1 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,600 Speaker 1: Hi everyone, Dylan here with another solo episode. It's been 2 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,679 a bit since I've done one of these, but there 3 00:00:23,719 --> 00:00:27,960 have been two topics on my mind recently and I 4 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:30,600 just was kind of putting off recording them for whatever reason, 5 00:00:30,879 --> 00:00:33,039 And you know, I kind of realized that these topics 6 00:00:33,079 --> 00:00:36,000 actually kind of make sense to be put together as 7 00:00:36,079 --> 00:00:39,880 one mega solo episode. So that's what we're gonna do 8 00:00:40,479 --> 00:00:42,640 here today. I don't know what to plug because I 9 00:00:42,679 --> 00:00:44,560 don't know when I'm gonna release this episode, but just 10 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,200 check out Patreon to get episodes early and add free. 11 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:49,600 This episode, for example, I'll put up right away and 12 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:51,960 who knows when it will hit the main feeds. But 13 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,039 as we are approaching the end of twenty twenty four, 14 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:00,439 in the Game of the Year, the goady season of 15 00:01:00,479 --> 00:01:02,840 this year, I felt like it was the right time 16 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:06,239 to do this because last year I did my of 17 00:01:06,239 --> 00:01:08,280 course twenty twenty three Game of the Year, where I 18 00:01:08,359 --> 00:01:10,480 made kind of a top ten but more of like 19 00:01:10,519 --> 00:01:12,840 a top I think it was like top sixteen seventeen 20 00:01:12,879 --> 00:01:15,159 list Game of the Year, and I talked about how 21 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,319 I was kind of less enthusiastic about the year of 22 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:24,599 games just as an overall picture. But in the following year, 23 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,040 throughout twenty twenty four, I've played a lot more games 24 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:29,799 that I was either just late too or maybe they 25 00:01:29,799 --> 00:01:32,280 came to game Pass later. So I finally checked them out, 26 00:01:33,159 --> 00:01:35,599 and I feel like I actually have a lot more 27 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:38,319 juice in the top ten. And I wanted to kind 28 00:01:38,359 --> 00:01:41,079 of scrub the record, rewrite history a little bit here 29 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:43,319 and redo my twenty twenty three game of the year 30 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:45,359 before I go ahead and record my twenty twenty four 31 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:47,879 because if I wait past that, then it'll then it 32 00:01:47,879 --> 00:01:51,000 will never happen. So I think this episode, I don't 33 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:53,000 want it to be just overwriting the episode. I'm not 34 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:54,719 going to delete that episode off the feeds because I 35 00:01:54,719 --> 00:01:56,480 think you should go back and listen to that one. Still, 36 00:01:56,799 --> 00:01:59,200 I'm going to breeze past a lot of the games 37 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:01,560 that I had mentioned and or that are they're still 38 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,760 in the top ten in similar spots. We'll just kind 39 00:02:04,799 --> 00:02:06,640 of quickly recap those ones and more talk about the 40 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:09,120 new editions on the list, and then the second part 41 00:02:09,319 --> 00:02:12,599 of this episode and kind of a spoiler over again 42 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:15,319 that's making another top ten is that you know I 43 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,800 finished boulders Gate three finally a few weeks ago after 44 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:20,680 many many months, and we'll talk about that journey. But 45 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,680 I want to share a few spoiler spoiler field thoughts 46 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:25,800 talk about my journey in that game a little bit more, 47 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:28,800 because I don't really want to spoil that with any 48 00:02:28,879 --> 00:02:31,479 of the other boys on a regular side quest episode. 49 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:33,520 So this seems like a good way to do it. 50 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:35,479 So I think I'm gonna save that for kind of 51 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,719 after the recap of the of the top ten list 52 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,479 of the Goady List, and yeah, we'll just talk about 53 00:02:41,479 --> 00:02:43,560 some of my my thoughts on the game now that 54 00:02:43,599 --> 00:02:46,039 I've finished it and had a few weeks to think 55 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,520 about that journey. Now. Normally for a Game of the 56 00:02:49,599 --> 00:02:51,879 Year list, I usually have some preamble, like I'll do 57 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:54,719 a recap of the previous year's list, I'll talk about 58 00:02:54,719 --> 00:02:58,319 some honorable mentions, and I'll have some other nebulous thoughts 59 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:00,639 or topics I'm not gonna happen this time around. I'm 60 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:02,280 just gonna get right into it, because, like I said, 61 00:03:02,319 --> 00:03:04,240 I did all that last year, and this is kind 62 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,280 of more just to rewrite that particular top ten. So 63 00:03:07,879 --> 00:03:11,560 starting out with number ten. Last year when I recorded this, 64 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:15,520 my number ten was Tara nil. That game has now 65 00:03:15,599 --> 00:03:18,599 unfortunately been booted out in favor of a new edition, 66 00:03:18,759 --> 00:03:23,680 which is Dead Island two. This is a funny addition 67 00:03:23,719 --> 00:03:26,800 to the list because it's like, Okay, what am I 68 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,120 really doing, I'm rerecording just add a game at number ten. Well, 69 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:31,680 there's obviously more that's coming down the road. But I 70 00:03:31,719 --> 00:03:33,919 had a really really fun time with this game. Eventually 71 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:35,400 it did come to game Pass and that's when I 72 00:03:35,439 --> 00:03:37,599 picked it up. And you know, I don't think I 73 00:03:37,639 --> 00:03:39,599 have any super deep thoughts on it. It's not like 74 00:03:39,599 --> 00:03:42,080 it had some crazy story with a bunch of plot 75 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:46,479 twists or really well written characters. It's just a turn 76 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:49,639 off your brain. Smash some zombies in a very I 77 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:51,479 don't know if realistic is the right word, but just 78 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:56,840 in this crazy the crazy graphics and reactions and animations 79 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:00,879 for everything is just insane. Tons of weapon I eventually 80 00:04:00,919 --> 00:04:02,960 get guns in the game, which takes hours, which just 81 00:04:03,039 --> 00:04:05,400 opens up a whole new possibility. The level design, I 82 00:04:05,439 --> 00:04:07,560 think is really fun, Like the setting of going through 83 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:11,400 these kind of Hollywood hills mansions crushing zombies is really cool. 84 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,080 And then you get a whole slew of variety of 85 00:04:15,159 --> 00:04:19,000 locations and it was just a joy from start to finish. 86 00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:21,759 And yeah, even if I don't have any super deep 87 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:23,920 thoughts on it, it didn't change my mind, did it made 88 00:04:23,959 --> 00:04:27,360 me rethink anything. It was just a really really fun, 89 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,040 solid time and fine glad I finally got around to it, 90 00:04:31,079 --> 00:04:33,120 even if it took me a while to get around 91 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:37,680 to it. At number nine is Pseudo Regalia, which is 92 00:04:37,759 --> 00:04:40,360 originally at number seven, So this got bumped down a 93 00:04:40,399 --> 00:04:43,079 couple slots, but I still really love this game. I 94 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:45,240 haven't gone back and revisited by any means, but just 95 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:50,199 such a fun three D platformer. Metroidvania, tons of exploration, 96 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:53,959 really excited for whatever that developer makes. Mixed Next that 97 00:04:54,079 --> 00:04:56,800 was a really really cool game. And then last year, 98 00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,560 A Space for the Unbound was at six. It got 99 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:02,439 booted down to number eight here, but still firmly in 100 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:05,959 the top ten. It was a great year for story 101 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:08,279 narrative games, I feel like in twenty twenty three, and 102 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:10,480 this is definitely one of the highlights, at least on 103 00:05:10,519 --> 00:05:15,439 the indie front. The narrative highlight. I suppose, Well, that's 104 00:05:15,439 --> 00:05:16,959 a lie. There's another game. I don't know if you'd 105 00:05:16,959 --> 00:05:18,800 consider it indie, but it's coming up later we'll talk 106 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:21,959 about it then. I Love Space for the Unbound once again, 107 00:05:22,319 --> 00:05:23,959 go back on the last year's episode to get my 108 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,360 full full thoughts on it. But just such a great game, 109 00:05:26,439 --> 00:05:29,120 still easily in that top ten. Number seven is another 110 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,600 new addition, so last time that's where Pseudo Regally was, 111 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:35,759 but now it is Humanity, which is that weirdo puzzle 112 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:38,399 game that originally seemed like a PlayStation exclusive, but it 113 00:05:38,399 --> 00:05:40,000 did come to game Pass later on, which is where 114 00:05:40,079 --> 00:05:43,680 I played it. This is a crazy game I talked 115 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:49,480 about in depth on side Quest. Narratively, like metaphysically, metaphorically, 116 00:05:49,560 --> 00:05:52,040 it's doing a lot. There's a lot of interesting things 117 00:05:52,759 --> 00:05:54,759 that I feel like it's saying, even though it's a 118 00:05:54,879 --> 00:05:59,240 very wordless kind of game, a really really brilliant puzzle game, 119 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:02,560 a really hilarious game too, and I feel like that's 120 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:05,199 not enough. Games are funny. Humanity is a very very 121 00:06:05,199 --> 00:06:08,959 funny game. Has just an insane amount of evolution of mechanics. 122 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:10,720 I feel like whenever I felt like I was getting 123 00:06:10,759 --> 00:06:12,839 to the last world, there was a new world with 124 00:06:12,879 --> 00:06:16,439 some crazy new mechanics. Gets to like RTS level battles 125 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:18,959 at some point. Just not something I would have expected 126 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:22,120 from just seeing those initial trailers of the game. It's goofy, 127 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,680 the music is weird, you play as a little ghost sheboo. 128 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:28,040 You knew. It's like, it's just just a wild, weird game, 129 00:06:28,439 --> 00:06:30,480 and I just could not put it down. I wanted 130 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:31,839 to get all the goldies. I wanted to beat all 131 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:34,720 the main levels, and even after that, there's custom levels 132 00:06:34,759 --> 00:06:36,920 and other things to do that I probably could go 133 00:06:36,959 --> 00:06:39,279 back and do even more. So that one's sitting at 134 00:06:39,319 --> 00:06:43,199 number seven now. At number six is alan Wake two, 135 00:06:43,199 --> 00:06:45,360 which was originally at five, so it just got bumped 136 00:06:45,399 --> 00:06:48,040 down one spot. Still a great game, you know. This 137 00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:50,920 is actually one of the few that I have revisited 138 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:54,560 in this calendar year of twenty twenty four, because there 139 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,879 was a couple DLC packs. I played the first one, 140 00:06:57,920 --> 00:07:01,000 which was called Night Springs Believe, and then Lake House, 141 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,120 which came out later I have not played yet, which 142 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:06,240 I feel like I should have done that reverse because 143 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:08,639 I didn't really like Night Spring Springs. I don't think 144 00:07:08,639 --> 00:07:10,439 it's soury in my taste on the game at all, 145 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:12,720 but it was more of like a I like the 146 00:07:12,759 --> 00:07:14,079 setup of it, I mean a kind of a what 147 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:18,279 if scenario and I guess the downside of it was 148 00:07:18,319 --> 00:07:21,639 that the gameplay was more of like a combat challenge 149 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:23,959 combat gauntlet, and I didn't really like the combat in 150 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:26,480 the game in the first place, so that one didn't 151 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:28,240 really do it for me. Lake House I should probably 152 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:30,040 get to because I heard it is more story focused 153 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:33,680 and more of an expansion of the world in a 154 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:35,399 more meaningful way, so I should go back and check 155 00:07:35,439 --> 00:07:37,560 that out. But allan Like two is still a fantastic game, 156 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,160 still whant to look back on very fondly, and it 157 00:07:40,199 --> 00:07:43,000 only dropped one spot because of a game that just 158 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:46,959 surpassed it at number five is Cocoon, which was previously 159 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,399 at number four. Fantastic puzzle game. I still think about 160 00:07:50,399 --> 00:07:53,720 that one all the time. Just brilliant, cool, interesting game. 161 00:07:54,199 --> 00:07:56,879 Number four. This is actually very fitting. This was originally 162 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:58,279 at three, but now it's at four and it is 163 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,680 Resident Evil four remake, so of course the bit of 164 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:03,399 an asteris there is I never played the original, so 165 00:08:03,439 --> 00:08:06,040 this is me playing the remake for the very first time, 166 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:09,759 so you know, shouldn't have been on my list. I 167 00:08:09,759 --> 00:08:11,439 don't know. People might be mad if something like that 168 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:13,000 makes it up the Game Awards, but you know, whatever, 169 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:17,120 it's my personal list. This game is fantastic. I love 170 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:18,920 it from start to finish. Even since then, I've gone 171 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:21,160 back and played a couple more Resident Evil games, and 172 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:23,160 I can still confirm that it is definitely one of 173 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,800 my favorites in the series, probably number two. I don't know. 174 00:08:27,079 --> 00:08:29,759 I have to do a thorough Resident Evil ranking once 175 00:08:29,759 --> 00:08:31,319 I've played through all the games. I think that'll be 176 00:08:31,319 --> 00:08:34,360 a fun solo cast to do in the future, especially 177 00:08:34,399 --> 00:08:36,519 because they're all be they will all be pretty fresh 178 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,799 to me. But yeah, love residone Evil four at number three. 179 00:08:39,879 --> 00:08:42,960 That's where Resdin Evel was before, and this is where 180 00:08:43,879 --> 00:08:47,159 and I've debated this long and hard number two and three. 181 00:08:47,399 --> 00:08:49,879 Number three is eventually though, where I am going to 182 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:54,039 put Balder's Gate three once again very fitting based on 183 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:56,960 the title of the game. But I promise I didn't 184 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:00,519 put it there just because of the synergy or pun potential. 185 00:09:01,159 --> 00:09:03,080 But I'll oliven spoil the next one. So number two 186 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:05,600 is still Starfield, which is what it was last year. 187 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,759 So I really debated, like which one of these gets 188 00:09:10,799 --> 00:09:12,840 the two slot gets the three slot. I knew they 189 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,080 would still be there. It's a very firm top three 190 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:17,200 and then number one is still far and away my 191 00:09:17,279 --> 00:09:20,559 number one, which we'll get to in a bit, and 192 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:23,240 it's it's really hard calculus because but balders get three, 193 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:26,679 you know, much much deeper in depth story, more well 194 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:30,840 written characters. I think I probably like the combat overall 195 00:09:30,879 --> 00:09:34,039 more than a game like Starfield. But I feel like, 196 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:36,240 and I'll share this with my Balder's Gate three kind 197 00:09:36,279 --> 00:09:38,840 of story retelling is that at some point I put 198 00:09:38,879 --> 00:09:40,559 the game down because I was a little little burnt 199 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:43,159 out on it, kind of losing steam a little bit, 200 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:45,279 and I came back and eventually did finish it. But 201 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:47,440 Starfield is a game that, for like one hundred hours, 202 00:09:47,759 --> 00:09:50,039 I just could not put it down, even after I 203 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,759 beat all of the side quests, all the main story, 204 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:56,240 kind of seen everything there is to see quote unquote 205 00:09:57,320 --> 00:09:59,440 other than just random events in the world. I just 206 00:09:59,519 --> 00:10:02,320 still I wanted to play it every night, and eventually 207 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:04,120 I just had to tell myself, I have to put 208 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:05,960 this game down because I need to play other things 209 00:10:06,279 --> 00:10:07,960 so I have a little more fuel for my game 210 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:09,759 of the year and just make sure I'm not only 211 00:10:09,799 --> 00:10:13,159 playing one game. But I could not put it down, 212 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:15,960 which is weird to look at in retrospect because since 213 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:17,840 then a DLC has released for the game, and I 214 00:10:17,879 --> 00:10:20,320 haven't picked that up yet. But I think part of 215 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:23,279 that is more that I believe, but that's disconfirmed that 216 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:27,000 they're gonna try and have yearly expansions for this game, 217 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:29,720 or at least yearly content to some extent, and so 218 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:31,440 it's a game that I know is always gonna have 219 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:32,879 more and more to it, and so I'm fine to 220 00:10:32,879 --> 00:10:35,360 revisit in maybe two or three years, maybe when I 221 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:37,320 have a better PC and played on PC and just 222 00:10:37,399 --> 00:10:39,679 experience all that new stuff, get some mods in there, 223 00:10:40,399 --> 00:10:42,639 and just to have a much more greater experience than 224 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:44,960 just like coming back for whatever it was, like an 225 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,799 eight hour DLC. But yeah, the balance between these two 226 00:10:48,799 --> 00:10:52,480 games is really close. They're both similar in a sense 227 00:10:52,519 --> 00:10:55,799 but also very different, you know, being RPGs, but one's 228 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,679 a lot more of an RPG than the other. I 229 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,960 love both these games very much and for very different reasons. 