POLL: Is your general sentiment towards POE negative or positive?

[roshan]

OK, so like with many other recent RPGs, we see a divergence between forum posts and ratings given on polls when it comes to reactions to a game. I mean POE is still rated 8/10 by the Codex, but when we read posts, it seems that negative sentiments dominate. This has been the case for a lot of recent RPGs. Sometimes the reverse is true, we see RPGs getting low ratings or very little attention, but in threads, a positive outlook is predominant.

So this is just to try a different way to gauge the hivemind. Is your sentiment towards POE negative or positive? This isn't about how you would rank the game, but rather your "feels" towards the game. For example you might be of the opinion that the game is a 7/10 but still feel generally disappointed or unsatisfied by it.

 

[Kane]

My general sentiment towards PoE is ambivalent.

 

[roshan]

My general sentiment towards PoE is ambivalent.

Added the option.

 

[Stormcrowfleet]

Since I am too noobish I cannot vote. But if I could I would say negative following your argument that the game is not bad per se, but it was not what I was waiting for, and it fell very short. After the first few minutes (and the pre-gaming hype since I pledged) I was sure I would do multiple playthrough. In the end I had to muster inner will to finish just one, then I uninstalled it and I will not play it again.

 

[Commissar Draco]

My general sentiment towards PoE is ambivalent.

Same here it was not bad game otherwise would not complete it but it sure could be lot better if someone with more imagination and creativity and less was lead designer... So I am backing Kommssar opinion from old poll It could be Good game but happened... Still 8/10 and better than AAA shit like DAI

 

[Western]

I think I gave the game a 7.5 or so, not an IGN/Gamespot 7.5, an actual one. Overall the game is enjoyable, in part it's a victim of reasonable expectations from Obsidians' previous work and a few odd design decisions.

Story and characters feel a bit underdone in terms of what Obsidian has achieved previously. Reactivity in parts was slightly disappointing in terms of what Obsidian delivered previously. Keep was not as interesting as what was delivered in NWN2.

Personally I don't have as much hatred for the combat as others, but I would have liked to have seen some hard counters/spells, defensive contingencies for mages (enemy mages could actually become more intimidating this way). Encounter design is a little disappointing, there are far too many encounters for a game where combat doesn't give XP. Also too many backer NPCS that don't fit with the lore/setting, a minor annoyance but one on a growing list.

The first few sections of Bloodlines, had the right idea, if there's no combat for XP, lower the amount of combat. Give more RP opportunities, reward stealth. I felt like that would have played into Obsidians strengths of storytelling and narrative, rather than their weakness which is making compelling combat.

I feel that as a sum of its parts it's enjoyable, but a lot of these individual elements are not what they could potentially be, PoE could be a much better game if given some more love from Obsidian, the game feels underdone, like it could have used almost another year in the oven (enough time for Obsidian to deliver atleast what it has previously delivered).

Edit: I'm also not happy about the following at all, the characters needed more content.

Chris Avellone: "To be clear, and to give credit where credit is due on content contributions (I don’t want to steal anyone’s thunder), I wrote the first iterations of two companions (Durance and the Grieving Mother, who have been scaled down to about ¼ of what they were originally, and the Grieving Mother’s mental dungeon was excised as well, which was essentially a stealth adventure game inside her memories).

The final versions that are in the game are the province of other narrative designers, and I would be uncomfortable taking credit for the final implementation of the two characters. "

 

[Volrath]

Ambivalent. It's a competent game and I didn't expect them to do any better/worse knowing Sawyer's design philosophies.

Maybe one day they'll make a turn based pathfinder RPG, I'm positive that game would get a better reception on the Codex by use of the ruleset alone.

 

[Rostere]

Chris Avellone: "To be clear, and to give credit where credit is due on content contributions (I don’t want to steal anyone’s thunder), I wrote the first iterations of two companions (Durance and the Grieving Mother, who have been scaled down to about ¼ of what they were originally, and the Grieving Mother’s mental dungeon was excised as well, which was essentially a stealth adventure game inside her memories).

The final versions that are in the game are the province of other narrative designers, and I would be uncomfortable taking credit for the final implementation of the two characters. "

They have what as far as we know is the world's best video game writer, and then they do this...



The fact that they are still so good speaks a lot about how they would have been with 300% additional content... :'(

 

[RK47]

If you start wanting the game to end faster, you're not really having any fun.
I have to say it was mostly negative.
It didn't start that way, but the amount of trash combat killed any mood for more content.
Every time I had a slight pang to replay, I get the whole 'no, the trash combat is not worth it' reminder to stop me.

 

[Zero Credibility]

While maybe I should be ambivalent to this game because it has some good sides, I fear I fall into the negative camp. RK47 has described my feelings about it very well, but I think this is also a matter of disappointment. This was the first kickstarter project I backed, the promised revival of good old times (well, 2000 is old times now, right?) classic rpg goodness, the spiritual sequel to some of my favourite games. And it ends up a mediocre game that I need to struggle to finish, not against difficulty but against boredom. Maybe I will manage to finish it once, but I do not see myself replaying it ever.

