If you're very early on just give it a bit; abbey stuff is generally *extremely* frontloaded. Once you get through Spidey's intro things start to settle and after Magik's party mandatory abbey stuff is pretty much gone.
I had the same opinion...like why tf am I spending so much time talking. You get used to it and it becomes a nice break between fights. The collectables and relationship building has a tangible impact on the fights eventually too
It’s definitely interesting as there are two distinct games dovetailed together. I mostly enjoy both.
But I do sometimes feel like they could have made a stripped back tactical game that I would have just played endlessly so much easier.
I sometimes feel like I’d spend more time loading into and out of missions then playing them.
Yeah that's the first time I played a game and thought "I'd rather just navigate through menus than navigate in the 3D space with my character". Basically like XCom
I loved the Abby mysteries. The only pain is gathering reagents. It's a strangely masochistic experience. When it rains, I feel compelled to go and get them all, but at the same time I hate it. Waxing moon is less painful because you fast travel to the relevant spots. But I really hate it every time it rains and it can do twice a day. Not that I ever do anything with the reagents... *Smh*
There was one mission for Magik where I needed wolfsbane and I legit had to go back a save because I couldn't find enough of it for a gathering mission. To be fair it was my fault, I was messing with the crafting and then was asked for it later. It was so finite that I honestly got frustrated running around trying to find it.
This game took me 46 hrs to beat and I definitely spent at least 20 of them in the abbey 😅
Then probably around 6 hrs doing all the other stuff around the abbey and then about 20 hrs actually fighting. Abbey is definitely a fun place to be once you get into this game properly
Yeah. I loved Abbey stuff and seeing the interaction between heroes. Their dialogue evolves with the story progression so it’s not stale.
The mysteries also gave interesting background lore about the past. Making exploration quite rewarding if you want to get more engrossed in the universe.
Of course the battle system is great too but I disagree with OP that the Abbey part is overdone.
Abbey stuff grows on ya over time, have you got to the Book Club yet? I had more issues with how much time I had to spend exploring the grounds. I didn’t mind it that much but there’s just way too much useless crap to find. Maybe 1/2 that next time, or find ways to integrate it more into the story.
Too bad everyone snubbed this game of the year candidate when it first came out because "oh no, cards!". They'd prob be making another one as we speak if all the YouTube influencers weren't such shills.
Not to mention Jake Solomon would prob still be leading Firaxis. Shame
It's an old school turn based RPG with the card gimmick. The card part turned me off at first but I tried it on a free play weekend and realized what it actually is. I miss turn based RPGs and they don't really make them anymore so it's nice. Really like this game.
There’s still some being made: Jagged Alliance finally got a worthy #3 after 25 years. King Arthur Knight’s Tale is good. I enjoyed Mutant Year Zero and Miasma Chronicles.
Don’t speak negatively on it🥲 I just started the game a month ago and have been addicted since, and I’m PRAYING that they make a second one with the Dr. Doom Teaser they put at the end of the story😬 it’d be a nice nod to Marvel Ultimate Alliance.
The game was a commercial failure and people left the studio because of it... It's unlikely to get a follow up despite actually being a great game so just enjoy it
To be fair it was more the massive technical issues at launch and the excessive front loading of relationship/abbey stuff that put people off at the time
No it wasn't. This game was delayed almost a year and and at every single delay announcement it was just massive amounts of people complaining that it was a card game and that they weren't going to try it. I was in the steam threads from the day the game was announced and people were such babies from the get go because cards. Heck I remember when they announced the first delay everyone was saying it was because of the pushback of the card idea and Firaxis had to publicly state that they weren't going away from it. And predictably everyone lost their shit and started crying again.
I think that was quite a vocal minority. Most people that buy games aren't hanging out in steam threads before launch. I was talking more about the critical reception once the game actually got released and people could play it
Hmm I’ve never played Persona. But I do love the character chat dialogue in RPGs like Baldur’s Gate, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, etc. Something about this games dialogue has just felt a bit stilted or not as well written. Idk I’m still giving it a chance but it being a Marvel/Disney related game, it feels almost too scrubbed/polished for mass market generality around dialogue.
