Pascal’s Wager Definitive Edition Review (Steam)

Pascal’s Wager: Definitive Edition is a challenging action role-playing game set in a world of dark fantasy. Step into the shoes of Couriers, as they discover the tale behind the mysterious Dark Mist.

Pros:

• Decent graphics.
• 11.03GB Download size.
• Steam achievements.
• Controller support.
• Graphics-fullscreen, resolution, v-sync, frame rate (30/60/144/unlimited), brightness, graphics quality (low/medium/high), anti aliasing, reflections and ambient occlusion.
• Controller settings-Invert axis, sensitivity sliders, the diagram is shown (controller/keyboard), and vibration.
• Help-acts as a manual/tutorial.
• Tutorial pop-ups (from the help menu) as you play.
• Two difficulties-casual (guideposts and you are stronger) and normal.
• 3 save slots.
• ARPG gameplay.
• Dark Souls inspired.
• Contains all DLC and bonus costumes.
• Can skip cutscenes.
• Beautiful in-game cutscenes.
• In-game achievements list and art.
• Sanity-when you defeat enemies your sanity lowers. When it goes low enough, you will suffer abnormal effects. You can use items or rest at Altars to regain sanity.
• Heggie-a frog you can trade items with for rewards.
• The altars-save point, where you level up and this also acts as a respawn point.
• Level up-dedicate bones to the Altar to level it up and get start points. The level-up screen is a carbon copy of Dark Souls and shows what stats would change.
• Trophy-equip these to get new power/abilities and there are 3 trophy types-scars, resistance, and nightmare.
• Quick items-you can equip up to 6 items.
• Stamina system in play.
• Shop/traders-Goblin looking guys you can buy and sell with and are found in the world.
• Multiple choice interactions.
• Optional side missions can be found.
• Rest-if you rest (optional) at an Altar it will replenish health but also respawn enemies.
• Death-you lose a percentage of stuff on you.
• Open levels with many routes and shortcuts to find.
• Craft items and trophies at Altars.
• Immundus and fragments of it can be found and used to activate talents, new moves and strengthen your character.
• Talent tree-four talents are within-Alchemy, Sanity, Special, and Attack.
• Attacks-light, heavy, thrust combo, drop-down attacks, items (knives/jelly, etc), executions, and parries.
• Massive boss fights.
• Difficult yet satisfying.
• Egg of the bearer-find this in-game, eat it and it makes the game a bit easier (lies!) and makes attacks stronger. You can return it to turn the effects off.
• You can farm enemies for drops.
• Lunatic-if you get full loss of sanity against a boss they change and become stronger and have new attacks.
• Carriage-in between levels you are on here where you can talk with other characters, use the altar, use the shop and select your next level.
• Enhance and reforge-you can enhance a trophy with Blackwater debris or destroy a trophy for a random attribute for an equipped trophy.
• Can replay levels.
• Horse bell-found in a location, you ring it to leave and go back on the carriage.
• Whistle-blower your whistle and you can leave the location immediately but at a cost.
• When you go full insane you go and spawn Lunatic who is a powerful mini-boss of sorts, defeat him to recover full sanity.
• You can play as multiple characters and swap between them freely when out of combat.
• Each character has their own skill tree.
• Characters share level up points and equipped trophy load-outs.
• When you die as one character you spawn as the next without any lost progress.
• Each character has their own sanity build up so you can swap between them.
• Characters play completely different from each other thanks to weapons and base stats.

Cons:

• The casual mode can make some achievements unobtainable.
• Started in Japanese.
• Any cutscenes will bring the mouse cursor up front and center every time.
• No dedicated list of controls.
• Tutorial pop-ups come late like you aren’t told block until you die or find it yourself.
• Controls do feel a bit clunky.
• No way to rebind controls.
• Animations look a bit wooden in places.
• Few instances of clipping through or with the world and getting stuck.
• Hard to judge enemy tells.
• Characters don’t have the same talent points meaning if you have 2 and one character uses both then that’s it.
• Takes a lot of re-training your reflexes as you and the enemy cannot interrupt attacks.
• The enemy can either disengage and run away quickly or they have a ridiculous line of sight and distance to you.
• Inconsistent checkpoint placing.
• Enemies being right next to Altars and ladders is unfair.