First Impressions 2.0

[Teddy]

First Impressions​

We're still very interested in hearing your impressions during your first play session. In fact, it's one of the most important pieces of feedback we can get!

Please use this thread to post your feelings towards the game after your first experience with it. We've prepared a few suggestions of things you could write about:

• General impressions: Was the game as a whole an enjoyable experience? If it was longer, would you continue playing?
• What you liked the most: Was there some elements that stood out to you as really good?
• What you liked the least: Was there something which you felt weakened the experience?
• Confusing elements: Did you understand what to do and how? Could you navigate through the menus?
• Optional content: Did you do any side activities, like side quests, fishing or the arena? If so, were the activities varied and enjoyable?

You don't have to answer every point above, and you can write about other things if you want! Those are just some things we're particularly interested to hear about. Post away!

Note: If you ran into bugs or have specific suggestions, create a new thread with these! First Impression posts are more about how you felt. In other words, if you didn't like the fishing because it was too easy, you can write here that the fishing felt too easy, but if you have suggestions on how to improve fishing and want a dialogue with us, create a new thread for that! The reason for this is because in a separate thread it will be easier for us to discuss your feedback.

 

[MrChocodemon]

• General impressions and What I liked the most: The game feels overall great. SoG is highly motivating even after finishing all the quests. I just want to get this one golden card and maybe the last missing fish from the mountain lake.... or maybe i just gather stuff to craft this nice armor.
  I think i could get much playtime out of this. With this "First-Temple-Edition" i could play more than 15 hours with the singleplayer on a single character and then i didn't even test all the cool skills. With Multiplayer, Arcade and later ?PvP? i can see myself loosing 100+hours easily.
  The Soundtrack is big enough in variety and enjoyable even after 3 hours on repeat. All in all definitly a big plus of the game.

• What I liked the least: Quick-Time-Pet-Mini-Game-Pumpkin--> The first two were no problem but the pumpkin revealed some serious flaws of the mini game in my opinion. Maybe it's too sensitive (too precise). My problem was, that i couldn't react as fast and i couldn't accustom in that little time each round. A single wrong press of a button was sometimes counted as two mistakes if the timing was horrible if there was a 'down' and a 'left' and I pressed 'right' just in between, i got a "wrong" on both possible inputs. Suggestion: No wrong inputs for empty spaces and max one element at a time is counting OR slowing it down a bit (which is propably intended fast). Maybe it's just me, but there's a reason i dislike Beat'em'ups. Combos and Quicktime == NOPE.

• Confusing elements: Not knowing if i still gain exp on low enemies. Fighting rabbys and slimes for an hour and my exp bar didn't move a single pixel... or did it? Who knows. Maybe a little "You won't gain experience from easy enemies if you are too strong" or something like that would be nice. Or a little glow of the xpbar if there is even the smallest increase. Like a little pulse.
  
  
• Tell us if you felt the pacing was improved by the new quest in pumpkin woods: I don't quite know, because i never had a problem with the pacing, but i think it was creative and a nice introduction to mini-bosses. The only problem i had with the quest was the Halloweed. It took longer to kill than Phaseman. Maybe make it jsut a little weaker, or him stronger.
  
  
• Optional content: A nice list

1. You neatly made the people recognize the gender of the player, which is more of a thing in the first half hour, but is nice anyway. In the first battle against the Black Ferrets i chose the large stick as my weapon of choice and was told to unsheat my sword... could you, just this one time in the game, let the dialoge respond to the weapon the player equipped at that point?
2. Black Ferrets... again. I guess this wasn't the last time we heard of them. What if they have stone magic? I mean the way the walls build in the first encounter? Could that be a secret skill from them? Maybe they use it in later battles to their advance. Making evasion a little harder, or the arena a little smaller from time to time. A little stone projectile? Possible!
   
3. The Frosty friend is always south of the player when entering a new place or leaving a building, which is pretty annoying when you leave a house, cave or just go south and always some is blocking your path. Maybe he could spawn behind the player.
4. I don't know if this is bug, but the dialoge of the AMALET was skipped before picking it up. It seemed to me as if it should show that the player doesn't care and just takes it, but the dialoge box flashed so fast, that it felt more like a bug and not like a funny interuption. I didn't skip it. It was just before the Bag says "Ah well. Enough fun..."
5. When you solved a riddle (pushing stones) it could stay solved. I sometimes forget if i already did that and wonder. Just leave the doors open, or something.

If there is anything else you want to know that i didn't cover... i'm sorry
should i post some of this in the suggestion subforum as an extra thread?

 

[Teddy]

The Amalet issue was a bug that happened if you used the instant text setting! Good job finding it. And yes, this thread is not for specific bug reports or suggestions, but rather for general feedback. Like in the old thread, we won't be replying here (except for this post ). I'll update the OP to reflect this!

 

[Shu-Woon]

Took a short break after getting stuck at the pumpkins, played lot's of the arcade afterwards, and I'm curious if you're adding more non-combat things to do in the game?

