The game isn't shit. Right off the bat. Yes, perhaps it is the worst numbered part of the series, but moving away from its legacy, it is quite a good game that can let you pass a few... a shitload of evenings. Finale still knows how to create a charming world unlike any other, still gives the feeling of a great adventure and creates some good emotional moments. Alas, this is where the “as before” ends and then the problems begin.
Unfortunately, the plot. It has a good plot, an emphasis on Lore, interesting diverse characters... but it doesn’t know how to use it! Without understatement, most of the plot is “we are running from the soldiers”, and the rest is “we are returning to the city”. At the same time, the characters seem to be communicating, thinking about what to do next... but this is damned little enough for their detailed disclosure. As for me, an indicator of problems with the script is that at exactly one moment each of the heroes meets their “animal” and after the battle with it miraculously changes and becomes better. Yes, instead of developing the characters throughout the entire game, they succinctly fit the development into exactly a few scenes per character.
In my humble opinion, the Endgame series is one of the last representatives of the “slaves of gaming conventions”, making the plot and gameplay elements barely connected with each other. So that we don't get bored watching the movie, a more dynamic combat system was introduced into the game, which practically does not work. No matter how many skills you have, all the work can be done for you by the “auto-fight” button, which you WILL use due to the fact that you will get tired of entering commands over and over again in 3-5 seconds (and we only control it). This is where the ending really screwed up. It's not fun to play. Yes, it’s not annoying to press one button, but only in serious battles can it force you to do something.
And so it would seem, what can make, let’s face it, endure the game to the end? Well, as I already mentioned, there are some beautiful and cozy moments, and I still think the lore is quite good, but a special role is played in some places by good pictures with excellent design and magnificent CGI videos, which are the pearl of the game. Yes, many of the in-engine cutscenes are very good, but they're not even half as good as CGI. Well, as for the design, given the leisurely pace of the game, you fully enjoy some very beautiful locations, although, alas, before them you had to endure caves, a landfill, a tower and some other cheap locations. And also the monster designer disappointed me. Summoned creatures are perhaps the most beautiful, but at the same time the ugliest because of one feature - they are fucking transformers. Really, one turns into a fucking car, and two women combine into a motorcycle!
2 of 5
What's the result? Although not without many hours of boredom, I enjoyed the game. Even such a castrated part has something that no Skyrim or Witcher has - a feeling of a cozy fairy-tale adventure in which you relax completely. Even if you miss it no less