guessing the ME2 pack only works with an Origin copy, but you should be able to plug your CD key from your Steam copy into Origin to add it to your account - same with ME1, and an Origin copy of that automatically includes its two DLC packs. ME3, of course, was never on Steam and required Origin in the first place.
Figured this information might be relevant to your interests! Finally, Mass Effect DLC is made simple!
That is good to know, and I will go over to Origin to wishlist the ME2 DLC for future purchase, then. I already transferred my ME and ME2 keys over to Origin long ago, so when I have to 25 bucks or when there's a sale, I'll maybe finally look into starting the Mass Effect series.
Just have to find a good way to pipe it through steam so I can set up controller support.
If you're already past the fish mind and the milkman and don't rate the game highly because of their characterisations, then I don't think the game will click any harder for you.
The fishman and milkman stages were the highlights in an otherwise lackluster cast filled with go-fetch point & click nonsense that ruins a lot of my good will.
It makes me extra-wary about having any high hopes of liking Brutal Legend, since apparently that's also a Double Fine game, and every game of theirs that I thought was "not a point & click adventure game" has oozed that feeling anyway, and it really turns me cold.
The powers I gain fit more of my willingness to backtrack. I couldn't get the bafmodad without double jump, but now I got double jump, and now I'll go get all the double jump bafmodads. That's much more my jam than, "what play with what emotion will unlock the specific sequence of events that allow me to progress" type play.
I think that's really what's getting in the way of my liking the game more. Point & click mechanics almost always turn me off a game immediately. The only ones I've actually enjoyed thus far are the Sam & Max games from Telltale, but that's more about me already enjoying the characters and me playing those games with my wife present. She's better at the moon logic, and there's less of it, and I like playing games with her, so it's less that it's a good set of point & click games and more that the other elements outweigh the negatives.
I make art things! deviantART:Kalnaur ::: Origin: Kalnaur ::: UPlay: Kalnaur
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BeryllineOne Tiara to rule them allRegistered Userregular
Does anyone have recommendations for a game that's similar in scope/style to Yonder?
I got it a while back and my girlfriend tore it to pieces while she was sick, like 40-50 hours in a week.
Now she's interested in another similar experience to maybe stretch out over more than a few days!
I was thinking Slime Rancher, maybe? Anything else come to mind?
durandal4532
Slime Rancher is a great pick. There's exploring, some farming/ranching, and overwhelming amounts of cute. I've adored both games. Some other possible options include:
Stardew Valley - This one is definitely heavier on the farming aspect, and there's less exploring, but it's a delightfully friendly world to lose yourself in.
Castaway Paradise - It's basically a small animal crossing clone (but definitely not as good as the real thing).
Yono and the Celestial Elephants - A simple Zelda-clone where Link is replaced by the cutest elephant you've ever seen. (It is on the shorter end of things though, and has an actual end.)
Okami - There is combat in this, but it really nails the delight in bringing the landscape back to life, and you gain "experience" not by killing things, but by helping things grow, feeding animals, doing favors for people, etc. It's also really beautiful and really long (although it does have an end).
Some of these were on our radar already, but a bunch weren't! Thank you very much!
I really do hope that Zelda but with more climbing + less combat becomes a stable new genre.
Climbing and exploring is fun enough to base a game around it!
You're quite welcome! It's not a very long game, but Submerged is based on climbing and exploring (with no combat), and it's another one I really enjoyed! And I agree, I'd love to see more games like this.
(And who won't get the batsignal from this post because I typo'd the name. D'oh!)
You warmed the cockles of my heart.
I like that the codes functionality exists, it's made gifting super easy, even if it does lead to a lot of codes being used with no one posting anything about them (which leads me to believe that it's either Яussian spies or people who can't even take three seconds to post a thank you). It's nice not having to send a million PMs when you have a bunch of codes to dump.
I really do hope that Zelda but with more climbing + less combat becomes a stable new genre.
Climbing and exploring is fun enough to base a game around it!
Same here. Submerged is a game I like to recommend because it's literally just climbing and exploring. It's a little janky at times, but the environment is gorgeous (doubly so if you like post apocalyptic stuff). It's $20, which is a little steep, but it's usually fairly cheap when it goes on sale.
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Werewolf2000adSuckers, I know exactly what went wrong.Registered Userregular
It makes me extra-wary about having any high hopes of liking Brutal Legend, since apparently that's also a Double Fine game, and every game of theirs that I thought was "not a point & click adventure game" has oozed that feeling anyway, and it really turns me cold.
Ironic, since most people's problem with Brutal Legend is that they thought it was going to be a Psychonauts-like action-adventure game, and it turned out to be an RTS.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
+5
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SteevLWhat can I do for you?Registered Userregular
The fishman and milkman stages were the highlights in an otherwise lackluster cast filled with go-fetch point & click nonsense that ruins a lot of my good will.
It makes me extra-wary about having any high hopes of liking Brutal Legend, since apparently that's also a Double Fine game, and every game of theirs that I thought was "not a point & click adventure game" has oozed that feeling anyway, and it really turns me cold.
I don't remember there being much in the way of point & click stuff in Brutal Legend, but it definitely caught a lot of people off guard in that it looked like a third person action game, but was actually an RTS with third person action elements. Plus it has a great metal soundtrack and a few famous heavy metal people in it! Not sure how you'll take to it, although I will say it was designed with a controller in mind.
