Review RPG Codex Review: Pillars of Eternity, by Decado

[Ninjerk]

I think there will be more people maxing out its score than you think, tuluse, and I wouldn't be terribly surprised that there won't be some alt-boosting to boot if the poll is posted in the right place.

 

[Jarpie]

I want to bring up the subject of the Steam Curator page again, specifically the apparent omission of Roxor's review on it.

For the record, I want to preface that I didn't particularly like Roxor's review. I acknowledge that it is quite accurate, painfully so, but reading it is like what you go through after having dug up your long-lost, beloved uncle and propped him up on the chair: some people are going to insist on pointing out all the bad things like the fact that his skin is starting to peel off, that there are maggots coming out of his eyes, and that he stinks so bad the dog left. But it's your uncle -- do you really have to point all that out?

I also want to say that Decado's more "feely" review makes me comfortable. I want to snuggle up with it. It's like a nice, warm security blanket. There aren't nearly as many reminders that this game isn't what we all so desperately had hoped it would turn out to be. There's no mention of its effect on several Codex members; that it drove people like Sensuki permanently insane. It's a nice review (and yes, it is a review). Even if its bulk is comprised of emotional rhetoric. I like emotional rhetoric.

But the fact that both reviews aren't featured on our Steam Curator page is, in my estimation, at least, a travesty, and, at most, a felonious omission.

Here is a screenshot of who I would assume to be Codex' authority on this matter, Infinitron's, apparent opinion:

I kept asking after that who exactly it is that defines what should and what should not be included on an official Steam Curator page. Infinitron would not answer. Others stated they thought that both reviews, balancing one another out, would be best. Still others felt that they agreed with Infinitron, that only "recommendations" are appropriate there.

I ask you, Codex: what do you really think? Are we beholden to some standard that we will blindly follow? Who is it that decides for us what we can and cannot say about a game in a format that (unfortunately) is the most widely-viewed available to the gaming public (certainly we can't invite everyone here)? Haven't we always been about the truth here? Hasn't Codex always held in great disdain anything that smelled of roses and honeysuckle dreams? Fuck my comfort level: I know what's right and what's wrong. Fuck what Steam might say we're "supposed" to do as Curators. Fuck being a Curator in the first place but that cat's (or should I say Bee's?) been let out of the bag for a long time now.

I don't like Darth Roxor. He makes me feel bad inside. But the feeling that Codex is hiding our other half from the seething Steamtard masses on a game that deserves to be both equally loved in NAMBLA-like fanboy passion and hated with every fiber of our hivemind collective possible feels even worse.

I say this crime must be corrected, if not punished. Put links to both up on the Curator page. Buck the Doritos trend! Restore Codex Glory!

Who's with me?

You mean Infishilltron?

 

[NotAGolfer]

Hahah, I see. Now I think I understand your review target audience. Not the people from here, I imagine

Fuck you and the high horse you came riding in on. Also fuck Codex hive mind.

Everything is shit.

But you're teh worst.

In the wise words of Xu Fugui

Nope, won't do that.
It's just that sometimes there's too much whining and bitching on Codex, which makes it very unpleasant and not at all lulzy to read.
When you read threads like this one here you can get the feeling that you're surrounded by retards who actually believe that taste in games is something quantifiable and that all the "your taste is shit" comments you read over the years were not just harmless jabs but dead serious.
This is a fucking review, not a scientific paper dissecting every aspect of the game. If he writes that the mechanics are sufficient for a storyfag like him and that many factors not mattering might be due to normal difficulty level or not, then that's all I need to know.
My conclusion from that would be that I don't like that aspect because even in lower difficulty levels I want to have some sort of thinking involved, so at least give me rock paper scissors like combat mechanics that actually matter, not meaningless fluff that pretends to be more. Got that decline shit in enough games already, thank you, but no thank you.
Darth Roxor's autistic pamphlet wasn't that helpful either, with all the obvious vitriol and all. How can you trust someone who seems to be literally foaming while writing an overly lengthy rant?

