Octopus Overlords

I’m playing on XBox and I made it to Antonio earlier today.

The feels are all there, and the environments are great. Reminds me of the Sniper series for some reason.

My biggest issue so far is that combat feels a bit half baked. I’ve switched it to hard but I still win every fight by just rushing at guards if they spot me and mashing the fight buttons. It’s still early but I hope it picks up in that area.

Other than that, I wish I didn’t drop my recently picked up improvised weapon every time I climb something or pretty much do anything with my hands.

And this is just me lamenting over games that include stealth but don’t go far enough, but give me the ability to shoot out lights, please. And have lighting matter when in stealth, I should add.

But yeah, it does capture the feel of an Indiana Jones adventure.

Things I figured out way too late in the game:

When wearing your classic Indy garb you have your revolver. Press 1 to pull it out.

The little boxes with padlocks can be broken open with any "hardened" melee weapon, i.e. a hammer will open it, a wine bottle will not.

There are some crates (usually up high) that you can whip open for fruit.

Once you have a lighter you can burn propaganda posters for some AP.

Don't mess with the rotating fountain puzzle until you're ready to leave The Vatican.

Gryndyl wrote:Things I figured out way too late in the game:

When wearing your classic Indy garb you have your revolver. Press 1 to pull it out.

The little boxes with padlocks can be broken open with any "hardened" melee weapon, i.e. a hammer will open it, a wine bottle will not.

There are some crates (usually up high) that you can whip open for fruit.

Once you have a lighter you can burn propaganda posters for some AP.

Don't mess with the rotating fountain puzzle until you're ready to leave The Vatican.

I'm finding out that there are a lot of unmentioned "features" in the game that you're left to discover. Regarding your points...

#1 - The various disguises have their own weapons. The revolver can be flipped in your hand to act as a melee weapon. The Vatican garb comes with a staff, but it takes damage like any other improvised weapon. The difference is that it doesn't disappear once it's worn out. That's when you use a Repair Kit to restore your disguise weapon.

#2 - Saw the padlocked boxes mentioned online and have found several. These are important because they often contain substantial amounts of money. I probably wouldn't have figured out they can be broken on my own because there's no indication it will work.

#3 - Stumbled across a crate when I saw an indicator that I could use my whip... hit the button and was surprised when fruit came out.

#4 - Haven't found a lighter yet, but good to know

A few other tips...

- The books you can purchase by finding medicine vials in each region are the only way to increase your maximum health and stamina

- The eye icon next to your portrait in the lower left corner is an indicator that a guard/enemy is currently watching you. Wait until the eye disappears and you can grab objects without being noticed. The word 'steal' also disappears when you're hovering over an item

- The Lucky Hat skill that you can unlock only works if you're wearing the Indy outfit, and its availability is noted by a gold bar in your healthcare meter. You can also take more damage in a fight while not in a different disguise.

Gryndyl wrote: Wed Dec 11, 2024 10:33 pm Don't mess with the rotating fountain puzzle until you're ready to leave The Vatican.

This is the one I wish I had realized. I left a lot of opportunities behind there. So much of the "open world" stuff becomes unlocked through advancing other stuff that you never know if trying to get to it is a waste of time.

Also, I am not certain but it seemed like my money got reset when I moved to the second main location. Had I known that I would have been much more willing to buy the optional help at the Vatican.

disarm wrote: Wed Dec 11, 2024 11:56 pm #2 - Saw the padlocked boxes mentioned online and have found several. These are important because they often contain substantial amounts of money. I probably wouldn't have figured out they can be broken on my own because there's no indication it will work.

The tiny dot/crosshair turns red when you are holding a hardened weapon and looking at the boxes. There is an indication, just not a very obvious one.

I played to Antonio last night on the Series S. I agree the game gives you great nostalgia for the first 3 Indy films and Troy Baker's Harrison Ford is excellent. BUT so far I have to think the reviewers are all scoring this a little too high based on their nostalgia. I have three main issues so far to nit pick.

1. The lip synching is PS3 generation bad. It's made even worse because the game looks so good and they nail every other aspect of the looks and sound. The totally out of sync lip movement throws everything off for me during cutscenes. Maybe it's better on the PC and Series X, but I doubt it, it's probably an engine thing.

2. The controls are down right clunky. Why do I have to push X and then move the control stick to open every door or move vines? The controls are also stuck in the PS3 era.

3. The combat also suffers from the clunkiness, as Hepcet pointed out you can bum rush guys and just wail away on the left and right triggers and beat everyone. At one point in the Vatican I had the entire place rush me and I had no problem just mashing away on the triggers and winning. If that persists then why even bother with stealth?

I have a feeling I will enjoy the game but in the end I think this will be a 7.5 type of game and not the 90+ that reviewers are giving it.

Scraper wrote: Thu Dec 12, 2024 9:22 am
2. The controls are down right clunky. Why do I have to push X and then move the control stick to open every door or move vines? The controls are also stuck in the PS3 era.

