So I got the platinum for Disaster Report 4, and subsequently finished the epilogue. Honestly I’m unsure about how I feel regarding the entire experience. It was certainly quite a change of pace from Maneater, at least. But overall I think I enjoyed it for many different reasons, especially in spite of some deeper flaws.
First and foremost I can definitely see how some glaring things about how it’s set up are deemed as archaic or not exactly modern, though to me I feel some of that adds to its charm and sometimes makes for a better game. In a lot of ways it really doesn’t feel far off from the first two games, and that can be a good or a bad thing.
Thing is, there are some differences which seem very overt, and it seems it may be due in part to being made by a new developer. This can also mean good or bad things depending on your taste.
The first few games seemed very goofy for the most part, intentionally with stuff like all the different collectibles, but also unintentionally with some of the bad voice acting and writing and nonsensical plots about government secrets causing catastrophes on purpose in some Scooby Doo esque scheme. That and just how over the top some of the scenes are just trying to figure out which part of whatever you’re standing on will suddenly give way or if a tidal wave will t-bone you out of nowhere.
DR4 seems to be far more subdued, and while I think some moments are very silly for unintentional reasons, a lot of it is self aware, especially with some scenes late in the game that hit me harder than they would have if I hadn’t thought I’d end up caring about some of the characters there are. Not every story beat is great and it’s not necessarily complex, but I am a bit surprised how some things kind of hooked me without me noticing so much, compared to something like Nier where you kind of expect things to get bleak.
That and the epilogue not really having much for survival gameplay at all. Kind of odd but in a weird way I can respect it? I guess it’s in that it shows how much an impact a single event could have on so many lives such a long time after that almost makes it feel like some indie art house project, more than a game. Also surprised me as it seems to be one game with a battle system that has less fights than Shenmue...though it’s not as good.
Really it just feels like it has a lot of heart put into it.
my two major issues are a lot of the survival aspects not mattering much(going on extra playthroughs for trophies without ever using a toilet didn’t seem to effect anything, for one example), nor many of the choices, unfortunately. The illusion of choice is definitely there, and there are seemingly a few meaningful choices to be made, but the vast majority just don’t change much sadly. If some of the side content or trophies had not been so vague, I feel like only playing through once would have been ideal so as not to be disappointed in how little stuff matters. Maybe they’ll improve with 5 granted they made enough off this niche budget title to do more.