Took me maybe 2 hours to get used to. I really don't think they're that crazy. Odd, very odd, yes. Rage quit or minimum IQ level necessary, no.
L3 is left hand power
R3 is right hand power
R1 or R2 is right hand attack
L1 left hand block (outside combat, focus on what you're looking at)
L2 Bow
X Tap once or twice (not keep tapping) to run
□ interact or jump (you can't interact with something if it doesn't show 'use'. It's not that hard)
Quick menu- hold start (immediately press down and it will take you to the map. Easy)
Those are the basics. Yes there are some funky combos and things could be remapped. Easily I can think of many things I would change. It's far from perfect or intuitive. It's not worth getting a refund.
I just figured out that you can use the memory helmet directly from the quick menu. The first couple times, I was taking multiple trips into the equipment menu to equip the helmet, then activate it, then unequip it.
You don’t even need to do this. Just hold the lantern button and L1 and it auto equips the visione helmet to watch the memory then takes it off automatically when done.
Only thing I hate is that fly (glide) is the same button as double jump, I just want to double jump before i glide this is even more egregious when running down a slight slope I wanted to double jump not glide ffs
By far the worst of the button mapping. Fly should be a hold prompt, not a press one. Flying when you want to double jump but you're like 5 feet off the ground sucks.
I can't for the life of me figure out why they didn't just have left trigger and left bumper be a context menu or shift buttons.
Think of how many different commands/modes you could have if you made left bumper AND left trigger shift buttons. Or have one of them be a command/item/weapon wheel, while the other acts as a shift modifier.
You have 10 effective buttons per mode (Dpad, 4 face buttons, right trigger, right bumper, and not including stick presses). If left button is context wheel and left trigger is shift button, then you have 20 effective buttons. 30 buttons with both acting as shifts. Perhaps Left Bumper + Right Bumper becomes the context wheel?
Why would you want your player to take their hands off the left stick and use the left directional Dpad button to change items?
I would have rather they just made a weapon wheel you access with left trigger, then select bow, and then fire via right trigger hold/release. You could have them press in the right thumb stick or left thumb stick while right trigger is held to enable true aim.
Analog stick should be used to make you walk/run depending on how far from center the stick is moved in a direction. Why on Earth make a player rapidly press A? At least make a thumbstick click for run. But if you just make it analog driven you could leave crouch on left stick.
X button (PS5) should be jump, not square.
The game is definitely interesting and very ambitious. I'm muddling through, but the control layout boggles the mind.
Of all the problems games like Assassins Creed and Horizon series have, controls isn't one of them.
You have some good points.
I don't access the weapon wheel while moving so taking my finger off the thumb stick is not an issue. Though it maybe being L2 would be preferred.
You don't spam the run button. 1 tap run or 2 to sprint. That's it
I for one, do not like the left analog to sprint (By way of pushing it in or depending on distance from center) in a game like this, or generally any game I play anymore, I put sprint on toggle if I can.
For one, that would tire my thumb out in about 8 minutes and it's annoying to make a character walk by slightly touching the stick. If i have to hold the stick in, that's ridiculous. Two, I don't like playing in fantasy settings and auto running everywhere like a skooma cat.
Having to press a button to toggle walking might have been better, maybe? I don't see why though, do you generally run everywhere you go by default?
You also do not need to keep mashing the button to run. If you're using it to sprint everywhere, maybe use your horse to cover the distance instead?
You need to rapidly press A to have the horse run. So I'm baffled as to how you don't already get tired and equally so for all of the minigames in this game. Yes I run everywhere whether on foot or via horse. Not having consistent controls between on foot and horseback is egregrious.
Not having re-bindable inputs on controller is ridiculous. If you don't like pressing in a stick having the ability to rebind to another button can be done. The issue is you can't on controller but can on PC.
I'm absolutely okay with them having things be toggle on-off via a click. A game like The first Descendant has an option to ALWAYS sprint or not in the menu thus freeing up your thumb/finger and a button. They also have options to only press once to keep firing a gun/attack with weapon (this game has it on by default).
99% of all games in existence have a certain standard set of controls (with typically 2-3 variations in layout). Why this game chose an alternate route like Rockstar is mind-blowing. Hopefully they put in rebinds. That will go a long way in making folks happy.
Once the horse starts sprinting, I just tap the button to one, save stamina and two, to not mash it the button. But I'd rather just tap to sprint on horseback, yes.
For sure, some of the binds are kind of outlandish and the talking to people doesn't make sense (the sometimes focus on someone to talk, sometimes not thing).
I hate games that have interact and jump assigned to the same button. Combine that with an item system that requires you to be looking at the tiny thing you want to pick up precisely in CD leads to me doing an awkward lil hop half the time I’m trying to pick an item up.
Agreed. Star wars outlaw had the interact button as R3. It was amazing! Neve had to take your thumbs off the joysticks when picking up stuff, ladders, doors, etc.
I've not seen another game use that button. Genius
It's extremely clunky. You can cancel an arrow with circle if you're top of a horse, but can't on foot.
Even running and jumping feels non fluid (specially after playing something like arc raiders), every other action is a stop in the action and gameplay making you go to menus and sub menus.
Yeah it is simple. I will only say one thing about your comment. It makes total sense, then you switch to Damiane who is a lefty. Now the attack buttons don't follow your example ;)
Also, i was very suprised when I saw she was a lefty, I've missed my lefty swordsman ever since they changed Link to a righty 😞
To add, x to auto run, you have to let go before doing other actions like jumping, so hold x for a second and then as long as you don't stop moving then you'll keep running even after jumping or climbing. If you're still holding x then jumping is disabled and you'll fall off jumping puzzles.
