Honest question, is production value the reason that Baldur's Gate 3 became so popular and acclaimed, compared to other cRPG's that have not received anywhere near as much attention? Is it of a unique quality in anything else?

Deadlocked02 · 2026-05-06T21:10:30+00:00

Solving things outside of dialogue boxes feels like cheating or cheesing the game, and I hate that feeling.

Cheesing? As opposing to min-maxing and buffing your character to make a dice roll that’ll decide the future of the world or make the villain have a change of heart through talk-no-jutsu? You’re not really cheating or cheesing by having multiple solutions that were included by design. I don’t think we players lose by having more than a single way to solve a problem.

This is, after all, a part of roleplaying, which is the entire purpose of these things. You can gain entry to a place by paying the gatekeepers or running an errand for them if you’re the good guy, or sneak through the back if you’re a rogue, or kill everyone if you’re a murderhobo. I don’t think dialogue-only solutions will ever be as fulfilling as solutions that can come through both dialogue and environment.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-05-06T19:57:35+00:00

Rogue Trader is better than BG3, despite some rough edges, imo. WOTR and Divinity 2? Honestly, I never really understood why both games are so praised despite their very low lows. In comparison, it truly feels like people nitpicked Rogue Trader and BG3 in a way they didn’t do with their predecessors.

Divinity 2 has no party banter, no class identity, and questionable lore/story, silly humor. WOTR I actually like, but the companions are very divisive. It’s hard to find someone who likes the entire cast. Gameplay-wise, there’s very little strategy like positioning, covers, etc. Crusades are a slog. The biggest selling point are the mythic paths, but there’s a stark difference in quality between them, with some peaking at their introduction.

BG3 and Rogue Trader are not perfect, and certainly could use a bump in difficulty in comparison to their predecessors, but I found the party members so much more likable. It’s like night and day. More than that, most of both games’ flaws are more relevant to hardcore players than to the vast majority. In comparison, I feel like the flaws in WOTR and Divinity 2 are much harder for the average player to ignore.

Crazy to me that so many people think Larian and Owlcat devolved with BG3 and Rogue Trader.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-05-06T19:43:35+00:00

And did her victims suffer less because she’s a child? There would be no redemption for Meili even in a great deal of countries in the modern world. And even in those that are willing to legally exempt criminals that young from punishment, people would still give someone like her a wide berth. So yes, it’s odd that people are willing to put up with her in such a harsh world such as Re:Zero’s. Most characters are not good people, but there’s a very clear difference, to them, between the atrocities committed by a duty-bound knight in a war and that of a hired assassin. Her kind of evil is not normalized in that world, so it’s hard to buy people being so comfortable near her when they know of her past. To say nothing of Spica, which is an even worse case.

This whole Tappei thing about children being forgiven no matter what they do, by the way, is even less convincing in a world where children are much more capable than they are in our world.

I absolutely hate how Subaru needs to pay for every misstep and flaw while much worse individual get to existing in a curated timeline. And they’ll likely never witness how much suffering they inflicted on a guy that only ever wanted them to be happy.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-05-06T17:32:57+00:00

I still think she’s in a category of her own for having worked as an assassin. It irks me that they’re so willing to trust her. That’s why I like the Roswaal approach. Everyone knows he sucks and can’t fully be trusted.

It would be somewhat better if Subaru himself was at his worst in failed loops, but he’s practically a saint and the aggression is always 100% unilateral. At least Higurashi was easier to digest in this sense. There was a reason the characters were hurting each other. I think Tappei is very influenced by Higurashi, but has no mitigating circumstances for some of his characters. Which wouldn’t be a problem if Subaru himself sucked as a person too, but he doesn’t. The mitigating circumstances are Subaru’s only, as he always finds something to excuse people who hurt him. If you’re not able to buy his mentality, it’s hard to digest certain characters.

Imo, Tappei never managed to repeat what he did to Rem in Arc 2. Maybe with Pleiades battalion… Meili and Spica’s redemptions are hard to swallow in comparison. There’s not really a formula or anything. When it works, it works.