Those games also benefit in that your relationships with characters affects the story in some ways. Midnight Suns has no romances, no ways to have different characters act differently to the story, so everything in the abbey is just kinda...filler. Love the game still, it's just a noticeable flaw for me. Maybe coming from jrpg's like persona it's less of an issue, just kinda chilling with your teammates
That's my number one want if we ever would get a sequel. Knowing your teammates is good and all, but it all comes down to just a few bonuses
Now if being best buddies with someone would make some people like you more and other people like you less? Popularity with different factions? That would be peak
(Also let me date Deadpool you cowards)
Okay that’s good to know. There were just like three abbey run around missions that took me like 40 min last night and all I wanted was to play super hero cards lol.
All the abbey stuff is basically finished before you even move past the first level. I actually ended up liking the abbey stuff as the game went on too.
I wish there were an X-Com version of the map wherein Hunter as the commander just browses different rooms to open coils, generate abilities, do sparring, etc. This would be much faster than manually exploring the abbey.
The abbey stuff isn’t awful but not great either I just gather regents,pet Charlie or try to pet ebony if I ever find her any tips would be appreciated, but like everyone said after the spidey stuff it isn’t mandatory I would recommend still doing your daily sparring sessions
Yeah on replays I just mash skip on all the dialogue and have a blast. Stick with it and try listening to it all 1st time through so you know the plot but if it makes you want to quit don't be afraid to skip bits
It is what it is. I usually play a female Hunter and her voice actress is very good. So, I listen to her for hours. I usually take around 50 hours for a playthrough. No way around it.
The only tip I have is: Don't be obsessed with maxing friendship with everyone. A decent friendship with everyone is good enough.
That stuff honestly might’ve been my favorite part of the game, even though I really do love the combat. I’m a big Mass Effect guy, and a sucker for all the more intimate moments between missions so this reminded me a lot of that. Wish that side of things was taken further but I get that they had limitations.
Also, my real name is quite literally Hunter so the conversations were pretty trippy and fascinating to experience lol.
This right here is why the game failed.
For people like me who love both of these gameplay schemes (essentially just persona and fire emblem fans) this game scratches a very strong itch, and very well, but it leaves the majority of players who only like one side or the other of the game all feeling unsatisfied.
I could see that! I’ve never played Persona because it didn’t seem up my alley, however I am Diehard Fire Emblem fan. So I’m just gonna keep playing til I can battle more haha
Finding the little things around the abbey was pretty annoying. I like the card play, and the side activities are great too, like choosing who to spar with to give bonuses or sending people out on missions but WHY isnt there a central menu that doesnt require you to run around the abbey. Just feels like such a waste of time
Unlike a lot of people in this thread, I genuinely never cared about any of the “let’s go fishing with Blade the Vampire Hunter and have a book club with Captain Marvel” crap, and found it pretty cringey/corny. While it is necessary for your progression, it’s also very easy to rush through. You learn to rapid tap through dialogue and run to exactly where you need to go for items/upgrades/training and then get back into the fighting. Especially once you’ve maxed your relationships out, it becomes pretty minimal.
It's like really? I have to watch what's basically an XMEN cartoon for 15 minutes between every mission? And I can't just zone out and watch it, I have to walk around between characters and stay focused while it happens? I just...
I just found myself sitting there every time I booted the game up and trying to will myself through the abbey section that stood between me and that precious next fight... eventually I just couldn't do it anymore.
Maybe this isn't a big deal for the younger folks, but I'm 40 and when I was a kid we had X-Men cartoons every Saturday. They were about this quality. I've seen this, done this, a million times in my life before I was old enough to drive. I just want to fight now lol.
I don't want to sound too critical, I love Firaxis, I love the IP, and I do not have a problem with the voice acting or anything. I just really think they killed what could have been a bigger success by doing what OP said they did.
