DYSPLACED

A complete downgrade from Dysmantle. Every good game mechanic from their first game was removed and replace with something tedious and generic. It's baffling to me. No sir, I don't like it.

[quote]A blinged-out screenshot version of the review can be found at the [url=https://summitreviews.biz/article/90/dysplaced-early-access-review][b]Summit Reviews website[/b][/url].[/quote] Review based on an Early Access build 0.7.1.2. 10tons Ltd has a pattern, but it’s a pattern they seem to iterate on quite successfully. Dysplaced upgrades and expands on Dysmantle, upping the ante with some more narrative driven beats, base building, and multi world hopping, while retaining all the environment destruction and cozy survival vibes which made the first one so well liked. And this one features online co-op, so you can share the coziness. Where Dysmantle went for a bittersweet, lonely man in the bunker apocalypse, Dysplaced goes for a modern fantasy, multiverse savior spin. You’re displaced from your home by an unknown encroaching threat, and saved by a ghostly lady who whisks you through a magic portal. Cue in a tale of cultists, an imprisoned god, an unwitting hero in the making, and a reknitting of the universe. It’s not terribly original, but it’s engaging enough to move the narrative forward, and there's a reasonable amount of collectibles to go with it that expand on the lore a bit. The crafting and light survival loop is still the main draw here, and is as addictive as it was back then in Dysmantle. You can break and collect almost everything, the only limit being the quality of your equipment. You’re also constantly searching for ingredients and materials, with the game slowly feeding you new items and upgrades. A great addition is a buildable recycle bin, allowing you to break down old tools and recover materials. Most of the systems are in place already, even in this Early Access stage, but there are a few road blocks with quests and sealed off areas where current maximum upgrades don’t cut it. In the beginning, the story slowly funnels you through tutorials in the first world, but quickly gets to opening up the other three. With four worlds at your disposal, the free roam exploration truly begins. Considering not all materials are available on all worlds, you’ll wear out your shoes quite fast, at least until you learn to repair world waygates, and build portals. Some of the later materials, especially ores, are well hidden and will require some diligent exploration to find. Base building is a welcome new addition, but doesn’t really work with one central base mechanic. You can build one, or a few, for roleplay reasons, and it’s easy to get back to them via portals, but you need one for each world since portals don’t work across different worlds. Instead the game encourages you to build small bases and crafting stations as you progress through the story, and before boss fights. The ancient storage boxes placed across the world that serve as inventory hubs can almost be considered subtle hints for your campfires. All of your equipment can be upgraded, and there are multiple tiers. Weapons and tools can even be broken down into components like handles and blades, which have different bonus stats, and you can mix and match them. Almost every action also gives experience, and levels unlock new skills and abilities, which are then purchased with materials connected to those skills. Don’t expect to outpace the story here though, or do some power grinding sessions. It’s all neatly tied together to prevent the standard grind mindset. This might be an issue for some, but I find it breaks up the grind into smaller, more bearable chunks, while propelling the story forward. Just like in Dysmantle, there are still no survival needs, Green Hell this isn’t. And it’s a good thing you’re not required to micromanage your basic needs meters, because it would slow the upgrade progress to a crawl. Food and potions only heal you, and provide additional buffs. You only lose a part of your inventory when you die, but you can just saunter to your marked corpse and pick it all up, even multiple times. The enemies don’t respawn when you rest, which was a mechanic in Dysmantle. This works well with the rebuilding of the worlds story angle, with villagers returning as you clear out cultist lairs, repair bridges, and restore world connections. Certain things can only be obtained if you help the people, and the land. The worlds themselves feel much more vertical than in Dysmantle, and more interconnected with caves, ancient elevators, and even upturned trees that serve as bridges. Restoring the ancient technology also opens up a lot of shortcuts, making return trips easier. You can now also jump, but it has a weird tiny sliding feel to it, just enough to cause needless grief when least expected. That same sliding feel sometimes happens with movement as well, just a little ice slide, but it’s much more pronounced in jumping. Slight camera issues, especially when close to higher elevations also pop up, slapping a mountain in your face and blocking your view. Hopefully, both things can be corrected down the line. Enemies come in various cultist forms, including a few zombie versions, and a couple of different bosses. The humanoid enemies have a pattern of attack, and can dodge and block, depending on what weapon they’re wielding. But they’re not the ones you need to fear, with a bit of practice they become predictable. Fear the wild boars stalking the woods, drooling and heedlessly charging you as soon as they smell you, usually in packs. They will overwhelm you if you don’t pay attention. Combat is simple, and consists of blocks, dodges, and parries. There are also a few ranged weapons. I haven’t quite figured out the parry timing, and I’ll assume it has one since there’s a stat that boosts riposte damage, but I found it’s better to go for a dodge strategy. A stamina bar, which is a change from Dysmantle, tries to shake things up, limiting you in actions when empty. But I don’t think it’s a great choice here, it’s clunky, slows the combat, and the block and parry system would work even without it. Just let this be an action game, not everything needs this particular soulslike component. The boars might need a bit of toning down, but then again, I’ve never met one in real life, their power might be true. The visuals don’t differ much from Dysmantle, and are still bright and colorful, adding to the cozy vibe. The overall, almost charming, ambience still works well to convey the abandoned worlds, with creepy towns and ruins overrun by cultists, but now with an added fantasy filter. The map, and the mini map, are great, detailed, and visually very helpful since they show the world as it is, so you can orient yourself easily. There’s one choice I find questionable, an option to enable AI generated voices. It’s not surprising in today’s climate, but it’s completely not needed, and it ruins the charm more than it adds anything significant. Around 60% of the game is completed, the latest patch added a fourth world, and game difficulties, but more importantly, corrected a lot of issues. There’s a lot to do here already, but expect plenty of things to be added, changed, tinkered with, and hopefully improved. The developers ironed out Dysmantle to the last bit, they’re responsive, and listen to feedback. For now, I have no doubts this will get the same treatment, so consider this an early sneak peek into an already good cozy, light survival and crafting game in spite of all the critiques. 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