Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order....

The game-play just doesn't click with me. Since my last blog about it, the more I try to 'get into it' the more I'm frustrated. There's way to much wall running, platforming, guard killing for the sake of it. I may have called it a Tomb Raider/Prince of Persia clone but it really is also mirrors edge platforming. Run along wall to jump to opposite side to run along it to jump pack to the other side to jump onto a rope to swing to a platform to.......to.....to......to......

I mention guard killing because after the first level/section/chapter they're 'just' another platform to jump over, that's all they are. I can't quiet put my finger on it but they're 'filler'. Not really there for world building, not really there for meaningful gameplay let alone be a real threat. They're generic bad-guy filler. Nah they are worse they are unfulfilling bad-guy filler. 

Yea you can up the difficulty and hamstring yourself so that each trooper is an epic Souls like battle ... each to their own... but not for me in this game. 

Playing it (even on 'normal') feels like I'm working hard to get the smallest sliver of story. The story is interesting but it really makes you work hard to see it. I like the story I've seen, I like the android companion(he's Wall-E), I like the ship and it's crew, I really like the captain of said ship. I even like the customizations. The story is an adventure and 'feels' epic. Till you get to a planet and it's hop, hop, skip, jump, wall run, x20 platforms with some generic saber fodder thrown in. I'm simplifying it but that's the gist of it. No new gimmicks for an old gaming dog, no new tricks to learn. Seen it all before.

I'm jadded with killing Troopers. I've been killing troopers since Dark Forces.... Even in the last 10 years how many Troopers have died.....  Some things are cool and some things just need to be reinvented. Or at the very least be made interesting. Games need to be as 'cool' in doing as on 'TV'.

I've no interest in manually tweaking 1's and 0's to edit graphics options in text files! While I can forgive some graphical popping every now and again, falling through scenery has killed me on more than one occasion. Stuck in a door frame or on a wall, jump to try and get out of it and I'm through the floor/building and dead. Charming.

I've gotten as far as I'm willing to go. If I'd bought the game I'd persist to get value from it.... As I got to play it for free via EA Play through Xbox Ultimate........ Time to uninstall.

Games with Gold....

For me the first two of the games are of some interest....

Vikings: Wolves of Midgard: Seems to be 'a fun, deep action RPG'. A Diablo style game with some good graphics and atmosphere. One I'll look at but maybe not too deeply.

&

Truck Racing Championship: Looks interesting, worth a try. Again another I'll not dive into too deeply.

The second set are games I'll claim and 'forget'.

Darkvoid: Is an Anthem like (way before Anthem) game I've no interest in... 

&

Hard Corps Uprising: Is a game I like the look of but I know the game-play is one I'd also not be into.

2 of 4 isn't bad as Games with Gold freebies go....

WoW - Burning Crusade....

With news of the WoW classic getting a Beta of the Burning Crusade expansion I took a trip down memory lane..... 

Only there weren't many screenshots of my original Burning Crusade entry. Which is strange as I recall taking a fair few screenies. Like the flying entry via portal which at the time was 'epic'. Yea I'm really surprised by the lack of screenshots. Nothing of my main 'druid'. Not even with my lock. Maybe I'd misplaced some from that 'era' or maybe they'e lost to time but in any case, the earliest screenie I have, my druid a day or two after the portal opened....

Killing boars, nothing much changes..... WoW is WoW.

Video aspect of it's time.

No addons working after expansion...... Yea WoW is WoW!

From the other screenshots I seemed more into creating a Blood Elf hunter and a Draenei shaman at the time. Alts of alts.... My gameplay doesn't change much either it seems.

The one big thing I do remember most are the green item drops being so superior to the vanilla gear. No surprise now as all expansions have been the same since. But back then, all players proud to be wearing such mish-mash gear, happy for the better stats, yet looking horrendously patchy.

Rome Total War(Remastered)....

Rome Total War, Total War Rome..... Whatever way you call it yourself, they better not fup this one up!

Total War Remastered. Out in the next 4 days next month(My mistake shows my excitement).

The glowing light of a new dawn shines on the Roman Empire. Conquer Ancient Rome like never before...

Send merchants on trade missions, and build your empire in Total War: ROME REMASTERED on 29 April 2021 - developed by @feralgames.