Lifting pots, hidden puzzles (Things that aren't obviously a puzzle) bashing a tree to knock a fruit down, then picking it up, and bringing it to some spot and it causes some event to happen, bigger zones as in the map keeps scrolling for a while before you get to the next section.

It would require more buttons though, but it'd be cool to have a lot of non-combat things.
But then again I didn't get passed the pumpkins yet.

A cool thing about games like Zelda is you could play an instrument, or shrink or something, I feel this game needs something interesting like that also.

 

[Azmerith`]

General impressions: This game is just what I have been waiting for, 2D action with crafting and questing, it even has pets and multiplayer! The animations are fluid and the art style is amazing. I will be buying this game the day it comes out and I will recommend it to all of my friends.

What I liked most: The boss battles where fun and fluid (if that makes any sense) and I loved the Gun-D4M boss fight since it was much more than just hit this thing till it dies. I had to dodge and time my strikes and try not to get to greedy with my damage dealing.

What I liked least: Not really a deal breaker but I think some of the quests could do benefit from stronger hints maybe? The quest were you had to retrieve a ring from a slime was straight forward enough but it took so long for the slime to drop it that I thought I may have been attacking the wrong slimes in the wrong areas simply because it took so long to drop for me.

Confusing Elements: Nothing really confused me.

Optional Content: The arena is great! And I would like to see more side quests in future updates, maybe longer more complex ones as well would be nice.

A suggestion/request: I think it would be nice to have some form of bestiary in the game maybe outlining things like possible item drops or drop rate?

 

[GarlicJelly]

What I liked least: Not really a deal breaker but I think some of the quests could do benefit from stronger hints maybe? The quest were you had to retrieve a ring from a slime was straight forward enough but it took so long for the slime to drop it that I thought I may have been attacking the wrong slimes in the wrong areas simply because it took so long to drop for me.

You should be able to see the ring inside the slime. The slime is at the first area you encountered monsters, just as you leave the little hometown ontop of the mountain.

 

[Azmerith`]

Ah, thanks for the heads up! I never noticed that!

 

[fleeble]

I am a big fan of pixel art and this game does it well. 7 hours into the game so far and I'm really enjoying it. I can see myself playing this for hours on end.

The skill animations are great. I am currently upgrading the one handed skills and they all look really nice. The skill animations that appealed to me the most were spirit slash and blade flurry.

On normal mode I think the difficulty of the bosses are just right and I find that they are challenging enough to verse, which is a good thing. I really like the different fighting patterns each boss had.

The puzzles were interesting and I hope to see more of these.

Crafting and upgrading gear is an aspect I really liked. It will be good to have a larger variety in gear to choose from.

I got stuck for a while on a couple of quests. The ghastly veil for the ghost hunt quest took me a while to find and figuring out how to free the chicken for the chicken savior quest took me a while as well. Though I quite liked the chicken savior quest as it really gets you thinking. Hopefully there will be more of these types of quests.

 

[KittyTristy]

I got selected as a beta tester and haven't had time to post my feedback.. hope that's alright!

• General impressions: Was the game as a whole an enjoyable experience? If it was longer, would you continue playing?

I really enjoyed what I have played of the game. I would (and will) definitely continue playing it!
​

• What you liked the most: Was there some elements that stood out to you as really good?

I really liked the combat the most. From videos it was hard to tell how the flow of combat would feel, but it felt just right when I actually got my hands on it.​

• What you liked the least: Was there something which you felt weakened the experience?

I felt a little overwhelmed by all the skills available to purchase right at the start, and didn't see much difference when spending additional points towards the skills I already had.​

• Confusing elements: Did you understand what to do and how? Could you navigate through the menus?

This kinda goes back to the previous question.. other than that, I found nothing else confusing.​

• Optional content: Did you do any side activities, like side quests, fishing or the arena? If so, were the activities varied and enjoyable?

I did a few of the side quests as well as fishing. I haven't yet progressed enough to take them to completion, but I liked how everything felt.​

 

[Grincher]

A Job well done good Sirs!

I am honest, i actually played SoG for about two hours. One hour solo, one hour with an friend of mine AND IT FRKN ROCKS!
That is the game I was looking for. A Zelda, Secret of Mana - Diablo Bastard with slappy jokes and customizable Skills and Looks. Pretty nice so far. Also found some "bugs" and things that could improve gameplay and -fun.

We (my homie and me) will Play SoG on Easterweekend and then I will gave you a detailed Beta-Impression.
But the first hours -> super fun oldschool shit! (and I mean the good "shit" not the bad stinky shit)

 

[Hans Johansson]

I just wanted to add a few controller things. First, add so "Enter" also works as a selection button in the menus.
And as for controllers (not using keyboard). Use the triggerbuttons (RT/LT) on the controller to swap between the diffrent tabs in the ingame menu (inventory, skills etc.) and use the bumperbuttons (RB/LB) to swap between the mini-tabs (new, xxx, A-Z). Felt really non-intuitive at first to not do it like that ^^

Havent had much time with the main story yet, will come back with more feedback when I have played it all

Keep it up. Im having a blast!

