For the most part I think the update is a success but the one thing I am disappointed with is that it makes the life paths even more irrelevant. This isn't just 2.0, they have been moving further and further way from build specific or a class based system for some time now. I realize having the freedom to mix and match skills regardles of life path can be fun but I do think it removes some replayability from the game.
With this update everyone starts at a baseline where they have similar skills, even cyberware abilities that I think should be available to only Netrunners can be used by other builds. It still has restrictions on the more advanced skills I know but I hope they aren't going in that general direction as far as game design for this IP. The biggest miss they made in my opinion was not having each life path tied more closely to the skills you can learn and have the first half of the game completely different for each path. This extends to other quality of life updates that they made as well. e.g. As a street kid why would I have an Apartment uptown in a building with other Corpo rats? I feel like in an attempt to offer every option they risk losing some of the DNA of the game.
I think one player said here recently that they were concerned about the anime influence on the team who worked on the updates and I think they may have been right. There were certainly lessons to take away from Edgerunner but they clearly took some of the wrong lessons as well. I think they need to reign things in just slightly, otherwise by designing the next game this way every playthrough will feel the same and there will be no reason to go back to the game. I'm hoping that Phantom Liberty will add a different flavor to things.
With this update everyone starts at a baseline where they have similar skills, even cyberware abilities that I think should be available to only Netrunners can be used by other builds. It still has restrictions on the more advanced skills I know but I hope they aren't going in that general direction as far as game design for this IP. The biggest miss they made in my opinion was not having each life path tied more closely to the skills you can learn and have the first half of the game completely different for each path. This extends to other quality of life updates that they made as well. e.g. As a street kid why would I have an Apartment uptown in a building with other Corpo rats? I feel like in an attempt to offer every option they risk losing some of the DNA of the game.
I think one player said here recently that they were concerned about the anime influence on the team who worked on the updates and I think they may have been right. There were certainly lessons to take away from Edgerunner but they clearly took some of the wrong lessons as well. I think they need to reign things in just slightly, otherwise by designing the next game this way every playthrough will feel the same and there will be no reason to go back to the game. I'm hoping that Phantom Liberty will add a different flavor to things.
Last edited:
