Mêlée Island Feedback

  • fishervon
    Castaway

    Just finished the first tall tale playing on Series X.

    I really enjoyed it. The npcs narrating their lines made interacting with them way more enjoyable than just having to read them yourself.

    Only issues I ran into were the Chef repeating his lines sort of like an echo during the cutscene when entering the kitchen for the first time. Not a big deal.

    I also wish the pirate leaders or Murray himself hinted more about what a suitable replacement for Murray might be.

    This was the only step I got stuck on and had to resort to Rare Thief to understand what to do next.

    Maybe I missed a clue from Otis after breaking him out? I’m not sure.

    Also, the one memoir spot overlooking the Church is also something I think that’s not obvious enough to find on your own. Maybe a clue would help players find it without the use of a guide.

    Other than that I noticed the frame rate drop considerably when the the blue bad guys exploded upon death.

    I also noticed the lack of any regular barrels with food on the island. A couple here and there would be nice so you can heal if you take fall damage during your exploration.

    Overall a 9/10 for me personally. It would have been a 10/10 if I didn’t get stuck on how to acquire Murray.

    Nitpicking: The animation for using the hammer to open the crate could be better. As could the slicing of the vegetables.

    As could the animations for repairing our ships with wooden planks and a hammer and climbing ladders.

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  • WolfManbush
    Champion

    This type of content is where Rare does their best work imo.

    It's not easy to combine worlds and have it feel like a true fit and they have done it twice now. 2/2.

    Incredible effort, quality, and outcome.

    The title screen is such a good vibe for this game and my absolute favorite so far, the music (as always) is moving and fantastic.

    Like PotC this is going to offer adventurers awesome in game experiences which will lead them to find more of their own.

    Congrats to all involved, this game is still a heck of an experience and environment to be around.

  • ZiG ZaG LTU
    Commander
    Insider

    Thank you once again Rare. I hope you can acquire the rights and continue the Monkey Island franchise and keep expanding. It was hands down the best and most interesting tall tale to date!

    Also I really Hope there will be more MI tall tales once these 3 are completed.

    I'm gonna replay it now to complete it to 100%. On my initial playthrough I could not see it on the reputation tab to make sure I am not missing anything, it only appeared once I have finished it. I've already submited a bug report to support.

    But yeah!

  • Magus104
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    Some of the interact spots are also a big janky for example trying to pick steal in the bar I found it feeling awkward trying to stand in the correct spot. Weird how they couldn't catch some of this stuff in testing.

    I feel the way they decided to time gate these tall tales and build it into the story that "It will take time to prepare" ... as much as I hate time limited content I think some time limited voyages similar to the golden sands hand ins when we were trying to save the outpost would at least give people some in game excuse as to why it is time gated other than the reality that we are trying to stretch the content out over a few months rather than dropping all the tall tales at once and everybody being done in 1 day never to repeat.

    Also as someone who likes to explore all the black screens from trying to do so felt weird. Though there is the fog to give you a visual indicator.

    Trying to sail around the island and hitting an invisible wall as well and the weirdness where the invisible wall was like a hook shape forcing my ship starboard into the island so i kept the wheel cut to the right and its like I was stuck in a pocket where my ship was being forced back onto the island by the invisible wall behind me but also couldn't turn starboard because of a wall to that side as well.

    The respawn points in case you die in the end is nice but with no barrels to get food it kinda impacts the usual strategy of refilling your food when you respawn on your ship. Should definitely at least have lootable barrels up there.

  • Magus104
    Captain
    Insider
    Founder

    @wolfmanbush I love the title screen. Though with Season10 still listed as starting in 2 weeks seasons usually come with a new title screen. So not sure if they are just keeping this one till the tall tales are fully released? I love this title screen and don't wanna see it go.

  • CallMeBackdrafT
    Vanguard
    Insider
    Founder

    @fishervon said in Mêlée Island Feedback:

    I also wish the pirate leaders or Murray himself hinted more about what a suitable replacement for Murray might be.

    This was the only step I got stuck on and had to resort to Rare Thief to understand what to do next.

    This is a typical monkey island/point and click style puzzle to solve, i realise not all players in this day and age are familiar with those sorts of games but yeah, power of deduction, a skull is a face, this coconut has a face i want the talking face hey otis leaves behind his coconut face so i can pick it up, etc etc etc

    Maybe I missed a clue from Otis after breaking him out? I’m not sure.

    Also, the one memoir spot overlooking the Church is also something I think that’s not obvious enough to find on your own. Maybe a clue would help players find it without the use of a guide.

    All memoir spots are marked with an inkwell and quill, this particular one has one that has fallen off the roof on the ground.

    Other than that I noticed the frame rate drop considerably when the the blue bad guys exploded upon death.

    I also noticed the lack of any regular barrels with food on the island. A couple here and there would be nice so you can heal if you take fall damage during your exploration.

    Yes and no, your ship was never that far away.

  • PithyRumble
    Rogue
    Insider

    I'm not a fan of this one. It had some bright spots but kind of a chore. Had the same feelings when I checked out Monkey Island a few years back as a "homework game".

    I'm sure those that have nostalgia goggles on and those that enjoy this type of game will be keelhauling me for daring speak against it.

    But meh.
    3/5, giving up for the guide.
    Hope y'all get much more enjoyment lol.

  • RealStyli
    Vanguard
    Insider

    Absolutely loved this Tall Tale and I cannot wait for the next one and one after that. They really did an amazing job of blending the two games - Sea of Thieves mechanics and Monkey Island puzzles. The puzzles weren't as way out there as some in the Monkey Island series but they definitely had the same feel. And so many fully voiced characters! Amazing!

    I'm sure some of the rough edges will get smoothed out as well (some prompts/interactions were a little finicky and I noticed some voice audio levels were a little low). The framerate was surprisingly good for me, way better that the Sea of the Damned locations in A Pirate's Life and Captains of the Damned.

    All in all, 9.5/10 for me - would have loved it to be just a bit longer but, honestly, it left me wanting more, so that's not a bad thing. Played through 3 times for commendations and to take a ton of screenshots.

    Great start to the crossover.

    @callmebackdraft said in Mêlée Island Feedback:

    All memoir spots are marked with an inkwell and quill, this particular one has one that has fallen off the roof on the ground.

    I didn't even cop that! facepalms I did notice inkwells in some places but didn't put two and two together... I just went to spots that looked like they could be where the original POVs were in The Secret of Monkey Island!

  • CoffeeLight5545
    Legend
    Insider

    For me, this was the most tedious Tall Tale that Sea of Thieves has in this game. I had to hunt for a special Tall Tale currency and to make it harder, they had single coins on barrels that was difficult to see. I had to figure out what items solved which puzzles.

    Was this what Monkey Island was?

    I never played it in the past. Other than the tedious tasks the story was cool. I’m curious what LeChuck wants with Pendragon’s blade. I’m also curious how it got tainted in the first place. Maybe because of trying to seal Flameheart. Unfortunately, new players will be lost because Adventure 10 is forever lost. They might get confused when LeChuck transforms into the Pirate Lord and mocks us.

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