Those Who Came: Healing Solarus

Developed and published by ROLLDBOX GAMES, Those Who Came is an Early Access game which in its current state cannot be recommended. its claims to be an RPG but reality it plays as platformer with puzzle elements. Whilst I commend and support the concept of a cooperative non-combat-based game its implementation leaves much to be desired, before I continue I will disclose I received the key for free after been approached by ROLLDBOX GAMES. I actually declined the key initially due to the games multiplayer focus and my own limited schedule causing me to be uncertain if I could film a feedback video but after receiving a key regardless and then four further email reminders when I didn’t use the key I finally found time to experiment with the games Early Access. [h1]Story [/h1] The concept behind the game is sound, a group of refugees from a destroyed planet discovering a new dying world then working alongside its inhabitants to try and save it so that they may live together. Other than cutscenes the mission descriptions and several characters dialogues are main source of any story telling however its very easy to have characters interrupt each other and with no way to review dialogue or objectives this becomes a problem for both story and progression. The game also seems to be uncertain in its identity, its a scifi setting but the characters abilities are ‘Magic’ rather than technology focused. This alongside many hand waved plot holes in the current story only serves to undermine the experience. [h1]Presentation[/h1] To put it bluntly the game constantly invoked memories of Deus Ex Invisible War (2004) as in how certain visual effects are achieved, obviously the character models and shading are superior but the clunky, crude area design overfilled with items or nonsensical placement, clunky HUD and overly present variety of lighting effects that cause a visual mess are very reminiscent of early 2000s design. The model and texture quality varied considerably and the NPCs were lifeless and robotic in their movements often misplaced with whatever they are interacting with. The music quality is decent and inoffensive, very suitable for its role bot most people will have no recollection of it the second the game turns off. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] Mechanically the game is a broken buggy mess, I had to reset the game twice just attempting to get the tutorial mission to work, object interaction wasn’t always clear and the landscape is littered with inescapable holes or invisible walls due to janky hitboxes. The games main progression is via various mission which can be selected in any order as well as an exploration mode, from what I’ve seen these usually consist of platforming puzzles on the way from point a to point b following a beacon. In all honesty with the lack of movement options combined with the large cluttered landscape makes the general gameplay a chore and exploration unrewarding. Each player can equip a very basic power such as gliding or light/melting obstacles at stations in the hub or around the map so its beneficial to have multiple players with a variety of powers in order to have maximum versatility. It should also be noted that powers have limited uses and take some time to recharge, this makes mistake or experimentation extremely tedious and punishing. Finally to prevent players from roaming too far in the early game certain areas have properties that require certain equipment to be crafted in order to progress through them. As previously mentioned its very easy to have characters interrupt each other and with no way to review dialogue or objectives this becomes a problem for both story and progression. I’ve had several instances where the objective also simply don’t work or I’ve gotten trapped in the landscape. However overall its a combination of its design and not the bugs that make the game a mediocre experience. [b] Pros: [/b] - Interesting concept. - Music is pretty decent. [b] Cons: [/b] - Plot holes and Genre Confusion. - Gameplay grows very tedious and repetitive due to basic abilities limited to one per player. - Area design is a sprawling cluttered mess that is slow to navigate through due to limited movement options and bad hit boxes. Also its easy to become trapped. - Achievements require other players - Lots of game breaking glitches throughout the game. - No Control options - Is not suitable for solo play at all even when its present as an option. - Far too expensive in its current state Video gameplay (Available December 2021): https://youtu.be/qL7hLxfV4Yo https://youtu.be/IB4b3CwQVmw