 

[made]

It's a party-based, top-down view RPG with beautiful scenery. No matter what else it might do wrong, I could never hate it.

 

[Old Hans]

[Negative] Some of the lore is cool, and I like the monster manual artwork, but story and dungeons are not fun or exciting.

 

[WhiteGuts]

Quite ambivalent. The bad parts are not bad enough to make me stop, and the good parts are not good enough to make me overlook the bad parts.

 

[Maschtervoz]

Ambivalent. It's a mostly competent game, but several questionable design decisions keep it from becoming anything more.

Obsidian had only really proven themselves making smaller scale, tightly packed storyfag adventures with a general sense of weirdness/mystery around them. Them ignoring their strengths and instead pitching a not-D&D BG clone in not-FR was the first misstep. They have no real idea how to handle a larger scale, more open game and it shows when you start encountering copy-paste trash mobs, fetch quest cities, useless wastes of time and resources like the stronghold (seriously fuck strongholds and all the KS retards who insist on forcing them in every game), and everything else that contributes to the general feeling of dullness that plagues the game. Combined with the no fun allowed approach to designing game mechanics, this problem becomes even greater.

Now this would have been excusable if they delivered high quality storyfaggotry, but even here, the game isn't particularly great. The driving force behind the main plot, you going mad, is so weakly signaled in game that you forget why you even bother chasing mystery man around. Is that five second clip of spooky scary green rocks that shows up every other rest really supposed to represent growing insanity? Companions are mostly pleasant to have around, but that's it, and I can't force myself to give a fuck about any side character. The feeling seems mutual for the NPCs, because they are completely out of fucks to give about me being a supposedly rare and feared death godlike, said by local superstition to be a herald of doom.

I do like the amount of detail that went into worldbuilding and I gotta Sawyer for bothering with cultures and regional differences and other such details that fantasy hacks generally ignore, but it is disappointing to see all that effort going into not-generic-fantasy shit. At least they have guns. I fucking love me some early firearms.

7/10, pls make a MotB-like expansion

 

[The Bishop]

PoE is full of flaws, but of all the KS games I enjoyed it the most. For the first time since forever a game was able to capture my attention for more than a couple of hours straight.

 

[WhiteGuts]

Chris Avellone: "To be clear, and to give credit where credit is due on content contributions (I don’t want to steal anyone’s thunder), I wrote the first iterations of two companions (Durance and the Grieving Mother, who have been scaled down to about ¼ of what they were originally, and the Grieving Mother’s mental dungeon was excised as well, which was essentially a stealth adventure game inside her memories).

The final versions that are in the game are the province of other narrative designers, and I would be uncomfortable taking credit for the final implementation of the two characters. "

The two best companions were originally written by MCA. Must be some wicked coincidence.

 

[MicoSelva]

Definitely positive - I enjoy playing it and while it is not the second coming of anything and I have huge list of issues with the game, I still like it more than both IceWind Dales or DA:O.

EDIT: I forgot that Durance and GM writing was scaled down that much. Holy MCA!

 

[A horse of course]

The best Cuckstarter I've donated to, though I haven't tried my copy of Original Sin. Still, a bit of a letdown for an IE-revival.

 

[Lockkaliber]

I enjoyed myself from start to finish, despite the flaws.

 

[Mastermind]

Positive because I enjoyed it but it does so few things well enough that when commenting on it most of it is negative. I think a big part of the negativity is because it's not a proper spiritual successor to an IE game so a lot of people feel cheated.

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

 

[Zeronet]

I'm positive towards it, but it's obviously played a little safe. I'm not opposed to that, it enabled them to deliver a polished experience that will help their reputation and serve as a foundation for future titles in the IP which will hopefully be a lot better.

 

[aeonsim]

Better than BG1 not as good as BG2, excellent foundation to build a more interesting/fun game with PoE:2.

 

[Shevek]

Positive.
I am eager to replay and am patiently waiting for the next patch before I start my PotD/custom party playthrough. Every game has flaws. This is no different. You can opt to fixate on a few minor quibbles (the lack of supa-powa weapons or whatever) or you can take wider view that encompasses all that a game does. If you acknowledge what PoE does, its a great game.

 

[Pope Amole II]

Let's see - it brought a 900 subs to my channel, 150k of views (both number pretty much triple what I've gathered over a year), countless likes and even a hunded of upvotes to our greenlight (yeah, the conversion rate here could've been better). So how can I feel towards PoE, dare I ask?

10/10 GOTY AWESOME MAJESTIC IMMERSIVE DEEP NEW CITIZEN KANE OF GAMES WOULD REPLAY 7 TIMES.