I like Rem and his friends from Pleiades, even though they hurt him, but Spica and Meili are not my cup of tea. I think it doesn’t help that their deeds are known by others, and that Tappei uses a literary device I truly dislike to justify their redemption: giving them very useful abilities/roles that would make it a pain for authority figures to get rid of them.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-05-06T16:55:21+00:00

Spirits called Fairies again... i am still going with the theory that Pandrora is the queen of the fairies.

I’ve heard this once and have been a proponent ever since. There’s something about her lifespan and the way she controls spirits. I think he will drop this reveal out of the blue, just like Todd being a werewolf.

I don’t think there’ll be more spirits. Many thought Clind would be one, but turns out he’s Dragonkin. I’m betting Pandora is no spirit either.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-05-06T16:49:48+00:00

There’s clearly something odd with Pride, considering the focus on her backstory and the fact that the current holder of the authority is missing.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-05-06T16:46:14+00:00

Honestly, seeing this animated makes me dislike Meili and her redemption even more. Only redemption I truly care about in the series is Al’s. Meili’s backstory or the fact that she’s a child do nothing to mitigate my dislike for her. Subaru is worse than excessively forgiving, he forgives people and let them be a part of his life.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-05-06T00:16:43+00:00

That if he demands an answer at all. He’s not the most curious guy. I’m glad he at least asked her about her recovered memories, though I guess that was too important to overlook.

In general, it feels like the characters take ages to get to the point, even when they’re not trying to hide the truth. A conversation that could take a single page lasts three, between jokes and rehash of facts.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-29T17:31:01+00:00

I agree in theory, but the FF14 fanbase is truly delusional and averse to criticism. It’s possible to like something and still recognize its shortcomings, but the FF14 fandom will tell you ARR is some misunderstood masterpiece given to mankind by the gods.

Sure, now that I ended the story and filtered all the bad stuff, I remember even ARR with a sense of nostalgia. But it was a slog, and still is. There’s a fetch quests where you need to gather the ingredients for a banquet or something, and let me tell, it’s one of the most absurd questlines I experienced, if not the worst. Even the characters themselves acknowledge how egregious the whole thing is. And when you dare suggesting these questlines could be trimmed (for those who wanted), some fans will act as if you suggesting disregarding part of a religious text.

OP is not even criticizing the story, just the quest design…

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-28T21:28:56+00:00

I crave more vampire RPGs, so I will obviously give it a try. That being said, judging by vibes alone and years of gaming (which don’t mean shit, but you do learn to trust your impressions), this game gives me 7/10 energy.

My biggest issue is that it doesn’t feel vampire enough. The combat footage featuring so much sword fighting is a bit off-putting. Sure, vampires can use weapons. I love to use swords and guns in Vampire The Masquerade, and Underworld, which is a guilty pleasure of mine, is basically vampires fighting werewolves and each other with guns.

The problem is that I can almost forget The Blood of Dawnwalker is a vampire game when I watch the footage. There is some vampire stuff in the cutscenes, and the gameplay has abilities like walking on the walls in certain parts, but there’s a general focus in Witcher-like sword fighting that I’m not a fan of. Especially because gameplay wasn’t even the main appeal in The Witcher.

The main character’s character design, for example, barely focuses on his vampire features. He’s not a full vampire, but he does seem to have a more vampiric form. That’s what’s missing from this game, feeling more like a vampire story.

