There's "Grimdark," then there's just... clumsy and ignorant. [SPOILERS]

"

FireStorm1010#8675 wrote:

This is not what happens. Alva is peacefull until they attack her. Alva is in awe of the culture and loaths to fight them. IF the indeginous poeple would be peacefull, they woudl have tried to communicate, they just attack you and Alva.

Maybe im wrong, but i got a feeling you are one of these poeple that try to find "social injustice" in everything...

See my above response, someone has already made this point and I fundamentally disagree: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3728380#p25984576

I admit, I wasn't expecting to see the snowflake, namecalling troupe when I decided to give a quick look to the feedback forum.

GGG, you have a good idea for a world and its story, don't listen to this kind of feedback.

Whether it is the player, or the NPCs antagonistic to the player, but both sides in PoE will always do whatever it takes to gain more power and curbstomp the other.

You can only kill so many millions of mobs for currency and come away as the good guy. How any PoE civilization ever managed to retain enough agriculture and stable conditions in safe to live in areas is beyond me.

I agree with OP. I don't think the writing in PoE2 is very good. Don't get me wrong, I love both PoE1 and PoE2, and I'm a huge fan of GGG. So, this is coming from a place of love, not hate. But the writing for the story, setting, and characters is really not compelling in PoE2.

In PoE1, I get really choked up and sad when I see lady Dallia in Act 9. I cheer whenever I hear the Ranger say, "Do some good for once in your sorry life, bandit. Feed the worms." I think it's super cute when Dannig shyly wonders how to flirt with Isla. I feel pride when Einhar talks about hunting or Niko talks about mining. You can feel the passion in the characters and it's clear that they care about someone or something. Like, how Clarrisa gets hung up on Tolman, or Helena talks about Gruest. I still think about that.

I couldn't tell you anything memorable about the PoE2 campaign or characters. They seem super cliche, shallow, and unrelatable. I couldn't give you a single quote from PoE2, because they're completely forgettable.

I don't know why the PoE2 writing is like that, but it's not good. PoE1 writing and lore wasn't dark. It was actually beautiful, because you could tell that everyone cared about something, even Piety. Maybe to the point of hubris and folly or obsession, but they did.

"

ac429#4687 wrote:

I agree with OP. I don't think the writing in PoE2 is very good. Don't get me wrong, I love both PoE1 and PoE2, and I'm a huge fan of GGG. So, this is coming from a place of love, not hate. But the writing for the story, setting, and characters is really not compelling in PoE2.

In PoE1, I get really choked up and sad when I see lady Dallia in Act 9. I cheer whenever I hear the Ranger say, "Do some good for once in your sorry life, bandit. Feed the worms." I think it's super cute when Dannig shyly wonders how to flirt with Isla. I feel pride when Einhar talks about hunting or Niko talks about mining. You can feel the passion in the characters and it's clear that they care about someone or something. Like, how Clarrisa gets hung up on Tolman, or Helena talks about Gruest. I still think about that.

I couldn't tell you anything memorable about the PoE2 campaign or characters. They seem super cliche, shallow, and unrelatable. I couldn't give you a single quote from PoE2, because they're completely forgettable.

I don't know why the PoE2 writing is like that, but it's not good. PoE1 writing and lore wasn't dark. It was actually beautiful, because you could tell that everyone cared about something, even Piety. Maybe to the point of hubris and folly or obsession, but they did.

Genuinely, thanks for engaging in good faith.

I've been talking this over with the friends I've been playing with, and we all agree, the writing is just not stellar. It's okay, at times, but overall it's weak writing across the board. A friend of mine was even harsh enough to call it 'hack pulp,' aaaand I don't disagree. It's full of lamp-shading, inconsistent and strange characterization, just... lots of flat, cardboard standees who could be more. And that's a shame if that's a big departure from POE1.

And then those writing problems landslide into the questionable visuals, creating this messy, unpalatable experience. I don't expect perfection, but... don't long-time fans deserve something better? Hell, don't new comers deserve something cool and fresh to come into, not utterly exhausted tropes that we all should have learned from ages ago?

It seems like you really care about the series, sorry you've also been let down by this. Here's hoping GGG hears the few of us concerned with the direction of the writing and story and takes those concerns into consideration. I'm hopeful but worried for this game, I would like to see it flourish and succeed.

Cheers, yeah... sadly, "hack pulp" is a good description. It was pretty cathartic for me to say it. I guess i am a bit frustrated, lol.

I had a few more thoughts. They're not fully formed, but I thought maybe I could share them, and others can agree or disagree or expand on it.

1) PoE1's characters' personality shines through what they say and do. Like, the Ranger in 1 will at one point say, "Luxury and cruelty go hand in hand." She doesn't say, "I love nature and distrust human society", but she certainly hints to why. It's more subtle, I guess?

2) PoE1's characters feel more grounded. PoE2's characters feel more dramatic. They feel like set pieces on a stage, like you say.

3) I miss the romance in PoE1. The main antagonist of the first act is a woman who was basically left at the altar. Yeah, I get why she's upset. I really liked the way people care about things, each other, their society, and grow. For example, there's an NPC in act 2, who distrusts outsiders and basically spits on the ground. Then in act 7, you find out that he entrusted a very important thing to not only a foreigner, but a foreigner who she once invaded his land. PoE2 character's do not seem like the same characters. Like, you have litus in PoE2 act 1, and you get that her partner is killed by the Executioner. Why do we care? Who was he? Does Litus matter? I cared a lot about Clarrisa and Toleman, but not these two. They seem like someone saw the characters in PoE1 and then tried to imitate them, but didn't understand the essence of those characters.

4) Getting back to what you originally said, what the characters do in PoE2 is super weird. I thought about it after reading your post, and I was like, "yeah! that's weird!" The act 1 boss in PoE2 is a guy who is insecure about his past, so he does horrible things that some evil looking lady told him to do. Surely that will solve his problem. Then, she betrays him, and he's like "the evil lady betrayed me? That whore! Do you feel sad for me now, player?" Like, what? Then the act 3 bad guy is like, "I'm genius so I will beat you with spider mech. Oh, you beat me, okay I join you." I feel embarrassed just typing this. I've read better fan fiction. Actually, I think average fan fiction is better than this.

"

ac429#4687 wrote:

I don't know why the PoE2 writing is like that, but it's not good. PoE1 writing and lore wasn't dark. It was actually beautiful, because you could tell that everyone cared about something, even Piety. Maybe to the point of hubris and folly or obsession, but they did.

I love this. If PoE1 was taking a horrible car crash and making beautiful abstract art out of it, PoE2 is taking beautiful abstract art and making a horrible car crash out of it. XD

"

Redthorne82#3177 wrote:

"

ac429#4687 wrote:

I don't know why the PoE2 writing is like that, but it's not good. PoE1 writing and lore wasn't dark. It was actually beautiful, because you could tell that everyone cared about something, even Piety. Maybe to the point of hubris and folly or obsession, but they did.

I love this. If PoE1 was taking a horrible car crash and making beautiful abstract art out of it, PoE2 is taking beautiful abstract art and making a horrible car crash out of it. XD

XD Thank you. I'm glad someone can relate.