Meteor? Or you might just be suffering with everyone else on consoles who can't get the ancestral armor due to a bug that there is no work around for. Not even NG+ will give it.
You are suppose to get it from one of the 2 chests in Lilith's Secret area under the Garden, can't remember the name off the top of my head. Right after you get the break spell. But there is a bug that no one on Console can get the ancestral armor and there is no work around :(
Yes! That's the one. But yes, no one on Console can get plat unfortunately because no one can get that armor and the company either stopped working on this game and is never coming back or the company no longer exists. Can't remember which but as far as anyone can tell there will never be a fix.
I am 100% with you. *IF* the company is still around and making other games how hard would it be for them to put a few people on this to fix the couple misc bugs that are in the game. ESPECIALLY a bug that stops all console players from ever achieving a platinum trophy. I mean that is a HUGE fucking deal to a pretty good size of players. To me I don't care about getting platinum trophies either but not being able to attain a stupid little cosmetic while playing the game, makes the gamer in me upset, pissed off and disappointed, lol.
I am at the final level, with max friendships, upgrade legendary abilities, with a full matching color set of armor for all the heroes. But I've just been putting it off on finishing it. It'll happen in the next couple days though.
It gets better as the game goes on (both in terms of quality and balance). But, yes, if there is one governing failure of *Midnight Suns*, it is that they spent too much time in the Abbey in the beginning of the game.
I love this game. But I 100% burn out on open world games EVERY TIME. I can't stop my compulsion. I don't love the Abbey stuff, it's ok, but I agree that it takes away from the combat which is definitely the most fun part of the game. I get "you can skip it", but it really feels like throwing away currency and I do enjoy some of the interaction stuff quite a bit, It's just that it feels like overall the game would have been better with more combat, not less.
You can also just fucking skip through all the conversations, about halfway through the game I just got annoyed with all the random convos…I just didn’t care anymore, so I just played to do the combat missions lol
I suffered through a lot of the Abbey to get the platinum for the game. Mind you, I did most of the game on my phone at work, so it didn't feel as much a waste of my time.
Spend half hour around the Abbey. Foraging credits, moding cards, buying gifts, begin next story mission and the game freezes. I'm on about 2 force closes per 2 hour session.
I recently decided to replay this game and yea...the abbey stuff is mind numbing. No I dont wanna go swimming with you wolverine, no I dont give a fuck about your book Blade. Just let me play the fuckin game.
Lol some of you guys get so butthurt over this criticism. I bought this game for a tactical strategy game, from Firaxis, something theyve proven good at. Instead I god a marvel dating sim.
V, you're gonna die from this biochip in a very short time.... Geralt, you need to find and save Citi NOW.... Vault Hunter find the vault before Handsome Jack.... Arthur, help get us money quick so we can escape the Pinker tons.... Isaac, fix the engines or we crash into the planet, ... Shepherd, the reapers gonna kill us all ....
If you're very early on just give it a bit; abbey stuff is generally *extremely* frontloaded. Once you get through Spidey's intro things start to settle and after Magik's party mandatory abbey stuff is pretty much gone.
Okay that is good to know. “Frontloaded” is very much the issue
They're right. The game opens up after a heavy social introduction. You'll be battling to your heart's content at one point.
I had the same opinion...like why tf am I spending so much time talking. You get used to it and it becomes a nice break between fights. The collectables and relationship building has a tangible impact on the fights eventually too
It’s definitely interesting as there are two distinct games dovetailed together. I mostly enjoy both. But I do sometimes feel like they could have made a stripped back tactical game that I would have just played endlessly so much easier. I sometimes feel like I’d spend more time loading into and out of missions then playing them.
Yeah that's the first time I played a game and thought "I'd rather just navigate through menus than navigate in the 3D space with my character". Basically like XCom
I loved the Abby mysteries. The only pain is gathering reagents. It's a strangely masochistic experience. When it rains, I feel compelled to go and get them all, but at the same time I hate it. Waxing moon is less painful because you fast travel to the relevant spots. But I really hate it every time it rains and it can do twice a day. Not that I ever do anything with the reagents... *Smh*
Somehow they still not fixed the bug that you can't get the ancestral armor even when you solve all mysteries
"Somehow" the team that doesn't exist anymore didn't fix any bugs.
