So, I am not completely through, but here are my thoughts on MYZ.
I have to say, that its tough for developers, to impress me in these days. I am gaming since my Schneider CPC and Amiga 500 and I am a storytelling based RPG player since 25 years, so I love immersion and I love details, which make things good.
Is MYZ an RPG? No, but it has elements. It is like XCOM? No, but it has elements.
It feels like its something on its own and thats really good. The map is outstandingly good. Feels very fine, but there I miss the point to put some small own notes there, to not forget something. First missing detail.
Dux and Bormin are awesome characters, Farrow later, too and I love the dialogs between them, from the start, which getting less and less and more less, after freeing Magnus. These Comiclike Cutscenes could be really more, because the fit the mood.
The Maps all are awesome. All. Wonderful designed, many details to discover. Impressive here.
But why no Map of the Arc? Why just PointnClick there? I want to see the Artifacts I discover doing something. I want to see how my actions are doing something there? Giving hope to the denizens, walking around, taking small sidequests, and so on. Sooooo damn much potential wasted to fill this game with life. I am mostly sad about this static arc. In the Bar more dialogs between the main chars, maybe…reflective what they see and what they doing. It starts really fast that Bormin and Dux are afraid of going farther than ever before and its very fast, too, that they just dont care anymore.
Speaking of feelable consequences…there arent any. Only the Elder sometimes reacts to my actions and then he is doing mostly random. Fits the character, but…there is this Grey Eminence, in the North, owning a War Robot and wants to wipe out the Arc. All know it, the cook in the lost bunker says it. I go there, kill all, nobody talks about that. Not the cook, not the Elder…Hej, I am searching for Hammon and just besides that I saved the whole arc from some powerful mutants and their genocidal War Machine. Noone cares.
That felt odd, really.
So, I am in Endgame now and reflecting and I know that I have seen everything and besides I love that world I know, that I have seen then all, which is sad, because its just being on the surface getting some glimpses on what lies deeper.
I seen all and the mechanics will stay the same: Sneaking to all areas, level up, stealth kill all what is possible, wipe out the others. Done.
Dont get me wrong, these are mostly fun mechanics, but there is/was SO DAMN MUCH potential for replaybility and now I know:“Maybe in a year or so.”
I said, that its tough to impress me and MYZ has all in hand, to do so.
But the unused potential makes me just sad. You did so much right. The dialogs, the artdesign, the voice actors…even the German translates is 95% on the point good.
And when I recap all this I think that its even a bit to expansive for what the game delivers. I have no big problems for the price, but even in an Amiga Game like Burntime I could sell items. In such a game selling or trading is impossible, in an Post Apo world, created 2018…but why? Next immersion breaker.
Fallout came 1997, so 21 years older and showed me how much potential Post Apo settings have, to tell great stories. And thats the point: For 35 bucks there must be a bit more. I was hyped for the game and a bit disappointed, but other folks wont be willing to pay the price.
I am not ranting, just my honest thoughts here. You will mostly do everything the same on every run, mechanics wont change much, not much replayability, and so on…I wrote all.
I wish the developers a big success, that the make a second game which isnt good, but awesome.
Thanks for the experience you gave me so far, but you had it all in hands to magically charm me away. I was very motivated the last days, now, in the end game, I think to myself:" Yeah, I have time to finish."