230 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:03,799 But I still feel pretty good about this because I 231 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:07,759 think there is quite a few negative thoughts or less 232 00:11:07,759 --> 00:11:10,679 positive thoughts i'll say on Balder's Gate three, and Starfield 233 00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:13,519 definitely has that too, So I don't know a really 234 00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:16,480 really tough balancing act to figure out where I want 235 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:18,279 to put these two, but either way, they're both in 236 00:11:18,279 --> 00:11:20,639 the top three, and so I guess what I can 237 00:11:20,639 --> 00:11:22,720 say is they're kind of interchangeable. But I'm okay with 238 00:11:22,759 --> 00:11:25,480 this placement. So once again, yeah, Starfield's at number two, 239 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,960 and then number one is still Sea of Stars, a 240 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:30,960 game that does have DALC on the way, although I 241 00:11:31,039 --> 00:11:32,559 think it's come out yet. I think there was some 242 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:35,320 small update that came out this year, but that game 243 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,559 is still still my number one by a mile. I mean, 244 00:11:38,679 --> 00:11:44,000 just visually beautiful. The music is fantastic. The characters two 245 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:46,080 protagonists I care less about, but like all the other 246 00:11:46,159 --> 00:11:50,120 characters are fantastic. The crazy twists that the story goes on, 247 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:53,360 the combat is fantastic. The exploration doing a lot of 248 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:56,559 the bonus collectithon stuff was really fun. Tons of bonus 249 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:59,559 side content once you've beaten the main game, the wheels, 250 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:01,759 mini games that you can play at the tavern. Just 251 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:04,440 everything about that game I absolutely love. And another one 252 00:12:04,519 --> 00:12:07,159 that I was that was the game out of mostly 253 00:12:07,279 --> 00:12:09,320 is I was very sad to put down. I was 254 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:12,440 very sad to be done with that world and not 255 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:14,720 be with those characters anymore. It just became such a 256 00:12:14,759 --> 00:12:18,080 comforting even though there's crazy combat sometimes, it was a 257 00:12:18,159 --> 00:12:21,879 very comforting game to come back to. And yeah, I 258 00:12:21,879 --> 00:12:24,519 think that one will maybe forever be enshrined as my 259 00:12:24,879 --> 00:12:26,360 twenty twenty three game of the Year. I don't know 260 00:12:26,399 --> 00:12:28,960 if I could ever go back and play another game 261 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:31,440 from that year that would surpass that one. It's just 262 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:33,440 one of those all time great games for me. I 263 00:12:33,519 --> 00:12:36,639 really truly love it. So there you go, There's there, 264 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:38,759 there it is. Number ten was Dead On two, number nine, 265 00:12:38,799 --> 00:12:41,200 Seed to Greia, number eight, A Space for the Unbound, 266 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:45,600 seven Humanity six, Alum two, five, Cocoon four, was an 267 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:49,240 Evil four, three Balls eight three two Starfield, and one 268 00:12:49,519 --> 00:12:53,159 Sea of Stars. So yeah, three new additions on the 269 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:57,279 list as high as spot number three. So I feel like, 270 00:12:57,399 --> 00:13:01,200 you know, it was worth rewriting this, so to speak. 271 00:13:01,399 --> 00:13:02,960 And yeah, I think the games that I guess got 272 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:04,559 booted out. I don't know if I mentioned all of them, 273 00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:07,679 but Tara Nill Advanced Wars one plus two, reboot Camp, 274 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:10,480 and Adnesia the Bunker were the three games that eventually 275 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:12,679 kind of got the boot from the top ten in 276 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:16,360 favor of Dead Island, Humanity and balders Gate three. But yeah, 277 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:19,960 glad I could finally kind of rewrite history there. And 278 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:23,799 I guess now what I can move into is maybe 279 00:13:23,879 --> 00:13:28,480 some some spoiler filled thoughts on Balder's Gate three. So 280 00:13:28,919 --> 00:13:31,080 let me take a quick minute here, catch my breath, 281 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:34,639 and I'll come back and do that. Okay, So we 282 00:13:34,679 --> 00:13:38,840 are going to go full spoiler discussion here on Balder's 283 00:13:38,879 --> 00:13:42,519 Gate three as a game. So my history with this, 284 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:45,960 I still have only done technically one play through. Early on, 285 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:47,440 I did start a call out play through with another 286 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:49,679 friend and we played for maybe five or six hours. 287 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:52,000 Of that play through, it didn't get very far. It 288 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:53,799 was It was fun to try it out, but I 289 00:13:53,799 --> 00:13:55,759 think this is definitely more of a single player game 290 00:13:55,879 --> 00:13:58,480 to me. But as I mentioned, and I did mention 291 00:13:58,519 --> 00:14:00,279 this last year too, that I got to balder Gate 292 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:02,600 three late because I was playing it on Xbox and 293 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:06,480 that didn't come out until December, so I didn't even 294 00:14:06,519 --> 00:14:09,879 start it until after I recorded my Game of the 295 00:14:09,919 --> 00:14:12,879 Year list, and you know, I came to it. I 296 00:14:12,879 --> 00:14:16,720 had those two playthroughs, really played a ton of Act one, 297 00:14:16,799 --> 00:14:20,120 tried to explore every single thing I could, and then 298 00:14:20,159 --> 00:14:21,759 when it got to Act two, I was kind of 299 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:25,200 less intrigued by it overall. I think that the dire 300 00:14:25,399 --> 00:14:28,240 Dowur setting of it. Perhaps it felt a little more 301 00:14:28,279 --> 00:14:33,320 linear to me, less exploration and I guess even certain 302 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:35,039 story beats. I'm sure there is a ton of variety 303 00:14:35,039 --> 00:14:37,440 and things that can happen. That seems to be everything 304 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:39,360 in this game based on your choices, but to me, 305 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:41,399 it didn't feel like I had as many fun choices, 306 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:43,840 and so I think so much of my motivation going 307 00:14:43,879 --> 00:14:46,799 through Act two was I just really really want to 308 00:14:46,799 --> 00:14:48,679 get to Act three. I want to get to Balder's Gate. 309 00:14:48,679 --> 00:14:50,240 I want to get to the city and see that. 310 00:14:50,919 --> 00:14:52,960 And it's funny, like you know, it probably took me 311 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:56,919 into like January February, finished Act two and then got 312 00:14:56,960 --> 00:14:59,840 to Baldersgate City, and I feel like all that motivation 313 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,080 I just kind of slipped away, and then I put 314 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:04,919 the game down for months and months and finally eventually 315 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,440 came back to it, I guess in probably like October 316 00:15:08,519 --> 00:15:11,919 September something like that. Here. So took quite a hefty 317 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:16,519 break from it, but I'm glad I did eventually come back. 318 00:15:16,559 --> 00:15:18,480 It's a game that I knew deserved the rest of 319 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:22,159 my time, especially you know, as I was in Act three, 320 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:26,399 and yeah, I think, actually really it stuck the landing beautifully. 321 00:15:26,519 --> 00:15:29,840 It was a really fantastic ending to it. As for 322 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:34,240 my character, my character started out like very hard edged, 323 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:37,159 very much like a ruthless killer type, like I'll take 324 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,360 out anyone, whether it's just for like a few pieces 325 00:15:40,360 --> 00:15:42,960 of gold or maybe for whatever the armor is off 326 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:47,320 their back, and just a very cutthroat type character. But 327 00:15:47,399 --> 00:15:51,080 I think as things went along, I was generally trying 328 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:55,399 to make the decision that was best for the most people. 329 00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:58,600 It was kind of this constant trolley problem of I 330 00:15:58,639 --> 00:16:00,000 don't know who do I want to side with here? 331 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,279 So in Act one, the big decision of like the 332 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:05,919 Goblin Goblin camp stuff, I went into the Goblin camp. 333 00:16:06,679 --> 00:16:08,440 I'm trying to remember the order of events, but I 334 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:10,720 think I went through the Goblin camp, got my way 335 00:16:10,799 --> 00:16:14,679 in into the base, and then I just decided Minthara, 336 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:17,080 some of her things she was saying was a little 337 00:16:17,159 --> 00:16:19,879 two sus even for my character, who was very evil 338 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:22,320 or not very evil, but you know a little bit 339 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:24,840 more in the gray area, I suppose, and so I 340 00:16:24,879 --> 00:16:28,279 took her out, which caused just a chain reaction of 341 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:31,720 things falling down, Domino's falling over, and event led to 342 00:16:31,799 --> 00:16:35,879 just massive battles in those crips underneath the hallways, taking 343 00:16:35,879 --> 00:16:37,240 out all these people, and then when I made it 344 00:16:37,279 --> 00:16:39,480 out to the Goblin camp, I forget how this started. 