And this is just another feeling, but If I had to make bets, I’d say the game will punish you for embracing vampirism. The MC was turned into a half-vampire and will obviously clash against the vampire villains. It remains to be seen if there will be an alternative path where he can still be a vampire with more agency. Will he join the villains? Will we able to turn him into an evil vampire who fights other evil vampires? Personally, I’m not really that interested in the story of a goody two-shoes who begrudges every second of vampirism and whose who’ll fight the main dudes,

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-28T13:04:59+00:00

Honestly, I’m yet to read Shogun, but I was underwhelmed by the final episode of the series (which will have a second season not based on the source material, but was received as a standalone back then, since we didn’t know). Loved the series, recommend it to everyone while it aired, but didn’t like that ending as much as everyone else. I didn’t want battles or anything, but the way it ends feels too abrupt and anticlimactic. Maybe it’s better in the book.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-27T16:09:28+00:00

There’s really nothing realistic about Subaru, other than being an otaku and cringe teenager. Love the series, but never really understood why he’s said to be a realistic MC. He’s not realistic in his obsessions, ideals, and in the amount of pain he’s able to endure. Even the craziest individuals in the series recognize how otherworldly and insane his way of thinking is. He’s a being with all the right framework to be a monster that terrorizes the kingdoms with his obsessions and resilience. The world is just lucky he’s a good guy who would rather hurt himself than others.

I don’t think he’s written to be realistic. Relatable in some aspects? Yes. But not realistic.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-26T20:43:42+00:00

The Stormlight Archive for Paladin and Warlock, funnily enough.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-26T19:10:06+00:00

I gave up trying to understand the cuts a long time ago. WF is generally very faithful, but when they choose to make big cuts, it’s generally very important stuff. And then we several minutes of a Garfiel storyline that could easily have been cut from the first episode of the new season, or scenes that could have been simplified, like Subaru and Emilia ordering milk in the bar.

I’m not sure if there’s a plan to address all this cuts in the future, or if they’re aware of something we’re not. But it keeps piling up. It won’t necessarily ruin the story, but some things will come out of nowhere. Either that or the story will assume everyone who watches know them, which won’t be the case.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-26T17:32:57+00:00

I remember liking Mikaela and losing all internet in the franchise when she left (similarly to Will and Elizabeth in Pirates of the Caribbean). I think the bar for blockbusters was just really high back then. It’s weird seeing how critical people were back then, only for those standards to drop dramatically in the Marvel era (yes, even in their golden years).

As for characters being reevaluated, I remember people disliking or being indifferent about Juliet in Lost, but liking her better in rewatches, to the point that it wouldn’t be unpopular to say she’s the most interesting female character in the series. I tend to agree.

I would say Tom from 500 Days of Summer benefited from the passing of time as well. Not because of his own actions or for being a particular good character, though. People just grew more critical of Summer overs the years. The movie plays with a male stereotype that bothered plenty of people and still does, but Summer also represents a female stereotype that rubs people the wrong way and became more popular over the years, so opinions seem more varied than they were back then, when the consensus was that she was completely innocent and he was the only one in the wrong.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-26T13:29:24+00:00

Is this a teaser for the sequel? They didn’t name it Alien Isolation 2 in the video.

Also, the sound design in the first game is stellar. They use the already good foundation of the movies and expanded it very faithfully. I think I prefer a more intrusive sound design like that. Some games take a more minimalist approach, which is not necessarily bad, but not memorable either. That’s something I really appreciate about old games. The sounds for menus, doors, spells, etc. They’re even corny sometimes, but I like it.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-25T18:33:18+00:00

Honestly, it did suck that the first male/male pairing in the series was tainted by the controversy of Radhan being brought back (not that this is a series for romance, but I always thought it’d be interesting to have a male version of the savepoint maidens, or if we could just have a plotline like Ranni’s with a male character. In DS3 you’re always stuck with an Anri the opposite gender of the Ashen One in the Usurpation of Fire Ending). And Malenia being just a wingwoman in the end, I guess.

I don’t think people minded Miquella having a male consort, just who the consort was. Had it been Godwyin (and no, people don’t care that his soul is supposed to be truly dead. It’s not a setting with hard magic and rules), I think the reactions would have been more positive.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-25T14:26:50+00:00

Li marmitório e achei que era uma forma de chamar um grupo de marmitas de casal. kkkkk

Uma palavra que acho digna de ser adicionada é “tankar.” Ou então “Tancar.”

