[Zefah]

Game of the Year? You have to be fucking kidding me...

It deserves immense praise for its visuals for sure, but the only game-related award I would nominate this for is "Disappointment of the Year."

 

[regawdless]

Game of the Year? You have to be fucking kidding me...

It deserves immense praise for its visuals for sure, but the only game-related award I would nominate this for is "Disappointment of the Year."

That hurt.

I like it so far, but didn't play that much yet. Some stuff feels very weird. Like Amicia walking down stairs, looks clownish as hell, the animation is just wrong. The first game managed to make me care about the characters, while I'm pretty indifferent at this point. Hope it'll get better.

 

[VFX_Veteran]

The game is completely a graphics marvel. I am not surprised that it looks better than any next-gen game to date minus FS2020. The same people did FS2020 and that game was a complete leap in graphics fidelity when it came out. I'm still playing Plague and look forward to finishing it soon.

 

[regawdless]

 

[VFX_Veteran]

As expected. Consoles are definitely GPU bandwidth starved. The 4090 is a big step up from the 3090. Very impressive and tempting to buy but I'll hold out for 2 more years for the 5x00 series boards and then sell my 3090.

 

[regawdless]

Great to see the latest patch improving performance that much. And wow, the big lead for Series X over the PS5, around 25%.

Same settings performance comparison:

 

[Grisham]

 

[Rock And Roll]

Game of the Year? You have to be fucking kidding me...

It deserves immense praise for its visuals for sure, but the only game-related award I would nominate this for is "Disappointment of the Year."

I was thinking of picking this up at the end of the year so what about it did you find disappointing? Is it just a major step back from the first game from a gameplay/story standpoint?

If it's not worth the full price, I'll just wait it out for a decent sale.

 

[Hostile_18]

I must admit in not enjoying it as much as the first one, but I am having a good time.

For me its that the story isn't as good yet. Before it was about saving Hugo, surviving and making a home and also finding and stopping the Inquisition. Now it's just save Hugo. The gameplay is better, the story is lesser IMO.

Still its a good game, just not an excellent one yet. Also sometimes my opinion changes on second play through (for example Uncharted 4 went up massively on subsequent play throughs).

 

[FactsAreDead]

I honestly found the gameplay in the first one better. Yes, it's not as open, but that's exactly it: In part 1, each situation/puzzle was more tightly designed. In part 2, you often don't know whether it's okay to use an item or whethere to go, with some frustrating checkpoints.

Both has its ups and downs.

 

[Zefah]

I was thinking of picking this up at the end of the year so what about it did you find disappointing? Is it just a major step back from the first game from a gameplay/story standpoint?

If it's not worth the full price, I'll just wait it out for a decent sale.

I played it for no additional charge since it came to Game Pass day one, but I'd have been furious if I actually paid full price for this.

Visually, it's an incredible game. Honestly maybe worth checking out just for sheer wow factor that it brings to the table.

Gameplay-wise, it feels like a bit of a downgrade to me. The new systems they introduce aren't great and the gameplay scenarios in the original just felt a lot more interesting to me.

What disappointed me most is the story, however. There were some interesting moments, but overall it wasn't nearly as intriguing as the first one and ends absolutely terribly to the point that I feel like I wasted my time ever even playing this franchise.

If you're coming from the original game and looking forward to seeing what happens in the story, I'd honestly just stay far away. I'm still frustrated about this weeks later and really just wish they never bothered with the sequel if this is the story they always had in mind.

 

[Rock And Roll]

I played it for no additional charge since it came to Game Pass day one, but I'd have been furious if I actually paid full price for this.

Visually, it's an incredible game. Honestly maybe worth checking out just for sheer wow factor that it brings to the table.

Gameplay-wise, it feels like a bit of a downgrade to me. The new systems they introduce aren't great and the gameplay scenarios in the original just felt a lot more interesting to me.

What disappointed me most is the story, however. There were some interesting moments, but overall it wasn't nearly as intriguing as the first one and ends absolutely terribly to the point that I feel like I wasted my time ever even playing this franchise.

If you're coming from the original game and looking forward to seeing what happens in the story, I'd honestly just stay far away. I'm still frustrated about this weeks later and really just wish they never bothered with the sequel if this is the story they always had in mind.

