(this is a reupload since i think i put this in the wrong category first. i’ll reupload individual parts of the review to their proper categories later, but this is how i originally wrote it.)
in my time playing the beta, i’ve several issues ranging from gameplay mechanics to crashing bugs, but i’ll start with what i think they’re doing right. the ost is gorgeous, only thing it’s missing is a hefty dash more of church organ, the comabt feels good and so does the gunplay, though it feels like there could definitey be more ways to deal with big crowds with ranged, because trying to do so feels futile unless youre playing ogryn, but then it’s hardly ammo efficient, and the characters banter is on point and lore accurate, and the morningstar itself is atmospheric. (there oculd be a bit more variety with missions themselves though.)
i’ll start with an issue i encountered in the tutorial. at one section it attempts to teach you how to activate the special on a chainsword, and the button to indicate this is… strange to say the least. apparently it’s meant to indicate a side mouse button, but it didn’t convey this at all, and not a single button ON my mouse actually did anything, so i rebound it to V–i’ll get to binds later–which mostly mitigated the issue, but this should be a simple fix.
the performance with DLSS enabled and set to automatic was fine for the most part, between 70 to 80 fps while idle nad not much is on the screen, hwlever when hordes rush it it can drop to about 50. with DLSS off on medium preset (which is what i use with it on as well) its more between 30-40 while just idle in the mourningstar, so performance there DEFINITELY needs some optimization. it would really really suck to see it still be in the same state it is currently in on release. btw, my specs are an i7-8700k and an RTX 2070.
i made it to about level 12 playing through, and i have some complaints/suggestions about progression overall. while upgrading your arsenal with new weapons with higher states and higher grades is fine and all, it’s not really enough of progression to justify feeling like your character is actually improving and becoming stronger. something akin to gaining more health or armor based on your level could be neat (this is just a suggestion) as it would make you feel like you’re actually improving. additionally, sire melk’s requisitorium is a cool concept, but having contracts as a weekly thing, locks your progress on a weekly basis, which is just not what the game should aim for. if you want to grind out for however long to get what you want, you should be able to, and NOT artifically timegated.
some imporant settings were missing in the closed beta, such as mouse sensitivity settings, which very much need to be added. additionally, if you changed your keybind settings at all, like yuou essnetially have to due to the tutorial, your changes do not save between sessions. you need to re-change the binds every time you exit and launch the game. needless to say you shouldn’t have to do this.
while playing the game i slowly grew more accustomed to the game’s particular health system, but i have some suggestions regarding it as well as your loadout, ie, what you take into missions with you. as for your health itself, the system as it is is fine and all, but i really think there should be additional methods of health regeneration, and there should absolutely be more ways to mitigate or remove corruption, via items or otherwise, and not just at medicae stations-- perhaps something like a dedicated squad medic? that would be pretty cool as a veteran subclass. as for the loadout itself, there could really be some more options, such as choosing to bring in ammo cases with you for your squad, as well as medic bags, since there’s really no reason you wouldn’t do any of this. after all it’s 40k and the squad knows theyre heading into the chaos-infested underhive-- they should be strapped to the teeth, and you should feel like it. upgrading your armor in this manner could be interesting. additionally, the guardsman and preacher only bringing in 4 and 3 grenades respectively doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. if you can physically fit more than that on your person, in pockets, or even just hanging on a strap, you should definitely be allowed to bring more in. in 40k 6 feels like a good amount for the guardsman, 4 just feels “ah, another standard FPS number.”
similarly, separating from the squad seems to be very intentionally punished, and this is understandable, however it’s a little ridiculous that if you backtrack a little to go return to a medicae station use you left in case you needed it, separating from the squad for a while to go heal, or if you are cleaning up some enemies behind you while the squad moves forward, it spawns one of the many types of enemies explicitly designed to instantly down you and require squad intervention, such as trappers, dogs, or pox chargers. it’s reeeaaally blatant that this happens, and it’s really excessive.
on the topic of enemies, being stunlocked is a real problem and a real buzzkill. if you’re playing preacher and you use your special to charge and regain some armor, but a gunner just happens to shoot you in the middle of it, it completely removes your momentum. in this manner not only can your charges be cancelled, but it can: prevent you from getting into cover because you are being stunlocked by gunners; prevent you from reviving teammates because you were one milisecond away from a successful revivals, but the action is cancelled because a standard enemies left pinky-toe brushed against you, among other things.
i also had some issues with the psyker class. the psyker is extremely useful to pick off tough enemies, and this combiend with the revolver makes him pretty powerful against single target. however, the issue comes when he has to do anything related to multi-target. when you get the force sword it feels like the game is trying to tell you that you should absolutely be engaging in the thick of melee battles, which is further reinforced by the fact that the psyker’s special is to knock down all enemies around you, the problem is that he doesn’t feel very GOOD at this. whenever you jump in to swing at a mob of enemies, you quickly find your armor depleted and hardly regenerating, which quickly leads to downs. it feels like you are being punished for engaging in an activity the game is nudging you towards, and psykers could definitely use some tune-ups about this.
finally, there is absolutely a censorship issue, but i won’t say more on it as other threads already elaborate more than i could.
overall the game’s core aspects are very good, and i found it to be very fun, but it needs some polish and mechanics need some reworking, and graphics need optimizing. hopefully a month and a half is enough. if they fix some of these issues, they’ll have a buyer out of me.