 

[Hans Johansson]

Also, I love the difficuly on the game! Is nice with a lvl of difficulty that actually feel rewarding when you complete something ^^

 

[Hans Johansson]

OOOH one big thing. Dont make the "find a card" such a big pop-up in adventuremode. It has nearly killed me several times based on that I cant see whats happening on screen. And since a card isnt THAT important in adventuremode since u loose it I would like to see it toned down abit

 

[Chris Soames]

I spent most of last night playing, and here are my impressions:

General Impressions :- This is quite simply, the most fun I've had playing an RPG in years. Everything from the combat to the animations is absolutely tip-top, it looks great, it feels great to play, and I can't wait to see what you guys add to the game next.

What I Liked The Most :- The combat. Although its had me gnashing my teeth in fury (this is more because of the fact that I suck, rather than anything in the game though!) Even the smallest slime has at least one simple mechanic to overcome, and combat generally feels difficult, but not prohibitively so. If you pay attention to what an opponent is doing you should be fine, but button-mashing is strongly discouraged.

What I Liked The Least :- This is a tough one, because there isn't a lot, and I may be nitpicking here, but for a game that is all about collecting, I think the inventory needs a bit of work. It's a small thing, but it feels like a list rather than a collection. I don't know what I'm really expecting here though, perhaps a huge checklist that needs to be filled for achievements or something? You are already sort-of doing it with crafting. If I see something blacked out in my "collection" I'm incentivised to go find it. As it is now, that feeling is missing. As I said though, nitpicking...

Confusing Elements :- It would be nice to have some basic information as to how much damage an ability/spell will do, and more importantly how much it gains with skill points. "+ damage" is not particularly useful as a stat!

Optional Content :- I did a couple of side-quests yesterday, although I didn't visit a lot of the optional areas, but one thing I really like is that when you start a quest, the game tells you immediately what type of quest you are taking on ("collection", "delivery" etc), so you can easily tell whether you want to do it or not. An excellent quality-of-life addition that many developers would ignore!

One More Thing :- The Arcade Mode is insidiously addictive. Brutal, frustrating, and ridiculously fun. I found myself dying (a lot), screaming at the monitor, and then just scrambling back up those stairs without a second thought. Good call, ferrets, good call!

Right then, back onto the game I go. FOR GRINDEA!

 

[GarlicJelly]

OOOH one big thing. Dont make the "find a card" such a big pop-up in adventuremode. It has nearly killed me several times based on that I cant see whats happening on screen. And since a card isnt THAT important in adventuremode since u loose it I would like to see it toned down abit

And by "adventuremode" I guess you mean Arcade mode. Yeah I've had problems like that before but you sort of get used to it, but that doesn't mean that you should have to!

 

[GarlicJelly]

I spent most of last night playing, and here are my impressions:
What I Liked The Least :- This is a tough one, because there isn't a lot, and I may be nitpicking here, but for a game that is all about collecting, I think the inventory needs a bit of work. It's a small thing, but it feels like a list rather than a collection. I don't know what I'm really expecting here though, perhaps a huge checklist that needs to be filled for achievements or something? You are already sort-of doing it with crafting. If I see something blacked out in my "collection" I'm incentivised to go find it. As it is now, that feeling is missing. As I said though, nitpicking...

There is a list of all the items you can find by killing monsters in your monster manual. I know that it's a bit of a hazzle to look it's there to help you (which it does). I fully agree that a list would be nice so that you could tick off all the items in the game but then all the hidden items would be so easy to find. (PS. I'm not going to tell you about them. DS.)

 

[Chris Soames]

There is a list of all the items you can find by killing monsters in your monster manual. I know that it's a bit of a hazzle to look it's there to help you (which it does). I fully agree that a list would be nice so that you could tick off all the items in the game but then all the hidden items would be so easy to find. (PS. I'm not going to tell you about them. DS.)

The monster codex is kinda what I mean, and it certainly does the job, but I was thinking about something like an item catalog, a bit like what they have now for the cards.

 

[GarlicJelly]

I still don't want them to give hints about the hidden items. I want the feeling you had back in the days where you and your friends shared your knowledge about the hidden stuff in a game. If there is a blacked out spot for an item you've never heard of then and never seen then yeah it's "hidden" but you still know it exists. It's way more fun to find items that you didn't know about at all. :3 (Just my opinion)

 

[Chris Soames]

I still don't want them to give hints about the hidden items. I want the feeling you had back in the days where you and your friends shared your knowledge about the hidden stuff in a game. If there is a blacked out spot for an item you've never heard of then and never seen then yeah it's "hidden" but you still know it exists. It's way more fun to find items that you didn't know about at all. :3 (Just my opinion)

Well you could have that too, like a "hidden items" section that only shows up in the catalog when you find them?

 

[GarlicJelly]

Well you could have that too, like a "hidden items" section that only shows up in the catalog when you find them?

Good point. If there is a list then I want the hidden items to just appear amongst the others (not categorised). That way they become mysterious and awesome.