345 00:16:39,519 --> 00:16:41,279 I think I might have just been the aggressor, because 346 00:16:41,279 --> 00:16:43,960 I don't think anyone outside knew what had happened inside, 347 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:46,519 but I it led to just a huge battle where 348 00:16:46,559 --> 00:16:49,320 I was up on the wall, up on the castle walls, 349 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:52,240 just flying firing arrows down, taking out what I felt 350 00:16:52,279 --> 00:16:55,440 like fifty goblins. That was a crazy battle. I feel 351 00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:58,399 like I've never done a turn based or like tactic 352 00:16:58,519 --> 00:17:01,759 style game with a battle of that scale. It was 353 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:06,519 absolutely wild. So that was super duper fun, and that 354 00:17:06,599 --> 00:17:08,640 kind of became a bit of the story of my character, 355 00:17:08,759 --> 00:17:11,240 is like I kind of just take out people from 356 00:17:11,279 --> 00:17:14,559 all sides, you know, whatever. I felt like they were 357 00:17:14,559 --> 00:17:17,000 doing something a little suspicious, I would kind of take 358 00:17:17,039 --> 00:17:19,880 them out. But yeah, I really really loved Act one. 359 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:22,759 I think beyond that too, the Goblin camp, the defense 360 00:17:22,799 --> 00:17:24,440 of the town. That's kind of the route I went 361 00:17:24,519 --> 00:17:26,720 with it. Defend the people, and that was just such 362 00:17:26,799 --> 00:17:29,839 a great set piece, such a well designed area of 363 00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:32,279 the enemies flooding in from down below and then kind 364 00:17:32,279 --> 00:17:35,079 of coming in from either side, having to defend from 365 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:38,680 up above, keep the door reinforced, get down there, create 366 00:17:38,759 --> 00:17:41,559 some chaos. It was such a fun kind of phase 367 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,359 like battle to it. And I thought the exploration and 368 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:46,960 Act one was really fantastic as well. You know, not 369 00:17:47,039 --> 00:17:49,839 a truly fully open world game, but I still felt 370 00:17:49,839 --> 00:17:53,240 like there was so many interesting pockets of things to do, 371 00:17:53,279 --> 00:17:56,519 which led to interesting quest lines with interesting characters that 372 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:58,359 now that I finished the game can say like, oh, yeah, 373 00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:01,200 an Act three of the crazy stuff with I forget 374 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:03,680 her name, but the lady in the green dress and 375 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:06,160 the blonde hair with the like the zombie husband, and 376 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:08,079 it's like the fact that she comes back in Act 377 00:18:08,079 --> 00:18:11,079 three and has like a relevant quest line or two. 378 00:18:11,799 --> 00:18:13,240 I just feel like that kind of happened with everything, 379 00:18:13,279 --> 00:18:15,839 and of course the whole Hag storyline, just so much 380 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:19,359 stuff that came back in the end was really satisfying 381 00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:23,279 to see all of that. My character, itself, a dark 382 00:18:23,319 --> 00:18:28,119 elf ranger type, used a lot of just range, like 383 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:30,359 really strong range attacks. I think was what I was 384 00:18:30,400 --> 00:18:32,720 going for and like trying to slow enemies down, crowd 385 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,240 control that type of thing. And then my main party 386 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:38,759 early on was Carlac for the tank feature of it, 387 00:18:38,799 --> 00:18:42,799 Shadow Heart the Healer, and then Laizel also as kind 388 00:18:42,839 --> 00:18:46,039 of like a hybrid range slash up close fighter type, 389 00:18:46,599 --> 00:18:48,559 and I think eventually what happened is with that party, 390 00:18:48,759 --> 00:18:50,599 it was very well bounced, but I felt like Carlac 391 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:52,640 and Laizel were kind of fulfilling a bit of the 392 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:56,119 same role. So eventually, as we get into Act two, 393 00:18:56,559 --> 00:18:59,599 that's when Laizel eventually got the boot in favor of Jahiro, 394 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:01,400 which I I think it took much later into Act 395 00:19:01,400 --> 00:19:04,160 two to get that character, trying to remember exactly when 396 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,000 she pops up, But Jahiro just I felt like her 397 00:19:07,039 --> 00:19:09,960 move set was really interesting as a Druid. I didn't 398 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:13,000 have the other what's his name, Halson. I forget he 399 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,599 didn't die in my campaign, but he didn't stick around 400 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:17,519 with my party, and I can't remember why or what 401 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:19,759 story choice led to that, but I didn't have him. 402 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:23,799 My party didn't reclass anyone either, so it made more 403 00:19:23,839 --> 00:19:26,119 sense to have Jahir in my party. As for the 404 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:30,000 other early characters, I found Gail just very overwhelming as 405 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,440 a wizard having all those spells. It was just too 406 00:19:32,519 --> 00:19:34,400 much for my brain to understand. And I think by 407 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:36,440 the end of the game I could have put it together, 408 00:19:36,519 --> 00:19:38,160 because no matter what character you have, you have like 409 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,440 a million things on your action bar, a million actions 410 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:43,960 you can take at anytime. But early on it was 411 00:19:44,279 --> 00:19:47,119 quite overwhelming. And then what's his name is Stary And 412 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:49,160 he just was a bit too similar to my character, 413 00:19:49,279 --> 00:19:51,839 my protagonist in terms of play style. And yes, I 414 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:54,400 know you can reclass him, but he just didn't really 415 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:56,160 make a whole lot of sense on my team. So 416 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:58,559 eventually he got the boot as well. And I'm trying 417 00:19:58,599 --> 00:20:00,440 to think of it. If I'm forgetting any of the 418 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:04,079 other main companions, I think that's I think that's most 419 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:07,200 of them. Oh I will, I guess as well. I 420 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:09,160 think by the time he because he joins a little 421 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:11,200 bit later on than everyone else, by the time he 422 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:13,400 hopped into the party, I'd kind of already had a 423 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:15,839 bit of an established team with their established armor and 424 00:20:15,839 --> 00:20:18,640 weapons and all that, and so he didn't really fit 425 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:21,480 in with my current kind of team build, so he 426 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:24,920 sat on the bench for the entire game. I don't 427 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:27,440 think he was ever with me in the party, even 428 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:31,400 though I did some quests around his around his storyline there. 429 00:20:32,319 --> 00:20:34,359 So yeah, as we get as we get into Act two, 430 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:38,759 I think one part that felt a little I forget 431 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:41,880 exactly when the act to transition happens, but I'm chinking 432 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:44,759 of like the thinking of the Mountain Pass area, the 433 00:20:45,039 --> 00:20:49,599 area where you go to kind of Lazel's people that base. 434 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:51,440 I could never figure out how to get in there. 435 00:20:51,519 --> 00:20:54,880 I search around for hours, and I'm sure there's some 436 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:56,240 way you can blast the door open or have a 437 00:20:56,279 --> 00:20:58,039 high enough lock picking or something, but I could not 438 00:20:58,119 --> 00:21:00,599 find a way in, so that that section never got finished. 