Looks great, amazing atmosphere...... BUT....

[Wobb the Great and Terrible!!!!!]

.... is this it? It's a bit repetetive and dull isn't it, gameplay-wise?
I have zero clue what I'm supposed to be doing, all the environments look the same, I can't afford to buy maps (not that they seem to help too much anyway), and I'm just wandering aimlessly, grabbing stuff if text pops up saying I can.
I jump in a chest every now and then, but mostly I just run past the guards and hide round the corner, there is no point to anything I'm doing.
Mostly I'm just getting notifications that I need to find a full set of a certain outfit, for no reason whatsoever other than I just found a hat or belt. Because apparently dressing like a pirate or a thief is the most important thing you would be doing when trying to find your mouse-wife and escape from a castle.

Am I missing something? Does something actually happen soon? I heard the game is only a couple of hours long, is this true?
Glad I bought it while it was cheap during early access.

[qapitan]

You're not misssing anything. It has a anoying design concept, anoying too close camera that create motion sickness. I dont really know where to go, what to do apart to collect stuff. I get so stuck so easily...

Those georgeus visuals and animation doesn't matter if the game has those design problems : ( It's a shame because the game looks very interesting but...

[Wobb the Great and Terrible!!!!!]

Yes, the camera is another problem I have found. It's all over the place, way too close most of the time, and in narrow corridors it just pushes right up against the character so you can't see anything at all.

It's such a shame, because they have obviously created such a rich and deep world, with great history and characters, fantastic lore behind it all, and such stunning atmosphere and world design, it takes my breath away sometimes.

But like you say, if the game is bad, it doesn't matter how nice it looks, it's still just a bad game. It also seems to have a lot of glitches and problems, which is not really acceptable for a game that has been in development for so long, no matter whether it's an indie developer, or a small team or what. That's not my problem, I pay my money I want the quality that amount of money deserves.

[lich0]

These are all user problems, not bad design.

I’m about 4h in the game and I know what I’m supposed to be doing and why. Maybe you aren’t paying attention to dialogues or the quest logs?

It doesn’t hold your hand constantly, it doesn’t immediately show you where things are, or how to get to them and that’s the beauty of it. You need to be clever and explore your surroundings, but I guess that’s something some people might not enjoy.

[Dragens.Euci X]

Originally posted by lich0:

These are all user problems, not bad design.

I’m about 4h in the game and I know what I’m supposed to be doing and why. Maybe you aren’t paying attention to dialogues or the quest logs?

It doesn’t hold your hand constantly, it doesn’t immediately show you where things are, or how to get to them and that’s the beauty of it. You need to be clever and explore your surroundings, but I guess that’s something some people might not enjoy.

Agree with you. if you want games that hold your hand and are linear and not exploring then go play other games. this game has a level design like dark souls world connection this is great. and while you explore you need to remember places. if your brain is not good enough to keep things im mind then you might stop playing ♥♥♥♥♥♥ brainless games.

[Escarche]

It sounds like you probably missed the main quest! (Meet with Silas on Watchtower). After that, you find other NPCs, that give you missions and talk to you, new locations. After completing rat guard set even more content opens up.

[Wobb the Great and Terrible!!!!!]

The problem isn't that I can't remember my way. It's that I am so bored I don't remember my way, because everything looks so bland and dull.
Also, there is only so many times you can just run from rats before it gets extremely annoying.
People are praising a lacklustre game purely because of how lovely it looks and feels, rather than how it actually plays over the long term.

[Colen Bardbarian]

Originally posted by wobbler:

The problem isn't that I can't remember my way. It's that I am so bored I don't remember my way, because everything looks so bland and dull.
Also, there is only so many times you can just run from rats before it gets extremely annoying.
People are praising a lacklustre game purely because of how lovely it looks and feels, rather than how it actually plays over the long term.

LAcklustre to you does not mean the same for everyone else.

You are currently playing Arkham Knight, I think that game sucks...cause you know...opinions.

[Jess]

I shouldn't judge the design I think, but I do think the camera has been causing problems. Though even if it's a style, there is nothing wrong with asking for an option, and I think it would be a lot better since many people are complaining about how close it feels.

[Aviator Alligator]

Yes, this is a Metroidvania game, or if you still have peach-fuzz aren't familiar with that, its a Dark Souls layout so you have to recall your way around.

Check the quest screen to determine what you're doing and try your hardest to familiarize yourself with the layout while avoiding guards.

Also, you might need to learn names of locations more. They won't say 'tower' for example, they'll say 'belfry' and not 'walls' but 'ramparts' and so on.

[Lucceri]

I understand where you're coming from. If you strip it down to gameplay & mechanics, it's just a bunch of fetch quests with light puzzle elements and a passable stealth system.

However, a bunch of people - including myself - enjoy the story, the characters, the overlapping narratives, and the lore of the world in general. It's a slowpaced, non-combat adventure game with a focus on narrative and its setting. If the world doesn't hook you in, I can't blame you for not liking the game.

Mechanically, Ghost of a Tale is nothing new. It can even feel janky at some points. But a lot of people enjoy it for the overall experience and can forgive the shortcomings when it comes to gameplay.

[OzzieBloke]

This certainly is a game more about the story than anything else; the mechanics aren't perfect... but they aren't disasterous either. About the only issue I have is the camera being a bit too tight on the player in close-quarters areas. Otherwise, if you're getting lost, that boils down to you not paying attention to the quests. Slow down, read the dialogue, employ some memory skills, and you're set. If you have ADHD, then this game is not for you...

[Doobies]

Apparently the camera in the beta(alpha?) was better than the post-release game. But yes, it may actually be the game’s mechanic rather than the user as of now. The release introduced a bunch of mechanics and that caused a lot of problems, the patches fix them and introduce more. You’ll learn the lay of the map easily if you actually pay attention to where you’re going, but at times it does get confusing because there are so many ways to get around.

Pay attention to the text, it may seem like flavor text but it contains important information that can’t be repeated.

[ramyland_maelstrom]

early access was not enough for this - game is full of bugs , broken quests , audio/sounds cuts , optimization is fubar and it becomes very tedious after a while - still its a passable experience !

[FlukeRogi]

Originally posted by Lucci:

I understand where you're coming from. If you strip it down to gameplay & mechanics, it's just a bunch of fetch quests with light puzzle elements and a passable stealth system.

I kind of think of it as a point and click adventure transplanted into a 3d world (which works for me!).

[Vizionblind]

Wait... there’s no combat in the game?