@Kalnaur - and anyone else put off playing the Mass Effect series because of all the DLC hoops to jump through - this might be old news but I've only just seen that Origin is offering DLC bundles for ME2 & 3. They still aren't super cheap, at £21.99/£24.99 (not sure what that is in US$ but I'm guessing at 25/30) on top of the cost of the games, although they are presently 20% off, but they appear to contain everything. I'm guessing the ME2 pack only works with an Origin copy, but you should be able to plug your CD key from your Steam copy into Origin to add it to your account - same with ME1, and an Origin copy of that automatically includes its two DLC packs. ME3, of course, was never on Steam and required Origin in the first place.
Figured this information might be relevant to your interests! Finally, Mass Effect DLC is made simple!
That is good to know, and I will go over to Origin to wishlist the ME2 DLC for future purchase, then. I already transferred my ME and ME2 keys over to Origin long ago, so when I have to 25 bucks or when there's a sale, I'll maybe finally look into starting the Mass Effect series.
Just have to find a good way to pipe it through steam so I can set up controller support.
IIRC they all play nice with the overlay so hopefully the Steam controller will be fine. Of course, Pinnacle will do the trick if you decide/need to go back to an Xbox controller for them instead. Just install them through Origin, add them to Steam as non-Steam games and run them through Steam. Origin will start up and do what it needs to automatically at that point.
I'll be happy to furnish you with the Xbox control layouts if you want/need them.
And if the worst comes to the worst and you just can't get on with ME1's gameplay (which, as much as I hate to say it, is possible), then you can get the broad strokes of the story and the major decisions taken care of with ME2's Genesis DLC, which will play if you start a new character in ME2 with Genesis installed. I hope that's not the case because you'll miss out on some gloriously colorful sidequests/side-stories that way, but ME2 is a big step forward gameplay-refinement-wise where ME1 could be clunky.
I know I'm jumping the gun a little with this, but probably the best tips for mitigating those ME1 issues are to play it on its easiest setting to minimize the combat frustrations, and keep on top of your inventory by converting stuff to omni-gel when it gets outclassed (e.g. you find a level II item to supercede a level I) or if you simply don't want it; otherwise you will at some point hit the inventory limit and have to spend longer than you'd like doing that for loads of useless junk.
@Kalnaur - and anyone else put off playing the Mass Effect series because of all the DLC hoops to jump through - this might be old news but I've only just seen that Origin is offering DLC bundles for ME2 & 3. They still aren't super cheap, at £21.99/£24.99 (not sure what that is in US$ but I'm guessing at 25/30) on top of the cost of the games, although they are presently 20% off, but they appear to contain everything. I'm guessing the ME2 pack only works with an Origin copy, but you should be able to plug your CD key from your Steam copy into Origin to add it to your account - same with ME1, and an Origin copy of that automatically includes its two DLC packs. ME3, of course, was never on Steam and required Origin in the first place.
Figured this information might be relevant to your interests! Finally, Mass Effect DLC is made simple!
That is good to know, and I will go over to Origin to wishlist the ME2 DLC for future purchase, then. I already transferred my ME and ME2 keys over to Origin long ago, so when I have to 25 bucks or when there's a sale, I'll maybe finally look into starting the Mass Effect series.
Just have to find a good way to pipe it through steam so I can set up controller support.
IIRC they all play nice with the overlay so hopefully the Steam controller will be fine. Of course, Pinnacle will do the trick if you decide/need to go back to an Xbox controller for them instead. Just install them through Origin, add them to Steam as non-Steam games and run them through Steam. Origin will start up and do what it needs to automatically at that point.
I'll be happy to furnish you with the Xbox control layouts if you want/need them.
And if the worst comes to the worst and you just can't get on with ME1's gameplay (which, as much as I hate to say it, is possible), then you can get the broad strokes of the story and the major decisions taken care of with ME2's Genesis DLC, which will play if you start a new character in ME2 with Genesis installed. I hope that's not the case because you'll miss out on some gloriously colorful sidequests/side-stories that way, but ME2 is a big step forward gameplay-refinement-wise where ME1 could be clunky.
I know I'm jumping the gun a little with this, but probably the best tips for mitigating those ME1 issues are to play it on its easiest setting to minimize the combat frustrations, and keep on top of your inventory by converting stuff to omni-gel when it gets outclassed (e.g. you find a level II item to supercede a level I) or if you simply don't want it; otherwise you will at some point hit the inventory limit and have to spend longer than you'd like doing that for loads of useless junk.
IMO play ME1 as a vanguard (or adept). The biggest problem with the gameplay of ME1 is the gunplay with the early guns is awful (especially when your character doesn't have any skills). Powers solve that problem right quick. Then you can use guns in the late game when you can find guns that don't overheat in a single shot and have enough accuracy that you won't miss while aiming at a barn, plus spare skill points to invest in gun skills.
Does anyone have recommendations for a game that's similar in scope/style to Yonder?
I got it a while back and my girlfriend tore it to pieces while she was sick, like 40-50 hours in a week.
Now she's interested in another similar experience to maybe stretch out over more than a few days!
I was thinking Slime Rancher, maybe? Anything else come to mind?
durandal4532
Slime Rancher is a great pick. There's exploring, some farming/ranching, and overwhelming amounts of cute. I've adored both games. Some other possible options include:
Stardew Valley - This one is definitely heavier on the farming aspect, and there's less exploring, but it's a delightfully friendly world to lose yourself in.
