I meant to mention a third title in addition to the previous two I talked about (Divine Divinity and Shadow Man), but I fear the backlash, so I've been avoiding it. Still, that game is annoying me so much, I can no longer stay quiet about it. Even though I didn't buy it here on GOG, it's available on their catalogue. To be honest, I also have been avoiding complaining too much, because I won it via a giveaway, on Steam, adding to my 3 Steam games -- all won in giveaways, since I avoid endorsing Steam as much as possible. The game I'm talking about is Dust: An Elysian Tail. Yes, my friends, that "amazing indie gem" failed to charm me and resonate with me.
I understand it has superb gameplay, very fluid and responsive controls, the fighting is pretty good and the RPG elements are more fledged-out than most action platformers that try to implement them. But, unfortunately, that just isn't enough for me to overlook the hideous voice acting, the über cute/furry art style (with that ugly computer shadowing most cartoons in the late 90's had, and that was fortunately discontinued), the annoying Fidget -- seriously, worst companion in a video game *EVER*! Why doesn't she just shut up?! It's like Navi on steroids.
As good as the gameplay is, they force all this other stuff down the players' metaphorical throat the whole time, and I just can't enjoy a game if it has so many things making me forget how good the combat and the platforming may be. Also, regarding the voice acting, some people said to me that "it's an indie game, you must take that into account, for an indie game, it has decent voice acting", but I beg to differ. As soon as there are indie titles out there like Bastion or the great Wadjet Eye adventure games, with remarkable voice acting, being an indie game should no longer be an excuse for lazy, mediocre voice talents. So, no, I'm not willing to overlook that issue. It's just terrible, ranging from horrific to sub-par voice actors, and with the amount of dialogue they have in-game, it's just not bearable.
Post edited December 27, 2013 by groze