Originally Posted by Abits
Originally Posted by Argonaut

I'm glad you brought this up because I think people are obsessing too much over one or the other when it is RPG. The mechanics should complement the story and aesthetic just as how the music is matched to the pace of the gameplay. These features should work with one another to create something greater than the sum of their parts. The way forward is to focus on the simulation rather than stay attached to archaic ideas that technology is fast out pacing.




All true. But also not exactly what this topic is about. Perhaps I wasn't as clear about it as I should be. I didn't claim Larian shouldn't care about gameplay, I said they should care about the story as much as they care about the gameplay.

And perhaps there are those who completely don't care about the story, but I doubt they are the majority or even 40% of fans. But that's not my problem either.

My problem is that right now Larian treats the story like it's some silly chore they have to do in order to get into the fun combat. It doesn't even matter whether they have good writers if they keep sabotaging their work

A thousand times 'YES' to all of what you say here, @Abits! I couldn't say any of it any better. This has been my gripe with cRPGs for a few years now, that they are becoming tactical combat games first with just some role-playing elements mixed in, versus what they used to be which is role-playing games first (with strong story, characters, character development, and lore) and also some tactical combat mixed in. I would ask all of you D:OS2 fans this question (and hope for an honest answer): Did you play and love that game for its story and characters, or for its combat? For me this is a rhetorical question, because I am absolutely certain that the vast majority of D:OS2 fans (with exceptions, obviously) love that game for the combat, and its story and characters they can take or leave.