Castaway Paradise - It's basically a small animal crossing clone (but definitely not as good as the real thing).
Yono and the Celestial Elephants - A simple Zelda-clone where Link is replaced by the cutest elephant you've ever seen. (It is on the shorter end of things though, and has an actual end.)
Okami - There is combat in this, but it really nails the delight in bringing the landscape back to life, and you gain "experience" not by killing things, but by helping things grow, feeding animals, doing favors for people, etc. It's also really beautiful and really long (although it does have an end).
Some of these were on our radar already, but a bunch weren't! Thank you very much!
I really do hope that Zelda but with more climbing + less combat becomes a stable new genre.
Climbing and exploring is fun enough to base a game around it!
I totally agree and spend some time now looking for games that have interesting traversal mechanics and pure exploration as a main goal.
I just picked up Aer: Memories of Old during the winter sale and it has been scratching that itch by mixing flying, exploration and light (so far) puzzle solving. I'm a sucker for minimalism and flight so I think I'll get a good bit of mileage out of this one.
Inner Space is another that's on my radar, but it looks like it's getting dinged in reviews for having a clunky KBAM setup. So for now I'd only consider this one if you have a controller or they update the game with better KBAM controls.
IIRC they all play nice with the overlay so hopefully the Steam controller will be fine. Of course, Pinnacle will do the trick if you decide/need to go back to an Xbox controller for them instead. Just install them through Origin, add them to Steam as non-Steam games and run them through Steam. Origin will start up and do what it needs to automatically at that point.
I'll be happy to furnish you with the Xbox control layouts if you want/need them.
And if the worst comes to the worst and you just can't get on with ME1's gameplay (which, as much as I hate to say it, is possible), then you can get the broad strokes of the story and the major decisions taken care of with ME2's Genesis DLC, which will play if you start a new character in ME2 with Genesis installed. I hope that's not the case because you'll miss out on some gloriously colorful sidequests/side-stories that way, but ME2 is a big step forward gameplay-refinement-wise where ME1 could be clunky.
I know I'm jumping the gun a little with this, but probably the best tips for mitigating those ME1 issues are to play it on its easiest setting to minimize the combat frustrations, and keep on top of your inventory by converting stuff to omni-gel when it gets outclassed (e.g. you find a level II item to supercede a level I) or if you simply don't want it; otherwise you will at some point hit the inventory limit and have to spend longer than you'd like doing that for loads of useless junk.
I rarely play through games on anything above easy unless the game demands it, and if it does I get testy anyways, so there is that.
IMO play ME1 as a vanguard (or adept). The biggest problem with the gameplay of ME1 is the gunplay with the early guns is awful (especially when your character doesn't have any skills). Powers solve that problem right quick. Then you can use guns in the late game when you can find guns that don't overheat in a single shot and have enough accuracy that you won't miss while aiming at a barn, plus spare skill points to invest in gun skills.
If these options mean "sorta like a wizard" then that's what I prefer to play anyway is a powered individual.
Also, how "Bioware chat" are these games, exactly? I was finding the combat of Dragon Age lackluster and the chat constant (and it annoyed me that to make my companions the best that they could be, I had to find a walkthrough tree so I could navigate the minefield of "personality quirks" ad just get the mechanical efficacy), though to be totally fair to Dragon Age, I have barely made it to the first village area outside of the prologue. In that one I'm right at the beginning of gathering armies to start a war, and I'm given to understand that getting a slightly positive ending requires that I continue following a walkthrough as if these were Dark Souls NPC quests.
I make art things! deviantART:Kalnaur ::: Origin: Kalnaur ::: UPlay: Kalnaur
IIRC they all play nice with the overlay so hopefully the Steam controller will be fine. Of course, Pinnacle will do the trick if you decide/need to go back to an Xbox controller for them instead. Just install them through Origin, add them to Steam as non-Steam games and run them through Steam. Origin will start up and do what it needs to automatically at that point.
I'll be happy to furnish you with the Xbox control layouts if you want/need them.
And if the worst comes to the worst and you just can't get on with ME1's gameplay (which, as much as I hate to say it, is possible), then you can get the broad strokes of the story and the major decisions taken care of with ME2's Genesis DLC, which will play if you start a new character in ME2 with Genesis installed. I hope that's not the case because you'll miss out on some gloriously colorful sidequests/side-stories that way, but ME2 is a big step forward gameplay-refinement-wise where ME1 could be clunky.
I know I'm jumping the gun a little with this, but probably the best tips for mitigating those ME1 issues are to play it on its easiest setting to minimize the combat frustrations, and keep on top of your inventory by converting stuff to omni-gel when it gets outclassed (e.g. you find a level II item to supercede a level I) or if you simply don't want it; otherwise you will at some point hit the inventory limit and have to spend longer than you'd like doing that for loads of useless junk.
I rarely play through games on anything above easy unless the game demands it, and if it does I get testy anyways, so there is that.
IMO play ME1 as a vanguard (or adept). The biggest problem with the gameplay of ME1 is the gunplay with the early guns is awful (especially when your character doesn't have any skills). Powers solve that problem right quick. Then you can use guns in the late game when you can find guns that don't overheat in a single shot and have enough accuracy that you won't miss while aiming at a barn, plus spare skill points to invest in gun skills.
If these options mean "sorta like a wizard" then that's what I prefer to play anyway is a powered individual.
