Broken Roads - Reviews

[Redglyph]

Down to 36% of only 76 users voted it up on Steam. I don't suppose the greater part of them are still playing it before giving a score, since it doesn't seem very long. Probably not the result they were hoping for.

I agree, they should definitely have had closed beta test phases, though I don't know if they did or how they worked. The vertical slice sounds like a good practice, too.

 

[Vaelith]

Part of the problem may be that besides the combat being as mediocre as it gets from the looks of it, the game was funded by a government, and so the whole game probably went under a lot of scrutiny to be politically correct to the extent of absurdity, which contributed to the "innovative" morality system to be terrible and the story itself awful.

Never make a game with tax dollars, it's just not worth it. I can't think of a single time in history when that worked.

 

[Carnifex]

That's not encouraging, it must still need a lot of polishing. I want it yet have no problem waiting a bit more.

 

[JDR13]

Down to 36% of only 76 users voted it up on Steam. I don't suppose the greater part of them are still playing it before giving a score, since it doesn't seem very long. Probably not the result they were hoping for.

I agree, they should definitely have had closed beta test phases, though I don't know if they did or how they worked. The vertical slice sounds like a good practice, too.

I have a hard time believing it's actually that bad. Like you said, they should have playtested longer, but maybe they couldn't afford to? Hopefully they can continue to work on it, but it doesn't sound like some of the core issues are fixable without an overhaul.

 

[Redglyph]

I have a hard time believing it's actually that bad. Like you said, they should have playtested longer, but maybe they couldn't afford to? Hopefully they can continue to work on it, but it doesn't sound like some of the core issues are fixable without an overhaul.

I've seen several reviews saying the combat was quite bad and the story not really motivating. Maybe it's possible to overlook those downsides if you're curious enough and not too demanding? Also, the game average length was estimated at 30 hours by the dev (Steam's page says 25+), but it seems those who finished did it in 9-15 hours, which is short for the price.

As you said, it seems hard to fix all that, but we'll see how they react.

 

[lackblogger]

30 hours if you carefully read and evaluate every word of dialogue and devour every dialogue choice to the maximum.

Normal player - hi, got any quests? No, k, bye, hi, got any quests? kill the whatsit? k, bye.

 

[Farflame]

I understand that it was a fairly polarising game but it was the best game I played in 2017 (if my memory serves).

Its great RPG imho. The idea about cast-offs and lore is just brilliant. But the game has only few fights and RPG system is unusual so pretty big group of RPG players is not really happy about it. Its more for ppl who like to read a lot.

The overall story and writing in T:ToN was excellent. The whole design of the Mere's and how their stories intertwine with the main narrative was brilliant. Yes, the writing in the first act was a tad heavy handed but it really does tell quite a poignant story if you put the effort in.

I agree. Tides of Numenera has some good writing and the lore and creativity is wonderfull. I really like Numenera world. But its true there are some mistakes in dialogues and clearly unfinished work. The game was unfinished (cut content) and there was a lot of writers coming and leaving. I heard that Inxile supported more Wasteland 2 than Torment (a pity). There are inconsistencies, bugs (you could ask about one of your companions when you dont know about him and dont have him), few events are badly described (it never happend like that in the game), some NPCs has unfinished (bland) texts, big lore mistake about the money (shins) in later locations etc. But there are more well written and intriguing NPCs.

Regarding Broken Roads - I didnt play it but from what I saw in videos its not surprising to me if ppl dont find the story very interesting. Its a pity because it doesnt look bad. I like how they put real locations into the game.
Also it seems to me that the morality system is actually badly implemented. Because according to my info the game traces your choices and determines who you are (libertarian... etc) and then limits your options in dialogues. I mean it limits you a lot. So you cant go so much your own way. It seems that developers (Colin?) forgot that ppl dont always stick to their world view but make decisions based on situation and ppl they interact with. So its imho mistake to focus so much on making your way "ideological".
For example Tides of Numenera has better "morality" system. It doesnt try to limit your options. You can choose freely and then the different tides are builded around you based on your choices.