That's a shame. Graphics don't do much for me and I'd be playing on PS4 so I wouldn't get the full experience anyway. Story in games I don't really care for either, but that being said the first game had some really good writing so a decline in that area would have actually irked me a bit. Gameplay is my main thing and I thought the first game was so well designed, especially in regards to how they kept the game interesting throughout the later stages by introducing new ideas/mechanics. Hearing they took a step back with gameplay is disappointing, I'll probably just wait until I can grab it for $10.

Thanks for the heads up (and @Hostile_18 + @FactsAreDead for your impressions as well).

 

[Hostile_18]

I think part of it with me is they released this and Uncharted collection the day after each other. Both my favorite types of games but feels like I am giving neither the time they need. That said I've had alot of hardware upgrades this year, so looking forward to playing both of these indepth along with Calisto Protocol.

Interesting @Zefah didn't like the ending. I'm only up to chapter 7 so couldn't comment. Something like the Last of Us Part 2 has a marmite ending, I loved it myself. I'm hoping the same is true for this game but we shall see.

 

[regawdless]

Welp, I'm stopping my playthrough for now. Bought a Dualsense to play this with the rumble and such. Had to send it back because of issues with the buttons (bought a fancy custom controller) and it'll take some more weeks until I get it back.

So far, the game is beautiful and gameplay is fine. But it doesn't grab me like the first one, it fails to make me care about anything. Hope it'll get better.

 

[regawdless]

Game is on sale for 39.99 on the epic store

https://store.epicgames.com/de/p/a-plague-tale-requiem

 

[Pr0cs]

Well I finished it on gamepass. Absolutely amazing looking game, didn't think rdr2 would have competition for a while still but I took so many photos in requiem I might be wrong. The art is spectacular.
It isn't as fun as the first game but the pacing is good and there is fun to be had and a few challenging sections.
Asobo kinda came out of no where to me. But now I'm not sure of many devs that have the breadth of game genre hits they do.

 

[Hostile_18]

I'm enjoying it alot more now, must admit. It'd better now the mother has fucked off lol.

One thing that bothers me mildly... couldn't you knock off helmets with the sling last game? It's a gameplay gimmick to make the second game more challenging no doubt, so I can live with it.

 

[regawdless]

I'm enjoying it alot more now, must admit. It'd better now the mother has fucked off lol.

One thing that bothers me mildly... couldn't you knock off helmets with the sling last game? It's a gameplay gimmick to make the second game more challenging no doubt, so I can live with it.

Don't remember if that was possible tbh. I find the mother character kinda weak so far.

 

[Zefah]

Yeah, in the first game (in the later chapters at least) you could throw a substance that burns through metal, causing them to take off their helmets. They unfortunately got rid of it and replaced it with much less interesting and useful tools in Requiem.

 

[regawdless]

Btw

Fast Launch (Skip Startup - Intro Videos)

Automatically skips Startup Videos saving around 20 seconds

www.nexusmods.com

 

[regawdless]

I guess the RT patch is dead. Well over one month after launch, still no word on it. What a shame.

 

[Hostile_18]

I guess the RT patch is dead. Well over one month after launch, still no word on it. What a shame.

It's chilling with the Elden Ring RT patch.

 

[Hostile_18]

So I finished the game today, right on the 25 hour mark. Its a huge game, twice as big as the first one. It is to a large degree far more unwieldy than the first game, in this regard its got a lot of similarities with Last of Us: Part 2. As @Zefah pointed out the weakest part this time around was the story. There were a few points where characters felt like they should be acting different, specifically the Mother. However for me the last three chapters saved it, and I loved the late game twists. Ultimately I'd give the first game a strong 4 stars and this game a strong 3 stars. It's a good game and you'll have an enjoyable time for a longer duration.

I think there's a lot that could be done with a third game if they have the balls to pick up on the damage Amecia and Hugo have done, the countless lives they have took (directly or indirectly). I would never complain about a games length (unless it is an Ubisoft game) but I do think they need to consider what story they are telling and what length justifies that next time round. I want a long game, but not if it feels like were treading water.

I'm going to give this game my recommendation, just know its all in all a slightly lesser experience outside of its graphics and sound.

 

[regawdless]

Raytracing is here!

A Plague Tale: Requiem Patch Enables Raytracing Shadows: Sharper Shadow Quality With Minimal Performance Loss​

And it's only some sharper shadows. Huge bummer. Game is in desperate need of a RTGI implementation.