Also, how "Bioware chat" are these games, exactly? I was finding the combat of Dragon Age lackluster and the chat constant (and it annoyed me that to make my companions the best that they could be, I had to find a walkthrough tree so I could navigate the minefield of "personality quirks" ad just get the mechanical efficacy), though to be totally fair to Dragon Age, I have barely made it to the first village area outside of the prologue. In that one I'm right at the beginning of gathering armies to start a war, and I'm given to understand that getting a slightly positive ending requires that I continue following a walkthrough as if these were Dark Souls NPC quests.
Vanguard is "exactly like a wizard but with a shotgun later on", Adept is "pure wizard". IIRC the powers they get are a bit different, and that I had more fun with the vanguard ones (they're more explody, and there's synergy between the shotgun skills and the wizarding). I didn't do any bioware chat stuff in my playthroughs. I don't know if it exists and I ignored it, or if it's not there at all. You do go and talk to your team, but I don't think it has an effect on their performance. You can change a setting to control their leveling up so that you manage their skill points yourself.
+1
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BeryllineOne Tiara to rule them allRegistered Userregular
Does anyone have recommendations for a game that's similar in scope/style to Yonder?
I got it a while back and my girlfriend tore it to pieces while she was sick, like 40-50 hours in a week.
Now she's interested in another similar experience to maybe stretch out over more than a few days!
I was thinking Slime Rancher, maybe? Anything else come to mind?
durandal4532
Slime Rancher is a great pick. There's exploring, some farming/ranching, and overwhelming amounts of cute. I've adored both games. Some other possible options include:
Stardew Valley - This one is definitely heavier on the farming aspect, and there's less exploring, but it's a delightfully friendly world to lose yourself in.
Castaway Paradise - It's basically a small animal crossing clone (but definitely not as good as the real thing).
Yono and the Celestial Elephants - A simple Zelda-clone where Link is replaced by the cutest elephant you've ever seen. (It is on the shorter end of things though, and has an actual end.)
Okami - There is combat in this, but it really nails the delight in bringing the landscape back to life, and you gain "experience" not by killing things, but by helping things grow, feeding animals, doing favors for people, etc. It's also really beautiful and really long (although it does have an end).
Some of these were on our radar already, but a bunch weren't! Thank you very much!
I really do hope that Zelda but with more climbing + less combat becomes a stable new genre.
Climbing and exploring is fun enough to base a game around it!
I totally agree and spend some time now looking for games that have interesting traversal mechanics and pure exploration as a main goal.
I just picked up Aer: Memories of Old during the winter sale and it has been scratching that itch by mixing flying, exploration and light (so far) puzzle solving. I'm a sucker for minimalism and flight so I think I'll get a good bit of mileage out of this one.
Inner Space is another that's on my radar, but it looks like it's getting dinged in reviews for having a clunky KBAM setup. So for now I'd only consider this one if you have a controller or they update the game with better KBAM controls.
Yes, AER is another great relatively peaceful exploration game, and the flight is so good. I really enjoyed it and totally forgot to add it to my list!
I feel like all I play on PC lately is master race wank. Walking through a mysterious house unlocking mysteries (EDITH FINCH), talking with robots on a train about what it means to be robot (SUBSURFACR CIRCULAR) and pondering what one life matters (TORMENT). I think I need the equivalent of a chicken parma with chips as a bit of a palette cleanser after all this.
Also HELLBLADE is so good I cannot find the words. I don't understand what goes into a thing for this to be the end product. Art has been around for a while, but this kinda art? I dunno man, maybe it was implied before but it hasn't been presented like this in the past
Hellblade was done so well I actually took a break from it because it's genuinely upsetting to play through. And then when I read comments from other people like "it was boring, the combat wasn't even that good" I wonder why some people even consume media...
+1
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H3KnucklesBut we decide which is rightand which is an illusion.Registered Userregular
IIRC they all play nice with the overlay so hopefully the Steam controller will be fine. Of course, Pinnacle will do the trick if you decide/need to go back to an Xbox controller for them instead. Just install them through Origin, add them to Steam as non-Steam games and run them through Steam. Origin will start up and do what it needs to automatically at that point.
I'll be happy to furnish you with the Xbox control layouts if you want/need them.
And if the worst comes to the worst and you just can't get on with ME1's gameplay (which, as much as I hate to say it, is possible), then you can get the broad strokes of the story and the major decisions taken care of with ME2's Genesis DLC, which will play if you start a new character in ME2 with Genesis installed. I hope that's not the case because you'll miss out on some gloriously colorful sidequests/side-stories that way, but ME2 is a big step forward gameplay-refinement-wise where ME1 could be clunky.
I know I'm jumping the gun a little with this, but probably the best tips for mitigating those ME1 issues are to play it on its easiest setting to minimize the combat frustrations, and keep on top of your inventory by converting stuff to omni-gel when it gets outclassed (e.g. you find a level II item to supercede a level I) or if you simply don't want it; otherwise you will at some point hit the inventory limit and have to spend longer than you'd like doing that for loads of useless junk.
I rarely play through games on anything above easy unless the game demands it, and if it does I get testy anyways, so there is that.
IMO play ME1 as a vanguard (or adept). The biggest problem with the gameplay of ME1 is the gunplay with the early guns is awful (especially when your character doesn't have any skills). Powers solve that problem right quick. Then you can use guns in the late game when you can find guns that don't overheat in a single shot and have enough accuracy that you won't miss while aiming at a barn, plus spare skill points to invest in gun skills.