You can deconstruct everything and make it sound like shit, that's sophism, not universal truth ffs.

td;dr

 

[One-and-a-half-Ivan]

The voting for Codex GOTY is going to be a bit more agenda driven than usual this year

Roguey will lead the Sawyeites against the invading potatohordes that will only register to vote Bitcher best gaym evah!!!!

Everytime I read about potatoes I feel offended. FYI, the one and only potatocountry is Belarus. Poland just wants to steal this glorious title from us.

 

[Mortmal]

The voting for Codex GOTY is going to be a bit more agenda driven than usual this year

There will be the staff choice with POE inevitably game of the year , cause agreements doritos and co , they want to be accepted in the next obsidian game launch party.Second will be torment as inxile is.. *cough*doritos*cough* very good friends . Third underrail, cause there has to be a good game still somewhere on the list but not too high .Nothing mainstream and not witcher 3, even if those are the most played and enjoyed here cause they want to market the site as some oldschool rpg site.

There will be the readers choices , GOTY is witcher 3 cause frankly it completely crush the competition on every aspects, and even if it was not the truth polish defense squad is strong enough to make it happen.
As for the second and third choice it will be one of the indies , depends what get released. Second underail most hyped game here , third sits likely . No dead state or age of decadence cause they are a good games but not popular guys , inxile(muchos doritos ) is the resurrection of turn based games even if theres nothing strategic about them . Not that obscure company, what was it already ? Iron something....

 

[Ninjerk]

The voting for Codex GOTY is going to be a bit more agenda driven than usual this year

There will be the staff choice with POE inevitably game of the year , cause agreements doritos and co , they want to be accepted in the next obsidian game launch party.Second will be torment as inxile is.. *cough*doritos*cough* very good friends . Third underrail, cause there has to be a good game still somewhere on the list but not too high .

There will be the readers choices , GOTY is witcher 3 cause frankly it completely crush the competition on every aspects, and even if it was not the truth polish defense squad is strong enough to make it happen.
As for the second and third choice it will be one of the indies , depends what get released. Second underail most hyped game here , third sits likely . No dead state or age of decadence cause they are a good games but not popular guys , inxile(muchos doritos ) is the resurrection of turn based games even if theres nothing strategic about them . Not that obscure company, what was it already ? Iron something....

My understanding was that Infinitron was massacred over fanboy gushing over PoE on staff forums or something. Bubbles will tell the truth.

 

[Shadenuat]

My Hype Train crashed so hard and flew off the bridge and burned to ash when I saw review's author's name
I so wanted a grumpy review with no-bullshit attitude "lol rtwp sucks but it's better rpg than BG" of VD mixed with Grunker patronisingly deconstructing Roxor's review and spitting on his guts
Why no fun things, where is my entertainment Codex?
You're no fucking fun

 

[Goral]

Your lies are starting to show. You can't even keep them straight:

Because I didn't want to fucking spoil it?

And yet you deliver such a big spoiler:

There is none of this "chosen one" nonsense in the beginning, and instead you are sent off exploring with a curt, grumpy Calisca . . . oh Calisca, what you might have been! It takes big brass balls to make the obvious investment in this character and then kill her 30 minutes into the game but Obsidian isn't horsing around.

 

[Decado]

Your lies are starting to show. You can't even keep them straight:

Because I didn't want to fucking spoil it?

And yet you deliver such a big spoiler:

There is none of this "chosen one" nonsense in the beginning, and instead you are sent off exploring with a curt, grumpy Calisca . . . oh Calisca, what you might have been! It takes big brass balls to make the obvious investment in this character and then kill her 30 minutes into the game but Obsidian isn't horsing around.

Calisca being dead was all over the place within two days of the game being out. So was the fight with Raedric. In other words, there was shit that was already spoiled before I even started playing Chapter 2. The ending of the game, however, and the existence of the Leaden Key, etc, was not.

Learn how to use your brain before you type, you fucking potato head.

 

[One-and-a-half-Ivan]

Your lies are starting to show. You can't even keep them straight:

Because I didn't want to fucking spoil it?