Absolutely this. Just have me hit X, for christ’s sake.

hepcat wrote:

Scraper wrote: Thu Dec 12, 2024 9:22 am
2. The controls are down right clunky. Why do I have to push X and then move the control stick to open every door or move vines? The controls are also stuck in the PS3 era.

Absolutely this. Just have me hit X, for christ’s sake.

I assume this is because they're trying to have you participate in the 'motion' involved in tasks, but I also find it a little annoying.

disarm wrote: Wed Dec 11, 2024 11:56 pm - The Lucky Hat skill that you can unlock only works if you're wearing the Indy outfit, and its availability is noted by a gold bar in your healthcare meter. You can also take more damage in a fight while not in a different disguise.

Huh. I wondered what that gold pip was that appears from time to time. I haven't learned the Lucky Hat skill though.

Now that I'm a bit more into the game (still exploring the Vatican), I have to agree with the comments about the stealth and combat not quite being up to snuff.

One particularly egregious example: I got caught in a restricted area and some soldiers came at me, I knocked a few out and ran away from the others. Once I was about 25 yards away and still in view, they gave up and went back to their routines. I walked back up to a few of them and they just gave me the "Hello, Father" greeting. That's not great.

Now, at this point, I don't mind it, not one bit, perhaps this will change the further into it I get. In order to experience this story as Indiana Jones and immerse myself in the sumptuously detailed environments, I'm going to do my best to not exploit these issues and just enjoy. This isn't an FPS after all, nor is it the next coming of Thief: The Dark Project.

The story is delivered very well. The combat and stealth are not great but adequate I'd say. There is a LOT of side stuff that isn't very rewarding or interesting.

infinitelurker wrote: Thu Dec 12, 2024 6:36 pm Now that I'm a bit more into the game (still exploring the Vatican), I have to agree with the comments about the stealth and combat not quite being up to snuff.

One particularly egregious example: I got caught in a restricted area and some soldiers came at me, I knocked a few out and ran away from the others. Once I was about 25 yards away and still in view, they gave up and went back to their routines. I walked back up to a few of them and they just gave me the "Hello, Father" greeting. That's not great.

Now, at this point, I don't mind it, not one bit, perhaps this will change the further into it I get. In order to experience this story as Indiana Jones and immerse myself in the sumptuously detailed environments, I'm going to do my best to not exploit these issues and just enjoy. This isn't an FPS after all, nor is it the next coming of Thief: The Dark Project.

I played about 2 more hours last night in the Vatican open area. My initial impressions haven't improved. I don't understand why some black shirts alert to me and start fighting but others don't. It mostly just seems like an excuse by the devs to make you find alternate routes around the map. I also don't understand why the map is so damn cumbersome to look at.

I got to the excavation site and I think I was supposed to use stealth, but all of the black shirts bum rushed me and so I just mashed away until they all went down. Which made exploring the rest of that area a breeze.

At this point I think I'm just going to rush through the game and do main story stuff and ignore everything else. Because I do enjoy the story and the performances by the actors.

infinitelurker wrote: Thu Dec 12, 2024 6:36 pm nor is it the next coming of Thief: The Dark Project.

Oh god, I wish someone would make a good Thief game.

Gryndyl wrote: Wed Dec 11, 2024 10:33 pm Don't mess with the rotating fountain puzzle until you're ready to leave The Vatican.

You eventually get the ability to travel back to previous locations even if it makes no sense in context of the story.

hepcat wrote: Fri Dec 13, 2024 10:47 am

infinitelurker wrote: Thu Dec 12, 2024 6:36 pm nor is it the next coming of Thief: The Dark Project.

Oh god, I wish someone would make a good Thief game.

If you remove 'good', there's Warren Spector's Thick as Thieves coming up.

Scraper wrote: Fri Dec 13, 2024 10:38 am
I don't understand why some black shirts alert to me and start fighting but others don't.

Officers will see through your disguise.

Not only cane you travel to any locations after a certain point to do side stuff you missed, you are free to explore any locations after you finish the story.

Also, done. 27/45 achievements, 23.5 hours.

coopasonic wrote: Fri Dec 13, 2024 7:48 pm Also, done. 27/45 achievements, 23.5 hours.

Wow!

I'm not one to ever 100% games, but I find myself trying to with this one, just because I want to see it all. I'm only 10 or so hours in, but (I think) I've been in every nook and cranny of the Vatican trying to get every secret.

As I've played through some of the puzzles, I've had a bit of a re-kindling of memories from games of the past. I'm getting feelings of Myst, Dungeon Master, King's Quest and more. As with many topics (music, art, etc.), it's interesting to me how having experienced the long arc of pc gaming enables one to see the evolution of gaming mechanisms, story, level designs, sound design, and more. Sorry, to go off topic a bit.

Is this game playable with a 3060 Ti?

Victoria Raverna wrote: Fri Dec 13, 2024 10:58 pm Is this game playable with a 3060 Ti?

According to the Steam page, the min requirement is a 2060 Super, so I'm gonna say yes.