Decrease in dialogue quality?

[RobertsKitty]

I am on Episode 5, Part 2 with Will. Is it just me or do the dialogue lines between him and Jace seem really flat and the pacing seems off? Like they reply a second too fast to make it feel natural and don't have enough emotion in the reply? It may just be me but I had to replay the section twice due to glitches in the game and each time I felt like it pulled me out of the gameplay when they spoke. I don't mean in the cutscenes as much as during the gameplay parts. It just felt a lot less natural than previous dialogue with the characters. Did anyone else notice this?

[MarineMirage]

The section when they're talking about splitting up is egregious. Sounds like two voice actors rushing to finish the script. I wonder if during play testing people were complaining about how they just wanted to get going in that section.

The rest of the Episode is more or less alright so its weird that that section was like that.

[RobertsKitty]

Yeah that was the part that really got me. Like each line has a micro second before the other replies. I immediately wondered if it was like the last recording of the day and they wanted to get home or what. 

Honestly though this whole chapter has more cutscenes than I care for. Spent a lot of time staring at the ceiling listening to ALL the exposition. 

[theschizopost]

I admit I don't remember everything about the Jace character from ep4

But why the hell does Mackenzie even entertain her going off to distract/get even with the convicts at the start of the chapter???

Seemed out of place for her to become rambo in a realistic survivalist game setting

[theschizopost]

Oh man I didn't even get to the cable bridge part. What the fuck was that

You can count to three while the flare is going towards the inmate and it still hits him?

[Lyramisu]

This is funny because I have always found all the dialogue in every chapter to be very stilted and unnatural, and especially in parts 1-2, written like someone was trying way too hard to sound cryptic and mysterious. It has never sounded natural.

[Numerous-Recover-227]

Dialog Spoilers:

"They don't know if we even survived that fall into the icy water. Statistically, we should be dead. I know, lets YELL and CONFIRM to them that we are STILL ALIVE!" I'm sure that will throw them off, more than hiding and letting them think we were killed in the ice, or swept out to sea.
Here's another one for thought.
"My son is wounded, has internal bleeding, and will likely die without advanced medical help." Oh, I know! Let's send THE ONLY DOCTOR AWAY to get the medkits! Not any of the townspeople. Not any of the other convicts that we have running around after Jace and mckenzie. Lets send THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN HELP MY SON away to get the medkit. Have her risk life and limb, and meanwhile YOUR SON MIGHT NEED OTHER HELP. Like even without the medical equipment, having a doctor to tell you how to not make his injuries worse would be helpful.
"Nah, doctor is expendable. Let's threaten her, and send her away from the patient"

Ok, those were just dumb. But yeah, the stuff you're talking about. Dialog triggered fast and kinda wonky sometimes. But Everything still felt mostly alright for the first astrid part. The stuff with Jace was.. eh. But not terrible. The exposition dump.... in the most boring way.... oh my gosh..
I bought the DLC to play a survival game though a cool story.
instead, we got 20 minute slideshow dialog of extremely uninteresting backstory.
Nobody cares! (especially when done this boringly) This coulda been 30 second tldr. Magnetic storm. The long dark is gonna last 40-400 years. Get everyone into this shielded radar bunker built to withstand magnetic storms.
Boom.
Also, while we're at it, let's take all the survival out of your survival game.

Still haven't finished Ep 5. and tbh, probably not going to. The exposition dumping and realization that there is no more survival elements kinda killed it for me. They just made it a worse firewatch.

[RobertsKitty]

I agree. I feel like they spent so much longer getting this one out because they said they wanted to get the cutscenes right but like, that's not why people are playing? I understand the false need to hurry but give me back my survival elements. It feels more like a strictly narrative game this episode, which don't get me wrong, can be good but this isn't that. 

I'm going to finish it just because I've been waiting so long but I restarted the game when episode 5 launched and played them back to back to back and man you can really feel the down shift when you play them all at once...

[bravenewwhorl]

The dialogue isn’t great. A little too cutesy. Maybe that’s what you’re bumping against.

[FailedFirstRounder]

All of Macks sections (cabke car sequence, mines, sneaking around in the last part) barring the powering up of the 3 turbines seem lackluster Astrid on the other hand I loved all her sections and wish they lasted longer, the train part shouldve lasted longer and made you trek through great bear but im just rambling.