I’d like to start by saying the game is fun. I’m not saying the devs did a bad job or anything.
I’m saying taking the game out of beta while it isn’t yet finished is dishonest.
I really hate the trend in big game companies to ship an incomplete game and patch in the missing features later. It’s a scummy practice. I have no problems buying an incomplete game in and of itself, I bought darktide in beta already, and other games before they were finished like Don’t Starve way back when and ultrakill more recently. But those games were honest about it, they said up front that it was early access or alpha or whatever and i knew upfront i was getting something that wasn’t quite done yet.
Calling the game ‘finished’ without actually finishing core features for the gameplay loop(do missions, get weapons, upgrade weapons, do more missions) is dishonest.
I know you aren’t going to do it, but tell the execs to shut up about release dates next time and keep the game in beta until all of the core mechanics are finished. People will still buy it. I did.
Again, this is a great game and I’m going to keep playing it. I can tell the developers have done great work making this a reality, I’m just sick and tired of game companies being dishonest about the state of their games on launch day.
This game isn’t ready for launch, plain and simple. I come from a game development background. I’ve worked on numerous live service games on multiple platforms at various stages and through the full cycle from initial conception, to alpha, beta, softlaunch, launch, live service, and sunsetting. Balance is constantly tweaked and adjusted even post-release, so I won’t touch on that. Missing or not fully implemented game systems are unfortunate, but also not uncommon, same thing with lack of content. Can’t really make a judgement until everything is released at launch, but I bet you the cash shop will be working from day 1 though lol. What’s most concerning is how poorly the game is optimized, and how pervasive the numerous CTDs and backend errors are. I was getting constant error code 2007s yesterday to the point where the game was basically unplayable. This is on a gigabit ethernet connection. On three different systems of varying quality. Also tried wifi.
This is all, however, an all too common occurrence when it comes to game development. Like you touched on, execs want the game out for the holiday season and don’t really care what kind of state the game is in as long as it’s semi-playable. Especially with a popular IP with a dedicated fanbase. I’m on the fence about a refund. I want to support the devs, because I know the game will end up in a good place, but I also don’t want to support rushed, unfinished releases and other poor practices.