Pre-purchase: https://t.co/EKzHN1XT4k pic.twitter.com/0iPKqX8gLs

— Total War (@totalwar) March 25, 2021

I've a long standing history with the game, all 17 years with numerous versions over various Windows editions. A lot of game time and saves. Info isn't sparse but I'll have to take my time with assimilating this info. It's not 'just a remaster'..... It does change things. 

The faq has so far eased any fears. It will include the expansions. 50% Loyalty Discount for already owning the 'normal game' is great! But the fact that "Optional classic versus remastered rules" is included is a big, the biggest 'need' for me.

Decisions, decisions.

Who am I kidding.... -50% loyalty discount had me.

Xbox Ultimate with EA Play....

EA Play on PC from Xbox Ultimate is a complex mouthful of overlords and platforms. But it's here and it works. Or at least it's finally here for PC after teething issues, which it still has, some, issues. I've played games under the Ultimate access on Xbox but it was the PC versions of some of those games that I wanted to see, test and over the last few days I have...... for the most part.

The games I had planned to take a look at via the 'scheme'/new entitlements had an addition in Command & Conquer Remastered; And three games not looked at(both KOTOR games and They are Billions).

Taking another saber swing at Fallen Order proved to be a better stab at it than when I tried it on Xbox. Still with a controller and still with it's flaws. It hasn't changed my mind. The game is what it is. I saw on PC what I'd seen on Xbox and character popping isn't something I can't unsee no matter the platform. It's a fun enough game, it looks and feels like a Star Wars game. No flaws in that yet I found myself getting irritated at times. True to say it's not a game for me now. It's got to much tomb raider platforming and Prince of Persia(Sands of Time) wall running with time slowing.... Even with a cute robot companion and force power to 'interact'/slow objects, none of it 'did it for me'.....Again. 

Yet using the saber in battle and pulling off great moves does 'feel' cinematic. Too many cons then pro's for my tastes these day's. Never say never for the future.....

Battlefront II via EA/Ultimate carried over my previous progress (from the Free Epic Store giveaway) which is nice to see but the game is still the game I left(like here and here). I did play in a good few online matches but the 'new' playerbase from the Epic giveaway has gone and the older 'uber' always on 'this is their game' players were OP spamming everything. I didn't find that fun then and not now. Time to exit stage left.

Battlefield V is exactly like my Battlefront II thoughts. My stats and player details 'via EA/Ultimate' carried over my previous progress which is nice to see but the game is still the game I left'. Again akin to Battlefront II it's got so many OP players it's hard to survive. Fun gives way to frustration fast. I'll plug away with it here and there but it's treading a fine line.... Makes me want to get back to Battlefield 1 the more I play; And that's not a player issue, BF1 is 'just' a better game right now (imho) and has been since before BFV came out...... BFV is too quick, snap reaction based for me.

Battlefield 4 is a game I played to bits on 360. Seeing as I missed(by years) the once off profile export option(360 to xbox one) I was always going to be trying this PC version as a Noob. I had fun, nostalgia was fulfilled. It's not a game I could grind a 100+odd levels in again. Still I laid out some C4 on a helipad and enjoyed an explosive moment as the helo respawned, an enemy player hopped into it and I detonated said C4. For old times sake.....Nice.

I've had my fun and this version is good fun but I think Battlefield 1 really is a better game today; For me at least. The thought of grinding levels for gear, unlocks and mods.... It would crush my soul. Efforts better but towards my ongoing BF1 journey.

Aragami was stuck in a pre download queue loop for a while; Despite my clearing of both Origin and EA app location caches. It took an app reinstall(no cache clear) to get it to download. That aside the game is the same as on Xbox(no surprise); And no point going past the initial start of the game. Nothing new over the way I played and cleared it on Xbox. The Xbox version was played through well enough. 

They are Billions as well as KOTOR I & II are listed on EA as available under Play as well as the more costly Pro. As Ultimate 'only' includes Play, the EA store seems to have issues with recognizing the Ultimate access to access them as 'Play', all three games are not 'available' and prompt to buy Pro to access them. 

Snag, temporary hitch or not it's a pity as I was looking to get back to the KOTOR's and see how I liked They are Billions. All on the back burner now. I'm sure as the joint venture goes on things will be ironed out(for the majority of gamers).

