dude, okay, so, i haven't spent actual money *cough* on a computer program in... a very long time. but the graphics and premise of this really got me, so for the first time since i was like 12, i cracked open my wallet for a video game.
and IT IS FANTASTIC.
I WOULDNT EVEN CALL THIS A "MINECRAFT CLONE" - more like "everything that minecraft could have done right but didn't". it takes itself more seriously, it's FAR more immersive, and it FEELS like they actually cared about the game when they made it - minecraft in comparison feels like a damn lego set now. and i am PICKY. I'M PICKY BRO!! this has LORE (with good writing so far, despite some very minor spelling/grammatical errors), it has NPCS THAT DON'T BREAK IMMERSION (i stg hearing the villager "hmm" activates a violent sleeper agent in my brain) and YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN CHARACTER IN-GAME INSTEAD OF NEEDING TO GO THROUGH 20 SIDE CHANNELS. (admittedly i'd love to see some more eye/skin colors someday, but the stuff already there is lovely!! i'm VERY impressed with the hair options!)
i've already put 5 hours in (i don't have a lot of time for video games, so that's a lot for me) and have felt fully immersed/enjoyed every moment so far. there's been some frustration - coming to vintage story from minecraft is a bit of an adjustment, especially in the crafting section, but i'm slowly figuring it out. and they did something super difficult super well; i don't MIND figuring it out! it's a good balance of difficult and rewarding!
the only thing i'd change if i could... isn't something i see them changing, to be honest. with worlds like this (open, explorable, always something new) i've always been obsessed with the idea of being able to FLY around it, preferably with wings of my own. (that is, the character having functioning wings, not "creative mode" flight. something immersive and balanced.) so far, the "wings" mod in minecraft has been the closest i've gotten. i don't want it badly enough to go back to minecraft, but man... i do hope that that gets modded into vintage story someday. or added to the main game, although i can't imagine why they'd ever do it. consider this my humble request, i suppose? (a creature can dream)
also the drifters? terrifying, but their fight animations could use just the tiniest bit of tweaking. just, they tend to slash AWAY from me but still hit me, so i think something about their hit boxes is off. not game breaking or anything, but kind of breaks immersion for me, so i hope to see that patched someday. (and maybe a voice clip that's not so close to the minecraft zombie, if you're at it.)
FANTASTIC job, all in all. i haven't been this fully sucked in to/supportive of a video game in my entire adult life. i really look forward to where this goes!