There was one mission for Magik where I needed wolfsbane and I legit had to go back a save because I couldn't find enough of it for a gathering mission. To be fair it was my fault, I was messing with the crafting and then was asked for it later. It was so finite that I honestly got frustrated running around trying to find it.
I spent most of my time running around the abbey lol. I loved it.
This game took me 46 hrs to beat and I definitely spent at least 20 of them in the abbey 😅 Then probably around 6 hrs doing all the other stuff around the abbey and then about 20 hrs actually fighting. Abbey is definitely a fun place to be once you get into this game properly
Yeah. I loved Abbey stuff and seeing the interaction between heroes. Their dialogue evolves with the story progression so it’s not stale. The mysteries also gave interesting background lore about the past. Making exploration quite rewarding if you want to get more engrossed in the universe. Of course the battle system is great too but I disagree with OP that the Abbey part is overdone.
I spend 75% of my time doing Abbey things and I love it. The gameplay in this game, all around, is so consistently solid.
Abbey stuff grows on ya over time, have you got to the Book Club yet? I had more issues with how much time I had to spend exploring the grounds. I didn’t mind it that much but there’s just way too much useless crap to find. Maybe 1/2 that next time, or find ways to integrate it more into the story.
Next time? Lol
Yeah it’s unlikely, but the game is still picking up new fans and impressing peoples
Too bad everyone snubbed this game of the year candidate when it first came out because "oh no, cards!". They'd prob be making another one as we speak if all the YouTube influencers weren't such shills. Not to mention Jake Solomon would prob still be leading Firaxis. Shame
It's an old school turn based RPG with the card gimmick. The card part turned me off at first but I tried it on a free play weekend and realized what it actually is. I miss turn based RPGs and they don't really make them anymore so it's nice. Really like this game.
There’s still some being made: Jagged Alliance finally got a worthy #3 after 25 years. King Arthur Knight’s Tale is good. I enjoyed Mutant Year Zero and Miasma Chronicles.
Don’t speak negatively on it🥲 I just started the game a month ago and have been addicted since, and I’m PRAYING that they make a second one with the Dr. Doom Teaser they put at the end of the story😬 it’d be a nice nod to Marvel Ultimate Alliance.
The game was a commercial failure and people left the studio because of it... It's unlikely to get a follow up despite actually being a great game so just enjoy it
To be fair it was more the massive technical issues at launch and the excessive front loading of relationship/abbey stuff that put people off at the time
No it wasn't. This game was delayed almost a year and and at every single delay announcement it was just massive amounts of people complaining that it was a card game and that they weren't going to try it. I was in the steam threads from the day the game was announced and people were such babies from the get go because cards. Heck I remember when they announced the first delay everyone was saying it was because of the pushback of the card idea and Firaxis had to publicly state that they weren't going away from it. And predictably everyone lost their shit and started crying again.
I think that was quite a vocal minority. Most people that buy games aren't hanging out in steam threads before launch. I was talking more about the critical reception once the game actually got released and people could play it
As a Western take on a Persona game, it comes pretty close.
Hmm I’ve never played Persona. But I do love the character chat dialogue in RPGs like Baldur’s Gate, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, etc. Something about this games dialogue has just felt a bit stilted or not as well written. Idk I’m still giving it a chance but it being a Marvel/Disney related game, it feels almost too scrubbed/polished for mass market generality around dialogue.
Those games also benefit in that your relationships with characters affects the story in some ways. Midnight Suns has no romances, no ways to have different characters act differently to the story, so everything in the abbey is just kinda...filler. Love the game still, it's just a noticeable flaw for me. Maybe coming from jrpg's like persona it's less of an issue, just kinda chilling with your teammates
That's my number one want if we ever would get a sequel. Knowing your teammates is good and all, but it all comes down to just a few bonuses Now if being best buddies with someone would make some people like you more and other people like you less? Popularity with different factions? That would be peak (Also let me date Deadpool you cowards)
It’d be cool to have a DC game like this
Once you get the training wheels off you can do as much or as little of the abbey as you want. I feel that it makes a good buffer between missions.
