The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu

[h1] I [u]tentatively[/u] recommend this game.[/h1] This game has a lot of good to offer, but there are annoying things too. [h3] Things I like:[/h3] - It's an extraction-game. Get in, get the stuff, and get out; before the forest wakes-up and decides to turn you into fertilizer. - The aesthetics of this game are exemplary. Graphics and sound-design are above the standard for a modern-day game. It is absolutely gorgeous. - The ambience is incredible. It's eerie, haunting, unsettling, and altogether demented. - I can take my time and really soak-up all the effort the designers put into this game. - Sanity, Isolation, Blood-Moon, and other game-mechanics don't have a gauge or progress-bar to keep the player informed. You, as a player, have to be smart enough to realize that if Carlito the Ox is no longer pulling the ox-cart, and instead there is some eldritch-horror pulling the cart, that you [i]might[/i] just be going insane. - In-game chat is proximity-based, so if you get too far away from your team, they'll no longer be able to hear you... which means nobody is coming to help when the forest decides to take a "special interest" in you. - I like the fact that every character is the same in terms of speed, strength, endurance, etc. It reminds me a bit of 'Left 4 Dead' where it didn't matter who you were playing as. You end up picking your favorite based on their look instead of their stats. [h3] Things I [b]DON'T[/b] like:[/h3] - Any game-controlled allies are frustratingly unhelpful. Most missions include an ox-cart as a mobile inventory-depot, player resurrection, psychological stabilizer, etc. Is the ox-cart going to be where you need it? Of course not. The priest driving the cart is off exploring Narnia as you're desperately trying to stave-off blood-loss, because some cyclopean-terror ripped you a new one and you need a bandage to stop the bleeding (and the bandages are in the cart). Strangely, there is a "Call Cart" command, but there's not one to tell the cart to "Wait Here". If playing single-player, your assistant is just as worthless. The bark of a tree is peeling-off and starting to fight you, and he's carrying an armful of firewood back to the ox-cart (that's half a time-zone away). - Difficulty and progression are very erratic. You can be clear-cutting your way through the jungle on Legendary treasure-missions, then you take-on a Basic portal-mission and the jungle decides [strike]to wear you like a condom[/strike] to get a lot more difficult. - I should [b]NOT[/b] have to examine [u]EVERY DAMN ARTIFACT[/u] that I pick up. It was nice the first time, but all following times are just preventing me from proceeding at my own pace. [h3] Things I understand, but get frustrated with:[/h3] - There is the occasional graphical or audio glitch. The really-cool proximity-chat is only good if you aren't transmitting garbled static. This is [b]NOT[/b] a game-feature where your audio-chat starts getting weird when you are psychologically compromised, it's just a bug that will be fixed in-time. It's already a rare occurrence since the developer continues to release updates every two-weeks. - There were game-mechanics that were removed from the game. There are remnants of those game-mechanics that are still in the game. These remnants should have been repurposed, or removed. Right now they just feel like confusing dead-weight. I hope the developer has future-plans for them (which would explain their continued presence). - Madness effects are really cool the first time you see them, not so much the 25th time you see them. I understand that it takes resources to program and code new effects, so that's why it's in this section instead of "things I don't like". [h3]Conclusion[/h3] If you are a spastic, modern-duty-apex-ring slop-player, who needs a constant flow of adrenaline to keep from falling asleep, [u]you will NOT like this game.[/u] But if you're looking for a game that you can immerse yourself in, like a hot-bath of foreboding, you are exactly who this game is talking to (can you hear it whispering?). Overall, I've been enjoying myself quite a bit playing this game. I think it would've been better as an "Early Release" though, until they iron-out all the kinks. I am [b]NOT[/b] upset with my purchase, and hope the developer continues to keep releasing updates every two weeks. Hopefully, I'll see you in the jungle... (I'll be the one with the glowing eyes)

Janky and unoptimized. Would wait a bit and for a steeper sale. Runs horribly even on low - medium settings (constant stuttering and low fps even when not in dense forest areas), combat and movement feel slow, some enemies are wildly unfair and not in a "should avoid this enemy for gameplay reasons" kind of way, and there's also just not a lot of stuff in the game that should be in it. Concept is cool and the devs have already begun cleaning it up but the launch kind of ruined it for me.

My friend blowing my head off 10 seconds into the game: "Oh, sorry, I was hallucinating"

[h3]Garbage Alert[/h3] graphics r terrible, performance is bad. gameplay is... there is no gameplay. cannot skip cutscenes... current worth $1. if u pay more u have been scammed

If you have friends to play with, it's totally worth it. At first, you don't really know what to do, but it's fun to figure it out little by little while you insult your friend who is actually an AI pretending to be them and trying to kill you, because your real friend died in the jungle 5 minutes ago. I have 10 hours of playtime and still have a lot of things to do. They've been adding patches with new mechanics, like being able to defend yourself, which people asked for. So, at least the devs are reading the reviews.

Overall idea is great for the game but lacks depth and gets boring quickly. Repetitive.

way too much money for such a poorly coded game, i feel bad for my friend who bought me this the devs gotta pour some love into this because people (including myself) want this to be good