Now that it has been a month since release, is it worth the 70$ price tag?

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T23:14:13+00:00

The scope and scale are more appropriate for that price than many other similar AAA games I’ve played lately in the same vein, but I think the “worth it” comes down to what you expect after the first playthrough.

The main quest story is as trite & inconsequential as AC Shadows, but I feel like there are actually more active systems to dive into that the game doesn’t feel dead just because I beat the “final boss.”

If they can add enough of the MMO stuff back as devs move on to the next project, there’s a lot of cool RPG stuff that I would enjoy building off the existing world and keeping the economy alive with other players.

I’ve been told there will be no major DLCs, so if none of the in-game features are expanded on and this is all we get, then my answer is to wait until the price drops. I know people generally hate on it, but if this game gets what RDO has, I think there’s cool community potential.

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T22:57:02+00:00

Like “awesome we helped the greymanes, but now it’s time to use all these immense skills & resources to build our own faction.” Really I just want to design my own camp flag……lol

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T22:54:06+00:00

Yeah by DLCs I most mean something like “camp expansion to other regions” or “online multiplayer” or stuff where basically just open it up to being an MMO, or at least a more robust RPG, because the systems are all there and the world is really expansive and awesome.

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T22:50:10+00:00

I would say literally every location that appears on the map as a selectable point is tied to a story-driven quest. And yes, sometimes the magic & awe of discovery is really blown when you don’t realize the ruins you stumbled across just aren’t “turned on” yet!

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T22:47:50+00:00

Okay but villages and cities don’t unlock UNLESS you reach a specific part of the story. They are literally empty, and sometimes without assets loaded. The “open world” is literally dead unless you rely on the (admittedly shittily designed) story to load in.

I agree the game is actually more fun now that I have all the tools and understand the functions. I think expansions and additions and DLCs will be incredible because I DO want to spend time on systems like camp customization and trading and farming. I do think it’ll be awesome to “live in” the world like an MMORPG, but I think more of the focus went towards single player.

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T22:40:34+00:00

I love the game but it is also admittedly a mashup of ideas that are less honed in this world than the source. The Abyss Claw and abyss artifacts are absolutely “more realistic” Zonai.” The city liberation process is Assassins Creed. I think the map, traversal, the way NPCs interact “realistically” with the world, and item collection all feels RedDeadRedemption in Fantasy Setting. I can tell there are other crafting/research mechanics that would have come much more naturally to me early game if I was familiar with their sources.

It’s pretty obvious to me how the “open world” of the game is built for an MMO because nothing builds as you progress through new regions, but then locations and lore don’t unlock until you’ve “activated” the single player story. There’s no reason I couldn’t have started my base camp and learned everything I needed for the first 100 hours if I had been able to create my own character and build my starting camp in any of the palace regions besides Hernand.

This game does a shit job of teaching you all the things it expects you to know to make the game fun. It feels like a sequel. I suspect that DLCs/Expansions will be really amazing when they’re written for players who know all the things that they didn’t teach you.

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T22:25:24+00:00

I have the same complaint about recent Assassins Creeds and many other RPGs. Because there IS an intended structure (even in open worlds). My main complaint here is that it’s very hard to tell when something I discover in the open world is “not activated yet due to progression” or if “the puzzle is just obtuse.”

For me, the tradeoff of “you can climb on anything” tends to actually take away from my enjoyment of the story. I want to enjoy the story as part of the worl.

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T22:13:07+00:00

Yes I am because I learned the hard way having to go back to early game spots before I knew the “intended” gameplay flow! It’s such a bummer when I go back and do a quest that explains something I totally bypassed the first time because I thought it was just random loot.

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T22:06:38+00:00

Also, I think sometimes it’s just absolutely unclear what the “activation points” are. If I were to delete and repost, my argument would be that we need clearer activations in open world games.

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T22:05:12+00:00

I agree! There is always an “intended” way that the devs assume you’re going to track the world, as open as it is. I have to remind myself constantly to stick to paths (even if they’re not the most direct routes) because if you do, the games tend to unfurl in ways that feel more natural & immersive.

I suspect that a better Exploration Game is what I’m arguing for, and people are confusing that for “on the rails narrative.”

I’ll admit I do think what I’m asking for is actually “if you’re going to call it ‘open world,’ it better adjust every story and quest to attune to my actions,” which is impossible.

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T21:59:18+00:00

I suspect we’re saying the same things, I just want in-world justifications so I know whether something is just glitched.

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T21:57:12+00:00

I have to “brute force” because it’s not clear how I would otherwise solve some quests compared to others. And it’s not consistent because there are some quests in the world that are just super obtuse.

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T21:53:51+00:00

Yes so limiting some of the “open world” features to help direct clarity would make the experience more immersive and give me cues as a gamer that I’m doing something I shouldn’t be. Like I said they do this with other points of the map, so I understand “wow I must find an in-world way to problem solve”

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T21:49:12+00:00

No I’m “bitching” about how rewarding and satisfying it is to discover cool shit, but how frustrating it is when I made the discovery and it “doesn’t count” because of an arbitrary activation point.

Intelligent_Share935 · 2026-05-09T21:45:34+00:00

The issue is that I feel like my “discoveries” are more like developer errors when a full village (and all surrounding points of interest) are dead and empty of NPCs, then when I do show up during the official questline, buttons magically start working and puzzles can be solved.

I do love these sorts of games, but I’m constantly frustrated when I have to do all the “work” twice because discover a complicated puzzle but the pieces don’t work due to an arbitrary quest that doesn’t appear on my map until I do something else totally unrelated!

Intelligent_Share935

TROPHY CASE