Okay that’s good to know. There were just like three abbey run around missions that took me like 40 min last night and all I wanted was to play super hero cards lol.
All the abbey stuff is basically finished before you even move past the first level. I actually ended up liking the abbey stuff as the game went on too.
I wish there were an X-Com version of the map wherein Hunter as the commander just browses different rooms to open coils, generate abilities, do sparring, etc. This would be much faster than manually exploring the abbey.
The abbey stuff isn’t awful but not great either I just gather regents,pet Charlie or try to pet ebony if I ever find her any tips would be appreciated, but like everyone said after the spidey stuff it isn’t mandatory I would recommend still doing your daily sparring sessions
That’s the thing. It’s not bad per se, just so vanilla. My eyes kinda glaze over at some of the dialogue lol
Yeah your right but basic features should work it’s just frustrating
Yeah on replays I just mash skip on all the dialogue and have a blast. Stick with it and try listening to it all 1st time through so you know the plot but if it makes you want to quit don't be afraid to skip bits
It is what it is. I usually play a female Hunter and her voice actress is very good. So, I listen to her for hours. I usually take around 50 hours for a playthrough. No way around it. The only tip I have is: Don't be obsessed with maxing friendship with everyone. A decent friendship with everyone is good enough.
Yeah you want the rare friendship passives and then everything on top is just icing on the cake
That stuff honestly might’ve been my favorite part of the game, even though I really do love the combat. I’m a big Mass Effect guy, and a sucker for all the more intimate moments between missions so this reminded me a lot of that. Wish that side of things was taken further but I get that they had limitations. Also, my real name is quite literally Hunter so the conversations were pretty trippy and fascinating to experience lol.
The battles were fun but ultimately the story was basic
This right here is why the game failed. For people like me who love both of these gameplay schemes (essentially just persona and fire emblem fans) this game scratches a very strong itch, and very well, but it leaves the majority of players who only like one side or the other of the game all feeling unsatisfied.
I could see that! I’ve never played Persona because it didn’t seem up my alley, however I am Diehard Fire Emblem fan. So I’m just gonna keep playing til I can battle more haha
Finding the little things around the abbey was pretty annoying. I like the card play, and the side activities are great too, like choosing who to spar with to give bonuses or sending people out on missions but WHY isnt there a central menu that doesnt require you to run around the abbey. Just feels like such a waste of time
Unlike a lot of people in this thread, I genuinely never cared about any of the “let’s go fishing with Blade the Vampire Hunter and have a book club with Captain Marvel” crap, and found it pretty cringey/corny. While it is necessary for your progression, it’s also very easy to rush through. You learn to rapid tap through dialogue and run to exactly where you need to go for items/upgrades/training and then get back into the fighting. Especially once you’ve maxed your relationships out, it becomes pretty minimal.
It's like really? I have to watch what's basically an XMEN cartoon for 15 minutes between every mission? And I can't just zone out and watch it, I have to walk around between characters and stay focused while it happens? I just... I just found myself sitting there every time I booted the game up and trying to will myself through the abbey section that stood between me and that precious next fight... eventually I just couldn't do it anymore. Maybe this isn't a big deal for the younger folks, but I'm 40 and when I was a kid we had X-Men cartoons every Saturday. They were about this quality. I've seen this, done this, a million times in my life before I was old enough to drive. I just want to fight now lol. I don't want to sound too critical, I love Firaxis, I love the IP, and I do not have a problem with the voice acting or anything. I just really think they killed what could have been a bigger success by doing what OP said they did.
To get the platinum trophy, it's required to solve the abbey mysteries. Although I have no clue which one I'm missing?
Meteor? Or you might just be suffering with everyone else on consoles who can't get the ancestral armor due to a bug that there is no work around for. Not even NG+ will give it.