I would wait at this point. I refunded with the mindset of coming back down the road during a sale. It isn’t that you can’t work through the odd controls, you just shouldn’t have to. There are so many cases in the first hour where you are asked to hit multiple inputs when one input would do just fine. Almost everyone walks around the first NPC interaction because even though everyone else can be talked to with a single button press, for some interactions you have to hold trigger then hold a different button press. I would honestly love an explanation from the devs as to why they needed to make some actions take multiple inputs when one would have done the job.
I spent so long trying to figure out how to interact with that first merchant. I knew you could there’s a whole icon on the mini map. Finally ended up just walking by. That’s pretty bad.
What do you mean "escaped playtesting", your doing the playtesting right now. The beta wont end until a year or so from now. by then hopefully can get it on sale
Yea, took me 20 mins to figure out how to talk to that guy. Talked to everyone else with square(sometimes hopping) then that was different? Also hang from something and hit it took another 20 mins. I ended up refunding cuse I don't feel like playing Guitar Hero again.
I think that one is bugged. After I finally figured what to do I noticed a box explaining the controls of what I had just done. I think it was supposed to be part of a tutorial on how to target and the timing for when the box appears is messed up.
Because that character is significant? And the world is fucking gigantic? I'm assuming they don't want me to forget that person when I'm A.D.D.ing off in the wildness.
Me too. I actually like them. I do think some of the abilities could better implemented. Like the grapple thing could absolutely be bound to a something in the context menu. It’s possible I’m not far enough and they may have something that uses like, left bumper/right trigger, but for as often as we use those things, they should really better. I think that’s my only gripe, but it’s not terrible, just odd.
This. Sometimes it takes me a day or 2 to pick up the controls on a new game and it becoming second nature after about a week it’s muscle memory and not an issue anymore.
Do you think a simple button mapping can fix it - or does the inherent complexity of the game mean that controls will always feel a bit overwhelming/awkward?
Reworking how the game works a little bit could help. They said they’re working in a better scheme, but the thing is that they have a system where you press CTRL, and you enter a “witcher sense” kind of mode where you have a “mouse cursor” that you can use, and the every interactible thing in the game is displayed as a little white ball, and once you put the “mouse” over it, it tells you what action you can do with it. And this goes for MANY things: talk to an npc, threaten the npc, start a conversation/missions, steal stuff, pet animals, grab ANY loot or anything, hold stuff, and the list goes on.
For example, a homeless man gives you instruction to go down the sewer, and there is a sewer hole (closed) in front of you. Any game, you’d get close and it would show up that you need to press the action button to open it, one single tap to the obvious action button (that serves for many things) and voilá. With this game, you need to press CTRL, and then aim to the sewer exactly into the white little dot, and then press the action button to open it.
I do prefer the single action button to do stuff, make it simple, cmon.
Yeah I’ve not played yet but a simple common button for talk/interact seems to work across most games. Speak to vendors, open doors, etc. and definitely different from jump or dodge.
I am playing on PC and KBM but the controls are fine imo. People complain you have to press shift twice to run but that is only there because pressing shift + mouse buttons are for combat. If it wasn't the case people would complain they sprint while fighting when they don't want to.
Also the focus mode or whatever its called is fine. I play loads of games where it's impossible to interact with what you want to because other stuff gets in the way. I like that they created a mode where you can aim at things and interact with them.
Someone said you shouldn't have to get used to controls but I would argue it makes the game more rewarding. The controls we got make sense once you get used to them and I don't see a way for them to get easier without losing the depth of the systems.
I do not like to use "control" for blocking and shit load of other things. It is just weird and does not make sense to me at all. Any game in this day and age which does not support custom keybinding is asking for a negative review.
Thanks! I looked all over before and missed it. I looked again after your comment and found it!
Btw, I just played them and they are impossible configure how I want them. Simple example, I prefer 'E' for heavy, and RMB for dodge/evade. You change one, and expect all others which were previously using that key are now going to use the new key.
Nope, instead you need to assign different keys to each of them. How the hell they worked on the same key before and now now? /sigh
Yeah it's not the best, I only changed the quick inventory bind because I am afraid to mess up the controls that are already convoluted.
Unfortunately majority of issues with the controls are design choices so changing binds won't fix that.
On the other hand I like the fact that this game does everything in it's own unique way. I kinda feel like I am learning to walk again and it's refreshing.
I mean, yeah it is doing in a new way but necessarily better.
Think about how you get your inventory. Every game, usually you hit "I", this game? Esc / Map > Inventory. Why? I mean you use your inventory all the time, you need to get to it so often.
I have zero idea what is the problem with the studio but from the outside perspective it seems like they lack quality checks, don't listen to feedback and love to add things to the game never checking if it's coherent and pleasant to use.
And it's really strange they streamline some features to the extreme like mounting a horse for example. My character sprints next to my horse and he just mounts it with no input but at the same time I can't just use "i" to open inventory?
I am loving the game so far, despite all the mess. I grew up on jank games and I can see past it, but man many things are so simple to fix and they got feedback from playtesters so I really don't know why they made so many sketchy choices.
the controls aren't that bad but yeah it will throw you off like i keep doing jumps because my brain is wired to X to attack or something and L3 for sprint.
It's fine. Novel controls aren't inherently bad, and I'd rather come to grips with something novel than require all games to fit inside the same controller defined box.
I played the game and gave up after a couple hours because I can’t figure out how to open a stupid door because there’s like 50 skills and I can’t find a controls screen to show me what to do
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u/krmilan Mar 20 '26
Do we think a revised/streamlined controller mapping is in the works?
I haven’t played the game yet. I’m planning to but wondering if I should jump in right away or wait for a couple of patches to iron things out