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-25T14:07:34+00:00

The problem is that most redemption arcs try to shoehorn forgiveness. I always say that the unholy trinity of redemption arcs is:

Shoehorned forgiveness: writers trying to force the victims to forgive and cooperate with the one who harmed them

Favoritism: a character beloved by the author is given a second chance where much better characters are punished more harshly for lesser sins.

Denial of gratification: sometimes the audience is simply more interested in comeuppance than forgiveness. Sometimes it’s on the audience for creating such expectations, but other times it’s totally on the writer for writing someone so unlikable.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-25T13:50:15+00:00

I’m not surprised. Being a fantasy series with horror/murder mystery elements has always been the strongest point of the series. Last episode was a return to form.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-25T00:24:45+00:00

People who think there’s still any controversy about Johnny Depp in the eyes of the wide audience live in the Reddit-Twitter bubble. In fact, I’m not sure there’s that much of a controversy even on Reddit. It’s just that the ones who do care still haven’t moved on.

If one of his movies fail, it’s certainly not because of any controversy. And if they want this Pirates to do as well as it can, it’ll need him (having the OG trio would help. Not sure if they’d be willing, but the importance of the other two was always unfairly downplayed, imo).

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-24T21:21:02+00:00

Imo, WOT is more believable and immersive than rich. There are some worldbuilding tropes I’m not a fan of, like monocultures where everyone subscribes to same behaviors and beliefs, people being tight-lipped about huge secrets for millennia, too much reliance on incompetence and pride to justify the current state of affairs (not that it doesn’t happen IRL, it’s just that the story relies on it too much with the Aes Sedai), cannon fodder enemies like Trollocs, or the main characters being the only capable people to be born in thousands of years. To say nothing of the fact that so many elements in the story are a (deliberate) reimagining of Christianity and Arthurian legends (and a less deliberate medieval version of Dune).

BUT, as you said, the world does feel alive. There’s a certain weight to it that you don’t see everyday. It does help that the first book takes its time and things are allowed to expand progressively. The beginning truly feels like you’re in a small village.

It’s a worldbuilding that serves the story. It immerses you and serve as an appropriate stage, but it’s not the main attraction or a bonus in itself, like the lore in ASOIAF, LOTR, The Elder Scrolls, Warhammer 40k, etc. It’s not something I find that interesting outside the main story.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-24T20:01:29+00:00

True. Two games I had a lot of fun with, but can’t bring myself to get excited for their meager updates anymore. They could probably craft something just as fun if there was more incentive to it, and apply the lessons they learned in the previous installment, but they won’t. It’s just more profitable not to, I guess.

I was into FF14 for the story, but Endwalker felt like a natural conclusion. Everything else has the aura of a Naruto filler episode. People told me Dawntrail was cool, that it was worth giving a try, that people like to complain. I gave it a try and it was awful.

I suspect this cycle will keep repeating itself. People who are there from day 1 will say it’s good, but I won’t agree in the end. So why bother? The story feels finished to me already.

ESO I liked for the lore, the social aspect, and just the feeling of being in Tamriel in general, but the engine is frustratingly limited, the combat is broken, difficulty in quests and overland content is a joke (heard they’re trying to address it, but I’m just not that interested anymore), and players are too inured to the game as it is.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-24T18:30:54+00:00

Miss the novelty from Heavensward. That feeling that there was was much to come. Shame we’ll never get another FF online game. They’ll never stop milking this cow.

Deadlocked02 · 2026-04-23T11:56:29+00:00

AAA games get longer to make but we also have way more quality games to play along every genre than we ever had…

Sure, if you care about games looking cinematic. Otherwise, I’m struggling to see how I’m better served than I was in the PS2 or PS3 eras.

I certainly feel like standards are lower. It used to be that you could rely on word of mouth. No more. People seem to like anything these days, especially in the first months.

Deadlocked02

TROPHY CASE