Is the story mode actually worth it?

[Corvone]

I've played the story mode for like 3 hours. The thing is that I don't know if the true game experience is just playing survival mode.

[Seriously Unserious]

I've played both extensively. I personally love both modes - the story is good, the characters are likeable, expect the villains, who do a good job of making you hate them and want them to fail. I've played ep 1, 2 3 times, ep 3 twice and ep 4 once (extra plays of the earlier episodes were due to losing saves when changing computers). I'm eager to see what happens in Ep 5 to conclude the story of Will and Astrid.

I've also got a survival mode run, custom settings (stalker-interloper hybrid, firearms, manufactured tools turned on, cnd recovery set to low for both at rest and while sleeping to offset the weapons and tools. I'm past 800 days on that run and enjoy the challenges of finding goals to do in that run. Even still, I'll probably start a new run soon.

I love both modes, Wintermute because I like the story, characters and gameplay, Survival mode because I like the challenge of staying alive.

[marejov83]

My honest opinion is that the story is not worth it. I've tried it, but just hate (like in real life) that someone tells me what to do and give me missions. For example, i got to that old lady.. And she gave some stupid speech. In real life, if I'm trying to find Astrid in this situation, I would have just take the gun and leave. I never ever did any sidequests in any game.. the games I like did the same.. Fallout 3, I'm looking for my dad, I'm not gonna stop and just do some s... for others. Mass Effect, I'm saving the galaxy, I'm not gonna do little stuff for people I don't know... Old lady, I'm not gonna gather supplies for you and if you don't give me info I want in next 5 seconds, I'm gonna kill you. Simple as that. So I just couldn't do it. I respect that people like the story.

On the other hand, survival mode is a masterpiece. No game comes close to this and I still can't see me stop playing this game.

[wilky]

If you're already used to this game and the mechanics, then I say sure give Story mode a shot.

I would generally not recommend it to a newcomer to this game, though.

[Oh, Hi Mark!]

Originally posted by wilky:

If you're already used to this game and the mechanics, then I say sure give Story mode a shot.

I would generally not recommend it to a newcomer to this game, though.

Why? Story mode is basically a tutorial, you have full map of the region with your location marked on it, there is no permadeath, you can save and load any time you want etc. I would specifically recommend it for the beginners.

[wilky]

Originally posted by Oh, Hi Mark!:

Originally posted by wilky:

If you're already used to this game and the mechanics, then I say sure give Story mode a shot.

I would generally not recommend it to a newcomer to this game, though.

Why? Story mode is basically a tutorial, you have full map of the region with your location marked on it, there is no permadeath, you can save and load any time you want etc. I would specifically recommend it for the beginners.

Au contraire, a brand new survivor is likely to die in the first five minutes because the game does NOT include a tutorial of how to save yourself from the bleeding condition that you begin with, and if that doesn't kill you then the freezing cold probably will before you ever reach the town of Milton.

Then Episode 2 is very long and grindy (I've seen some negative reviews refer to this game as a walking simulator) and Episode 3 is the most hideous thing Hinterland's ever conceived; it's absolutely joyless. So if the new player doesn't die outright at the beginning of Ep 1, the combinations of Ep 2/3 will probably turn them off from ever wanting to play this game again. Plus there are lots of fetch quests throughout Story mode which make for boring gameplay.

[Evendark]

it comes all togehter finally you learn a bit of the maps if you do all sidequests, and story is fun to play

[wilemon]

Almost no one is going to play the story more than once or twice , say 20-30 hours of play over 4 episodes. On survivor I am over 6000 hours (thanks to covid) and still going strong. I have no complaints having paid $7.50 for all this entertainment but I certainly would not pay the going rate for the story mode alone.

[Bakarina]

I love the story mode, recently finished episode 4 - can't wait for episode 5.

[Seriously Unserious]

Originally posted by wilky:

Originally posted by Oh, Hi Mark!:

Why? Story mode is basically a tutorial, you have full map of the region with your location marked on it, there is no permadeath, you can save and load any time you want etc. I would specifically recommend it for the beginners.

Au contraire, a brand new survivor is likely to die in the first five minutes because the game does NOT include a tutorial of how to save yourself from the bleeding condition that you begin with, and if that doesn't kill you then the freezing cold probably will before you ever reach the town of Milton.

Then Episode 2 is very long and grindy (I've seen some negative reviews refer to this game as a walking simulator) and Episode 3 is the most hideous thing Hinterland's ever conceived; it's absolutely joyless. So if the new player doesn't die outright at the beginning of Ep 1, the combinations of Ep 2/3 will probably turn them off from ever wanting to play this game again. Plus there are lots of fetch quests throughout Story mode which make for boring gameplay.

I can understand how you might feel that way. I found it very different. The side quests pretty much all made sense. They were either Will/Astrid learning the survival skills by following steps in a skill book and trying to do them for real, or were getting something for someone they met along the way that that person needed. EG food and firewood for The Grey Mother. Medical supplies for the badly wounded Jeramiah. More food, firewood and medical supplies for the plane crash victims. taking a trinket to The Grey Mother's daughter, Lilly's grave, to ease the pain of a grieving mother who never could let go of the loss.

All things a HUMAN being in that situation would be likely be asked for and want to do for others met along the way. All with reasonable in dialog explenations for why. Getting gear to survive the journey. Helping others met along the way to survive the winter, or whatever ordeals they've been through thus far. Starting to piece together what's really going on.

That's my perspective on WIntermute's first 4 episodes. Not to mention, the times where Hinterland got feedback about a section of the story not working (even including the first 2 episodes being completely broken, they've been willing to fix things and make it work better.