If these options mean "sorta like a wizard" then that's what I prefer to play anyway is a powered individual.
Also, how "Bioware chat" are these games, exactly? I was finding the combat of Dragon Age lackluster and the chat constant (and it annoyed me that to make my companions the best that they could be, I had to find a walkthrough tree so I could navigate the minefield of "personality quirks" ad just get the mechanical efficacy), though to be totally fair to Dragon Age, I have barely made it to the first village area outside of the prologue. In that one I'm right at the beginning of gathering armies to start a war, and I'm given to understand that getting a slightly positive ending requires that I continue following a walkthrough as if these were Dark Souls NPC quests.
Vanguard is... I can't really think of a D&D or typical RPG analogue at the moment. They're the Jedi Knight of Mass Effect. Or a Dragonball character. They mix close-quarters fighting with the game's magic equivalent.
Adepts are 100% the wizards of Mass Effect. They have crowd control, buffing, ranged & AOE attack powers.
Infiltrators are rogues/snipers, basically. They use tech for stealth and debuffing, whereas the Engineer uses it for a variety of support abilities. The Sentinel is kind of the Paladin of the group, super durable with some support abilities.
IIRC they all play nice with the overlay so hopefully the Steam controller will be fine. Of course, Pinnacle will do the trick if you decide/need to go back to an Xbox controller for them instead. Just install them through Origin, add them to Steam as non-Steam games and run them through Steam. Origin will start up and do what it needs to automatically at that point.
I'll be happy to furnish you with the Xbox control layouts if you want/need them.
And if the worst comes to the worst and you just can't get on with ME1's gameplay (which, as much as I hate to say it, is possible), then you can get the broad strokes of the story and the major decisions taken care of with ME2's Genesis DLC, which will play if you start a new character in ME2 with Genesis installed. I hope that's not the case because you'll miss out on some gloriously colorful sidequests/side-stories that way, but ME2 is a big step forward gameplay-refinement-wise where ME1 could be clunky.
I know I'm jumping the gun a little with this, but probably the best tips for mitigating those ME1 issues are to play it on its easiest setting to minimize the combat frustrations, and keep on top of your inventory by converting stuff to omni-gel when it gets outclassed (e.g. you find a level II item to supercede a level I) or if you simply don't want it; otherwise you will at some point hit the inventory limit and have to spend longer than you'd like doing that for loads of useless junk.
I rarely play through games on anything above easy unless the game demands it, and if it does I get testy anyways, so there is that.
IMO play ME1 as a vanguard (or adept). The biggest problem with the gameplay of ME1 is the gunplay with the early guns is awful (especially when your character doesn't have any skills). Powers solve that problem right quick. Then you can use guns in the late game when you can find guns that don't overheat in a single shot and have enough accuracy that you won't miss while aiming at a barn, plus spare skill points to invest in gun skills.
If these options mean "sorta like a wizard" then that's what I prefer to play anyway is a powered individual.
Also, how "Bioware chat" are these games, exactly? I was finding the combat of Dragon Age lackluster and the chat constant (and it annoyed me that to make my companions the best that they could be, I had to find a walkthrough tree so I could navigate the minefield of "personality quirks" ad just get the mechanical efficacy), though to be totally fair to Dragon Age, I have barely made it to the first village area outside of the prologue. In that one I'm right at the beginning of gathering armies to start a war, and I'm given to understand that getting a slightly positive ending requires that I continue following a walkthrough as if these were Dark Souls NPC quests.
Yeah, the biotic powers are effectively space magic. In the sequels, tech powers are basically another type of space magic, but in ME1 they're a bit more traditionally RPG-y. (ME1 is an RPG with shooter elements; the other two lean much harder into being action games with conversations, with other RPG elements on the side.)
There is a lot of talking in the ME games, but you don't really need to track how you're talking to individual characters to keep your reputation up with them or anything. (There's no "Morrigan disapproves".) There are "paragon" and "renegade" options, though; paragons are always looking for diplomatic solutions that work for everyone, renegades are ruthless at pursuing their goals. Both are still generally good character types. In ME1, you'll unlock those responses in conversations by putting skill points into the respective skills. In ME2, it's almost reversed; you'll gain paragon and/or renegade points the more you use each one, and you'll need X amount of them to use ones later on, which sort of railroads you into just using one or the other in a given playthrough. It also gives you paragon and renegade interrupts (pull the relevant trigger when prompted during a conversation, if you want) that don't need those. ME3 is similar, but doesn't railroad you into one or the other, just rewards thoroughness in general, and combines both into one rep meter.
But it's nowhere near as complex to navigate and figure out as Dragon Age. If you're going to permanently piss someone off, you'll know just from the dialog or organic storytelling, and it still won't affect their abilities on a mechanical level (they may not like you personally any more but they'll still fight alongside you). It's pretty easy to keep all of your companions onside all at the same time. The only thing I will say if you're going to go for full mechanical efficacy is that, in ME2, do the loyalty missions, and then you might want to look up something for the last mission, but don't worry about it until you're ready to head through the relay.
There are some complexities insofar as how missions, results and such interact under the hood, but generally just paying attention, talking to people in a way that keeps them onside, helping them out, and so on will lead you a good way. You really don't need to crunch numbers much at all, it's all pretty organic.
