>>811227
OKAY. It took 8 days, but I've cleared Campaign through Chapter 8.
tl;dr:
- Too plot-centric, should take pointers from Sojourners on focus and characterization.
- Krolik is horrible, Colphne needs hugs, Nemesis and Groza are alright. Vepley...exists.
- The direction of the plot seems alright, and I liked the twist at the end of 8.
Sextans playable, when?
Longer thoughts:
- Story slowly got better with time, but is way too plot-centric for its own good. Spends more time on combat scenarios than on character development.
- Krolik is by far the worst character I have seen in a long time. Obnoxious, one-dimensional bitch. If you have nothing better to do than pick fights with Nemesis, then we should have let the ELIDs tear you apart. God I hate this girl, no redeeming qualities whatsoever. There are a few, a FEW moments where she seems like she has depth, but those are squandered by her provocative nature. Someone please dismantle this Doll and find Nemesis a new translator.
- By contrast, Colphne is easily the Doll with the most depth. Her story is rather simple and common, but it doesn't detract from the presentation. I would have liked to see her use her brain a little more rather than try to fly solo like a reckless loon, but I can excuse her actions to an extent.
- Commander is surprisingly naive in terms of how to handle emotional situations, and in how they approach difficult Dolls who won't listen. Feel like there should have been an intervention with both Krolik and Colphne way earlier in the story, but at least we got one for Colphne in the end. I think I would have liked things more if Commander figured things out sooner and offered to fully assist Colphne in her revenge, but Colphne (having come to care for the group) left anyway to try and keep them (or at least, Helena) from harm.
- Nemesis needs to take lessons from Littara on how to communicate. The fact she has to rely on Krolik is clearly a detriment, and she seems like someone who's fun to be around once you get to know her.
- Groza is fine, though as with Commander, I'd prefer if she took initiative more. I can forgive Groza more because Groza doesn't have Commander's experience (nor most of her memories, at that), but part of being a Leader is understanding how to come to an agreement with your subordinates. I don't feel like that part of her arc has been fulfilled just yet. Other than that, I'm interested to see where she goes.
- I'm glad that we moved on from the Varjagers and more into Paradeus. Everything with the Varjagers felt like a waste of time, and it didn't even matter for Colphne's development. In the same vein, fuck that pink twink, I'm glad he's dead. Now shoot Krolik next.
- I really hope the story focuses more on the cast from here, and brings Kalina and co back in a more prominent role. I'm pretty sure that's where things are heading, so as long as that happens and Colphne stays in the story, I think I'll be content.