A Plague Tale: Requiem Patch Enables Raytracing Shadows: Sharper Shadow Quality With Minimal Performance Loss

A Plague Tale: Requiem, the contender for 2022's GOTY award, has now received a brand new patch that enables Raytracing.

wccftech.com

RT shadows on

RT shadows off

 

[HE1NZ]

I feel the same way as with what was written here. I'm in the middle, story is okay-ish so far, but the new mechanics are confusing, I can't remember what various new concoctions do and how long they work. It's also super annoying when game don't tell which path leads to optional goodies and which will lock the door behind you to continue the story and I'm afraid to choose wrong.

 

[regawdless]

I feel the same way as with what was written here. I'm in the middle, story is okay-ish so far, but the new mechanics are confusing, I can't remember what various new concoctions do and how long they work. It's also super annoying when game don't tell which path leads to optional goodies and which will lock the door behind you to continue the story and I'm afraid to choose wrong.

Yeah I like to find all the secrets and upgrades, but am always thinking about triggering the next sequence and not being able to go back. Also, after getting emotionally attached to the characters in the first game, I don't care at all about them in the sequel.

 

[Dreamlord]

Lucky me, I had just installed it last week and have not started it yet. Aiming to start it over the weekend, I can see the update waiting to be installed on the game pass app.

 

[HE1NZ]

Yeah I like to find all the secrets and upgrades, but am always thinking about triggering the next sequence and not being able to go back. Also, after getting emotionally attached to the characters in the first game, I don't care at all about them in the sequel.

Yeah, Amicia is just an average angry videogame girl now. Another Ellie.

 

[Zefah]

Raytracing is here!

A Plague Tale: Requiem Patch Enables Raytracing Shadows: Sharper Shadow Quality With Minimal Performance Loss​

And it's only some sharper shadows. Huge bummer. Game is in desperate need of a RTGI implementation.

A Plague Tale: Requiem Patch Enables Raytracing Shadows: Sharper Shadow Quality With Minimal Performance Loss

A Plague Tale: Requiem, the contender for 2022's GOTY award, has now received a brand new patch that enables Raytracing.

wccftech.com

RT shadows on

RT shadows off

Luckily I don't care about the game anymore, so I'm not too bothered, but it would be some bullshit if all they ever add is RT Shadows...

 

[regawdless]

Luckily I don't care about the game anymore, so I'm not too bothered, but it would be some bullshit if all they ever add is RT Shadows...

RT shadows in a static game where the shadows only get a bit sharper but you lose performance. So not worth it, stupid implementation. Why did they even bother.

 

[regawdless]

Yeah, Amicia is just an average angry videogame girl now. Another Ellie.

Don't like her at all so far. She was perfect in the first one. Fragile but brave, humble but strong. Now she comes across like Lara Croft light (from the Tomb Raider reboots).

 

[VFX_Veteran]

Raytracing is here!

A Plague Tale: Requiem Patch Enables Raytracing Shadows: Sharper Shadow Quality With Minimal Performance Loss​

And it's only some sharper shadows. Huge bummer. Game is in desperate need of a RTGI implementation.

A Plague Tale: Requiem Patch Enables Raytracing Shadows: Sharper Shadow Quality With Minimal Performance Loss

A Plague Tale: Requiem, the contender for 2022's GOTY award, has now received a brand new patch that enables Raytracing.

wccftech.com

RT shadows on

RT shadows off

Actually the RTGI isn't needed in a game that has no dynamic TOD. It's a waste of resources when that can be easily baked into the environment. RT shadows is a smart choice here. It should be noticeable with all the small geometry in the scene that is too fine for shadow maps to capture.

 

[regawdless]

Actually the RTGI isn't needed in a game that has no dynamic TOD. It's a waste of resources when that can be easily baked into the environment. RT shadows is a smart choice here. It should be noticeable with all the small geometry in the scene that is too fine for shadow maps to capture.

One of the biggest visual flaws (outside of the ridiculous bloom effect) are the areas with indirect lighting, which often occur. It all looks very flat, objects and characters have the wrong colors and brightness. Don't think you can prebake dynamic objects and characters to be lit correctly when walking in and out of indirectly lit areas or am I wrong here?