439 00:21:00,599 --> 00:21:02,680 And I guess I didn't really realize how much this 440 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:05,279 game was, like, oh, you're not really revisiting areas at all, 441 00:21:05,279 --> 00:21:07,680 like you're moving along. You're going in like a linear 442 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,680 fashion towards that end point. So that didn't get end 443 00:21:10,759 --> 00:21:12,559 up happening. And then there wasn't really much else. So, 444 00:21:12,599 --> 00:21:14,200 you know, a couple of areas or a couple of 445 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:16,720 fights I should say, in the Mountain Pass before you 446 00:21:16,799 --> 00:21:20,440 go into the caves underneath, and that's kind of where 447 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:22,880 the rest of Act two seemed to be. So I 448 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:25,880 think because of the the lantern mechanic and you need 449 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:28,519 that moonlight lantern with you. That's where some of the 450 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:31,759 linearity came in. And then I just felt like the 451 00:21:31,759 --> 00:21:34,559 the area overall filter a little felt a little less exploration, 452 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:37,400 exploration focused a little more later. I know there is 453 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:39,599 like different directions you can go, but I guess I 454 00:21:39,599 --> 00:21:41,960 found myself just kind of less intrigued by the general 455 00:21:42,039 --> 00:21:45,920 story beats there. Act two, I guess is when the 456 00:21:46,039 --> 00:21:49,880 villains enter the equation at this point, which I thought 457 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:51,799 was an interesting choice. I feel like it took a while, 458 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:54,559 but it I think narrowly didn't did make sense to 459 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:56,960 kind of just let you explore, learn the game, figure 460 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:59,000 out some of the players in the world, have like 461 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:01,720 hints or mention of them, but then not really see 462 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:05,079 them or be introducing them until X two. I do 463 00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:07,359 think maybe this is the old time to talk about 464 00:22:07,359 --> 00:22:10,960 the villains overall, the three main ones there of Kethick, 465 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,000 Orient and Gortash. I think this was the part that 466 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:16,680 I felt like was overall quite a bit weaker with 467 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:19,359 the game, And maybe that's more centered on Gortash as 468 00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:22,640 the main villain, because I just found him particularly not 469 00:22:23,599 --> 00:22:26,640 that interesting or he just would disappear for so long, 470 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:29,599 or I just seemed like he had gotten to the 471 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,839 point he was through just like this massive manipulation and cunning, 472 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:36,000 and he was such a strong fighter. But I just 473 00:22:36,039 --> 00:22:37,720 felt like as I was going around Act three, and 474 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:39,359 I know I'm skipping ahead here a little bit, but 475 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:41,200 as I was going around in Act three, just messing 476 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:43,359 things up, taking out his steel watch, doing all these 477 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:46,079 quest lines, taking out allies of his I felt like 478 00:22:46,079 --> 00:22:48,400 he was never pushing back on anything I was doing. 479 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,799 He was just sitting up in his ivory tower letting 480 00:22:50,799 --> 00:22:54,359 everything happen. And so maybe that felt like a little 481 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:56,319 weird the way that was connected in And then of 482 00:22:56,759 --> 00:22:59,519 course Kethick, he doesn't make it very far, so you 483 00:22:59,519 --> 00:23:01,640 don't really see how he would flourish in Act three. 484 00:23:01,839 --> 00:23:04,160 But I do think that character was interesting. He had 485 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:07,079 a cool backstory. It's kind of traumatic and interesting. But 486 00:23:07,599 --> 00:23:12,039 the battle in his base was just amazing. I think 487 00:23:12,039 --> 00:23:13,960 it was really it was really really difficult, took me 488 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:15,799 many tries. I did really load a lot of saves 489 00:23:15,799 --> 00:23:18,119 in that one. But the initial encounter down at the 490 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:21,000 very bottom level level, then as you're kind of climbing 491 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,440 through the tower, and then that that fight at the 492 00:23:23,599 --> 00:23:25,880 very roof of the building. I had to reload that 493 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:29,480 so many times and try so many different strategies because 494 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:31,640 the one Spider companion he was like right behind me 495 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:33,960 at the start, and then Kethrick's up there his other 496 00:23:34,079 --> 00:23:36,839 homies that he's spawning the other zombies things, and it 497 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:39,839 was just such a difficult fight. Eventually I was able 498 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:42,000 to clench it out and knock him down into like 499 00:23:42,039 --> 00:23:44,240 the the well down below where you do the fight 500 00:23:44,279 --> 00:23:47,440 against the kind of Kaiju version of him, and that 501 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:50,039 fight went a little bit better. It was still pretty intense, 502 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:52,039 but it went a lot better, but I think the 503 00:23:52,079 --> 00:23:55,319 phases of that fight was really enjoyable, and Act two 504 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:56,920 ended in a good way, even if like for the 505 00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:59,960 most part, I was a little uninterested in what generally 506 00:24:00,079 --> 00:24:03,039 happened there. But as I mentioned, yeah, Jahira eventually joined 507 00:24:03,039 --> 00:24:05,480 my party. I really liked her move set with like 508 00:24:05,519 --> 00:24:08,079 the Druid stuff mixed with just like the spells that 509 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:10,640 I was putting on her were really strong, Like she 510 00:24:10,799 --> 00:24:13,720 was essentially my ice storm machine every fight, even deep 511 00:24:13,759 --> 00:24:16,519 into Act three, even into like the final battle, She's 512 00:24:16,559 --> 00:24:20,039 just throwing ice storms everywhere, like the most effective spell 513 00:24:20,759 --> 00:24:22,480 in the whole game. For me, it was so so 514 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:25,079 damn good. So as we get into Act three a 515 00:24:25,079 --> 00:24:26,960 little bit more, I guess I'll finish some thoughts on 516 00:24:27,039 --> 00:24:29,759 the villains there. So I think I think Orin was 517 00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:34,640 the most successful villain for me, the most interesting one. 518 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:37,160 I found that she was the most intimidating. I felt 519 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:38,920 like she was around the most because she would be 520 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,599 popping up at your camp and you know, she kidnapped 521 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:46,519 Laizel at one point, leaving notes uh, and then just 522 00:24:46,519 --> 00:24:49,200 that dynamic of wanting to turn on Gortash and offering 523 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:51,720 some of these uh. Of course she didn't mean any 524 00:24:51,759 --> 00:24:53,400 of it. She was just trying to manipulate you too. 525 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:55,279 But I felt in that way she was maybe the 526 00:24:55,279 --> 00:24:58,440 most dynamic villain. She was moving around the most, doing 527 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:00,920 the most. Like when you weren't directly having a cut 528 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:02,400 scene with her, it felt like she was actually a 529 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:04,720 part of that world. And then just all this stuff 530 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:09,319 of like her base, her villainy. That stuff was terrifying 531 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:12,160 and so expansive and like this whole cult that she 532 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:14,079 kind of became a bit of a leader in I 533 00:25:14,119 --> 00:25:17,680 thought was all really entertaining. I think her fight was 534 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,599 like total bs that you have to like what hit 535 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:22,799 her like seven times per term before you can like 536 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,240 start dealing damage to her. I'm sure there's ways around it, 537 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:28,759 but that was another fight that I found very very difficult, 538 00:25:28,759 --> 00:25:29,960 and I feel like the only way I could ever 539 00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:33,200 finally beat it was by just really cheesing it pretty hard, 540 00:25:33,799 --> 00:25:37,000 which I didn't feel bad about because it felt very 541 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:40,519 one sided and very ope. But yeah, I think or 542 00:25:40,599 --> 00:25:43,240 In overall was maybe my favorite of the villains. I 543 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:46,799 think she was the most yeah, the most interesting, I'll 544 00:25:46,799 --> 00:25:50,920 put it that way. As we get into Act three 545 00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:53,319 a little bit more, I know I'm kind of skipping 546 00:25:53,359 --> 00:25:55,880 through a lot of this stuff pretty quickly. I think 547 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:57,960 if I did have someone else on this cast with me, 548 00:25:58,079 --> 00:26:00,559 maybe be a bit better breakdown how we differed in 549 00:26:00,599 --> 00:26:03,559 our roots. But this is kind of just my path 550 00:26:03,599 --> 00:26:05,720 through the game. But I think Act three, like the 551 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,200 city of balders Gate, I feel like is up there 552 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,720 as one of my favorite video game cities ever at 553 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:15,039 this point. It's just so expansive, the amount of interesting 554 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:19,599 characters that you can talk to, the amount of buildings houses, 555 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:22,440 whether it's like a house that has no relevance to anything, 556 00:26:22,799 --> 00:26:24,640 or if it is a place that has some side 557 00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:26,960 quest storyline attached to it, There's just so much to 558 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,720 go into. When I eventually discovered the sewers and this 559 00:26:29,799 --> 00:26:32,519 whole huge underground area on top of that, and I 560 00:26:32,519 --> 00:26:34,680 feel like my plan with Balder's Gate was like, Okay, 561 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:36,960 I'm gonna do one big lap. I'm gonna go into 562 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,640 all the shops, meet all the people. Okay, I'm gonna 563 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:41,319 do all that. It took me hours and hours to 564 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:43,400 do that because all the things that can distract you. 565 00:26:43,799 --> 00:26:45,359 And then once I had done that, I was looked 566 00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:46,519 at the map and I was like, man, I feel 567 00:26:46,519 --> 00:26:48,200 like I missed a ton of things stolen. So I 568 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,920 did another lap, found another five or six shops that 569 00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:53,680 I had missed, and I feel like did a third 570 00:26:53,759 --> 00:26:56,960 lap after that too, and just discovered even more. And 571 00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:58,759 then once I kind of had it all charted out, 572 00:26:58,799 --> 00:27:00,440 then I was like, Okay, which question do I want 573 00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:02,119 to go do? Which big battles do I want to 574 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:04,519 go take out the Vampire Mansion? Do I want to 575 00:27:04,559 --> 00:27:08,000 go to the whatever that place where Shadow Hearts people 576 00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:11,519 come from and go do that whole section. I feel 577 00:27:11,559 --> 00:27:13,200 like that was kind of my way I was kind 578 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:16,000 of setting up setting the table and then deciding which 579 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,960 way I wanted to tackle it. That was super duper 580 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:20,720 fun I had. I had a great time with Act 581 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,880 three overall. I love the city setting of it all. 582 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:28,519 The vampire section that one was really funny. One. I 583 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:31,319 liked the there's kind of a goofiness to the mansion 584 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:33,480 when you're first in theore in there. I think it's 585 00:27:33,599 --> 00:27:35,279 Kazador's the name of the guy there. And then the 586 00:27:35,599 --> 00:27:38,519 battle down below this was like one of the funniest 587 00:27:38,519 --> 00:27:41,000 fights for me. I just cheesed it so hard by 588 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:44,519 sending one unit up far to activate the enemies and 589 00:27:44,559 --> 00:27:47,960 then just retreating to this like massive endless staircase and 590 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:51,680 just putting so many traps and sloughs and ice and 591 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,160 poison on that staircase and just making it like a 592 00:27:54,519 --> 00:27:56,680 just a death trap for anyone who walked through. Like 593 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:59,000 the only one that could make it past that death 594 00:27:59,039 --> 00:28:01,759 trap was Kzador. But since he was alone at that 595 00:28:01,839 --> 00:28:04,200 point up with my characters, I could solo him down 596 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:08,200 pretty quick, and man aestarian, he was pissed that I 597 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:10,720 did not bring him on that mission, which would have 598 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,359 been of course very cathartic for him to have that 599 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:16,799 moment to take out his oppressor in that case, but 600 00:28:16,839 --> 00:28:18,799 you know what, Starring, You're gonna have to deal with it. 601 00:28:18,839 --> 00:28:21,119 You weren't strong enough, you weren't unique enough, and so 602 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:23,119 you got to sit on the bench. But that was 603 00:28:23,319 --> 00:28:25,759 that was a funny, funny sequence, and I really enjoyed 604 00:28:25,799 --> 00:28:28,920 that fight. And a very similar situation happened with the 605 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:33,079 fight in that section with shadow Heart the Revenge for 606 00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:37,920 shadow Heart, and the that base as well also had 607 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:40,839 a big staircase and that just became a death corridor 608 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:42,920 where I took out so many enemies on that staircase 609 00:28:43,240 --> 00:28:45,599 and just had one or two enemies kind of slowly 610 00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:48,119 leaking through and they would just get destroyed as they 611 00:28:48,119 --> 00:28:51,160 made it past my death traps. Really really fun, and 612 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:54,039 that moment I think was maybe my favorite. Shadow Heart 613 00:28:54,079 --> 00:28:56,880 was the character that my protagonist romanced in this game, 614 00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:59,400 and I think I was trying my best to do 615 00:28:59,519 --> 00:29:01,680 the best thing for her and that moment with her 616 00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:03,920 with her parents and you have so many options there, 617 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:08,079 does she sacrificed yourself? Eventually what ended up happening was 618 00:29:08,119 --> 00:29:10,480 the parents decided to sacrifice themselves that she could live 619 00:29:10,519 --> 00:29:13,279 her life, and I thought that was a very touching moment, 620 00:29:13,799 --> 00:29:16,400 and yeah, it was. It was very sweet, even though 621 00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:18,319 it was very dark and sad at the same time. 622 00:29:18,559 --> 00:29:20,000 And I feel like it took her a while before, 623 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:23,119 not that she ever got over it, but yeah, I 624 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:25,480 feel like it took a while before she really kind 625 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:27,359 of bounced back from that. She needed to take a 626 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:30,559 break for a little bit. So yeah, I really really 627 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:32,799 enjoyed that sequence as well. Another really tough fight, but 628 00:29:32,839 --> 00:29:36,039 one that eventually worked out in the end. I feel like, 629 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:39,720 just maybe talking about the combat a little bit more overall, 630 00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:42,799 I think that overall I love the combat in this 631 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:44,640 I feel like I've I've played D and D a 632 00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:46,880 few times, but I feel like it after this game, 633 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:49,960 I have a much better understanding of how the mechanics 634 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:52,920 of D and D combat actually work. And I mean 635 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:55,200 just having the visual of it and having the game 636 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:58,079 obviously process all of the actions and do all the 637 00:29:58,079 --> 00:30:00,039 math for you makes it a lot more easy and 638 00:30:00,079 --> 00:30:04,279 engaging as well then playing tabletop for sure, But I 639 00:30:04,599 --> 00:30:06,880 think that the combat was super fun. It reminded me 640 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:09,880 a lot of Midnight Suns. And then the way it's like, okay, 641 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:12,759 it's kind of tactics turn based, but it's not set 642 00:30:12,799 --> 00:30:14,680 on a specific grid. There's a lot more freedom, there's 643 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:17,599 a lot more interaction with the environments if you want 644 00:30:17,640 --> 00:30:20,599 to do that kind of thing. Positioning is super important. 645 00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:24,400 Positioning your characters, you know, not necessarily right next to 646 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:26,200 each other, trying to have some space, but maybe you 647 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:27,960 do want them next to each other for certain things 648 00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:31,000 as well. And I just think it was a very 649 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,680 engaging system, and it got very complex by the end 650 00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:36,440 of the game when your characters are higher level and 651 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:39,119 they have a ton of powers and abilities. On top 652 00:30:39,119 --> 00:30:41,680 of that, they have a bunch of potions or scrolls 653 00:30:41,799 --> 00:30:44,240 and other things that they can use. So it did 654 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:46,960 get very complicated. And there are certain characters that I 655 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:49,880 feel like I never even really explored their move sets fully. 656 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:52,079 Like Jahira is a great example, where As I mentioned, 657 00:30:52,319 --> 00:30:55,359 she was kind of my ice storm generator and that 658 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:57,640 would take up a lot of turns of her spending 659 00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:59,960 ice storm over and over again. Then eventually would trans 660 00:31:00,079 --> 00:31:02,160 former into the Velociraptor and then she would just go 661 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:05,279 ham on people. But I specked her down the route 662 00:31:05,319 --> 00:31:08,759 where she was like a I don't know, I forget 663 00:31:08,799 --> 00:31:11,079 what it was called. It was like an undead she 664 00:31:11,119 --> 00:31:14,519 could turn into like a mold beast creature vegetation thing. 665 00:31:14,559 --> 00:31:16,200 I know, I don't know the name for all of this, 666 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:19,200 but I feel like I never even used that transformation. 667 00:31:19,319 --> 00:31:22,039 I just never found the right time to do it. 668 00:31:22,279 --> 00:31:24,000 She kind of had a subclass thing where she could 669 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:26,680 like summon zombies from corpses as well, which were really 670 00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:30,119 good as just tanking shots or distracting my opponents. That 671 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:33,279 worked out really well, and I think shadow Heart really 672 00:31:33,279 --> 00:31:35,119 came into her own as kind of a support but 673 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:37,319 also a conjurer. By the end of the game, she 674 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:41,160 was kind of frequently bringing in different summons, which once 675 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:45,039 again helped distract, helped block pathways, so that was super 676 00:31:45,119 --> 00:31:48,480 duper effective. Carlac just went full on in the tank route. 