And yet you deliver such a big spoiler:

There is none of this "chosen one" nonsense in the beginning, and instead you are sent off exploring with a curt, grumpy Calisca . . . oh Calisca, what you might have been! It takes big brass balls to make the obvious investment in this character and then kill her 30 minutes into the game but Obsidian isn't horsing around.

How come it's a big spoiler if it happens in the first hour of the game? Don't be ridiculous.

 

[Hatred]

In no way shape or form is Decado getting defensive about his review.

 

[Zed]

I don't give a shit either, but I thought Felipepepe manages that? At least he did last time.

nah I handled the GOTY last year
(well, actually, felipepepe did the actual handling of votes... and assembling everything... but yayayaya)

this year I'll give GOTY to witcher 3 and just post a big splash screen of yenefer's ass

 

[Goral]

(...)
How come it's a big spoiler if it happens in the first hour of the game? Don't be ridiculous.

That's like saying that XYZ being killed at the end of GoT's season 1 is no spoiler since there are still 5 new seasons. Or that saying that

Spoiler

Janet Leigh being killed early

in Psycho movie is no spoiler because there's over half of the movie left.

Decado has revealed that Calisca is a nobody who gets killed very early. Maybe I would have liked her but now that I know she will be dead early on I won't care much. Plus I'm being robbed of a surprise and one of the few interesting things about PoE (or not interesting).

 

[Stompa]

existence of the Leaden Key

Come on now, m8, it's no spoiler at all, it was obvious from the first cutscene where Thaos was present that he doesn't work alone. Y'know, because he had two dudes with him.

this year I'll give GOTY to witcher 3 and just post a big splash screen of yenefer's ass

 

[Decado]

In no way shape or form is Decado getting defensive about his review.

Try harder

 

[DeepOcean]

Witcher 3 vs. PoE for GOTY and this place tranformation on Polygon will be complete.

 

[cepheiden]

There is no need to presume any psychological wonkiness of Decado, because it's easy enough to substantively show the problems with the review.

A cognitive dissonance is in no way any kind of "wonky" or abnormal behaviour, but instead something that happens to everyone. Just keep that stuff out of reviews, especially when it is so noticeable.
The magnitude of a dissonance is depending on how much the individual was invested into what has caused the dissonance, in this case a game. The game might have been only $20, but he spent many hourse playing it, writing about it and possibly waiting for it. Consequently it is certain that he was largely invested into this.

 

[Hatred]

Consequently it is certain that he was largely invested into this. the only person Infinitron could turn to since nobody else would write a positive review

 

[Mortmal]

I don't give a shit either, but I thought Felipepepe manages that? At least he did last time.

nah I handled the GOTY last year
(well, actually, felipepepe did the actual handling of votes... and assembling everything... but yayayaya)

this year I'll give GOTY to witcher 3 and just post a big splash screen of yenefer's ass

wow.. stop there ,in a choice and consequences heavy game we should ben given the choice here too , I'd prefer triss ass . You are so beta for prefering yennefer.

 

[Kz3r0]

Witcher 3 vs. PoE for GOTY and this place tranformation on Polygon will be complete.

We need to forge a Codexian pact to vote and defend no matter what a game worthy of carring the monocled banner of true rpginess, until now we have Serpent in the Staglands, if Age of Decadence is released this year we should switch to that, I dount Underrail will be released this year, in case that should become our champuion.
Who is with me:

 

[Hatred]

 

[Darth Roxor]

I'm sorry but there'll be only one 2015 rpgoty and that's Shadowrun Ding Dong

 

[Lurker King]

Witcher 3 vs. PoE for GOTY and this place tranformation on Polygon will be complete.

Saint_Proverbius must be turning in his grave!

 

[Lurker King]

wow.. stop there ,in a choice and consequences heavy game we should ben given the choice here too , I'd prefer triss ass . You are so beta for prefering yennefer.

All this talk about ass in games. You guys sound like the rappers of cRPGs.

 

[Mustawd]

Wait...why exactly is it tacky to talks bout what you've written? I'm not a professional writer, but I've never heard anything of that sort before.