GHOSTWARE: Arena of the Dead

I really wanted to like the game. But it's just... not good in the end. Good points: Cool aesthetic I like the searching for secrets and finding side lore The guns are neat Bad points: The dialogue is bad. It feels like it's written by someone who doesn't speak English as their first language, It's not Engrish, but it just... doesn't flow, it's hard to tell what characters are trying to say. The plot is kind of meandering, it feels like the dev changed his mind about what he wanted to write halfway through. On that note, the style of the game also changes halfway through, from arena shooter levels with some exposition/exploration in between, to a more Doom-style "play through levels and shoot the baddies" type game. None of the upgrades you get really do anything at all. The bosses are all mid at best, their attacks don't really make sense, and for the last boss he autohits you multiple times and has the ability to oneshot you. There is no way to block or avoid his attacks. On that note, the last boss is the worst part of the game, the only way to beat him is to kill him before he kills you, there's no skill involved. And the game just straight up rips away the ammo you've stockpiled when you zone in so you only get a handful of shots. it just feels like the dev wanted to do a bunch of additional things and they didn't end up working out but he left them in anyway.

Honestly, this is probably the most mid game out there. The shooting is serviceable, the story is serviceable, the exploration is serviceable, and the dialogue is kinda bad and I could only eyeroll at some of it. Nothing much stands out (Besides something I'll get into later). And it's kinda boring too because you do a arena combat, maybe a boss fight, then you need to explore those maps being empty to get the unlocks needed to progress. The only thing that kinda stands out is there these "meta" in-game websites to explore to get more power ups too while giving you clues about the story. Honestly this game is more nostalgia bait that I can not make myself finish.

Wish I could leave a neutral review, but that isn't an option. I was under the impression that controller support would be implemented when this game was out, because I was told on the discussions forums it would be. They backtracked on that and decided they wouldn't bother with it, which was part of the reason I bought the game unfortunately. Lesson learned. Ignoring that, lets talk about the game. While the gameplay is decent, I found the game to be a bit too clunky to be enjoyable. Checkpoints are rare and I felt the game was difficult, but after the controller support issue I felt like it wasn't worth trying to get it to work. This game feeds off the nostalgia cravings while not entirely hitting the mark. Not a bad game, not a good game, just meh. Due to the controller issue, I probably won't be seeking titles from this developer/publisher again.

cool idea in concept, buggy mess.

i like the game hated how it felt tho

Эту игру тяжело рекомендовать, поскольку она совсем не то, что показано в трейлере. Вот, что хочет олдфаг испытывающий тоску по зарубам под техно/индастриал Q3 и UT? Конечно заруб под техно/индастриал в ещё одной игре и вполне себе справедливо их должно ждать такое от игры в названии которой есть Arena, а если туда ещё сюжет завезли, то вообще хорошо. На деле у этой игры кризис самоидентификации, она не арена шутер, не бумер шутер. Просто шутер, при том не самый интересный и даже кринжовый. В какой-то момент этой драмы думаешь, а нафига я в это играю? Дойдя то титров, моя единственная мысль была - ну и фиг с ними всеми. На деле среди пузатых олдов есть спрос на игру, похожую на Unreal, с похожей атмосферой и даже на вторую часть, хоть она была не такой как первая, но определённо имела очень крутой визуальный стиль. Разочарование.

A game meant to evoke the classic boomer shooters Unreal and Unreal Tournament. Unfortunately, it doesn't measure up those games. So-so shooting, annoying and mostly bland-looking level design, a confusing story that failed to make me care what was going on, and a lack of music throughout most of the game. That last part is especially disappointing since the game was made by Mothership Loudspeakerz, who has put out a lot of quite good remixes of Unreal and UT's stellar soundtracks, so I had expected much more in that department. The only strong point is that it's short, easily beatable in 3 or 4 hours if you don't try to find all the secrets. At this price, it's not worth it. Go play one of the many better retro-revival boomer shooters out there.

A story far too vague and confusing and gameplay far too boring for its own good.