If you ever decide it's time to jump on New Vegas, the Viva New Vegas modlist has Wabbajack support now I believe. So you should be able to install the most stable and baseline recommended modlist with just a couple of clicks.
Caveat is I have not played NG2 on Master Ninja because I already hate myself enough, I don't need more misery . Apart from some single chapter challenge stuff I guess. But I have never felt like pulling off UTs was significantly challenging compared to relying on combos and OTs. You're moving around so much anyway that an on-landing UT is often easy to pull off as long as you have 2 essences in the air.
What I find most fun in NG2 combat is using all the combos from the move list of the various weapons, and using OTs strategically for i-frames. But UT spam just seems so much more efficient and easy.
Maybe Master Ninja is significantly different, I don't know.
I see. Should you ever want to look into it again the modpacks are where it really shines. Anomaly itself is meant to be a unified stable platform for modders more than anything else, so I can understand if it felt a bit... bare bones.
I'm sure it will happen at some point as I've mentally had it on my to-do list for quite some time. But... it might take a year or two. My backlog is extensive.
I thought Control was great, I really enjoyed the gameplay - particularly when you start getting more abilities and weapons - but I agree that the main plot and also to some extent the main character isn't the best part. For me though I really loved the world building and all the little SCP style stuff, so that kept me hooked. Plus I was already deep into the Remedyverse 😄
If you are determined to never install Epic Launcher then I recommend just pirating Alan Wake 2. YMMV if you haven't played AW1 and the rest of the Remedy catalogue but for me AW2 was not only gorgeous but in general one of the best games I've ever played. Or at least one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. I'm actually in the middle of a replay of it right now, it's phenomenal.
Thanks, I'll definitely save this for some day in the future!
I also tend to enjoy the process of setting up your own custom modlist, but after being deep in that rabbit hole before with Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout: New Vegas, Baldur's Gate 2 and STALKER (all 4 games + Anomaly) I don't know if I have it in me to learn the ins and outs of another mod landscape 😅
Mapocolops is one of the best Let's Players out there. Always engages with the story and tries to pay attention, likes reading everything and getting immersed, very genuine while still managing to be very entertaining in an authentic way instead of contrived and faked. Also regularly plays retro games, which is very refreshing and sets him apart a bit.
Do you have any large and complete modpacks to recommend? I don't know that I have it in me to learn the lay of the land from scratch.
Also, have you used the Mantella mod any? It's actually a similar mod that got me back into STALKER Anomaly. Really fun immersive use of AI for roleplaying and forming attachment to your companions.
This year in particular has been absolutely insane. I've played more releases the same year they launched this year than any in recent memory and still feel like I've missed out.
UTs were perfectly balanced in NGB in my opinion. You need a perfect equilibrium between the power/damage of the move, the amount of safety it gives you (i-frames), the charge time it requires and the enemy count (essence generation). NGB hit all of these were UTs were a powerful tool that felt earned whenever you pulled them off and never too powerful.
In NG2 you get an eternity of i-frames, insane tracking that often has you teleporting around the room between enemies (like Tonfas) and a delimb system that means it's easier for UTs to feed themselves. Which is exacerbated by the design philosophy being "kill hordes of enemies quickly" without tweaking the 2-essence-cost of a full charge UT and even reducing the basic charge time.
I will begin by pushing my personal agenda: Jade Empire is a super underrated older Bioware game and I think could fit your description. While you do amass a large set of followers over the course of the story, they mainly reside at camp. While out and adventuring you're only ever bringing with you one at a time: exactly the sidekick you're looking for!
If you want to stay isometric I hold Baldur's Gate 2 very highly as far as retro RPGs go. You do have a party of six there however. You only have 3 companions for the first few hours though, so at least you get eased into it. And you could just choose to not have a full party if you want. Will make the game a bit harder, mind.
Fallout 1&2 are also retro RPGs and pretty much just better than Arcanum in every way. Not really a party focused experience, you can have companions but they're more like the sidekicks you mentioned.
Neverwinter Nights 2 just recently got an enhanced edition and that's also a smaller party experience. The main campaign is decent, but the expansion Mask of the Betrayer is often brought up as one of the best CRPG stories of all time and heralded for its stellar writing.
They have been for a long time now. They're only going to keep getting worse until someone or something stops them, and I can't see what that would be.
Better recommendations for... what? For Arcanum or for RPGs in general? 😄Multiverse Edition was pretty good as far as Arcanum goes and I'm glad to have played it, but there are certainly better CRPGs out there.
If they would have finished and polished NG2 then it could have been the best action game of all time, for sure. It still delivers that "playable cocaine" feeling that's very unique, and Chapter 1 of NG2 is probably the best level in the whole franchise and one of the best action game levels of all time.
The problem is all the absolute nonsense in the game, and the abundance of pretty much garbage levels. I think like half the levels in the game are outright bad. Also stuff like how completely broken UTs are. It's obvious the game wasn't fully playtested and balanced, and so the super powered UTs were slapped on as a bandaid. But they're not really fun to use and end result is a mechanic that you at best feel forced to resort to just to get through levels, but most of the time try to actively avoid using in order to actually have fun.
I love both games. I think NGB is a better game, but NG2 has higher highs. The combat in NG2 is more viscerally satisfying and fun to play around with, but the game is an unfinished, untested and unbalanced mess. I still love it, and Chapter 1 of NG2 is the best Ninja Gaiden level or the whole series, but NGB feels much more complete and balanced.
I try to encourage people to play the Remedy back catalogue first as it makes the story experience much better, but Alan Wake 2 is one of the more visually impressive titles of the past few years. Absolutely beautiful HDR implementation too. Hell, I bet even Control would push your hardware a bit with raytracing and everything maxed out. You should check it out too, it also looks great.
Hellblade 2 looks incredible from the trailers (I haven't gotten to it yet) and while it wasn't as well received by everyone as its predecessor I think everyone agrees it looked stunning.
Ninja Gaiden 2 Black looks fantastic, if you can play it maxed out with raytracing and all settings maxed and still hit 120 FPS I'm sure it'll be a visual feast. I only have a 4070ti but I still found it gorgeous. Even the new Ninja Gaiden 4 looks really good, but it only just came out so I haven't played it myself yet.
I found STALKER 2 to be very pretty as well when I played it.
Great review, as always I love your content! You mentioned a higher price point but I don't think you mentioned the actual price anywhere in the review. Or did I miss it? I guess it's just a quick search away.
Probably not a hidden gem anymore at this point but it's been on my mind again so I have to go with STALKER: Anomaly. Free standalone fan project that was born out of a long series of mod projects stemming from GSC open sourcing the X-ray Engine.
It's basically an amalgamation of all the maps from all three original STALKER games smushed together into a big giant sandbox. Each faction has a quest line, but the main focus is on survival, exploration and progression - as well as the emergent storytelling growing out of the simulated life in the zone happening both around you and in the background with the A-life system.
It's got a modding scene that could probably rival Skyrim, and at this point there are numerous ready-to-install plug-and-play modpacks available that offer distinctly different experiences if you don't want to fiddle with making your own modlist.
What dedicated people have been able to do with this old ass engine is a true marvel.
If you ever decide it's time to jump on New Vegas, the Viva New Vegas modlist has Wabbajack support now I believe. So you should be able to install the most stable and baseline recommended modlist with just a couple of clicks.