Is this what they call “damning with faint praise”? “When I got my first look at the live game of Shroud of the Avatar at PAX Prime this past weekend, one thought slammed me to the ground: This game is so much better-looking than the website’s screenshots let on.”

It’s actually a pretty positive preview overall, although they weren’t big fans of the combat in the game: “When you switch into combat mode, your hotbar is gradually dealt cards depending on their cooldowns. And if you don’t use those skills within an allotted time? Why, they go away. It was confusing to grok, although the dev mentioned that it was something all players will need to spend actual time to learn and wield effectively. I’m unsure how this marks an improvement over most current combat systems, although it might appeal to those who miss Chronicles of Spellborn’s system.”