In ME3, there is the Galaxy at War system where you get multipliers up in the single-player game by playing the (genuinely excellent) co-op multiplayer, but it's tuned such that you can get the "best" ending(s) without doing that at all if you're thorough in the single-player game.
Does anyone have recommendations for a game that's similar in scope/style to Yonder?
I got it a while back and my girlfriend tore it to pieces while she was sick, like 40-50 hours in a week.
Now she's interested in another similar experience to maybe stretch out over more than a few days!
I was thinking Slime Rancher, maybe? Anything else come to mind?
durandal4532
Slime Rancher is a great pick. There's exploring, some farming/ranching, and overwhelming amounts of cute. I've adored both games. Some other possible options include:
Stardew Valley - This one is definitely heavier on the farming aspect, and there's less exploring, but it's a delightfully friendly world to lose yourself in.
Castaway Paradise - It's basically a small animal crossing clone (but definitely not as good as the real thing).
Yono and the Celestial Elephants - A simple Zelda-clone where Link is replaced by the cutest elephant you've ever seen. (It is on the shorter end of things though, and has an actual end.)
Okami - There is combat in this, but it really nails the delight in bringing the landscape back to life, and you gain "experience" not by killing things, but by helping things grow, feeding animals, doing favors for people, etc. It's also really beautiful and really long (although it does have an end).
Some of these were on our radar already, but a bunch weren't! Thank you very much!
I really do hope that Zelda but with more climbing + less combat becomes a stable new genre.
Climbing and exploring is fun enough to base a game around it!
I totally agree and spend some time now looking for games that have interesting traversal mechanics and pure exploration as a main goal.
I just picked up Aer: Memories of Old during the winter sale and it has been scratching that itch by mixing flying, exploration and light (so far) puzzle solving. I'm a sucker for minimalism and flight so I think I'll get a good bit of mileage out of this one.
Inner Space is another that's on my radar, but it looks like it's getting dinged in reviews for having a clunky KBAM setup. So for now I'd only consider this one if you have a controller or they update the game with better KBAM controls.
Yes, AER is another great relatively peaceful exploration game, and the flight is so good. I really enjoyed it and totally forgot to add it to my list!
Does anyone have recommendations for a game that's similar in scope/style to Yonder?
I got it a while back and my girlfriend tore it to pieces while she was sick, like 40-50 hours in a week.
Now she's interested in another similar experience to maybe stretch out over more than a few days!
I was thinking Slime Rancher, maybe? Anything else come to mind?
durandal4532
Slime Rancher is a great pick. There's exploring, some farming/ranching, and overwhelming amounts of cute. I've adored both games. Some other possible options include:
Stardew Valley - This one is definitely heavier on the farming aspect, and there's less exploring, but it's a delightfully friendly world to lose yourself in.
Castaway Paradise - It's basically a small animal crossing clone (but definitely not as good as the real thing).
Yono and the Celestial Elephants - A simple Zelda-clone where Link is replaced by the cutest elephant you've ever seen. (It is on the shorter end of things though, and has an actual end.)
Okami - There is combat in this, but it really nails the delight in bringing the landscape back to life, and you gain "experience" not by killing things, but by helping things grow, feeding animals, doing favors for people, etc. It's also really beautiful and really long (although it does have an end).
Posts
Yonder is basically Breath of the Wild, if you took out all the combat and replaced it with Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon. I've been meaning to write up a recommendation for ages. Great fun.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
I have to admit when I first saw this I just thought "oh good another Minecraft ripoff it's just underwater now" but everyone's talking about how great it is, do I need to give this one a look?
Yonder's a bit like Zelda - Combat + some light farming and collectathoning.
Yes, you really do.
It's underwater, it's beautiful, it has a story. It has reasons to go out and explore, and a distinct ending.
The harder the rain, honey, the sweeter the sun.
And then, to my surprise, he also broke my sword.
Then the game told me I could hunt him down to recover the pieces of my sword. And when I reforge it, it'll be stronger than before.
So I hunted him down and, after a somewhat drawn out battle, killed him. I thought I'd have to take the pieces and reforge it somewhere, either an actual location in the game, or in a game menu, but no. He just drops the new weapon and it's stronger than what I had.
Anyway, I've got a new sword and I'm using it to kill more orcs. And occasionally I get to do kind of boring story missions.
@durandal4532
Slime Rancher is a great pick. There's exploring, some farming/ranching, and overwhelming amounts of cute. I've adored both games. Some other possible options include:
Stardew Valley - This one is definitely heavier on the farming aspect, and there's less exploring, but it's a delightfully friendly world to lose yourself in.
Castaway Paradise - It's basically a small animal crossing clone (but definitely not as good as the real thing).
Yono and the Celestial Elephants - A simple Zelda-clone where Link is replaced by the cutest elephant you've ever seen. (It is on the shorter end of things though, and has an actual end.)
Okami - There is combat in this, but it really nails the delight in bringing the landscape back to life, and you gain "experience" not by killing things, but by helping things grow, feeding animals, doing favors for people, etc. It's also really beautiful and really long (although it does have an end).
There are also a number of upcoming games that might be worth keeping an eye on. Ooblets, Mineko's Night Market, My Time at Portia, Re:Legend, and Kynseed are just some of them.
Figured this information might be relevant to your interests! Finally, Mass Effect DLC is made simple!
Steam | XBL
Story missions are kind of bland but then you start getting some that make you fight three orc captains at once and they become fun again.
