It's a very good game that fixes a lot of stuff about Borderlands that is quite lame, but you will want to wait for it to be on sale, because screw the base price.

EDITED FOR FULL SEASON:

An imperfect game punching above its weight class. This game wanted to be everything: a superhero ensemble drama, a dialogue-driven RPG, a dating sim, a commentary on grief, and a management RPG. In trying to juggle all of that, it never learned how to breathe.

First off, I lost my dad two years ago and the funeral is in December, so the fact that the main hero just lost his dad REALLY hit me in the feels and honestly directed a lot of how I shaped my Rob as a kind, compassionate guy and not as an arsehole. It also helped me streamline the general theme of this game: redemption.

PROS:
- The dialogue is great and the worldbuilding is fantastic.
- While still barebones, they do make an effort in the later episodes to tie the hacking and dispatch segments into the gameplay.
- 90% of this game's replayability is the Dispatch segments.
- The choices, while keeping to a linear path, have enough variety to make you FEEL like the story is yours.
- The animation is incredible.
- Some actual incredible scenes (that unfortunately come way too late and do not feel earned).
- Episode 8's Dispatch segment is incredible.

CONS:
- Pacing is completely abysmal. Way too much crammed into 8 less-than-an-hour episodes.
- Literally all of the "teehee tyhard" sequences exist entirely just to see how many people did it in the choice roundups at the end of each episode.
- The main romance is SUPER forced, even though one moment at the end of episode 2 made me, out loud, go "oh my God the drama I am here for it". By episode 3, the main romance arc gets even more convoluted and hamfisted, even though the choices to "avoid" it get better. Episode 7 has some of the most borderline incel fantasy writing that I've ever seen.
- The main villain is a welcome subversion to the Genius Mastermind Generational Trauma Nemesis Trope, and it is no coincidence that they cast Matthew Mercer in the role in order to psych us out, but they show up for literally four scenes total.
- Far more "edgy/gross/LOL we're not PC" humor than I thought there would be.
- The Hacking Mini-Game is ridiculously out-of-place and serves no purpose other than acheevs.
- No real reason for it to be episodic.

So, I wanted this to be a 10/10, but there are some super blaring misfires (which partially stem from this both being their first game as well as them trying to pry themselves apart from Telltale games) which make it a 7/10. A *fascinating* solid 7/10. An ambitious, uneven experiment, and only the future will tell if this is who AdHoc *is*, or if this was only baby steps.

Final Score: 8/10

PROS
- The hub areas are a very nice mix between Origins and Inquisition. Loot is scattered enough and is a good balance between "off the beaten path" and "puzzle".
- Faction system is great. I originally thought that having weapon and armor upgrades locked between Lore EXP and Faction EXP would be horrible, but it paces the progression of the game nicely.
- HAIR PHYSICS. You will travel Thedas with a flowing mane. If not, then who even are you?
- All of the party members feel like real people with vastly distinct opinions and personalities. Taash is the stand-out, as her entire identity crisis character plot really impressed me.
- The Lore reveals that were seeded since Origins were really well done. I can see why a lot of people would feel disappointed in how things ultimately played out, but I found the way they connected the history of Thedas was wonderfully executed, as well as how they very clearly ended the "Solas Saga" of the Dragon Age franchise.
- RNG Loot - minus a few obvious static areas - is actually incredibly well done.
- Character Creator is f_king unbelievable.
- When the writing is good, it's GOOD. Act 3 is epic AF.
- Pacing between quests - especially party member quests - feels natural and not paint-by-numbers.
- Skill tree is excellent.
- The Tactical UI actually is really well done and the party members do actually matter.

CONS
- Sometimes, the GaAS/MMO first draft origins of this game come back to haunt us. This is most apparent during certain fetch quests, areas, and boss battles.
- Romance is here but it's very, very truncated.
- Too few party member skills to actually push using Tactical Mode more creatively.
- The writing in plot-centric group scenes is extremely ham-fisted and inorganic as compared to talking to party members as individuals.
- No real telegraphing between regular quests and Act Break quests.
- 90% of the Dragons are quest-based instead of environment based.

It is essentially an improvement over the first game in ever way. Every feature, every mechanic is just better. Whenever I go back to Zero Dawn, I always jump off Meridian and then press the button for my glider to pop out..... and it never does.

It never does.

This game is also effing beautiful.

Like. This is a very good game. A very good game.
It just gets what makes rougelite deckbuilders fun, and peppers that with A BOATLOAD OF AWESOME MONSTERS ALL WITH THEIR OWN ABILITIES.

Each battle is a puzzle, and that's what really sets this apart from the rest of the pack. It's all about party management and position management. There are also enough gameplay hooks to keep you wanting to progress, try new things, and explore. The game provides ample reinforcement for playing its multiple difficulty settings/plot hooks.

All of the Not Pokemon are cute, but some are cuter than others. You'll know which ones I'm talking about (okay, so I am partial to the Big Bois).