Which all brings me to the best experience of the access to games this way.... Command & Conquer Remastered. I've waffled about it, mainly in a way that was biased in not wanting it. Maybe in a semi subconscious way.... But trying it now is a whole other thing. I was genuinely gobsmacked at the look and feel. The instant switch from old to new graphics on the fly.... The new and old music. I've been flooded with nostalgia big-time. So many memories so much need to keep playing it 'just' for the fun of it. 

The addition of all the behind the scenes content 'unlocked' items as you play is great fan service. The new music and remixing is phenomenal.... I've re-added the game to my wish-list. I'll pick it up on the next sale(yes I still have a need to own games......Just a pity they aren't on physical media!!!!). 

Battlefield 1....

Not often that I look back at my own gameplay but one video I'm really happy with from both editing and watching is:

A Casual Carebear Gamer

Torchlight III....

So... Some more use of the other classes in the game shows that what I thought of them initially has only gotten more true as I've played them. That is until I found that all game-play is based on being lucky. The best way to enjoy a class, no matter what you pick is via being lucky. Lucky with gear drops that is(characters shown below are all mainly transmogged). 

My leveling of the Railmaster to level 10 was torturous. Survivability got worse as I leveled him. Drops were all green with a smatter of blues. So the worse his drop luck the worse he did against enemies and in turn the worse my gaming experience got.

Leveling up my Sharpshooter was great fun. Drops were way better, Orange(legendary) and blues with the rare green or two. 

So a switch around with my liking of the Railmaster and Sharpshooter classes, all via luck of the drops. 

Not due to their abilities, nor their class overall...... Gear drops! Not even class specific gear drops.... General drop quality. Even with a mish-mash of gear the better the quality the better the gaming experience.

The mage class was also better to play than had been last time.... All due to the better drops he'd gotten. For the mage, not great drops but better, mainly blues with a few legendaries.

Luck. Quality luck of the drops; Repetition and luck of the drops. An insidious grind that is RNG hell!

Skill does play a part. But the game is casual for me so it's not that tricky of a button mashing experience. Just no escaping that the better the gear the better the game experience.

Long story short and with the gear quality in mind the only other thing that came of my 'testing' was that the other classes are a lot more dependent on class specific stats than the Forged. The forged is a true brute force of the systems. Wade in blasting, it's all good.

Forged can wade through like a tank and just hammer rounds at everything in volume with speed while electrocuting everything in sight. Hard to beat that as a class. 

Forged is best, the rest are for those that want to be overly involved in the game for however long they want. This game is what you make of it.

That's a broad, generalist, quick and non meta take from a casual gamer. 

The game is fun but is very dependent on a gamers own take on the game.

I've no reason to go back to them. I've got a completed play-through that I enjoyed with my forged main and I'm happy with that.

Multiplayer is not real multiplayer. It's a co-op mess of random individuals doing their own thing. A lot like the way I found Ghost Recon Wildlands.  Not bad but not great and very dependent on random strangers.

Hardcore mode in the game is 'just' a reduction in the damage you do and an increase in the amount of damage NPC's can take. Same journey for no other reason than it's hard to kill things. I got a Forged to level 3 in hardcore. His main activity was to run a bunch of NPC's around a tree, dog takes aggro, then he fires at the NPC's. Other side of the tree, dog takes aggro, then he fires at the NPC's. Rinse and repeat. Again and again and again and again..... 3 level was enough of that. Especially all the while doing 1 point of damage per shot... Large groups can be 'kited' about but the lack of outgoing damage means your better off either avoiding them or get swarmed. So you end up taking single targets in a painstaking use of time and effort that's not worth it(imho)... Unless you like this kind of thing but it's not for me in this game(unlike here).

Fun has been had. I've tried to get more from the game but I think I'm too casual for it/with it. I'm done for now. Maybe done for good. All told with the main play-through and faffing about with the classes I've played for about 40 hours. Not a bad game for the cheap price I paid. Worth it overall.

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh....

 

Battletech....

Having played the game to death I'd not been back to it in a while. Over a week ago I'd noticed a friend had started playing. He's been on a bit of a Mech buzz the last while (mainly Mechwarrior Online). So when I saw all the Steam achievements he was getting I naturally checked and compared his to my own. He's been getting achi's fast; Ones I'd already gotten and while I do have some rare ones, there are still a few I'd like to get. One's I've wanted and have planned to get...at some stage; This has been the kick to do so. A little competition never hurt....much.