677 00:31:48,559 --> 00:31:50,359 I think I wanted maybe a bit more from her, 678 00:31:50,400 --> 00:31:52,559 maybe I was missing a subclass, or maybe I should 679 00:31:52,559 --> 00:31:54,559 have switched her to a different class, but I felt 680 00:31:54,559 --> 00:31:56,759 like the I think it was barbarian is that she is, 681 00:31:57,079 --> 00:31:58,960 and I had her in like bare form, just constantly 682 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:01,400 going rage mode, and I feel like she didn't really 683 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:05,759 get many interesting changes to her place sets as she 684 00:32:06,039 --> 00:32:08,039 kind of got to level twelve in those last few 685 00:32:08,119 --> 00:32:10,480 levels and then, as I mentioned, my character really just 686 00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:13,960 focusing on that range DPS, multiple attacks, huge aoeiz, that 687 00:32:14,079 --> 00:32:17,319 kind of thing, just sneaking around a lot as well 688 00:32:17,319 --> 00:32:20,519 get some cheap shots on people. The combat overall, I 689 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:23,680 think was definitely my highlight of the game, even if 690 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:26,559 some of the fights, specifically an Act three were a 691 00:32:26,599 --> 00:32:28,319 bit cheesy. I think there was a bit too much 692 00:32:28,319 --> 00:32:33,119 of like instakil mechanics or enemies that had too many 693 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:36,359 ways that they would just instantly or infinitively like block 694 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:39,680 damage until certain things have been done and after you know. 695 00:32:39,839 --> 00:32:41,000 It took me to the point where I had to 696 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:42,400 like google a lot of things like how do I 697 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:46,559 deal with this particular buff or d buff? And the 698 00:32:46,599 --> 00:32:48,599 answer was like, h you kind of don't, or you 699 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:51,839 get really lucky, or you ideally kill the opponent before 700 00:32:51,880 --> 00:32:54,759 they can use that buff. And I didn't really like 701 00:32:54,799 --> 00:32:56,079 say some of that, And I feel like the game 702 00:32:56,160 --> 00:32:58,519 kind of struggled a bit with the balance at the end, 703 00:32:58,799 --> 00:33:00,519 and it's like, Okay, once you hit twelve and you're 704 00:33:00,519 --> 00:33:02,559 super strong, how do we make the enemies keep up? 705 00:33:03,079 --> 00:33:04,960 And it seemed like the best way to do that 706 00:33:05,039 --> 00:33:07,599 was to make them kind of annoyingly cheesy. They almost 707 00:33:07,599 --> 00:33:10,240 turned into like puzzle fights rather than boss fights, if 708 00:33:10,279 --> 00:33:13,400 that makes sense. And I think that was another thing too, 709 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:16,319 Like I hit level twelve, which was max level, I 710 00:33:16,319 --> 00:33:18,720 feel like, fairly early on in Act three, and so 711 00:33:18,799 --> 00:33:20,880 then there was a lot of Act three where I 712 00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:24,799 wasn't really getting much fun progression anymore. I was, you know, 713 00:33:24,799 --> 00:33:27,720 getting some new gear every once in a while, but yeah, 714 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:29,359 I don't know, I think a little bit higher of 715 00:33:29,359 --> 00:33:31,920 a level cap would have been fun. And I don't 716 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:33,880 know how you would rebalance everything. I know, since they 717 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,279 used the D and D rules, it's kind of hard 718 00:33:36,279 --> 00:33:39,119 to change too much without getting too overpowered. But that 719 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:41,680 was something that I felt like maybe took away some 720 00:33:41,759 --> 00:33:43,759 of the enjoyment of like the very tail end of 721 00:33:43,759 --> 00:33:46,279 the game was just not feeling that sense of progression anymore. 722 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:50,319 But overall, I just absolutely loved the I love the 723 00:33:50,359 --> 00:33:53,119 combat of the game, and it's definitely something that I'm given. 724 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:56,400 All the classes and subclasses and weapon types and styles. 725 00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:58,000 I feel like on a replay would be really fun 726 00:33:58,039 --> 00:34:01,000 to try just a totally different set of characters, because 727 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:04,400 I was a pretty standard like range GPS, front face 728 00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:07,160 tank healer and then just kind of like a flex role, 729 00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:09,679 and I feel like, you know, it's a pretty standard build, 730 00:34:09,679 --> 00:34:11,559 but you could do some pretty crazy things, I'm sure, 731 00:34:12,199 --> 00:34:13,840 especially on a second play through, once you know a 732 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:17,480 little bit more. Let's see what have I not talked 733 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:20,880 about in Act three here? I think the section where 734 00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:23,920 Lazel gets kidnapped, like it's felt like really large stakes. 735 00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:25,920 I thought that was really cool, really well done. It 736 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:28,599 was felt good to save her. I'm glad that I 737 00:34:28,599 --> 00:34:30,039 guess at that point in the story she was no 738 00:34:30,119 --> 00:34:31,639 longer part of that main crew, because that would have 739 00:34:31,639 --> 00:34:34,079 been a huge hit if one of my main players 740 00:34:34,079 --> 00:34:36,000 had been taken away, and then Oran's base, like, I 741 00:34:36,039 --> 00:34:37,719 definitely needed to level up a lot before I went 742 00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:39,599 and fought her because of how hard that fight was. 743 00:34:41,559 --> 00:34:43,639 As we approach kind of the very very ending of it. 744 00:34:43,679 --> 00:34:46,800 I think the Gortash fight a little janky because of 745 00:34:46,840 --> 00:34:48,679 some of his abilities, but that was a really fun 746 00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:50,559 one as well, where I just feel like I janked 747 00:34:50,599 --> 00:34:54,400 him out so hard of so many poisons and stuns 748 00:34:54,519 --> 00:34:58,039 and knocking him over and just like essentially triggering the 749 00:34:58,039 --> 00:35:00,440 fight and then running out the doors and then doing 750 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:02,679 the fight kind of outside and slowly setting up traps 751 00:35:02,719 --> 00:35:04,119 that would slow them and take them out one at 752 00:35:04,119 --> 00:35:05,840 a time. It was really fun. It took me a 753 00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:08,320 couple of tries, but I was happy to finally take 754 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:11,840 him out. That felt really good. And then I think 755 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:14,119 that led into some really interesting stuff with Carlac as 756 00:35:14,119 --> 00:35:17,079 a character, and how like this was her goal for 757 00:35:17,119 --> 00:35:20,199 so long, was to get revenge against Gortash who had 758 00:35:20,199 --> 00:35:22,760 toyed with her so much, and how she felt that 759 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:26,079 after his death that she just didn't really feel anything 760 00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:28,760 from it. I felt like it was a very powerful, 761 00:35:29,440 --> 00:35:31,840 powerful reaction. And after that she just went back to 762 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:33,159 the base. She's like, I just got a chill for 763 00:35:33,159 --> 00:35:35,440 a bit. And then she came around and she was 764 00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:37,800 like she caught the fire in her belly and that 765 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:39,679 led her to kind of join back up with me 766 00:35:39,760 --> 00:35:41,599 and go do some fighting in the very end there. 767 00:35:42,039 --> 00:35:46,360 And yeah, that's when you get to the eventual point 768 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:48,159 where you got to figure out, Okay, what's who's going 769 00:35:48,199 --> 00:35:51,000 to make a sacrifice here? Are you going to sacrifice yourself? 770 00:35:51,039 --> 00:35:54,519 Turned yourself into a mind flare in order to take 771 00:35:54,719 --> 00:35:58,239 the the evil brain, the eternal brain. I forget what 772 00:35:58,239 --> 00:36:00,840 the brain is called, but a car, you know, she 773 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:02,639 really convinced me that she should be the one to 774 00:36:02,920 --> 00:36:05,320 make that sacrifice, and I felt like it was very 775 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:08,039 justified in like a very fitting not even end for 776 00:36:08,079 --> 00:36:10,159 her character, because that was the reason why she could 777 00:36:10,199 --> 00:36:12,239 continue to live. And so I felt like that was 778 00:36:12,280 --> 00:36:14,639 really powerful and really lined up nicely with the Gortash 779 00:36:15,519 --> 00:36:19,400 storyline that had happened kind of just before that. I think, overall, 780 00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:23,400 as a setting or a choice for Villainy, I wasn't 781 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:27,320 a huge fan of the mind Flayers as a villain 782 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:30,320 in this. I think there's a fine line in this 783 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:34,119 game of like grounded fantasy to like more high tech stuff, 784 00:36:34,559 --> 00:36:36,599 but when we get into that, it felt a little 785 00:36:36,679 --> 00:36:38,639 too sci fi and the fact that they have these 786 00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:43,280 huge like Avengers airships that are like firing shots down 787 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:48,199 on the city. I just didn't love the ideas behind it, 788 00:36:48,239 --> 00:36:50,199 and like some of the villains didn't really work in 789 00:36:50,239 --> 00:36:52,559 that way. So that was something I felt like it 790 00:36:52,599 --> 00:36:54,800 was a little bit weaker as a setting choice, or 791 00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:56,639 at least it just didn't work for me. It didn't 792 00:36:56,639 --> 00:36:58,960 really add to the game overall, and that's obviously what 793 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:00,159 a lot of the end of the game is. I 794 00:37:00,199 --> 00:37:02,440 still think it led to some really fun fights, like 795 00:37:02,559 --> 00:37:06,440 the final fight in the against the dragon and then 796 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:09,679 the other homies up there. That is firing endless missiles 797 00:37:09,679 --> 00:37:12,239 at you was a really tough fight, took me multiple tries, 798 00:37:12,239 --> 00:37:14,679 but that's one where you're summing it in people and 799 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:16,800 kind of the final siege of the city. I loved 800 00:37:17,079 --> 00:37:19,760 that mechanic of summoning in people to help you fight. 