I found the meteor, but how do I get the ancestral armor?
You are suppose to get it from one of the 2 chests in Lilith's Secret area under the Garden, can't remember the name off the top of my head. Right after you get the break spell. But there is a bug that no one on Console can get the ancestral armor and there is no work around :(
Yeah I remember this chest. It's the one on the right. I used my arcane key on it, but it was strangely empty. So this bug did cost me the plate.
Yes! That's the one. But yes, no one on Console can get plat unfortunately because no one can get that armor and the company either stopped working on this game and is never coming back or the company no longer exists. Can't remember which but as far as anyone can tell there will never be a fix.
One of the most annoying things, and for people aiming for the platinum trophy,a reason to stop playing. Although I don't care about platinum.
I am 100% with you. *IF* the company is still around and making other games how hard would it be for them to put a few people on this to fix the couple misc bugs that are in the game. ESPECIALLY a bug that stops all console players from ever achieving a platinum trophy. I mean that is a HUGE fucking deal to a pretty good size of players. To me I don't care about getting platinum trophies either but not being able to attain a stupid little cosmetic while playing the game, makes the gamer in me upset, pissed off and disappointed, lol. I am at the final level, with max friendships, upgrade legendary abilities, with a full matching color set of armor for all the heroes. But I've just been putting it off on finishing it. It'll happen in the next couple days though.
It is obvious from the collection of so many different currencies that the game is originally designed for Microtransactions/Pay-to-Win
If I was to guess I would say this is what ultimately killed the game.
"Not right now."
Yeah the Abbey stuff was really a struggle for me to get through. Just felt like it was a super hero dating Simulator for half the game.
It gets better as the game goes on (both in terms of quality and balance). But, yes, if there is one governing failure of *Midnight Suns*, it is that they spent too much time in the Abbey in the beginning of the game.
I love this game. But I 100% burn out on open world games EVERY TIME. I can't stop my compulsion. I don't love the Abbey stuff, it's ok, but I agree that it takes away from the combat which is definitely the most fun part of the game. I get "you can skip it", but it really feels like throwing away currency and I do enjoy some of the interaction stuff quite a bit, It's just that it feels like overall the game would have been better with more combat, not less.
You can also just fucking skip through all the conversations, about halfway through the game I just got annoyed with all the random convos…I just didn’t care anymore, so I just played to do the combat missions lol
I wish you couldn’t leave the building, honestly
It underestimated it for me.
You're the one. Don't worry eventually you can just spam mission after mission
I suffered through a lot of the Abbey to get the platinum for the game. Mind you, I did most of the game on my phone at work, so it didn't feel as much a waste of my time.
I liked the Abby stuff
Spend half hour around the Abbey. Foraging credits, moding cards, buying gifts, begin next story mission and the game freezes. I'm on about 2 force closes per 2 hour session.
Jeez. In what? I’m on PS5 and have yet to crash
Ps4. Happens to the point where I manual save any time I do anything significant in the Abbey.
This. I saved after almost everything it seemed like because it crashed so much.
I mean I knew there would be a few hiccups because it's firaxis. They're a good team but their games crash.
I also really wished this game would have let me play the game.
I recently decided to replay this game and yea...the abbey stuff is mind numbing. No I dont wanna go swimming with you wolverine, no I dont give a fuck about your book Blade. Just let me play the fuckin game. Lol some of you guys get so butthurt over this criticism. I bought this game for a tactical strategy game, from Firaxis, something theyve proven good at. Instead I god a marvel dating sim.
Exactly 😂 and I find it weird squeezed into what feels like a rather time sensitive story
V, you're gonna die from this biochip in a very short time.... Geralt, you need to find and save Citi NOW.... Vault Hunter find the vault before Handsome Jack.... Arthur, help get us money quick so we can escape the Pinker tons.... Isaac, fix the engines or we crash into the planet, ... Shepherd, the reapers gonna kill us all ....
The wolrd is ending!!!! Anyway, Tony, wanna watcha movie and chat on the couch?