So this last week has seen me start the process. Getting the achi's from one campaign run. All going well and being lucky, crossing all the lasers and jump jets. It should be doable in a short enough, lucky enough campaign.

This run will include:

- Ironman campaign(I did it as a career run, I have faith I can do well enough).

- Keeping Dekker alive and finishing the campaign with him in the roster. Also doable, even at the cost of other early roster pilots, while keeping him in cotton wool and bubble wrap, locked in the cargo hold.

- Melee is not a strong point for me in this game so I intend this run to be more of a melee based mech campaign which in turn will complete the achi's of 5 and 20 Death From Above kills.....

- As well as those for 50 mech melee kills and 50 vehicles melee kills... Vehicle kill should be far easier to get than the other. The majority of these kills will be done as final death blows. No need to do death from above on a healthy target .... Only blow the legs out and be down a mech! Gonna get messy.

- And for shiz and giggles add in the achi to 'overheat and destroy' one of my own mechs. Which is probably an alpha strike from a medium mech followed by an override alpha strike which then destroys the mech. Surprised I don't have this one already.... 

Will see how it works out....Trial and many errors. This run is going to be a massive mess one way or another. Not pretty and not perfect and certainly a gaming of the systems. Like being able to start by choosing some non 'hard' options to ease Ironman's passing. 

In saying I'm gaming the systems that's not really true. Ironman as a difficulty is not 'just' a single save on game exit. In reality it's a tougher, more brutal, unforgiving, smoking pile of mechs and pilots. Gotta live with the mistakes. 

For the true diehards; I can hear the Ironman Battletech purists howling that it's Ironman and should have all the settings on the max difficult.... Like climbing mount Everest with no equipment or clothes on. My view is that it is Ironman mode, just by choosing it... Anyway I've played the game, I've nothing to prove... I'm here for the achievements(never thought I'd say that in this context). By the end I may not have all the achi's but I'll have given it a good stab(melee pun!!!).

Torchlight III....

While I've recently completed my main characters 'story' run of the game; Torchlight III is all about the 'end game', post story grind. I can totally 'get' why that is and why players would be into it. I've just had too much of that in my lifetime of gaming. Seeing what this games end grind is, is off-putting to me. There isn't enough enjoyment in it's 'doing'(for me) to warrant such a grind of effort and time for rewards I'd have appreciated more as the main story progressed. Then again if that was true I'd complain that it was too much of a grind in it's doing... 

Grinds aside I'm not done with the game yet. My main character may have 'done' the main story; But I'd like to level up the remaining characters to level 10. Despite what I've said about them. 'The more you know' I guess. Get some use out of the items I've got stored to equip them. Give each class one more try at the very least. To quell a niggle that would eat at me if I'd just bailed on the game now.

Progress in the contracts system so far is about halfway-ish' for me. As they are all kinds of endless..... Like a lot about this game. Still I'm happy with what I've received from it so far.

I was surprised to see that enchanting unlocked after the first 'complete' run of the game. A system that seems to act like gems in WoW, enchants being 'socketed'. A far cry from the enchanting of items in Torchlight II. From what I recall of Torch 2 it was a system that was almost immediate from the outset of play. For Torchlight 3 all I knew was I couldn't enchant anything, as none of the items I've gotten in the entire run had 'a socket'. I didn't think there was enchanting... Apparently it was part of the first act... Which I missed.... Somehow. Ignorance is bliss? That and RNG..... Enchant recipes.... items with sockets.... I was clueless as I never saw them.

In my defence I've avoided a lot of web searches to stay as spoiler free as possible. So I'd not read up on a lot. Including info about enchanting. 

Then again there were lots of scrolls to bind an item so that it's stats could be increased at the expense of it's removal if/when your character was killed respawned. 'Lifebound' items are too much of a tradeoff for me. Items are dropped via luck. RNG and I are not good friends. Truth is I didn't want to risk loosing a 'legendary' item I may never see again with that system.

The more I look into the games systems, never mind define 'end game', the more I see how it really is a grind of a grind of a grind. Not a thing for my casualness. The game is fun to visit but not for a long stay like that. Again that's a me thing.

