by Ranior
MadRobin wrote:
It seems to be true that this game is not fun for everyone. It just makes me sad because our group is having a blast and I can't wait to play again as soon as each game is over. It's hard to resist trying to argue people out of their preferences :)
Haha indeed. I hope that despite my protestations here, that this point is still clear: I am glad for those of you who are enjoying this game. I'm not trying to tell anyone that they should quit or that people will not enjoy this.
I am saying though that many of the tepid reviews and posts of others do have merit--SeaFall is a game that has real problems for some gamers and for those who are hesitant about playing a game (and are for some reason reading this spoiler filled thread), you may want to stay away. For those who are starting to feel these type of experiences, you're not alone. And I doubt things will get wildly better over the next several games.
If we backtrack about a month, I was on the opposite side. I had played the first two games and loved it. I had preordered long ago and read all the posts by Rob on the PHG site, eagerly anticipating each one. I pooh-poohed the reviewers at Dice Tower and SUSD, ignoring their tepid reviews as somehow being wrong about this one. I didn't really believe other's posts I read that talked about the flaws in balance in the game or the problems they were seeing. I hadn't experienced those and I would have a different experience than all them I told myself.
But, I didn't. Because now I agree with them. SeaFall is an ambitious interesting game. There are lots of good to great parts about it. But there are real flaws that will make it near unplayable or at least unpalatable for many gamers. And it can be hard to know where you will fall until you actually invest for several sessions and start to find out and see things unfold for yourself.
I may yet play a few more games. Part of me still wants to in the hopes for the great game to emerge I want this to be. But I'm really wary. SeaFall has burned me already a bit. I don't really want to keep playing a game that adds to my frustrations rather than adds to my fun. There's plenty on my shelf that will add to my fun. SeaFall really doesn't make me want to reach for it again.
This is purely my experience though. I hope no one else has it. I hope everyone else can just love it and have a blast playing it. I sure know I still want that, and for awhile that was my experience.