For what it's worth here are my spoiler free thoughts after about 35 hours.
Beside messing about in our early release thread hours before launch I stayed away from all media and threads to go in unsullied so I may repeat some of your already voiced opinions/concerns.
-That special feeling of experiencing the game for the first time.
A dumb happy smile sometimes pops on my face along with some butterflies in my stomach. That is usually reserved for the ladies
I cherish this 1st walkthrough as it can only happen once.
-The voice acting is overall very good.
That vendor at the Trade Authority in Cydonia is cool & I wanna hang out with him.
Pretty sure it's a design choice but the game bombards you with potential companions/crew members right from the beginning. Jesus Christ relax everyone!
-That old Engine is really showing its age underneath that new coat of paint.
-By level 6 I already had a deadly arsenal of weapons, all looted not bought in stores. 3 rare & 2 legendary weapons along with a rare pack & a legendary helmet. Maybe I'm lucky but it does feel excessive but hey I'm not complaining!
-Quests are uneven for me quality wise. A surprising number of fetch quests.
I wanted to shoot that scientist by the tree in New Atlantis in the face when I was done with his quest. But then again, only 35 hours in so far.
-Exploration is dead.
So far I've "explored" 4 planets.
Run & jump to a couple of "unknown" locations. Found an abandoned outpost with a handful of pirates, some asteroid rocks or just stuff to scan.
No vehicle to speed things up.
Very disappointing & underwhelming.
I accidentally deployed an Outpost beacon & just left it there.
I have no interest in the "building" aspect of the game. My outposts in FO4 looked like hobo camps. "Here's a cheap turret, a chair and a bottle of water. Now good luck & piss off."
Thank GAWD there's no Preston Garvey character so far.
-I chose the "Dream Home" trait but when I found my home empty of furniture I sold it back to the bank.
I would gladly pay extra for a furnished place. I'm sure a level designer would have loved to create a bunch of different furnished homes.
Companions so far are plain & ordinary. Except when forced to I choose to go at it alone (should have picked up this trait!). Again, only 35 hours in
-Cities/towns feel alive and varied.
From the slums of Akila to the Cyberpunk feel of Neon it does feel like a living world that goes on without your presence.
-Hard to explain but the "space" aspect of the game feels like an afterthought.
Combat is fine I guess but it took me a while to figure out targeting different parts of an enemy ship. I refused to go online for tips
The first time I wanted to land on a planet I just boosted like a maniac until I realised it was all menu based.
Those take off & landing cutscenes are fun the first two times but just cut it out and make it 100% menu fast travel because that's what it is.
-One of the first things I did was improve my weight limit with the perk.
Those sprinting conditions to get to the next level were simple & lazy.
In closing what really keeps me going are the quests.
Once I'll be done I'll wait for DLC.
Maybe start a new walkthrough with a selfish asshole character.
What really breaks my heart as a Todd Howard whore is what made Oblivion, FO3 & Skyrim so fun & why I invested over 500 hours in each of them: the random exploration of wandering around & falling into a rabbit hole of consecutive events where 4 hours later you wonder where all that time went.
Thanks for hearing me out, now I gotta hang out with my cool vendor dude in Cydonia
EDIT: LOVE the music! Those horns man.
GTFO. It’s so jarring. This game needs a 40fps mode on console at a minimum. The resolution mode in RE4R runs between 40-45fps on Series X and that feels so much better than this. I’m not asking for Doom
