Every review I have read for this game discusses the title as having a problem with forcing you to grind, a thing that has never been done in an AC game (according to reviews past 3, and my experience with games prior to 4), and expressly want you to pay extra money in order to keep up with the pace of the story.

Games like this made me appreciate Dragon Quest XI a LOT more. It’s nice to be able to dive into the game without worrying that I’ll miss out anything by not doing any micro transactions, because.. well... there’s none.

We live in the era of lootbox apologism.

exactly, if you can write an entire article based on what you think or dont think is grasping for money chances are its greedy as fuck. Like jim stirling said they dont want just SOME of the money, they want ALL of the money. They want to predotorize and introduce as many as possible to gambling addiction as possible…

When I have to read an article to understand the Microtransaction bullshit mess... I just don’t bother buying the game in the first place. Certainly not full price. I can deal with a nice tidy, reasonably priced GOTY or whatever that bundles season pass and micro together but I can’t be bothered going through a list…

obviously time-savers are optional, having fun is optional... hell, the entire game is optional.

WIthout any kind of hyperbole, the knowledge of these microtransactions, and how prevalent they are in the title, makes this a no-buy. I wanted to check out Origins when it became less expensive (I was burned by AC3 and haven’t played an AC title since), but the microtransactions seemed extreme.

I’m not inherently against Micro-transactions but I’m just so tired of them being everywhere and not being able to buy a game without having to research everything about it to make sure I’m getting what I paid for.

Thus far, I’ve not found leveling overly tedious (neither has my wife; we’re playing separate copies of the game on our PCs), but we both come from the JRPGs of the 80s/90s, so our expectations for progression (and the eventual curve that impacts that progression) are likely tempered by that experience.

That said,…

funny you seem like the huff and puff type...

Not sure why, but that second image of with the demon made me think of Ivan Ooze.

But which one tastes better?

My wife and I have both been playing through the game--and both of us have come to learn the savagery of the Grecian Chicken.  Truly, they give Hyrule’s Cuccos a solid run for their money.

Where’s the link? If I click  on it I just get a bigger picture of Zelda.

Y’know if people would just pay for the chicken armor perk this sort of thing would happe 

I’d rather choke the chicken.

No shit!

And as you die, there is a tip in the “game over” screen:

I bet they’d taste great on a pizza.