 

[VFX_Veteran]

One of the biggest visual flaws (outside of the ridiculous bloom effect) are the areas with indirect lighting, which often occur. It all looks very flat, objects and characters have the wrong colors and brightness. Don't think you can prebake dynamic objects and characters to be lit correctly when walking in and out of indirectly lit areas or am I wrong here?

Show me what you are talking about. I didn't see any flat lighting. In fact, they are using very aggressive ambient occlusion to normalize the GI light probes. Objects that are static and don't move can easily have baked in ambient occlusion to show proper depth to the scene.

I just tried it with my 3090 and the RT shadows is too expensive for the card. The shadow upgrade is beautiful though. I don't see anymore temporal aliasing low res shadow maps.

This is a feature for 4x000 series cards. I might have to get one.

 

[regawdless]

Show me what you are talking about. I didn't see any flat lighting. In fact, they are using very aggressive ambient occlusion to normalize the GI light probes. Objects that are static and don't move can easily have baked in ambient occlusion to show proper depth to the scene.

I just tried it with my 3090 and the RT shadows is too expensive for the card. The shadow upgrade is beautiful though. I don't see anymore temporal aliasing low res shadow maps.

This is a feature for 4x000 series cards. I might have to get one.

I think you already saw it, here's a comparison between vanilla and reshade MXAO + RTGI. Which is not the real RT deal, mind you. It's still a drastic improvement in my eyes. Objects tend to look very floaty in indirect light in vanilla.

 

[VFX_Veteran]

I think you already saw it, here's a comparison between vanilla and reshade MXAO + RTGI. Which is not the real RT deal, mind you. It's still a drastic improvement in my eyes.

That's way too aggressive. LOL!

I can see why you would think so but the reshade normalizes way too much. They could have baked more occlusion in for things like the ground cracks and such. They probably didn't have time to do that. Nearly all games out today just don't use AO enough and things look flat overall. If Plague looks flat to you, imagine how GoW or HFW look - both of which don't use aggressive AO.

GPUs just need to get faster so that more samples of the rendering equation will look better. We've got a long generation ahead of us though. People are going to be sorely disappointed to find not much will change.

 

[regawdless]

That's way too aggressive. LOL!

I can see why you would think so but the reshade normalizes way too much. They could have baked more occlusion in for things like the ground cracks and such. They probably didn't have time to do that. Nearly all games out today just don't use AO enough and things look flat overall. If Plague looks flat to you, imagine how GoW or HFW look - both of which don't use aggressive AO.

GPUs just need to get faster so that more samples of the rendering equation will look better. We've got a long generation ahead of us though. People are going to be sorely disappointed to find not much will change.

Agree that it's too aggressive, it was from the beginning of the game where I still played around with the settings. But if you look at the first comparison, Vanilla does look very flat and floaty, like the characters and their faces for example.

I was running around and switched back and forth between vanilla and RTGI, it really made me realize how wrong everything with indirect lighting looks. In general, I became an insufferable lighting snob after playing Metro Exodus EE maxed on PC, the lighting was so good that it seriously spoiled me.

 

[VFX_Veteran]

Agree that it's too aggressive, it was from the beginning of the game where I still played around with the settings. But if you look at the first comparison, Vanilla does look very flat and floaty, like the characters and their faces for example.

Do you have HDR display by any chance? My scene doesn't look anywhere near as washed out with HDR enabled.

I was running around and switched back and forth between vanilla and RTGI, it really made me realize how wrong everything with indirect lighting looks. In general, I became an insufferable lighting snob after playing Metro Exodus EE maxed on PC, the lighting was so good that it seriously spoiled me.

Yes, AO makes a huge difference. It's not the GI though. The GI is the actual color bounce from neighboring objects.

 

[Zefah]

The GI is the actual color bounce from neighboring objects.

It's not just that, though, is it?

A proper ray-traced GI makes light fall off appear more realistic, so areas like those under awnings, or even just under furniture, etc. are accurately lit instead of appearing unnaturally bright or have light bleed through them.

 

[regawdless]

Do you have HDR display by any chance? My scene doesn't look anywhere near as washed out with HDR enabled.

Yeah the screenshots are from SDR, the game does look better on my OLED with HDR. Doesn't change things like faces or bodies looking flat in vanilla because their brightness is the same, no matter the angle and direction of the light coming in.