Indeed. Many friends I have who do enjoy cRPGs a ton didn't play PoE2 yet because of PoE1. They replayed fallout 1 and 2... and BG1 and 2... but didn't bother with PoE2. I only played it cause one friend bought it for me as a gift in 2020.
So yeah I only played PoE2 years after launch and enjoyed it. But I really wouldn't have even looked at it due to how awful PoE1 was.
There is a pretty big issue with cRPGs and how badly executed they are. Many people gush over them because they are cRPGs rather than any of the games actual achievements. Even if they can be worse than many cRPGs made in ages past - sometimes even more clunky in ways they shouldn't be. Be it with mechanics, execution, story or all of the above.
DoS1 didn't faceplant the second it stepped onto the cRPG stage. And that probably contributed massively to the success of DoS2. Is it flawed? Yes. But its flaws dont overshadow everything else or get in the way too much. Gods I detest the party management of DoS1, 2 and BG3 for example.
TL;DR
It's not that cRPGs aren't popular. It's that the modern ones mentioned faceplanted right out of the gate. They are really games for hardcore cRPG fans who are willing to put up with it, or people who really, really enjoy jank. I'd say Pathfinder: Kingmaker qualifies for Eurojank. Even if you like cRPGs it can take a lot out of you with how frustrating or bad these games can be and need a lot of time investment just to get the most out of them. Time investment to circumvent the jank in the case of Pathfinder.
Last edited by blazerules; 22/10/20 01:11 PM.