After just over 32 hours of gameplay I can say that I have more appreciation for the initial game journey than I did before. I also have a greater appreciation of the Forged class. Which does outdo all others in both damage and survival and all-round gameplay options(imho). It's a class that puts the action into the A of ARPG. Playing the other classes after it feels slower, more awkward and when dealing with large enemy groups very frustrating. Again I'll try each class and see 'how it goes'.... If I get them to level 10 I'll be 'happy'.... I'll have given it a 'good go'.

Including a new Forged character on Hardcore difficulty.

With a complete run I've also unlocked The Wanderer; The couch and genie for my fort that enables 'challenges'. For both good and bad 'rewards'. Whats a grind without negative rewards due to RNG!! I've completed a few of them but it's a system I'm not 'into. Not motivational, not a me thing at all in this game. 

I like the couch in the fort and the genie as well... Some great characterization with him.

As for the end boss, the story was 'ok' and the mechanics of the fight I felt were a bit more simple than others up to that point. Each boss unique in their way but I expected a bit 'more'.

Still no surprise that it's the boss that killed my character the most(three times due to the fire waves) so maybe I should shurup.

The game ends with an unsurprising open ended view. Always another fight ahead. DLC? Expansion?

Yet even after the end boss fight my charterer was still being called 'recruit'. It's the polar opposite of WoW where everyone is the super elevated known hero. It was a bit of a jarring moment to get back after killing the end boss, saving the planet and still be called recruit.... 

Lots about the game I like, some bit's I love; Some bits not so much, but that's more in the abstract view of the game. This is a game that's a completionist dream or nightmare... It's designed to go on forever. Great if your a casual gamer with no other games to play....  

I've completed my playthrough, done a lot and did it the best way on the best character(imho). I'll get some more time with the game on the other classes, then call it 'done, done'...... At least untill there 'maybe' new content(other than fort decorations).

Torchlight III....

 Cute factor rising....

Star Trek Online....

The launch of the latest update/patch/episode on Xbox(and PS4 from what they say) is one that hasn't gone all that well given the 'bugs' that have came with it. Today should Yesterday saw a patch to patch the patches bugs and two server outages. That's all good as long as things are fixed. The fact that the event in game will be extended an additional week is reassuring to see. 

Star Trek Online has always had it's quirks. It's backroom support and dev teams do a good job. I'm not complaining... It's 'just' that a build up of buggy oddities can become annoying in the sense of 'they need to really start stepping up to the plate' kind of way to stop it spiraling out of control. Then again I've no clue about baseball for that analogy, the same way I have no clue about the practicalities of managing a console port a step behind the PC version of a game. No doubt it must be hard to keep all the plates spinning...... But when things become obviously buggy/unplayable and they don't know about it.....I have questions that won't be answered.

With one thing and another I found myself accidental clicking the sort button on my main's inventory. What was once a home of  'a place for everything and everything in it's place' became an alphabetically listed accumulation of 'stuff'. Order was restored by a mass culling of items. Some went to the bank, some got salvaged and yet more got sold. Her bank was included in this reordering and with it a sense of progress was given. Or at the very least the appearance of progress. I still have a lot for 'things' in the inventory/bank 'in case I need it'. Space was cleared nonetheless. Which makes the extra free inv/bank slots from the anniversary make it look like 'real' space now. 

Progress in one shape or another... 

Messing about with the items in storage got me looking at them and their use. Which in turn got me looking at the ships and the modules on them. My gameplay on STO Xbox is very true to the Free to Play model. The super end of my casual, casual playstyle. I've not spent a penny on it(no lifetime sub here). Not the it isn't worthy it but I'm a PC gamer and I'm invested there in both time and money(lifetime sub). Which all means that the best ships I've gotten on Xbox are event ships. As well as items I've traded Dil for Zen and purchased. My new 'main' ship roster is based on three ships. As with my PC gaming favorites two of the ships are from events, the Bajoran Interceptor and the Risian Corvette. Both now have the experimental upgrade. The third is a promo ship from when I started the Xbox version, the Ferengi Nandi. Other T6 ships are quick fitted for the mastery grind and then discharged/dry docked. 

Suffice it to say I went through a lengthy enough process of fitting and testing with all three. The short of it being the Bajoran interceptor fit was mainly moved to the Risian Corvette, items fitted and upgraded and moved around make the three fits now look like this(least to most successful):

The Nandi is kept more for nostalgia than anything else. That and the access to a Dabo table. So not really used these day's even though it still stands up.

