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I think the character switching is just almost a vestige of player choice that doesn't have any real value beyond the fact that it's a semi open world game with collectibles so you need some kind of avenue to be able to go back and search for y'know a lunch box or something. I reiterate my belief that AW2 would just be a better game without combat at all, and probably without the collectible whatevers, though the lunch boxes atleast have some kind of fun narrative connection. Similarly, as I don't see any actual reason to have the possibility to switch, except also perhaps to make it more vague and disorienting to the player as to the specific chronology of events at the time? I don't think it's a good thing that you can randomly switch between them at special magic janitor puddles.
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Nov 14, 2023 21:26
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It's better to alternate the chapters imo and that's really how it should have been structured, without the option to switch, but I feel that completing Saga then Alan was the way it's meant to be. Completing Saga first makes everything about Alan's side of the plot more mysterious since it still seems like he's in two places at once and ends with Saga going "why didn't he show up!?" which isn't a cliffhanger if you've gone through Alan's chapters already and neatly transitions into Alan's chapters where you fill in the gaps to work it out what's actually happening. Completing Alan first basically spoils alot of Saga's plot and makes it just a lot of busywork waiting for her to catch up to you. In terms of the linear order it's Alan then Saga but it's better as a story the other way around.
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Nov 14, 2023 21:27
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Disagree with a lot of the above. I think the choice of which order you do things is quite artful, and I see Alan's sections as less spoilery and more a dark anticipation. Especially given the ending - that Alan is trapped in a spiral, endlessly intersecting linear time - I think the free choice on what order you explore things in was very interesting. I played in a different order to my friend, and bits where things were "oh yes, that echoes that thing I've already seen", we had them in the opposite order which changed our experience.
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Nov 14, 2023 22:21
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Just got the platinum for this. I'll definitely start a playthrough again once NG+ is out. Anyone else notice the workshop desks in some locations that have lights to make them stand out? Probably related to a scrapped version of the upgrading mechanic. I saw a number of them during the cinema chapter.
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Nov 14, 2023 23:10
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Kibayasu posted:Saw credits. Mechanically speaking I think there’s a few stumbles. On the subject of mechanical stumbles I felt the resource economy was a little bit hosed the entire game after like the first chapter and until the very, very end. The major contributor to this is just that combat encounters in the game tend to be few, far between, and with few things to fight once they happen. Despite this, the game will serve you up 30+ containers to search in a given area and most will have something to pull out of them; while they will stop giving you stuff if you are outfitted enough you will eventually get into loops where you expend most ammo on a given weapon, and then use one of the 2-3 other options you have, while the game hands you ammo for the weapon you're short on. As a result the only times I ever felt like I was having to conserve ammunition or think about encounters was before I had an arsenal, or in late game sections where said arsenal is taken away from you. This is, granted, on normal difficulty and not hard mode, but I think it's a fair ask for a survival horror game to make you feel at least a little pressure even on it's normal mode. A secondary contributor is that the only combat encounter that matters is the one you walk away from. A lot of encounters are dangerous when you don't predict them or understand the mechanics of it (how many enemies, what kind of enemies, boss mechanics for bosses) and you can die very quickly, but if you do understand the encounter you can usually resolve it a lot more safely. I think on nearly every boss and a few of the tougher encounters I would have a rough time of it, expending resources, loving up, running off to heal multiple times, and ultimately dying. Then the checkpoint would load and forearmed with knowledge I'd usually run through the encounter a lot more smoothly and all those resources I had to spend last time sit in my inventory unused and unnecessary. That's how I ended up with something like 10 first aid kits clogging up the shoebox by the end. By the time I had hit the endgame my storage was at capacity, full of stuff that was all useful I just had too much of it.
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Nov 14, 2023 23:42
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site posted:no, alan's first chapter is late night where he wakes up with no idea what's going on because he shot himself in the head (again), the last thing that happens in the flashback is the dark presence infecting his mind right before the clicker goes off, which is why scratch is in him when he reappears in the real world If you check, Alan is always reflexively reaching for his forehead whenever he starts another loop/spiral in the guest waiting room.
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Nov 14, 2023 23:45
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Azubah posted:If you check, Alan is always reflexively reaching for his forehead whenever he starts another loop/spiral in the guest waiting room. That's a pretty cool detail.
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Nov 15, 2023 00:23
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Meiteron posted:By the time I had hit the endgame my storage was at capacity, full of stuff that was all useful I just had too much of it. I felt like Alan’s resources were mostly appropriately limited but I did have the same issue with Saga, including the first aid bags. I wanted to use them but why would I carry a heal that will probably get me killed if I need it during a fight? 4 trauma pads (or pads and pills) are infinitely more useful and I could be certain I would find more. Saga’s charms should have gone in their own separate storage though, like key items.
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Nov 15, 2023 00:29
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I never once used one of the big med bags because Saga/Alan had weapon updates/words of X that would let them heal during fights. I'd get into a ruckus and walk out of it down a bunch of ammo but mostly at 100% health. Nothing a pad couldn't fix.
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Nov 15, 2023 00:31
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Alan getting the upgrade that heals him on finding a Word of Power meant I barely ever had to use healing items. He also has a more limited set of items so I could carry more and its easier to avoid fights with him. Saga was much harder to heal so I did have to use items often and couldn't carry as much. I only got a comfortable amount at the end of the game.
