Thank you for giving this two stars.
AI generative use is exactly the opposite of inspiring, hard work. It is essentially a shortcut to slop, cutting people's talents out of the workflow.
It is precisely reviews like this which are needed to keep integrity in creative practices. Shame on Embark.

I'll carry on to the end of the game and share some thoughts then, but for now: I'm impressed at the scale & detail of the game, & enjoy the combat, but the intense amount of everything one can see & do is heavy for a new player like me who doesn't know what's important or what can be discarded.

It certainly doesn't speak to anyone's enjoyment of the game, but as someone who is over 120 hours in, and has only just reached Act 3, I can't help but feel a significant drop-off in interest in the story. Especially with the end of Act 2 seeming somewhat ignorable afterwards.

Yeah true.. I would probably do the same! Super excited now.

Yeah true! It kept them in view either way 😂

Trying to think of similar.. not sure. Surely they exist, but I wonder if this is an extreme example due to HK’s success.

I wish devs (especially for sequels) had less pressure to perform tho. The 2nd game is harder to make than the 1st in many ways!

I don’t think you’re whining.

As far as I see it, the crowd & the voices can be too big a pressure. Nobody knew them before HK, which surely helped free their process. IMO that privacy/solitude is a sanctuary needed for creative integrity, and we as a community need to be better at permitting this.

The game is 24 years old, clearly matters to many people, & has significance in game dev history. It is important to remember the context when judging the qualities of an older game, however other games from this era (and earlier) show better examples of creating solid, rewarding gameplay.

6.5/10.

While enemy AI is very sharp and smart (with clever movement & displays of bravery/cowardice), often the player is placed in situations where the tools at their disposal are not good enough to avoid dying repeatedly. As the game went on, I found myself wanting to just get through, rather than win...

Of these two games, SIGIL 2 was probably the better, although my god - instant cyberdemon was the most brash choice in these games I've seen. Again, it evokes a laugh from me more than anything, and sets the stage for that WAD as a whole.
www.twitch.tv/sir_slide_/c...