The Bajoran Interceptor was my main goto up to this point. Moving the bulk of it's fit to the Risian Corvette(this whole process being the long standing kick up the posterior needed as motivation to do so). Still, having filled in the gaps from that move wasn't a hassle and it's as effective as it used to be. Which makes me happy. I'd be happier if it was a different damage type but waste not want not.

The Risian Corvette is my new main ship. It handles better and faster and does more DPS than the Bajoran Interceptor. I knew it was a better ship but seeing it fitted and getting the DPS out of it now is a surprising upgrade that I shouldn't have been surprised about. 

Not ideal fits but the best of what the character had and could get/afford which all works out really well(like getting another M6 Computer console). I'm looking forward to messing about with the fits when the new event ship is claimable as it's console will be an interesting addition to the mix.

On the account as well is my long neglected Jem'Hadar Gamma recruit, which is still neglected.

The new KDF recruit is still on the homeworld just after the tutorial. I'm sure I'll level him up to 65 at some stage...... Then neglect him fully....

Time will tell if they both get a reassessment and gameplay.

As for the level 7 Romulan...... very, very, very neglected.

When the servers are back With the servers back up and running later today yesterday I did a bit more on my main character. Finishing off two buggy missions. I also got to do a TFO for event progression and the Q daily(XP bonus to hand to my new KDF recruit). 

The normal daily process will continue..... In more ways than one.....

Torchlight III....

Playing Torchlight III on Xbox "for free" via Ultimate was great. It let me see the game and play to almost the end of the first act(there are three). By that time I'd seen enough to know that I wanted to buy the game on PC. That's not a disparagement of the Xbox version.... I'm 'just' a PC gamer more than an Xboxer.... Even if I can play the game for free there. Odd and questionable for a lot of people I know but it's how I've rolled with games(pun kind of intended). I like ownership(of games), software downloads today, physical media yesterday....  

The Forged is my class of choice. It's a cute class, Johnny 5 alive cute fun and has the best animations.

Instead of an axe to cut trees he has a buzz saw, instead of a pick to mine he has a jackhammer. 

Not to mention a huge freaking repeating cannon in his chest. I was all about the guns in Torchlight 2. So playing the third game has only confirmed my super casual 'shoot all the things' take in this franchise.

Torchlight 3 has evolved a lot since it was first talked about. I've been interested in it since. Like the game my interest has evolved and I was glad to see it become a non MMO game. I'm also glad that a lot of the MMO mechanics have been changed and comply with a single player experience. That some ideas are still in the game, but that the game doesn't force you to choose them; You can ignore and interact with as many in game systems or ways of doing things as you want.

Torchlight III seems to have gotten a lot of flak for not being Divinity OS 2 in it's breath and depth. I'm a big fan of Torchlight 2 and from what I've seen, 2 builds on from the first game as 3 builds on from 2. There are also die-hard fans that are not happy about a lot comparing 2 to 3 ..... And although I'm super causal I see going from 2 to 3 as all plus's! Different strokes for different folks. For those that care or are previous dedicated gamers of the franchise, who are reading into it what they want, all seem to be ignoring what it's supposed to be. FUN for what it is. There's fun for all gamers who like casual action RPG's. Different strokes for different folks. You can't please all of the people all of the time; Some can't be made happy at all.

Torchlight 3 is casual on 'normal'. If a player wants to up the difficulty then fair enough. The harder the difficulty, the more you'll need to 'think' about the game; But the more option can be opened up.

There are so many parts of the game that allow 'progression' and so many ways a class can be 'built' it's a game that will keep a lot of gamers happy, for the most part. Each to their own but it's worth a try to find out. All the better if you have an Xbox/game-pass and can get to see it that way.

I do much prefer the game on PC, still using an Xbox controller but it 'feels' better. More comfortable. All a very personal preference.

After about 18 hours on and off in the last few weeks I'm two thirds the way through the game on PC.

As a game on sale for just under €17 I've well gotten my monies worth as is. From my limited knowledge the best is yet to come. I've been trying to avoid spoilers. Not much to spoil but I want to discover what is there myself.

I've not progressed far on the other classes level wise. Just a scratch on the surface to see what they're like; I created and got them to about level 5 or so. Enough to see the basics. 