A lot of the story missions will pull in orc captains and take advantage of them being far more interesting than any scripted encounter could be.
Steam Profile
3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
Not a dumb question at all!
EDIT: And as @LD50 points out below, it's important to note that it's "codes" and not "code", which confusingly does something very different.
Also, if posting multiple codes as in the last example, they dispense in order. It's best to keep it to one title to save confusion.
Also also, you can only use the "codes" tag once per post; posting multiple times if you have a bunch to give away is absolutely fine. (It won't show up properly after making the post until you refresh the page, and it won't show up properly in the post preview either, so don't worry about those.)
Steam | XBL
If you're already past the fish mind and the milkman and don't rate the game highly because of their characterisations, then I don't think the game will click any harder for you.
Somehow.
Genuinely no idea when I acquired that.
Anyway that's installing for this weekend now.
(And who won't get the batsignal from this post because I typo'd the name. D'oh!)
Steam | XBL
Also HELLBLADE is so good I cannot find the words. I don't understand what goes into a thing for this to be the end product. Art has been around for a while, but this kinda art? I dunno man, maybe it was implied before but it hasn't been presented like this in the past
A lot of love and care and attention to detail. As much of Senua's experience as possible was drawn from interviews with people who suffer from the same things Senua does.
Steam | XBL
Mainlining for 20 cents is a crime! I really liked that one and probably paid 5 bucks for it.
I keep wanting to buy The Uncertain (heh) but now that episode 1 has been reduced to
30 cents it doesn't fill me with confidence that episode 2 is around the corner.
Unbox, The Last Door and Goblins and Grottos are also worth a look in I reckon
Some of these were on our radar already, but a bunch weren't! Thank you very much!
I really do hope that Zelda but with more climbing + less combat becomes a stable new genre.
Climbing and exploring is fun enough to base a game around it!
That is good to know, and I will go over to Origin to wishlist the ME2 DLC for future purchase, then. I already transferred my ME and ME2 keys over to Origin long ago, so when I have to 25 bucks or when there's a sale, I'll maybe finally look into starting the Mass Effect series.
Just have to find a good way to pipe it through steam so I can set up controller support.
The fishman and milkman stages were the highlights in an otherwise lackluster cast filled with go-fetch point & click nonsense that ruins a lot of my good will.
It makes me extra-wary about having any high hopes of liking Brutal Legend, since apparently that's also a Double Fine game, and every game of theirs that I thought was "not a point & click adventure game" has oozed that feeling anyway, and it really turns me cold.
The powers I gain fit more of my willingness to backtrack. I couldn't get the bafmodad without double jump, but now I got double jump, and now I'll go get all the double jump bafmodads. That's much more my jam than, "what play with what emotion will unlock the specific sequence of events that allow me to progress" type play.
I think that's really what's getting in the way of my liking the game more. Point & click mechanics almost always turn me off a game immediately. The only ones I've actually enjoyed thus far are the Sam & Max games from Telltale, but that's more about me already enjoying the characters and me playing those games with my wife present. She's better at the moon logic, and there's less of it, and I like playing games with her, so it's less that it's a good set of point & click games and more that the other elements outweigh the negatives.
You're quite welcome!
You warmed the cockles of my heart.
I like that the codes functionality exists, it's made gifting super easy, even if it does lead to a lot of codes being used with no one posting anything about them (which leads me to believe that it's either Яussian spies or people who can't even take three seconds to post a thank you). It's nice not having to send a million PMs when you have a bunch of codes to dump.
Same here. Submerged is a game I like to recommend because it's literally just climbing and exploring. It's a little janky at times, but the environment is gorgeous (doubly so if you like post apocalyptic stuff). It's $20, which is a little steep, but it's usually fairly cheap when it goes on sale.
Ironic, since most people's problem with Brutal Legend is that they thought it was going to be a Psychonauts-like action-adventure game, and it turned out to be an RTS.
EVERYBODY WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR, MEG!
I don't remember there being much in the way of point & click stuff in Brutal Legend, but it definitely caught a lot of people off guard in that it looked like a third person action game, but was actually an RTS with third person action elements. Plus it has a great metal soundtrack and a few famous heavy metal people in it! Not sure how you'll take to it, although I will say it was designed with a controller in mind.
IIRC they all play nice with the overlay so hopefully the Steam controller will be fine. Of course, Pinnacle will do the trick if you decide/need to go back to an Xbox controller for them instead. Just install them through Origin, add them to Steam as non-Steam games and run them through Steam. Origin will start up and do what it needs to automatically at that point.
I'll be happy to furnish you with the Xbox control layouts if you want/need them.
And if the worst comes to the worst and you just can't get on with ME1's gameplay (which, as much as I hate to say it, is possible), then you can get the broad strokes of the story and the major decisions taken care of with ME2's Genesis DLC, which will play if you start a new character in ME2 with Genesis installed. I hope that's not the case because you'll miss out on some gloriously colorful sidequests/side-stories that way, but ME2 is a big step forward gameplay-refinement-wise where ME1 could be clunky.
I know I'm jumping the gun a little with this, but probably the best tips for mitigating those ME1 issues are to play it on its easiest setting to minimize the combat frustrations, and keep on top of your inventory by converting stuff to omni-gel when it gets outclassed (e.g. you find a level II item to supercede a level I) or if you simply don't want it; otherwise you will at some point hit the inventory limit and have to spend longer than you'd like doing that for loads of useless junk.
