Game options are not many but, to me, hits the mark in what should be switched on and off. The in-game loot-filter is amazing, a bit complex for many people I guess but you can share the filter anyways.
The camera distance in-game is in a great place IMO. I really like the max distance chosen.
The in-game character models… please, consider higher polygon, high texture definition and/or more polished models when you select your character on for any close-up window… Or a rework, there’s something weird in the eyes, because the rogue on char selection does weird things with her legs, and in the close-up is more like an old woman… Little to do with the picture art. Not a big deal but for the initial impression is a bit off-putting.
Graphics, nothing outstanding, but serves the game well enough. The scenery design is quite good.
Animations, great, if something, the stop moving animation could be a little more subtle, the character bounces all over the place, also the character rotation is almost instant, a bit arcade-like there (if it’s intended: oh well…).
I have a mid-range gaming PC with SSD and 16GB RAM, loading times should be optimized, the most important part is that the core gameplay is fluid, sometimes need to load a character skill and there’s a micro freeze, but aside that (nothing important), seems it is the case, but being able to engage with gameplay fast is important too.
Important frame-drops: fight in front of the immortal emperor with 2 previous bosses, fps came down to 30 or so. Trying to run though a lot of enemies early in the ruin world, got so many bugs behind me the fps wend down to 5-10 or so. Monsters should have a max pursue range from their starting position, and go back to it if they are not being attacked.
I have to say, zero crashes, great work there, that’s incredible.
On the story… well, never has been the strongest part of these games, is fine, I guess.
On the time-traveling theme, I think could be exploited a bit more, there are very few parts you have to go to other eras, the first chapters, most in the ruined era, are a bit taxing with that ambient, would be much more refreshing that longer parts of the travel had to be made though other eras because they were blocked in ruin era, the experience would be much more varied and interesting. Some interesting action-consequence simple puzzles would be great for the experience. I understand however gameplay is the core and should be streamlined somehow.
Crafting system: Pretty good in current state! I don’t like gambling but that comes with the genre is some shape or form, as is not hard to get shards to craft again, is not taxing, if you end your potential, is just waiting for another chance with a similar drop and keep improving.
Itemization: I feel is good, maybe not great, but is solid. Uniques, some are a bit useless, but I have equipped two I just can’t replace, one chest gives and absurd armor value, one belt give hit goodies, attack speed and 50% evasion, also very hard to replace. There are a few here and there that are interesting, others are simply powerhouses on their own. There’s a fine balance between uniques and other items. Please consider extra itemization and boss goals in the post-game, can’t say much, still not there though, I’m finishing the campaign. BTW I only got one unique with 1 LP and I got about 50, the legendary thing is really really rare, I hope is a tiny bit more frequent at higher levels…
The skills: I’ve gone Blade Dancer, mostly Cascade, clones and crits, and the damage output, the feeling of reward/risk and everything feels amazing, however before the mastery, with flurry is too much of an effort to do things right, throwing decoys to stop the mob, while makes the transition to Blade Dancer quite formidable, rogue maybe is not a good feeling for newcomers.
I miss a few aura skills for that extra flexibility to invest in less skills, and buff the rest would be great. All the blade dancer skills have their place, and get a spot in the gameplay in you want to use five of them.
The passive tree: In a really great place, I had some hard decisions, defense matters, of course the best defense is a good offense as always, but still is impactful, and worth to invest and keep an eye to not fall behind.
The resistances and penetration, while is a bit weird, to me, mechanically is win-win, as not reaching the cap is not crucial as is in most of these games.
What’s really weird is the 0 beginning stats, a bit out of place, I understand stats have a big impact with minor improvement, but still, I miss some starting stats and some stats though leveling (I know you can get some dex in the passive tree if you choose so).
As as side thing: difficulty: I think is in a good place, maybe a slightly easy in some boss fights and mob encounters, sure is quite easy for many, but the boss mechanics are great, and should be telegraphed, consider some “hard mode” with faster attacks, a bit more damage and shorter telegraphs to put the reflexes to the test for those hardcore gamers, with a 10% improved loot as reward, and you have as well a solid experience for those.