30 hours in, here's what I think so far
So I'm pretty new but figured I'd share my thoughts while everything's still fresh. Been loving it overall, but a few things are bugging me.
First, the good stuff. I haven't opened the wiki once. the game just actually teaches you what you need to know. You find a new material, you mess around, you figure it out.
The progression also has real weight to it. Beating a boss and unlocking a whole new tier of stuff genuinely feels like an accomplishment.
The atmosphere is also doing a lot of heavy lifting. Wether through the soundtrack or the creatures, I really enjoy exploring the new biomes.
Combat feels good too. Not Dark Souls levels of precise but the dodge roll, the parry, the stamina management, it's a lot of fun.
Building is way deeper than I expected for a game that's mostly about exploring and fighting. I've already lost hours just messing with my base. The structural integrity stuff is a really cool touch, you can't just stack things forever and pretend gravity doesn't exist.
Now the stuff that bugs me:
- Progression feels like a staircase
You get this big rush of new content, then 15 hours of mining and smelting, then another rush. The grindy parts aren't bad exactly but they go on way too long between the fun beats. Some kind of side content or mid-tier stuff to break up the ore runs would help a lot.
- Portals are kinda dumb as is
I'm fine with not being able to teleport ores in theory, but then why are boats so expensive to make? 80 bronze nails is wild when I need bronze for literally everything else. You end up needing both boats and portals anyway so it just feels like extra friction for no reason. Either make portals harder to unlock so you feel like you earned the convenience, or make boats cheaper. Right now it's the worst of both worlds.
- Crypts are boring
This one bums me out because they should be sick. Cursed swamp tombs, that's a great pitch. But the loot is mid, the enemies are pushovers once you're geared, and you're only going because you need iron. Throw in some unique weapons that only drop there, weird enemies you can't find anywhere else, maybe an occasional mini boss. Give me a reason to want to go in.
- The gear jumps are too big
I was getting worked by draugr in the swamp. Dying a bunch, learning when to dodge, slowly feeling like I was improving. Then I got iron gear and now I'm one shotting stuff and staggering everything on hit. There's no middle ground. It went from genuinely hard to kinda trivial overnight and I miss the tension. Would love a smoother ramp instead of every tier flipping a switch.
Anyway that's my two cents. Still having a great time, just figured the new player POV might be worth something. Curious if vets actually agree on any of this or if I'm just whining.