Steam | XBL
Handmade Jewelry by me on EtsyGames for sale
Me on Twitch!
IMO play ME1 as a vanguard (or adept). The biggest problem with the gameplay of ME1 is the gunplay with the early guns is awful (especially when your character doesn't have any skills). Powers solve that problem right quick. Then you can use guns in the late game when you can find guns that don't overheat in a single shot and have enough accuracy that you won't miss while aiming at a barn, plus spare skill points to invest in gun skills.
This is good to know as I loved state of decay but it was pretty rough so was debating buying it on PC when it goes on for super cheap.
I totally agree and spend some time now looking for games that have interesting traversal mechanics and pure exploration as a main goal.
I just picked up Aer: Memories of Old during the winter sale and it has been scratching that itch by mixing flying, exploration and light (so far) puzzle solving. I'm a sucker for minimalism and flight so I think I'll get a good bit of mileage out of this one.
Inner Space is another that's on my radar, but it looks like it's getting dinged in reviews for having a clunky KBAM setup. So for now I'd only consider this one if you have a controller or they update the game with better KBAM controls.
I rarely play through games on anything above easy unless the game demands it, and if it does I get testy anyways, so there is that.
If these options mean "sorta like a wizard" then that's what I prefer to play anyway is a powered individual.
Also, how "Bioware chat" are these games, exactly? I was finding the combat of Dragon Age lackluster and the chat constant (and it annoyed me that to make my companions the best that they could be, I had to find a walkthrough tree so I could navigate the minefield of "personality quirks" ad just get the mechanical efficacy), though to be totally fair to Dragon Age, I have barely made it to the first village area outside of the prologue. In that one I'm right at the beginning of gathering armies to start a war, and I'm given to understand that getting a slightly positive ending requires that I continue following a walkthrough as if these were Dark Souls NPC quests.
Vanguard is "exactly like a wizard but with a shotgun later on", Adept is "pure wizard". IIRC the powers they get are a bit different, and that I had more fun with the vanguard ones (they're more explody, and there's synergy between the shotgun skills and the wizarding). I didn't do any bioware chat stuff in my playthroughs. I don't know if it exists and I ignored it, or if it's not there at all. You do go and talk to your team, but I don't think it has an effect on their performance. You can change a setting to control their leveling up so that you manage their skill points yourself.
Yes, AER is another great relatively peaceful exploration game, and the flight is so good. I really enjoyed it and totally forgot to add it to my list!
Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051
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Hellblade was done so well I actually took a break from it because it's genuinely upsetting to play through. And then when I read comments from other people like "it was boring, the combat wasn't even that good" I wonder why some people even consume media...
Vanguard is... I can't really think of a D&D or typical RPG analogue at the moment. They're the Jedi Knight of Mass Effect. Or a Dragonball character. They mix close-quarters fighting with the game's magic equivalent.
Adepts are 100% the wizards of Mass Effect. They have crowd control, buffing, ranged & AOE attack powers.
Infiltrators are rogues/snipers, basically. They use tech for stealth and debuffing, whereas the Engineer uses it for a variety of support abilities. The Sentinel is kind of the Paladin of the group, super durable with some support abilities.
Yeah, the biotic powers are effectively space magic. In the sequels, tech powers are basically another type of space magic, but in ME1 they're a bit more traditionally RPG-y. (ME1 is an RPG with shooter elements; the other two lean much harder into being action games with conversations, with other RPG elements on the side.)
There is a lot of talking in the ME games, but you don't really need to track how you're talking to individual characters to keep your reputation up with them or anything. (There's no "Morrigan disapproves".) There are "paragon" and "renegade" options, though; paragons are always looking for diplomatic solutions that work for everyone, renegades are ruthless at pursuing their goals. Both are still generally good character types. In ME1, you'll unlock those responses in conversations by putting skill points into the respective skills. In ME2, it's almost reversed; you'll gain paragon and/or renegade points the more you use each one, and you'll need X amount of them to use ones later on, which sort of railroads you into just using one or the other in a given playthrough. It also gives you paragon and renegade interrupts (pull the relevant trigger when prompted during a conversation, if you want) that don't need those. ME3 is similar, but doesn't railroad you into one or the other, just rewards thoroughness in general, and combines both into one rep meter.
But it's nowhere near as complex to navigate and figure out as Dragon Age. If you're going to permanently piss someone off, you'll know just from the dialog or organic storytelling, and it still won't affect their abilities on a mechanical level (they may not like you personally any more but they'll still fight alongside you). It's pretty easy to keep all of your companions onside all at the same time. The only thing I will say if you're going to go for full mechanical efficacy is that, in ME2, do the loyalty missions, and then you might want to look up something for the last mission, but don't worry about it until you're ready to head through the relay.
There are some complexities insofar as how missions, results and such interact under the hood, but generally just paying attention, talking to people in a way that keeps them onside, helping them out, and so on will lead you a good way. You really don't need to crunch numbers much at all, it's all pretty organic.
In ME3, there is the Galaxy at War system where you get multipliers up in the single-player game by playing the (genuinely excellent) co-op multiplayer, but it's tuned such that you can get the "best" ending(s) without doing that at all if you're thorough in the single-player game.
Steam | XBL
Exploration and climbing? Don't forget Grow Home!
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
Climbing games need more nooks, crannies and overheads mmm yeah that'd be goooood