All in all, I've found the story a good experience, both for new players to learn the core mechanics of the game, to more experienced players getting a backstory as to why the world is the way it is in our survival mode experiences.

There are a lot of merits to the story mode, though it won't appeal to everyone and I don't expect it to.

[TommyDLBassX]

Story mode is better than survival mode. Yeah, it kinda makes you a bethesda player, going around doing quests for people, but overall is way more enjoyable than survival mode, that when you know the maps the game becomes really small and predictable.

[Pbaier5150]

Originally posted by marejov83:

My honest opinion is that the story is not worth it. I've tried it, but just hate (like in real life) that someone tells me what to do and give me missions. For example, i got to that old lady.. And she gave some stupid speech. In real life, if I'm trying to find Astrid in this situation, I would have just take the gun and leave. I never ever did any sidequests in any game.. the games I like did the same.. Fallout 3, I'm looking for my dad, I'm not gonna stop and just do some s... for others. Mass Effect, I'm saving the galaxy, I'm not gonna do little stuff for people I don't know... Old lady, I'm not gonna gather supplies for you and if you don't give me info I want in next 5 seconds, I'm gonna kill you. Simple as that. So I just couldn't do it. I respect that people like the story.

On the other hand, survival mode is a masterpiece. No game comes close to this and I still can't see me stop playing this game.

I've never played the story mode at all, and have no intent to do so.

I agree with the above though, I have never really cared about the stories and quests of other games. GTA series I played enough of the missions to unlock the whole map, then stopped doing the missions. Hitman series I would try to complete the mission in the craziest way possible.

Hell, I remember being excited when I got COD Black ops (having never really played COD) and never even completed the first full mission because of the "go here, grab this grenade, throw it at that spot, then go over there, etc" was aggravating.

What I look for is open world, which is what TLD truly is and why I love it so much.

From everything I've read I would hate story mode. Fetch quests, side missions, long cutscenes, and on top of it my experience playing survival could actually be a hinderance as I try to shortcut things I know how to do, leading to getting blocked from proceeding because I didn't start that fire in the right place, or whatever.

[Seriously Unserious]

Originally posted by Pbaier5150:

Originally posted by marejov83:

My honest opinion is that the story is not worth it. I've tried it, but just hate (like in real life) that someone tells me what to do and give me missions. For example, i got to that old lady.. And she gave some stupid speech. In real life, if I'm trying to find Astrid in this situation, I would have just take the gun and leave. I never ever did any sidequests in any game.. the games I like did the same.. Fallout 3, I'm looking for my dad, I'm not gonna stop and just do some s... for others. Mass Effect, I'm saving the galaxy, I'm not gonna do little stuff for people I don't know... Old lady, I'm not gonna gather supplies for you and if you don't give me info I want in next 5 seconds, I'm gonna kill you. Simple as that. So I just couldn't do it. I respect that people like the story.

On the other hand, survival mode is a masterpiece. No game comes close to this and I still can't see me stop playing this game.

I've never played the story mode at all, and have no intent to do so.

I agree with the above though, I have never really cared about the stories and quests of other games. GTA series I played enough of the missions to unlock the whole map, then stopped doing the missions. Hitman series I would try to complete the mission in the craziest way possible.

What I look for is open world, which is what TLD truly is and why I love it so much.

From everything I've read I would hate story mode. Fetch quests, side missions, long cutscenes, and on top of it my experience playing survival could actually be a hinderance as I try to shortcut things I know how to do, leading to getting blocked from proceeding because I didn't start that fire in the right place, or whatever.

Don't worry, if you ever did decide to experience the story, you wouln't soft block yourself like that, the story is pretty forgiving of that. The main thing you'd miss by taking shortcuts is world and story building content and stashes of items that would really help you on your quest.

[Seriously Unserious]

Originally posted by nextgengranny:

Originally posted by Seriously Unserious:

Don't worry, if you ever did decide to experience the story, you wouln't soft block yourself like that, the story is pretty forgiving of that. The main thing you'd miss by taking shortcuts is world and story building content and stashes of items that would really help you on your quest.

You can in Ep3; for most, reloading to a previous save would probably fix it, though. You'd lose progress by doing so, but at least you wouldn't have to restart the episode.

How? If you're referring to accidentally using up all your flare shells, you don't need them to find the lost passengers, they just make it easier.

[SysGhost]

Story mode (Wintermute) is as what it says: It tells a story. That with the survival element of the game itself.

Some players don't like stories. These players often skip cutscenes and don't care to read dialogues or messages. They just want the action. That's what's great about this game: you can dive straight into the survival challenge right away with no need to play through any story. The story itself doesn't lock or unlock anything. It's simply there for those who like it.

Some players like stories. A good game with a good story is the ultimate combination.
It's like an interactive movie or a book where you decide what to protagonist will do next.

I can say one thing about the story mode: it's really well done and there's not that many cutscenes. But the few cutscenes that there are, are very well done.
Characters move and act very naturally.
These characters are well thought out and the voice acting is superb.
Characters to be loved and characters one will hate to the very core. (Especially during Ep 3 and Ep 4).

Those who choose to skip the story mode (Wintermute) do miss out on a lot of content.
My tip: Play through the story, and the reward wil lbe that you'll learn of a bunch of really rewarding POI's (Points Of Interest) that even veteran survivors will miss out on. POI's that are *very* useful even in a survival challenge mode game.

[Swans]

Story seems to be more of a tutorial. I stopped in the end as it's quite buggy and some of story mode is too badly executed for my tastes, so I found it a bit of a chore. Usually I love stories in games, but this one is just a linear fetching slog.

Love survival mode however, I think that's very well executed and I find it highly engrossing. I bought the game in 2015 then forgot all about it until I started my Xmas hols, can't put it down!