[code]Curator page here-->[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37670120/] DaRevieweD #202 [/url]<-- [i]New review every Weekend[/i][/code]
[h1]"WHILE IT MAY BE THE ‘FIRST’-!!"[/h1]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2888112596
[u] Here's The Thing:[/u]
You become Carmac, who wakes up without any semblance of a past memory until much later in the game when scripted things happened… The blood spatters that fill your surroundings aren’t the only mess present here, in fact, the whole thing is one giant sorry excuse of a-
[h1]! DISCLAIMER ![/h1]
Sorry… I’ve calmed down now. Ahem, let it be known that, no, I [b]did not AND cannot finish[/b] the game due to massive oversights by the developers whom have seemingly abandoned ship as soon as they launched it. Technically, I could finish it if I am fast enough, but screw it!
That said, I did watch a “let’s play” for the remaining 1/3 of the game instead… I just figured, why should I continue to waste whatever I have left of my lifespan, for a product that the devs evidently do not even care about no more?
[h1][+] PROS;[/h1]
[b]:) IT’S AN O-DOOZY; WELL, CLOSE ENOUGH~[/b]
While it doesn’t quite know what to do with them at times, it has got the necessary bits down gameplay-wise. From it possessing the staple ingredients of a trusty survival horror; having to be careful in managing your inventory like in [b]Resident Evil 7[/b], not forgetting to loot corpses such as in [b]Prey[/b] or [b]BioShock[/b], and of course diligently combing through each room for ammunition and hidden caches!
As is the case nowadays, it just would not be a horror title without some key-searching and puzzle-tackling, but never over numerous that they trigger migraines. Meant to be a single run only, it has just the one ending which can be arrived at in two hours max… Hypothetically anyway, but alas many troubles will come up~
[b]:) SATISFACTORY OUTPUT. NO FURTHER UPGRADES NEEDED?[/b]
The visuals scream out “sci-fi horror” with their futuristically intimidating line of command consoles, panels and keycard readers. However, there is an intentional mismatch of dystopian facilities and conditions that are intriguing to take in. It was clear that servings of [b]Detroit: Become Human[/b] (environments and setting) as well as [b]Squid Game[/b] (tracksuit-wearing enemies and scenario) found their way into the game!
This thematical coherence does break down later on and the interiors become like a house of mirrors when you have to go back-and-forth the corridors, which annoy the heck out of me, but I digress- for surely they were designed that way! The sound design is not in the most optimal of states but salvageable through eerie silence, pounding echoes and screeching noise~
[h1][-] CONS;[/h1]
[b]:( THE. SHEER. ODYSSEY-CITY[/b]
If I am not mistaken, there are no saves whatsoever… unless I somehow just have not reached the right spot yet. But that is highly unlikely, because according to the playthrough video I watched; picking up where I had “left off”, I was already two-thirds well into the game!
What makes this just one huge how-do-you-do is when the bugs, especially the softlock ones, are thrown in the mix. And so, you lose an hour’s worth of progress to, but that’s only assuming it just occurs once and won’t happen again for subsequent attempts, but good luck with that optimism~
[b]:( AI AM SO FRIGGIN’ MAD…[/b]
As entertaining as the survival horror elements were, however, they’re not enough of a distraction to sway you from the starting portion, which is just ridiculously boring with “cutscenes” that you assume are broken and key items obscured from your view because your flashlight wasn’t up in already well-lit rooms. The progression of the game is illogical, cramps your style and flow even by giving you false hope such as weapons you won’t ever have the chance to use.
At least not yet anyway, although it will gladly eat up your vortex currency points! No matter how well you conserved your ammo or how brilliantly you located the deviously-tucked-away items; once you reach the second area, they will miraculously disappear from your person! Not a peep from the game, no sloppy reasons given- say, you were mugged in the duration of the loading screen… NADA!
Both the gameplay and story, the latter to be covered in the next con, make it abundantly clear this is one of those games where you’re much better off just watching a playthrough video in its entirety and you wouldn’t miss out on anything! In fact, I’d argue it’s the ONLY way, and it would certainly be less painful and traumatizing… You can still save yourself from my fate~
[b]:( QUESTIONS FIRST; ANSWERS- HOW ABOUT NEVER!?[/b]
It’s sufficiently transparent that the story wasn’t thought up in a day, a week maybe at most, but definitely not a day! I’d even go as far to say it would have deserved a paragraph or two in the [b]pros[/b] section, but then something so heinous and so damning came to light… And that is, the gameplay acted as filler to the story, which is super weird to hear out loud because usually it would be the other way around!
How else would you explain the significant degrees of dancing around the subject and backtracking like there was no tomorrow, just to advance a few lines of dialogue that could’ve been wrapped up in mere minutes!? It’s true the lore was scrambled, and the characterization was weak sauce, but it doesn’t change how interesting the material was.
However, the sudden ending didn’t just point out exactly how much was missing, it also showed me what the developers had gotten away with! I found it to be a disturbingly massive omission by the developers, if true, that they intentionally failed to mention in any capacity (not counting the title) of this being the first entry to what appears to be a series of “Odyssey” games, thereby defrauding players who were expecting a fuller experience…!
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2888113495
[b]:( THE NERVA OF THE DEVS! THIS IS CARMA FOR YA’LL~[/b]
Lastly, this isn’t tied exclusively to the game, but the extremely poor- correction, ZERO effort in issuing any communication or post-release patches signal that the developers either aren’t amenable to criticism, or have deserted the project altogether… Such a bad first impression!
There have been no updates since the June 10th 2022 one, and that was for announcing the release date. With such a defeatist, money-grubbing attitude and followed by silent treatment; I’m not the least bit surprise by the nonexistent reception. Even if they were to reemerge now, it would’ve been all too late~
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2888111333
[h1]BUGS:[/h1]
x Lighting-based issues; you are abruptly tossed into dark pockets of space completely devoid of light.
x Achievements do not do jack!
x In-game tv screen bugs out, allowing you to miss out an important clue necessary for progression…
x Interaction prompts disappear altogether- again making it virtually impossible to progress. Forcing you to have to restart, but why da fuq should you even bother…
x Flashlight and handgun can be used but are not visible for a good one-third of the game.
[h1]NITPICKS:[/h1]
~ Can shortcut weapons, medicine but not batteries or the obsolete “adrenaline” items.
~ I thought the opening cutscene glitched out… when really, it was intended to be a black screen!
~ There are options to “load game” and “continue”, but they may or may not be available.
[h1]"GOD I SURE HOPE IT’S THE LAST~"[/h1]
[u]Last Words?[/u]
What fire there was poured into the project is effortlessly snuffed out by total noncommitment and no desire for self-improvement! That's way before the actual issues and bugs even gets factored in…
[h1]3 / 10[/h1]
[quote]Shoutout to [code][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116/]Indie Gems,[/url][/code] for GEMME-ing a key! Follow them here right now for more well, y’know~[/quote]
