izigame.me

Quick early impression:
This game is really nicely done. While there are a few minor complaints about how some of the spells and combat work, overall this debut game form a new studio delivers a lovingly crafted and well thought out action adventure game that blends a number of familiar but fresh concepts into its own creation.
People are going to sleep on this game because it takes a little bit of time to open up and get into the meat of things and everyone is so used to instant gratification - but let me tell you - if you just put in a bit of time this game gets really difficult to put down.
There are bits of monster hunter in here with a really open and free form combat that allows you to combine some excellent physics based spells for some pretty neat results. It's the sort of game that just gets better and better the more you unlock and play. At first it feels a bit slow and you feel weak. The melee and ranged combat felt dull but once you start to build nicer gear things open up and get incredibly fun.
I had the most epic battle with a dragon that i think i've ever had in a video game. It was utterly thrilling the whole way through.
The battles with these giant creatures are so well done, from the freedom in how you approach them to the mechanics at play. It's honestly so much fun.
My first mistake was thinking i could rush into the action of the game and by doing so i missed out on alot of important story and guidance. This meant that i didn't really vibe with the demo as i was more interested in rushing and skipping dialogue.
While the full release does let you carry over your save i opted to start fresh and this time sit back and listen to the intro and to engage with the dialogue. The story is well told and wonderfully illustrated with gorgeous animated cut scenes. The dialogue scenes are again wonderfully illustrated and offer multiple paths for your answers as each fleshes out the game world and allows you to get to know each characters personality giving your companions a depth that you will miss when skipping. The voice work is very well done and each bit of information rounds out the lore or game world in a fairly natural way.
Visually the game is a real treat. The style is difficult to describe but i'm going to call it a photo-realistic cartoon look meaning the character and creature designs are stylised and more like something out of a comic book and the textures are not trying to be photo-real and yet the lighting and overall shading and rendering is very realistic and physically accurate. Its difficult to describe but the overall result is that you feel like you are inside a wonderful fantasy storybook where everything looks very tangible while still popping off your screen in a beautifully art directed style. I really like it and it really fits the overall theme and tone of the game.
Gameplay is really interesting. Without really spoiling the story, you are part of a small crew that have accessed a unique location and set out to investigate further. You go out on expeditions and gather resources while trying to progress further. You bring those resources back to your base to build up your gear and get stronger and more powerful. I have really only scratched the surface of this but so far that is what the main gameplay is based around. All the while you are pushing the story forwards and leaning more about this world.
Combat is where i feel the game could have been more fleshed out. The magic based stuff is really fun. You can use ice to stick enemies feet to the floor or block an archer from firing. You can pick them up and hurl them into walls or off cliffs or into environmental dangers. As the game progresses you can then combine a bunch of these into some pretty creative attacks. All this is great. I'm creating fire bombs by combining spells and taking out mobs with them. I'm freezing a dragons mouth shut so i can get in close to attack. Its amazing.
A short while in you can also upgrade or forge new weapons. I made a fire bow and instantly the ranged combat felt leagues better.
I need to spend more time with the game so these are just early impressions from my time with the demo and this full release and mostly to say yeah its good. Its an AA game but punching well above its class and i can't wait to immerse myself more into this world and find out what else there is to do and see.
Will update when i've played more.
Performance is very good for me.
I'm on a 3090 with a 5800X3D. 64GB Ram and running off M2 Storage.
I am playing at 4K with frames locked to 60fps
Everything is at max. The game auto configured to this and i left it that way.
I did choose to enable DLSS set to Quality to bring my GPU usage down from 89% to 71% as i prefer to not push my machine too hard if its not needed. Saves on wear and teare and also cuts down power usage and heat output.