Intrusive fast travel

[retsa2b]

So when you reach a certain point in the Castle, a new "perk" you claim for your progress is the option to "fast travel."

The problem with fast travel being a feature which trades out immersion for shortcuts should be a separate discussion. But I have a major issue with its implementation here.

For those of us who prefer to play a game with as few immersion breaks as possible, it slows everything down.

Every time you encounter a doorway, you are asked where you would really like to go.

Before you unlock fast travel, this menu doesn't appear. Now you have to spend a moment, every single time, telling the game that you just want to go through the da-- door.

Hot on the heels of the recent launch of Starfield and its miserable, heavily mocked state of being due to how the game literally traded out exploration for fast travel, this is a poignant conundrum to encounter in this game.

The bottom line is this: If you're going to introduce fast travel to your game, you need to ensure that it isn't going to EVER get in the way of a desire to play the game completely straight. In this case, what that means is you would need to implement an on/off switch for the fast travel feature, and the moment the player reaches the relevant progress milestone, you ask them if they want it turned on, and let them know it can be disabled in the menu.

Last but not least, the fourth wall. I don't entirely hate the way the game refers to fast travel as a "special service", but at the end of the day, with no elaboration provided, it's effectively magic. My preference here would be for the game's NPCs to be unaware of fast travel as a mechanic, in the interest of preserving immersion.

[pauloandrade224]

meh i liked it myself

[retsa2b]

Originally posted by pauloandrade224:

meh i liked it myself

Obviously. I don't speak for the majority. Fast travel is in many games for a reason.

Not a good argument against my complaint, though. Fast travel in this game is implemented in a way that assumes every single player is going to prefer to use it, and that is simply not the case.

[a passerby]

Immersion? The LAD franchise is known for being over the top and ridiculous. You're playing the wrong game if you think opening doors merits a short story

[retsa2b]

Originally posted by a passerby:

You're playing the wrong game if you think opening doors merits a short story

I put my two cents in. SEGA can take it or leave it, but I don't think there's any real arguing against giving the player options when something gets in their way of enjoyment. Wasn't an issue in past games because you can either directly interact with a taxi or not.

[fejota]

The only instance that I found the fast travel a hassle is in the door that divides the coliseum lobby and its reception. If it were me, I would disable it there. You still have the lobby with more fast travel spots.