I’d say FO4, despite anyone’s thoughts on that game otherwise, really pulled this off too. Same with Divinity 2.
That is opposing factions battling eachother in the gameworld. It really makes the world feel more real and alive. For example in FO4 you could arrive at a super mutant base being attacked by the Brotherhood of Steel, and suddenly a group of raiders joins the fight for a massive free for all. Regardless of people’s opinion on that game in other areas, it gave the game soul imo.
Many games have the problem of feeling empty, soulless and entirely player focused when it comes to immersion, atmosphere and gameplay. Having been a gamer for 20+ years now (yes I’m old), I’ve experienced my share.
In Divinity 2 there was much of this same thing. Different factions battling eachother not just behind the scenes but ingame. The various factions being at odds and such brings out this same feeling of the world being lived in.
So with someone with an almost autistic eye to details these things caught my attention early in GD. In areas you can see beasts fighting aetherials, aetherials fighting bloodsworn, and humans fighting humans. There is also a masterful placement of such cases where it makes sense. Like in the troll cave to deadman’s gulch the battle between them takes place in the end and beginning of these areas.
Instead of enemies just standing around in the world “waiting for the player”. This helps with immersion by making it feel like the player is there with the world, and that the world isn’t there just for the player so to speak.
On a lore and worldbuilding level I also like the fact that 2 dominating factions have the world as their battleground, with humans being caught in the middle as a minority just trying to survive. That’s another topic but just wanted to throw that in here too.
Anyway! I just wanted to give praise to how this is in GD. Because for someone who cares a lot about the “feel” of the world, this does have a big impact on the enjoyment of the game. At least for me personally.
I hadn’t really thought about it but you do have a point. Especially for a genre where plot usually takes a backstory to gameplay, it’s kind of nice feeling like a part of a setting rather than just the setting itself. Sure, your character is a badass and incredibly important, but he only got where he is because Bourbon made a choice not to kill them when they had nothing but a shirt on their back, Creed had the knowledge and cunning to direct them at the right targets, and enough of the Not Foreign Legion is still around to back them up and hold the fort when they’re not around. You really feel like the world, as dire as it is, wasn’t just waiting around for you to save it.
By the way, if you haven’t, you should really try Morrowind. It absolutely NAILED what you’re describing in a way that no other game has.
That’s when you define the words collateral damage and unleash every long CD nuke you have If you kill everything, brutally, at once. No one can steal your exp.
All this monsters fighting other monsters talk and I think it would be cool in GD 2 had a boss fight where an aetherial fights a chthonian, something like Solaris and Lunaris fight in PoE.
i’m expecting grim dawn 2 to have TITANIC-sized c’hthonian/aetherial monstrosity/some celestial/part of yugol to clash with each other in some area, while our character can only avoid their godzilla vs kingkong-ish AoE attacks to reach our objectives. its very likely to happen (lorewise) since gd1 endings implied that the wars in cairn will only escalate further after the brief appearance of korvaak and yugol.
Stopping the sentence right there is good enough for me frankly
On topic, i also like how alive the world feels at times. Aetherials and Ch’thonians aren’t just after your player character and when you enter the fray, everyone involved won’t just drop everything and forget their hostilities to hard-focus you specifically like other games seem to do, it really is a nice touch.
If you kill everything, brutally, at once. No one can steal your exp.