No surprise the Sharpshooter(blood relic seemed apt) is a class that should click with me; Bows and guns but being a lot slower than The Forged chest cannon is in reality a more frustrating class for me to play. It felt like too much effort was needed. Positioning for shots, positioning for damage avoidance, position for everything. If a gamer likes running around and 'feeling' like they are doing more than they are, then this is the class to do it. 

Sharpshooter Vs Forged is akin to the Swordsman Vs Indiana Jones, Forged(Indy) wins every time.

The Railmaster(Ice relic for crowd control) with it's modular train following was a strange class to play. As immersive as you can try and get in this game I found the Railmaster to be a real immersion breaking oddity of a class. One that didn't click with me. I can take The Forged more seriously.... I can't with the Railmaster. 'A' for effort in class theory.... Yet still a class that worked in practice for me. Large hammer to the face of enemies. Playable, practical, just not a class I want to play.

The Dusk Mage(fire relic for dps) may as well be a magic themed Sharpshooter which again didn't work for me. Odd as it's the most 'traditional' theme of the classes. One I'd usually go for in other games. At least the Railmaster was more survivable. The mage was lacking in both damage and survivability for my liking. Plus the way the class uses the claw/fists is not good imho. Not practical; And the magic doesn't 'feel' like spells.... 'just' shooting.  

If I was to order them in my preference... Forged, forged and more forged; Railmaster, Sharpshooter and then Mage... But I'd be more busy playing Forged to notice the others. They have been parked in the fort(for now). 

All classes can use a wide range of weaponry, armour and skills so the combinations for gameplay styles are enormous. Sharpshooter with no gun or bow... it's doable(some abilities magic a bow out of nowhere). I'm sure there are min/max guru's on the net formulating max dps builds and what set of armour/items need to be used with what relic.... I'm an omni setup player of games. Battletech... Xcom... I go omni/generalized. As the saying goes: “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”  Very much me as a gamer. A fit/build for all seasons and encounters. I did the same with this game and this game being casual I wasn't penalized for it. I have a real appreciation that the game allows me to play it that way.

I really like the shared Fort characters have. Design/outfit it to your hearts content. Unlock new items for it. I enjoy the games overall use of unlocking items for all your characters. Sharing items via a chest in your fort like an account bank. Unlocking more items to transmog as well as buff characters, bonus's and rewards in general...... A game that rewards you as you go. The contracts system is another progress indicator. Not busy work for the sake of it unless you want to do it all.... It just helps to be rewarded for doing the things you are doing anyway. No need to make the game hard for the sake of it. You can if you want by maxing out the difficulty and changing how you play the game.... Or enable hardcore mode(no player respawn).

For a game with three acts, there's going to be a repeating process to gameplay. Which does happen 'naturally'. If you clear an area and log off, it does reset and you'll have to clear it again or run through. Repeating isn't as big a deal as some make it out to be. At least not on 'normal'. But you will see a lot more repetition especially playing more than one class as a 'main'. Progress isn't dependent on swapping classes and from what I've seen (so far/so limited) there's no class specific content or interactions of consequence based on class

. 

I really really like the game because it can be done so casually.

A Casual Carebear Gamer

I've been enjoying the story-line and the area's, it's art-style and animations. From vegetation moving as you pass through, to skeletons pushing themselves off an impaled sword only to take it and attack you with it. Lots of small details and animations that build and make a world 'real'. Not that it's a massive world but it's big enough for you to not get overwhelmed. Especially with repeating areas. I'm a completionist(compulsive?) when if comes to discoveries. Area's need to be explored and seen and all items need to be looted. That's me; But even at that I wasn't feeling like there was too much.... It felt right.

My game sessions usually lasted an hour to 90 minutes. Clear a new area, take out the two or three bosses/elites and clear a dungeon or two.... All to usually progress the quest line to open up the next area in the act. I'd then warp gate back to the main town/quest hub or fort and do all the necessary character admin(cheap items get sent to pet and the pet gets sent to sell them during area completion). Stone, timber and metal all get processed. Good loot items get stored for other character use(keeping my options open), the rest are sacrificed to the luck tree.

Lots done, more to do and get. Time yet to savor the rest of the game.

On a side tangent I stuck my nose into Rebel Galaxy Outlaw for a minute(it's still on the 'to play long finger')but was surprised to see a Torchlight III vanity item for the ship dashboard.....

There was even another cute one for Astroneer!