Uniquely rich and engrossing // Recommended for role playing fanatics

LockeProposal's Big Day Out

+ Environments and visuals are absolutely stunning; everything, form lighting effects, to foliage, to textures found throughout the world, are incredibly well-rendered and captivating+ Solid, well-implemented control scheme that makes good use of large swathes of keyboard real-estate; I have grievances regarding a few of the keybindings, but these are easily remedied via the menu+ Inventive combat system; it takes a bit of a push to get the hang of, but one will quickly find themselves enjoying a comfortable proficiency (with practice)+ Admirable level of PC optimization+ Impact of choices made are readily apparent, have incredibly far-reaching consequences, and lend astonishing gravity to each selection+ Top-shelf voice-acting and written dialogue+ Side-quests often have substance enough to rival the main plot+ Ending spells out in wonderful detail the consequences of your actions, often within the specific areas in which you've visited+ Very story-heavy game, and is therefore rife with lore-friendly collectibles and references that greatly enrich one's sense of immersion+ Everything, from textures to NPCs, is meticulously crafted, and the game does not rely on cookie-cutter pasting techniques+ Choices made throughout the game don't rely on a standard good/evil system, and therefore allows more flexibility in terms of character progression+ Signs, potions, oils, enhancements, and traps all combine to lend tremendous depth and freedom to combat+ Excellent game length and, due to multiple endings and story paths (which differ wildly depending on choices made during the first chapter) give the game an alarming amount of replay value+ Successfully mature, somber tone pulls the player in, and manages to do so without coming off as overbearing; definitely not a 'tryhard' game- Somewhat poor targeting mechanics- Occasional bugs that require a restart; may not be prevalent for everyone, but I certainly noticed them- Following NPCs can be tricky business, in that they often get stuck, block hallways and doors, and display poor pathing in general- Comparing equipment available via trading with that which is currently equipped is not possible, making it necessary to exit from the trading screen to check stats, etc.- Waypoints and objectives occasionally will not update properly