Some of it IS really inappropriate. When you accompany Emmrich through the Necropolis he asks you to be respectful, literally as Rook is rolling through all the urns. And he doesn't have a word to say about it, at all. No one in the cities even notices you rolling or slashing or flinging spells all over the place.
My biggest gripe is how awkward it is with movement. The PC stops short, doesn't have real control, it feels like halfway through they thought they wanted to make a Hack-n-Slash, which I like and think could work, but the design of this engine is so clunky that every movement stops you short and leaves the experience very disjointed. It's no Diablo\Torchlight\BaldursGate\insert any other Hack-n-Slash of your choice.
You make an excellent point, Seasoned Scout, and I’d like to expand on what you’ve brought up. The scenario with Emmrich in the Necropolis is emblematic of the disconnect between narrative and gameplay. The game sets up a tone of respect and reverence for the environment, only to undercut it entirely by incentivizing the player to smash everything in sight for resources. This lack of consistency doesn’t just break immersion – it outright dismantles it. It’s hard to feel engaged with a world when the game itself doesn’t seem to respect its own rules.
Your critique of the movement and combat mechanics is equally valid. The clunky, stop-and-go pacing of movement makes exploration and combat feel like a chore. This is especially frustrating in a game that seems to flirt with Hack-n-Slash elements, where fluidity and responsiveness are paramount. Titles like Diablo and Torchlight excel in this genre because they understand that smooth mechanics and seamless transitions are essential for player satisfaction. By comparison, this game feels as though it’s stuck in a perpetual identity crisis, not confident enough to be a true RPG, and not polished enough to be a proper action game.
Adding to that, the resource-breaking mechanic feels like a relic from an older era of game design, where smashing pots and crates was an amusing distraction rather than a core mechanic. But here, it’s not only overused; it’s completely at odds with the supposed narrative and thematic tone. Beyond the Necropolis example, it’s jarring to see this mechanic persist in environments where destruction feels inappropriate or downright illogical. Why would a hero stop to destroy every vase in a town square? Why would NPCs turn a blind eye to such chaotic behavior?
Finally, the reliance on these mechanics highlights a deeper flaw: a lack of meaningful progression systems. If players are constantly breaking objects for resources, it suggests the game didn’t implement better ways to reward exploration or incentivize engagement. Games like Baldur’s Gate or even The Witcher manage to tie exploration, story, and mechanics together in ways that feel natural and rewarding. Here, the resource-breaking feels like busywork; a symptom of design choices that prioritize filler content over meaningful player interaction.
In the end, this game tries to be everything at once and ends up excelling at none of it. Whether it’s the awkward movement, the incoherent mechanics, or the disjointed narrative elements, the experience feels less like a cohesive RPG and more like a patchwork of outdated ideas thrown together without a clear vision." ( ⚠️ This is nothing short of an absolute hack job ⚒️ – an embarrassingly poor effort 🤢 that reeks of amateurism and incompetence 🚫👎)
