Well this is kinda sudden -- Complete Wolcen on PS4/5 next week / on sale on steam atm.

https://rpgamer.com/2023/03/wolcen-lords-of-mayhem-console-versions-act-4-launching-next-week/

Not that it is all that good even now but for the right price it's a fun, slick ARPG with a cinematic story, good voice acting and a ridiculously ambitious soundtrack.

So now we have this, DIV and Grim Dawn all coming to consoles well before PoE 4.0. Well, no one really took PoE on console seriously anyway, right?

In fact, it's kind of a smart move. ARPG hype is pretty high and it's going to have the console crowd all to itself for three months.

And the acquisition by Gaijin ("War Thunder") last year clearly had a purpose: get the resources necessary to "finish" the game.

I remember the console launch for PoE, and the absolute marketing disaster it was.

The PC crowd was livid that their money was being used to develop a console port, after specifically being told it wasn't. When asked how this was even possible then, CW said there were "different internal departments" working on it. Well anyone with a logical mind could understand that a console platform game that isn't out yet, nor monetized, has to get funding up front from the company somewhere. It's 100% obvious that PC money funded the support and development of the console version (which by all accounts isn't even that great). Very clumsy how that was handled.

*side note- notice how CW is very clear now to mention in the trailers and videos they put out, that supporter money goes towards development of the existing game(s), and PoE2.

Anyways D3 got the console version right. I mean really good. In fact, and I might have mentioned before, I prefer D3 on the PS5. It will interesting to see how GD and Wolcen ports fair.

D3 on console straight-up converted me. On PC it felt shallow and pointless. On console, it felt fast, dynamic and fun. I remember it had parallel development with the pc version but I suspect given the drastic changes from d2 to 3 they always meant it to be a console game first and foremost. The active dodge on the right stick was brilliant.

I was not in love with Wolcen's controller set up but I will adapt to it to play the game in my living room on a bigass telly and a decent rig -- my current gpu in the pc is a lowly gtx970 so yeah, even a ps5 outguns that.

Grim Dawn is xbox only so that remains a pc game for me. Just as well -- the mods make it a much more interesting experience imo, whereas Wolcen vanilla is perfectly fine.

Man this is a big week for ARPGs. Three days for free DIV demoplay and the completion/port of a slick but buggy D3/PoE hybrid that faceplanted not due to a lack of interest but an excess of it at the last minute. But for dedicated Exiles, who are not imo ARPG fans anymore, this all means nothing. Pearls before swine, or perhaps just a string of them into a sock. We shall see...and that alone is more interesting than anything going on here. I know you know -- the fractious GD threads you are in are...filler, at best.

hoho indeed.

You make me miss BMBI and Sexcalibur. :(

"

Foreverhappychan wrote:

You make me miss BMBI and Sexcalibur. :(

SexyC was one of my favourite all time posters (Boem and Present company excepted ofc)

We didn't get along but he was one of us.

--

So as expected Wolcen is full price on console but for as much game as you get thst is only fair. For 30 bucks more I could preorder DIV for this weekend but I support what I love, and I truly love Wolcen and Stormfall and Valeria and especially Lambach.

I read the patch notes last night. Seems the final chapter will be less linear than the former 3 and more like a story driven lead up to the endless dungeon/city builder mode. I am cool with that.

Lol it crashed during the tutorial. Never change, Wolcen...

That aside it remains a very pretty game. Probably the best looking ARPG this side of DIV.

The controller setup is clunky but I will get used to it. Sadly the usage of the right stick to directional dodge means the game doesn't zoom but eh it really doesn't need to.

An odd inclusion is a lock on with one of the triggers. Not a hard lock a la over the shoulder camera usage but a life bar lock to focus down certain enemies I guess.

Absolutely no vibration which is a big downer. Maybe a later patch. Maybe.

Since it is ps4 and not ps5 the loading times, few as they are, are a bit long. Nothing on WH40kI however.

The basic gameplay remains the same fluid experience.

But at that high price I don't see this doing all that well. No surprise there. It'll be on sale before long.

"

Foreverhappychan wrote:

Lol it crashed during the tutorial. Never change, Wolcen...

lulcen