801 00:37:20,159 --> 00:37:22,599 I thought that was really cool. I felt bad for 802 00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:26,000 Dame Alen. She I had saved her and she was 803 00:37:26,079 --> 00:37:27,800 kind of at my camp at all times, and I 804 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:30,400 really liked her personality wise. I brought her into that 805 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:33,599 final fight and just some of her movements were absolutely 806 00:37:33,639 --> 00:37:36,519 wild choices which led to her death in that sequence, 807 00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:39,440 and I felt really bad and I almost considered reloading 808 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:40,679 to save so she could live, but I was like, 809 00:37:40,679 --> 00:37:43,079 you know what, these are the consequences. She did help 810 00:37:43,119 --> 00:37:45,039 a little bit, but then she was just walking into 811 00:37:45,119 --> 00:37:48,360 really bad directions and she got taken out and I 812 00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:51,840 couldn't save her, unfortunately. But that fight against the dragon 813 00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:53,960 was really really fun, and then just going down and 814 00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:56,360 taking out the brain at the very end there was 815 00:37:56,400 --> 00:38:00,480 all really cool, and I think the epilogue was really 816 00:38:00,599 --> 00:38:02,760 nice and beautiful as well. How your characters go off. 817 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:04,840 They spend a few months on their own, traveling, doing 818 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:07,199 their own things, living their lives, and then they kind 819 00:38:07,199 --> 00:38:09,719 of come back for this dinner afterwards a year what 820 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:12,159 they've been up to and what they're planning to do next, 821 00:38:12,199 --> 00:38:14,519 and then the people who aren't there getting a letter 822 00:38:14,559 --> 00:38:17,639 from each of them and just getting a little information. 823 00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:20,039 I think the one that was missing for me was 824 00:38:20,760 --> 00:38:22,880 I think her name is Isabelle. Yeah, that's the partner 825 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:24,960 of Aalen, and I feel like I don't think I 826 00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:26,599 got an update from her, and I wanted to know 827 00:38:26,599 --> 00:38:28,960 what was going on with her, especially after her partner 828 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:32,360 had died. There, I feel like there was nothing mentioned 829 00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:36,119 about that apparently that I was reading that that sequence 830 00:38:36,119 --> 00:38:39,679 that epilogue was like added after the game came out, 831 00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:42,360 or maybe it was related to the Early Access and 832 00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:43,840 just came in very late. I'm not sure. Well, I 833 00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:46,280 think the Early Access was only Act one, so I 834 00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:48,920 think that was something I read that came very much later, 835 00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:50,760 which would be crazy to me because I feel like 836 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:52,400 that was kind of the perfect ending and the ending 837 00:38:52,440 --> 00:38:55,719 I needed to be satisfied with everything that was going 838 00:38:55,760 --> 00:38:59,000 on there, trying to think what else I would like 839 00:38:59,079 --> 00:39:02,239 to mention about this game. I think, yeah, just there's 840 00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:04,599 so much that happens in Act three, and I kind 841 00:39:04,599 --> 00:39:06,880 of mentioned a couple of highlights but glossed over some 842 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:12,239 other things. The sequence of going through the steel Watch factory, 843 00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:15,320 I think that was a really really fun setting huge base. 844 00:39:15,519 --> 00:39:18,199 Took a really long time and really slowly just picking 845 00:39:18,239 --> 00:39:22,639 off one player at a time. The final section of 846 00:39:22,639 --> 00:39:25,039 that I found very very difficult. That when you get 847 00:39:25,039 --> 00:39:28,519 to the control room and there's there's four massive steel 848 00:39:28,519 --> 00:39:31,719 Watch guys in there, and the only way I could 849 00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:34,199 do that was like I would just choose that door 850 00:39:34,239 --> 00:39:36,239 because they could not go through the loading zone door. 851 00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:38,679 So I'd go through the loading zone door, use all 852 00:39:38,719 --> 00:39:42,039 of my everything to target one of them down, kill it, 853 00:39:42,559 --> 00:39:45,239 leave the room, go do a long rest, come back, 854 00:39:45,599 --> 00:39:48,599 take out another one, go long rest, come back. And 855 00:39:48,639 --> 00:39:50,199 I had to do that many times. It took a 856 00:39:50,199 --> 00:39:52,480 lot of saves. That one section probably took me like 857 00:39:52,519 --> 00:39:55,440 two or three hours, if not more, just to take 858 00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:57,639 those guys out. But I really liked that sequence. I 859 00:39:57,639 --> 00:40:00,400 think it was a lot of fun going through all 860 00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:02,880 of that, and yeah, just once again, like I just 861 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:06,639 love that city, all the different merchants and personalities going 862 00:40:06,679 --> 00:40:08,719 on there. There's a lot of minor quests going on, 863 00:40:08,840 --> 00:40:12,079 like the haunted mansion, which led to like that mummy 864 00:40:12,119 --> 00:40:14,599 and the tomb and some other house across town, and 865 00:40:14,639 --> 00:40:16,159 that was really fun to kind of go back and 866 00:40:16,199 --> 00:40:20,519 forth between those got characters, just going through the bank 867 00:40:20,679 --> 00:40:25,039 and the vaults once again. The sewer section was so massive, 868 00:40:25,119 --> 00:40:29,760 such huge fights and just exploration to be doing down there. 869 00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:32,239 That kind of felt like in another act too, just 870 00:40:32,360 --> 00:40:36,519 jammed conveniently underneath the city. So overall, I just loved 871 00:40:36,559 --> 00:40:38,320 Act three and I think it really came together for 872 00:40:38,920 --> 00:40:41,199 all of the main characters. The characters I cared most 873 00:40:41,239 --> 00:40:45,119 about it was. It was really just a really great time, 874 00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:48,639 really great game. You know, voice acting is fantastic. I 875 00:40:48,639 --> 00:40:51,360 think the game is visually very beautiful. The music was 876 00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:54,719 really great. I think the use of the narrator was 877 00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:56,760 just brilliant and it's something I want to see more 878 00:40:57,199 --> 00:40:59,760 games do. I think it's such a clever way to 879 00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:04,239 or to add like choices or reactions to things you're doing. 880 00:41:04,599 --> 00:41:07,039 And obviously the performance there of the narrator. I forget 881 00:41:07,039 --> 00:41:10,639 if that the narrator got a gnom at the Game Awards, 882 00:41:10,639 --> 00:41:13,599 but definitely should have that that is just such a 883 00:41:13,679 --> 00:41:17,280 great addition to the story overall. So yeah, I think 884 00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:20,360 the game was super duper fun. I don't know what's 885 00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:23,440 next for me in this kind of RPG world, Like 886 00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:25,800 I don't I think the old balders Gate games look 887 00:41:25,880 --> 00:41:27,760 pretty dated. Don't know if i'd want to go back 888 00:41:27,800 --> 00:41:29,360 to them. I don't know if I should jump to 889 00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:32,199 some other Larian project or maybe maybe just cool off, 890 00:41:32,239 --> 00:41:34,519 take a break, come back to this game, or just 891 00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:37,360 play whatever Larrying makes next, which they've confirmed is not 892 00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:39,559 another balders Gate game. They're going to go, I think 893 00:41:39,599 --> 00:41:41,719 work on their own IP so we'll see what ends 894 00:41:41,760 --> 00:41:43,960 up happening there and how similar it is to this 895 00:41:44,079 --> 00:41:45,960 D and D and setting that they've done for their 896 00:41:46,039 --> 00:41:49,719 last few games. So yeah, I think that's all I 897 00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:51,880 have to say on this game at this point in time. 898 00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:54,480 I'm sure we'll bring it up more on the podcast 899 00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:56,960 in the future, when I know Travis wants to eventually 900 00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:00,320 play at Kirkland has been playing through it actively have 901 00:42:00,320 --> 00:42:02,559 more to share in the future. But yeah, overall, a 902 00:42:02,599 --> 00:42:04,679 really great game and I'm very happy to put it 903 00:42:04,719 --> 00:42:08,280 at my number three spot for the years. This is 904 00:42:08,280 --> 00:42:11,239 a fun little double combo episode. Let me know what 905 00:42:11,239 --> 00:42:12,960 you think of my new top ten, if you had 906 00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:15,199 another thoughts on balders Gate, things that I forgot to 907 00:42:15,239 --> 00:42:18,360 mention that you're curious about. With my playthrough, it was 908 00:42:18,400 --> 00:42:20,519 a really, really great game. I'm glad I finally got 909 00:42:20,519 --> 00:42:22,599 around to it and gave it the time it deserved 910 00:42:22,599 --> 00:42:25,760 to see it to the finish. So thank you everyone 911 00:42:25,920 --> 00:43:03,280 for listening, and I'll see you again next time. Bye bye,