Board 8 > Rate the VG Story Day 58: Planescape: Torment

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Todays game is Planescape: Torment. How would you rate the story on a scale from 1-10?

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Previous Results:
Omori - 9.67 (6 votes)
Outer Wilds - 9.6 (21 votes)
Nier Automata - 9.25 (31 votes)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations - 9.18 (33 votes)
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - 9.1 (14 votes)
Return of the Obra Dinn - 8.85 (10 votes)
Umineko When They Cry - 8.82 (11 votes)
Xenogears - 8.71 (23 votes)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 8.67 (31 votes)
Metal Gear Solid - 8.67 (27 votes)
Final Fantasy Tactics - 8.65 (23 votes)
Disco Elysium - 8.58 (12 votes)
Undertale - 8.53 (40 votes)
What Remains of Edith Finch - 8.41 (19 votes)
Yakuza: Like a Dragon - 8.4 (5 votes)
Final Fantasy X - 8.38 (54 votes)
Mass Effect 2 - 8.36 (27 votes)
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective 8.35 (18 votes)
Final Fantasy VII - 8.26 (36 votes)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - 8.13 (39 votes)
The Last of Us - 8.13 (35 votes)
Xenoblade Chronicles - 7.94 (27 votes)
Doki Doki Literature Club - 7.9 (23 votes)
Bloodborne - 7.88 (20 votes)
Life is Strange - 7.85 (31 votes)
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair - 7.67 (27 votes)
Bioshock - 7.64 (23 votes)
Celeste - 7.62 (25 votes)
Mass Effect - 7.35 (28 votes)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - 7.26 (29 votes)
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 - 7.25 (12 votes)
Tales of the Abyss - 7.24 (28 votes)
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony - 7.17 (23 votes)
Mass Effect 3 - 7.16 (21 votes)
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter - 7 (5 votes)
Super Paper Mario - 7 (21 votes)
Hollow Knight - 6.98 (21 votes)
INSIDE - 6.93 (15 votes)
Gone Home - 6.91 (17 votes)
Death Stranding - 6.73 (13 votes)
Chrono Cross - 6.69 (16 votes)
Dark Souls - 6.62 (20 votes)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All - 6.66 (30 votes)
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc - 6.6 (27 votes)
Valkyria Chronicles - 6.5 (16 votes)
DOOM (2016) - 6.15 (13 votes)
Professor Layton and the Curious Village - 6.1 (13 votes)
Star Fox 64 - 5.79 (24 votes)
Final Fantasy IV - 5.72 (29 votes)
Uncharted: Drakes Fortune - 5.26 (28 votes)
Final Fantasy XIII - 4.91 (27 votes)
Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright - 4.83 (12 votes)
Fallout 3 - 4.76 (17 votes)
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty - 4.72 (9 votes)
Fallout 4 - 4.43 (15 votes)
Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest - 3.46 (15 votes)
Starcraft II (overall) - 3.4 (5 votes)
Fire Emblem Fates (overall) - 3.32 (11 votes)
Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void - 2.83 (6 votes)
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) - 2.71 (14 votes)
Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm - 2.57 (7 votes)
Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation - 2.33 (9 votes)
Tales of Zestiria - 2.14 (7 votes)

You can still rate previous days games if you missed them, just write <game name><rating>. If you want to change your rating you can just specify that you are changing your rating. Nominations for future days are also welcome, nominate as many games as you like and I will get to all of them.

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10

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9.5/10

Last 1/3 is a little worse than the first 2/3. Other than that, a huge achievement in game storytelling.

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10

Whoa @ these high ratings.

I know nothing about the game. What does it play like? Diablo?

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10

A somewhat higher score than I'd give the game as a whole.
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...Yeah, 10. I guess I could nitpick a few things in the vein of cut content but yeah.

plasmabeam posted...

What does it play like? Diablo?

It's a 1999 CRPG/WRPG. Off the top of my head it's built on... 2nd Edition DnD? If you've played a game like Baldur's Gate it's similar to that. Knights of the Old Republic for a slightly more modern (and 3D) variant. Pillars of Eternity for a much more modern rendition (and spiritual successor).

If you haven't... it's Real Time with Pause combat where your normal attacks are basically auto-attacks and you have abilities/spells you can use. DnD mechanics apply so spell levels, etc.

Joke answer: Not very well. (The gameplay is easily Planescape's weakest aspect)

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10

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Easy 10

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Has anyone played the Switch HD port? Curious if this is really even playable without a mouse.

10

Can't give this story anything other than a 10. Just brilliant writing and dialogue.

plasmabeam posted...

Whoa @ these high ratings.

I know nothing about the game. What does it play like? Diablo?

More like Baldur's Gate and Fallout 1-2. Isometric view with serviceable combat but the main focus is on the dialogue and choices more so than the games I mentioned.

Nominate Torment: Tides of Numenera

Nominate The World Ends With You

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Wish I could rate this but I never finished it. From what I played though it earns the high marks.

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Combat and progression is quite archaic in Planescape which can understandably turn off a lot of people. Baldur's Gate II is noticeably leagues ahead in combat but Planescape trumps every game of its kind in writing and story.

Gotta play this one someday.

Out of curiosity, if I only care about the story, is this a game where I could read/watch a let's play and get most of the experience, or is the gameplay pretty essential?

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The combat isn't essential, but you controlling the main character and being the one to select dialogue choices, is.

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Makes sense, thanks!

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An LP could work, but there are so many dialogue options. I feel like it might be awkward? I dunno. Plus you don't get to do stuff like save, do something super evil, and reload.
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Kenri posted...

Gotta play this one someday.

Out of curiosity, if I only care about the story, is this a game where I could read/watch a let's play and get most of the experience, or is the gameplay pretty essential?

The enhanced edition on Steam has a difficulty slider, so set it to easy. I don't think a let's play would be the worse thing in the world, there is a load of dialogue options but the thing about planescape is that the community seems to agree that there's only one build you show be following.

It's not like arcanum or vtmb for example where playing a human/orc/elf mage/melee fighter whose smart/dumb or handsome/ugly will have a noticeable effect on quests or dialogue. To get the full story of Planescape you pretty much need to be a charismatic mage.

Will say that the combat was a turn off for me but I only found it overbearing during one specific area (Curst Prison). Asides from that if you play on easy and do the correct dialogue options, you can avoid a lot of it.

malyg posted...

To get the full story of Planescape you pretty much need to be a charismatic mage.

This is one legitimate flaw about the game. The Fighter and Rogue options are an objectively worse experiences. It's not a problem if you know about it ahead of time, and you still get 95% of the story even if you don't play as a Charismatic Mage, but that last 5% is really good!

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I tried to play this once but the gameplay prevented me from getting more than a couple hours through it.

Nominate Dragon Quest V

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Nominate: Dragon Quest XI

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Wow these numbers are ridiculous, I'll have to play thi- oh it's one of those isometric D&D CRPGs that plays like... all those other ones. The same thing that turned me off of Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. I've never tried them but they all just look so unappealing to actually play! Oh well.

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Actually screw it, change my score to a 10

Objectivity is for chumps, and even the 'lesser' parts of Planescape rule

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One more bump.

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10.

Rate Disco Elysium a 10 also. Fitting, considering these two games have an extremely tight thematic throughline!

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10/10. Shame about the mediocre gameplay, but the writing is fantastic.
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Wow perfect score so far