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Nov 15, 2023 00:38
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BlackIronHeart posted:I never once used one of the big med bags because Saga/Alan had weapon updates/words of X that would let them heal during fights. I'd get into a ruckus and walk out of it down a bunch of ammo but mostly at 100% health. Nothing a pad couldn't fix. i think at the end i had something like 30 arrows for the crossbow i never once even equipped and a bunch of rocket flares and like 3 stacks of full first aids
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Nov 15, 2023 00:41
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site posted:i think at the end i had something like 30 arrows for the crossbow i never once even equipped and a bunch of rocket flares and like 3 stacks of full first aids Yeah, Scratch showed up at the lake shore and I had to chuckle as I unlimbered the 6 rocket flares Saga had.
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Nov 15, 2023 00:42
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q1py-oWt40
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Nov 15, 2023 01:08
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BlackIronHeart posted:Yeah, Scratch showed up at the lake shore and I had to chuckle as I unlimbered the 6 rocket flares Saga had. Saga sighed as she unsheathed her rocket flares.
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Nov 15, 2023 01:09
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messy divorces sure can bring people together
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Nov 15, 2023 01:12
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I saw those words of power for the first few Alan chapters and then never again. Felt like a very bizarre and half-baked mechanic.
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Nov 15, 2023 03:06
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they're all over the maps, if you visit time breaker's rooms there are maps that will mark all their locations for you
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Nov 15, 2023 03:17
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Do those tape arrows that only appear in your flashlight beam always point to them? I know they did sometimes, but there were others that I never found anything in particular around.
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Nov 15, 2023 03:20
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Captain Hygiene posted:Do those tape arrows that only appear in your flashlight beam always point to them? I know they did sometimes, but there were others that I never found anything in particular around. they can be pretty tricky with what they're actually pointing to, but they always lead to one eventually
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Nov 15, 2023 03:22
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a lot of them point to arrows that point to arrows that point to them but iirc, in alan's story yeah they're all for word glyphs
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Nov 15, 2023 03:22
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Captain Hygiene posted:Do those tape arrows that only appear in your flashlight beam always point to them? I know they did sometimes, but there were others that I never found anything in particular around. The arrows point to a Word of X or a suitcase cache.
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Nov 15, 2023 03:22
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The MV is out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxs_HYw_mLk
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Nov 15, 2023 16:49
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e:f,b I was posting the music video too. They edited the song down to under 9 minutes but it works really nicely in this format too.
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Nov 15, 2023 16:50
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The dancing reminds me a lot of the Peacemaker opening credits. It's a fantastic way to portray a character having their autonomy stripped from them.
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Nov 15, 2023 17:49
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really getting to enjoy david harewood's expressions this time around e: can't believe the lead guitar guy is dead in aw2 he's got the sick solos site fucked around with this message at 20:41 on Nov 15, 2023 |
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Nov 15, 2023 20:36
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site posted:really getting to enjoy david harewood's expressions this time around My only regret is that I cannot see Lance Reddick doing the same thing.
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Nov 15, 2023 20:51
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The significance of the chorus just now hit me 
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Nov 15, 2023 20:56
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acksplode posted:The significance of the chorus just now hit me Same, when I watched the video earlier today. To be fair you don't know Alan is Scratch at this point in the game. Still, it's not exactly subtle foreshadowing and I completely missed when playing. LASER BEAM DREAM fucked around with this message at 21:05 on Nov 15, 2023 |
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Nov 15, 2023 20:59
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LASER BEAM DREAM posted:Same, when I watched the video earlier today. To be fair you don't know Alan is Scratch at this point in the game. It's a fantastic piece of hiding in plain sight and I love it.
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Nov 15, 2023 21:14
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If you ever want to understand at least 75% of Sam Lake's/Remedy's writing, remember to ask yourself "What is the most literal meaning of this seemingly important phrase?"
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Nov 15, 2023 21:22
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I kind of suspected that it was Scratch who actually came through, though not that they were the same. Wake seemingly still trapped in the Dark Place and their fragmented messages back and forth certainly reinforced that assumption. I tried flashlight boosting in his face when he first shows up, which didn’t do anything of course.
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Nov 15, 2023 21:51
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Not a super glowing review; glad to see him back, though! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyGhI_JVOZI
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Nov 15, 2023 21:53
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Chillmatic posted:Not a super glowing review; glad to see him back, though! Yeah, I just saw it it's about where I'm at (I've been playing the game on normal and it's fine now, though I still think the combat is mostly bad). I've feel like I've got maybe twenty or thirty percent of the game left and I'm starting to feel like it's on indefinite hiatus, the idea of playing through another couple of chapters feels more like a chore than anything else.
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Nov 15, 2023 21:55
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What's the deal with Saga and the deers? She looks like she has antlers during the profilings and she caresses each deer she meets.
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Nov 15, 2023 22:13
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tripwood posted:What's the deal with Saga and the deers? She looks like she has antlers during the profilings and she caresses each deer she meets. It has nothing to do with anything. Or...iirc you get some supplies if you catch 'em all.
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Nov 15, 2023 22:16
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Norse mythology has a lot to do with deer so I assumed there was a connection there but idk what it is
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Nov 15, 2023 22:18
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The deers are not what they seem
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Nov 15, 2023 22:25
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I figured the profiling thing was just a neat idea for a recurring visual motif. I didn't realize you could pet the deer heads in real locations until a bit into the game, so I never got anything except some nice feelings from doing that.
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Nov 15, 2023 22:25
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I figured it would be something to do with Freya but apparently, she has nothing to do with deer. Rides a chariot pulled by two cats though so thats neat.
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Nov 15, 2023 22:26
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the best guess I had for that is her father is Mr. Door, so she's Ms. Deer. You don't want to meet Mr. Duur
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Nov 15, 2023 22:57
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