Likewise, and I totally thought I would actually find the PCs house, where he live! Thinking this is some multiple-city world escapade RPG jaunt…
At the least it leads you to believe that might be the case, but you’re hungover so…
On a non-comitted second early playthrough I have learned some things.
You can get the “disco dancer” to tell you what happen to you straight away the night before if you can pass that Suggestion check, otherwise you have to wait until you can interview her on the roof (it’s the same info), and you can cut what you owe the cafeteira manger down to a mere $30
Highly recommend this game. It’s the most clever spiritual iteration on Planescape: Torment since…Planescape: Torment. Interacting with items, engaging in these periodic epic dialogues that feel like boss fights, and lots of interesting role-playing approaches based on all the voices in your head.
Yes! The conversation with Klaasje (when your Volition reveals to you that your other senses can’t be trusted) is particularly memorable for me. Also, on my first playthrough where I committed to no savescumming, the Tribunal conversation was as tension-inducing as any Bloodborne boss.
My recommendation - take it in on its own terms and avoid spoilers for the first playthrough. The quest/task list will keep you pointed in the right direction for the most part.
If you’re talking about the dizzying array of skills, I would say that some of the more impactful/interesting ones are Volition, Inland Empire, Interfacing, Logic, Perception, Shivers, and Encyclopedia.
Some (spoiler-free) tips I wish I had known on my first playthrough:
You can retry most failed skill checks by leveling up and adding a point to the governing skill. Your journal will keep a record of which ones you’ve failed and which skill it was for. So you can bank your levels until you fail a check you really want to pass, use a skill point to raise the skill, and then retry the check.
Time only passes when you are talking to someone, and at a set rate (40 or 80 seconds per dialogue choice, iirc).
Do as many side quests as you can. They help with XP, and there are so many excellent characters you encounter through them.
I wish I could erase my memory and go back and play it for the first time again. Enjoy!
One thing I would add that I wish I had known going in: don’t treat dialogue options like a typical adventure game where you exhaust every option in the tree. Some things are better left unsaid.
The hard one-time checks are the ones that have some kind of permanent outcome based on pass/fail. And failing a check is sometimes advantages / hilarious so I would roll with it.
I was worried that the text-heavy nature would be an issue when playing handheld on the Switch but it’s totally fine. This time I went with the physique build and think I’ll lean into communism.
Firing this up again is like slipping into a warm bath. I think this has to be my favorite game, period.
Thanks for the response. It’s definitely the array of skills that had me overwhelmed from the character creation screen. It’s just a hell of a lot to take in. I can tell that I’m going to have to play this only when I can really carve out at least an hour or three to sit and play.
I built out my own character at 2-4-2-4 (Intellect, Psyche, Physique, Motorics) with Shivers as my signature. But I barely got of my room when I had to run. Will start fresh again.
Fwiw, I picked one of the default presets (Thinker) and it was exactly what I hoped for. The associated skills for the presets make a lot of sense, and the real beauty of this game is that they ALL work. Unlike with other RPGs, I never felt like my choice of skills was really making me miss out on something, it almost seems as if the game carefully curates the content towards your chosen skills (it doesn’t, but convo branching will definitely give you this impression) - self selective bias at its best, really. I’ve never seen anything like it in other games.
This really is one of those games that you need to just lean back in your chair for and enjoy the ride, preferably with a glass of whiskey in your hand to get more in tune with the character. And prepare to have your mind blown, a lot.
edit:
Still one of the most fittings tracks for any game, ever.
