Ah, that would make sense. Do you end up having to use the dream palace to “rewind” a relationship, or can you instead just pick the appropriate dialogue options? I was assuming, perhaps incorrectly, that I could recruit and keep characters by just picking the correct dialogue options and that the dream palace was superfluous until I somehow “messed up” a dialogue choice.
But if Chernobylite forces you into difficult situations with the characters that can only be resolved by using the dream palace…? Do you know if that’s the case, Solver?
Your assumption is correct. If you pick the ‘wrong’ choices at the end of missions (so that you piss someone off and they eventually leave) you can just go to the palace and flip said choices - and consequently get that person ‘back’ when you leave the palace.
Outside of those binary choices represented in the palace, I don’t think pursuing dialogue (e.g. chatting in the base) has any greater effect other than you understanding a bit more about that character’s backstory, motivations etc.
It’s a replacement for save scumming. If you think “I bet the story would have played out better if I made a different choice an hour ago”, and you want to try it out, in most games you would need to load an earlier save and then play for an hour to get back to where you were. The dream palace lets you change your earlier choice but keep your progression — a missing character will just pop back into the world like they never left, because they didn’t leave on the new timeline you’ve created.
You have a list of what the characters liked/disliked. If a character hated the fact that you blew up a helicopter at one point, you go to the helicopter scene and pick the option not to blow it up - then a dream-ish version of the choice plays out (basically the dialogue) and the character’s opinion is now higher.
It is indeed optional, you can keep all the characters just by picking one of the correct combinations throughout the game.
It doesn’t do that. The game forces you into the dream palace itself once - day 10 if you don’t die by then - but you’re not really forced into those situations. In fact the game’s pretty transparent about it, before you have to take a story decision you’ll get radioed by characters who feel strongly about it, so you’ll know who will get particularly upset (or happy) about a choice.
The palace is perhaps more relevant to dealing with other characters, ones you don’t recruit. There are two more significant characters, outside of your party, whose fate you get to decide in the later missions. So then in the final mission, you can wonder, hey, how would this be different if I had killed that guy? Then just go, change the past and see.
For all the game’s flaws, I think the final mission is very well done. It’s a very Mass Effect 2 style sequence where you assign each team member to a job, and then the mission is quite cinematic with a bunch of obstacles, each of which gives you a choice. In the end you can get everyone out alive, or you can get everyone killed.
Ah, so I think that’s what I’m missing! That we’re supposed to think of our basemates similarly to the way we think of characters in Mass Effect. And that they participate in the finale like that. That sounds pretty cool. I had assumed they were nothing more than skill vendors and NPC loot gatherers.
This game is fantastic, I love just how comfortable it is to play. Everything of note (quests, encounters) is conveniently marked on the map and the material analyzer highlights items that can be picked up so you don’t have to strain your eyes rummaging through dark buildings - on that note, some great use of lighting here, which can lead to some very claustrophobic sections when your only source of light is a narrow bear flashlight.
Story so far is also quite intriguing (day 14 currently) and I’m looking forward to see where it will go. And while there are many similarities with STALKER, the game actually reminds me more of Alpha Protocol.
Just about the only complaint I have right now is that Medium difficulty is too easy, I should’ve started on one of the harder ones.
And done. Absolutely loved the story in the end, and the choices the game presents you with are both interesting and bitter - very solid writing, just the right blend of Stalker influences and soviet existentialism. I thought about changing some of the decisions in my game (great gameplay mechanic, given the theme of the game) to ‘fix’ a few things and get the optimal outcome, but it’s so rare for a game to present the bad outcomes as something worth experiencing that I’ve decided to let it be, as it also lead to some fulfilling character redemption arcs.
Bottom line, easy 9/10 for me, and a must play for anyone who’s a fan of post-apocalyptic games, especially STALKER, and appreciates good choice & consequence.
I’ll definitely replay this in the future on higher difficulty settings to get more out of the resource scarcity and survival elements.
I’ve had a look at the DLC roadmap and I think the game is good as is right now. They’ll add a new map in Q3 but even if you play right now you won’t feel like you’re missing out on anything, it feels like a complete experience. If you’re in the mood for more time in the Zone this is it right now.
I thought it would annoy me too, since there are only 7 or 8 maps in the game, but the way you approach them changes quite a bit depending on the objective and environmental factors at play on that day. Plus, resources respawn rather slowly so even if you run the same map twice you will only have critical stuff (events, objective) to do on the map rather than having to scavenge the entire map for loot again.
I am sure the game is fine and complete now. But…since I already waited this long, I can wait a bit longer. Maybe the new content will be great and worth playing and since I rarely go back to games for DLCs, I might miss out on it if I play now.
I did play and I really enjoyed the overarching structure for how it incorporated base building with the feel of an open-world that you can play through and explore at your own pace. For more specifics, I’d point you to my exchange with Solver, who played it more than I did, at around this point. I think his/her explanation of some stuff I didn’t understand is a helpful overview of what I found enjoyable and frustrating.
But overall, this was a thumbs up experience for me, even if I didn’t see it through to the end.
Yeah, the most special part of the game to me is definitely the recreation of the world. Much of it has been done through on-site scanning by the devs and it shows. Seeing very recognizable digital replicas of familiar items and spaces is impressive, and while the Western audience will not experience any familiarity, I think the level of detail impresses nonetheless.
It’s an incredibly atmospheric game with moody and beautiful environments (the real ones and the fictional ‘dreamscape’) and a novel approach to story decisions as the game makes dying and changing the past a part of the gameplay loop.
The game is probably better if you have a place (like this one!) to ask questions as you go. A few things are non-obvious or easily missed, which could affect the overall experience quite a bit.
There’s been some disagreement about this in the thread, but I’d say Stalker is a good comparison.
It’s a very similar game in setting and overall vibe. Gameplay focuses much more on the stealth and scavenging parts of Stalker and less on combat, so don’t expect great gunplay.
It’s also not an open world – you go on missions that take you through 5 or 6 maps repeatedly, but the game does a good job using different parts of the map and keeping it from getting stale.
