OUTBRK

fun game, good devs

The only time a tornado has had me slightly scared and the only time i havent wanted to drive into it 1000000000000000/10

you spin my head right round

very very fun

There are a lot of things that work in this game, however, I feel there are more things that are working against it. There are two core issues that hold this game back: progression and accuracy. The majority of issues that block this game from being entertaining is how you progress. The way one progresses in this game is by taking photos of tornadoes and earning money. Superficially, there is no reason this could not work, however, the game behaves almost as if it were live-service. You are placed in a storm event with a dozen other players (If the matchmaking can find a server for you. In one instance, it took too long and we were placed into a lobby that was just the two of us. That made the requirement of 4+ players to enter a game feel arbitrary and of to no real advantage). It is ambiguous if you are intended to cooperate with other players to chase a storm or if you are competing with them. When a friend and I played, we came to the conclusion we were competing. Accuracy is a more obvious factor. This game is aiming to be a simulator. How simulated you desire a game to be comes down to personal preference. After a certain degree, simulation is favored over quality of life. For me, the game needs to stretch the truth further to stave off tedium, while for others, this tedium is part of the thrill. It is because of these two greater decisions that are the direct source of other intentional design choices that prevent the player from enjoying this game. For instance, off-roading is incredibly punishing. I understand why this is. To maintain accuracy, a two-wheel drive sedan is not going to get you through a muddy field in the midst of a relentless storm, however this is also a balance decision. The developers clearly want you to take the beaten path to get to a storm. It would be more unfair (and unrealistic) if someone straight-lined through the middle of a farm reach a storm compared to the person taking it seriously. As a result, those who try to play out the scenario in a way that is more true-to-life would be punished, but the issue now is that those who are trying to have fun and desire action are being punished instead. This, and many other decisions of this game, result in you spending a lot of time driving on roads in the rain, which, during the course of playing, caused my entire system to lock up twice requiring forced reboot. It feels like a lot of poorly optimized decisions were made in favor of maintaining the accuracy (despite the fact that my character can jump twice the height of my car). Additionally, it's progidal the developers are focusing on a vegetation overhaul despite the face that you are restricted main roads. I acknowledge the team working on this game is rather small. I did not go into this expecting extreme polish, but there are a lot of indie games I have played that are more performant (or not) and are far more delightful to play. This project has clearly bitten off more than it can chew. There are too many plates being spun at once, and for the size of this team, a game smaller in scope would have been a better idea. It is a compelling idea to have weather simulated so accurately. Storm chasing, as a concept for a game, has the potential to lead to a pandemonium of experiences that provides both an outlet for those who want to engage earnestly, or a game to watch your buddy be taken by a tornado kicking and screaming. Unfortunately, the game does not really appeal to that latter (and from some of the other reviews I've seen, it does not really appeal to the former in certain scenarios). I feel this will leave it to be incredibly niche. If this is what the developers desire, that is acceptable, but as a potential buyer, it is valuable to acknowledge this.

It's boring

pretty good game