[h1] Wait this one out, for now. This is massively undercooked [/h1]
So, I'm leaving a thumbs down for now, but I really really want to believe in this project... but...
[h3] It looks alright, but the more you play... [/h3]
So the game looks pretty good! Like, it's not perfect, but I think there's really good work, visually. Gameplay is also good in terms of gunplay, the controls are responsive and I can feel lots of potential out of it, but the guns are currently WAY too precise and have barely any recoil. I can snipe enemies from pretty far away with an MP5 that is constantly shooting. No gun kickback, no recoil. Like it could be a really cool alternative to F.E.A.R. not having realeased a single title in over a decade. BUT there are some sections early in this game that don't make much sense. The sniper section is 50/50 based on luck v.s. timing, and RIGHT after that I got to the gatling gun (helicopter?) section and I just gave up because I just keep dying and don't understand what happens once I've activated all the switches. I got shot through a big box I was hiding behind too, so there isn't even a place to hide, it just feels bad and unfair and it was too frustrating for me to continue. I decided to give it another go after that, advanced to a bit of gunfights, FINALLY! And yeah, the guns are way, way too precise where it feels like I'm using some type of no-recoil script cheat.
I then got to a point where I had to get inside a car, the car wouldn't start, but the sound's so bad that I wouldn't know if it was a car problem, a game problem or a me problem. Turned out that the car didn't have a battery. Okay, cool? Found the spot where the battery was, installed it, car lights up! Good! Turn the key with the "K" key (what? why not "F" like everything else?), and nothing happens. It won't go. Upon multiple inspections, I have no idea what to do anymore, so, well, screw this, I'll play something else.
[h3] A jambled mess of Level Design [/h3]
Wtf is going on? The game is just constantly throwing out "moments", or scenes as if they didn't give a single f*ck. Like the SECOND you finish a section, you just hop on to another type of "gameplay" moment. There's no buffer in-between with a bit of walking and shooting, it's just HERE IS THE SCARECROW SCENE. NOW HERE IS THE SNIPER SCENE. NOW HERE IS THE HELICOPTER SHOOTOUT SCENE. It feels super rushed and absolutely kills any chance at a build up for tension. Also, isn't this a shooter? Why am I going through all of these scenes and shot like only 7 enemies in an hour of gameplay? Why are there so many ammo boxes lying around but not needing any of it because I have barely went through one bullet clip? Is this horror survival or boomer shooter? What are we going for here? There's as many enemies as a horror survival game, but SO many guns and bullets, like, WAY too many guns and bullets everywhere at all times. It's fine if you're aiming for a shooter game like F.E.A.R., in fact, it's what I HOPE this game is going to be, but where are all the enemies?? Takes way too long to get to the actual gun fights.
[h3] Storyline is messy as hell [/h3]
The story, so far (I haven't been real far yet), is holding on by a very thin thread. Everybody has access to your radio, apparently, and are just telling you a bunch of stuff. Apparently, you're american. Apparently, there's a Russian sniper that's been after you for a while (???) even though he wasn't mentioned or presented before this moment. Apparently, some other faction wants you dead. Apparently, there's paranormal things going on with ominous masked people that keep disappearing. Everything is presented so loosely and rushed so far that it all feels extremely disjointed and not making much or any sense. It's like they played F.E.A.R., took notes, but then spilled coffee on the notes and still worked with those ruined notes. It's just a mess.
[h3] Is the sound department deaf? [/h3]
Now, the worst aspect of this game, in it's current state, is the sound. I hate everything about the sound in this game. I apologize to the person taking care of this portion of the game, but you REALLY need to get your sh*t together. The sound is abysmal. The balancing is horrible, the sound effects sound REALLY bad. Gunshots sound like I'm shooting with a Nerf gun, the sniper shooting at me -- I barely can notice he's shooting and hitting me; barely audible gunshot, barely audible impact. Kicking down doors is constantly the same-one-sound-effect. Walking around the map constantly feels like there's something missing from the sound department, it feels really weird. The jumpscares' volume is just WAY too loud, it's f*cking ridiculous. The voice acting is SO bad like everybody sounds like they're "trying to make a tough guy voice" but not achieving it, it's really cringey. You can hear how they're forcing their vocal chords to have sort of a "tough guy vocal fry" but it turns out souding like an amateur cartooney voice. It's really, really f*cking bad. There is currently absolutely no saving grace about the sound aspect, it's just dogsh*t. The music is also reaaaaally sub-par in terms of quality of sound, mixing and execution.
If voice acting is this hard to find, I'd MUCH rather have a silent game with absolutely no dialogs, or very little dialogs. Less is more. 'Specially if you want to create tension and mystery, don't have someone chatting the worst voice-acting I've heard in a long time on my radio all the time to tell me what's going on. I don't need to be constantly told what's going on, I can see what's happening right in front of me and guess most of it: the bad people are mean. Got it. Can I shoot at something now??
Devs have a buttload of work ahead of them. With hard work, all of this can be better. I really really really hope they'll put in the hard work. I'll update this review as I try it out here and there through patches, but I'm shelving it for now.
I would definitely recommend people to wait this one out, to see if it gets any better.
