Info about Mists of Noyah:

Official game description:
Discord
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About the Game
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The Beginning
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In Mists of Noyah, you start in an abandoned fort that has been attacked and destroyed by corruption, and you’ll have to explore the world to find the inhabitants who have managed to escape the attack, to rebuild the fort and return to war!  
Hunt during the day, be hunted during the night
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**During the day**, you’ll have to collect resources such as wood, iron, gold, special ores, plants, food, and search for lost inhabitants of the ancient fort!  
**During the night**, you’ll have to build defensive towers, regroup with the found inhabitants and protect yourself. Every full moon, the demons lash out at your fort and get stronger with each attack!  
**Features**  
*   Multiplayer Co-op  
*   Five Playable Heroes  
*   Leveling  
*   Quests  
*   Talents  
*   Familiars  
*   10+ Biomes  
*   Day and Night cycle  
*   Dungeons \[Normal, Heroic, Mythic+\]  
*   Lootable Skills \[Proc System\]  
*   Lots of Equipment Status Variation \[Affix & Suffix System\]  
*   Corruption System  
*   Relics  
*   Perks  
*   Crafting \[Blacksmith, Cooking, Alchemy\]  
*   Farming  
*   Building  
*   Enchanting  
*   Reforge & Refine  
*   Tower Defense every 7 days  
*   Events  
*   Gathering Resources \[Mining, Fishing, Lumber, Herboism\]  
*   Achievements  
*   Rare Monsters with rare loots  
*   Bosses

Release date: May 22, 2022

Categories: Metroidvania, Survival, Crafting, Tower Defense, Cooperative Multiplayer, Dynamic Day/Night Cycle, Base Building, Resource Management

Feature scans:
- Steam Deck: score 45; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The game suffers from unreliable controller support and general instability, requiring manual workarounds or additional input devices.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $9.99 - $14.99
  - Reasoning: The reviews show mixed views: some acknowledge the game offers decent content for its current price while unfinished, but the majority explicitly state the full price is not worth the value, recommending to wait for a sale. The final note directly says the game is 'too generic for full price,' implying a lower price point is justified. The community's fair price likely falls below the current full price, in a range where a sale would make it acceptable—typically around $10–15 for an early-access indie title with these concerns.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: N/A
  - Story completion: 8.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The first two quotes directly state a typical main campaign completion time of 6-10+ hours, supported by another player's first playthrough of about 8 hours. The third quote implies a short session length (~33 minutes) as players quickly encounter frustration, and the fourth suggests that even 15 hours of play is not enough to progress far, indicating no well-defined endgame or post-story content. No evidence explicitly mentions endgame or total game completion beyond story.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game offers a promising early loop and co-op fun, but the missing tutorial and frequent bugs cause many to quit within minutes, while even those who enjoy it eventually hit a wall of repetitiveness and broken multiplayer features.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: After the short tutorial
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: no tutorial or explanation; frequent game-breaking bugs; poorly designed multiplayer and co-op; tedious and repetitive grind; slow pacing and poor UI
  - Unlock drivers: playing with friends or co-op; learning by trial and error; the 0.9 update improved communication and stability
  - Conditions: co-op or multiplayer with friends significantly increases enjoyment; solo play is possible but less rewarding due to lack of guidance; a patient mindset that accepts no hand-holding is required
- Player Archetypes:
  - Disappointed Early Access Critic (no buy)
    - Motivation: Seeking a polished, content-rich game with meaningful progression and story.
    - Playstyle: Prefers to explore carefully, expects tutorials and balanced systems; becomes frustrated by repetitive grinding and unclear multiplayer connections.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: disillusioned early adopter; former believer in potential
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Cooperative Collector & Optimist (sale)
    - Motivation: Socializing with friends and enjoying the relaxing grind of crafting and exploration.
    - Playstyle: Plays mostly in co-op mode, taking on challenges together, exploring biomes, and collecting resources without heavy pressure on narrative.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: co-op enjoyer; potential believer
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Nostalgic Old-School Defender (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Reliving the style of classic 2D action games with challenging cooperative play.
    - Playstyle: Prefers to play with a partner, expects tight controls and meaningful progression, and values art direction over modern UI polish.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: old-school player; Castlevania fan
    - Reference games: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Receptive and active developers (weight 0.26): The developers are highly rated for listening to feedback, fixing issues quickly, and being actively engaged with the community.
- Engaging multiplayer experience (weight 0.21): Multiplayer is consistently praised for being fun, smooth, and a great way to enjoy the game with friends.
- Strong potential and content (weight 0.14): The game has great potential and offers a good amount of content with room for improvement and future growth.
- Sustained improvement over time (weight 0.14): The game has shown continuous improvement through frequent updates and a dedicated team, making it a more refined experience as time goes on.
- Abundant content and activities (weight 0.14): There is a large amount of content, including many items to collect and craft, as well as various tasks and things to do, providing good replay value.
- Stunning pixel art style (weight 0.13): The pixel art graphics are widely recognized for their beauty, with some noting the art is nice but not exceptionally unique.
- Beautiful visuals and atmosphere (weight 0.13): The graphics and animations are visually appealing, and the ambient sound and soundtrack enhance the game's immersive atmosphere.
- Appreciated developer care and polish (weight 0.08): Players notice and appreciate the evident care and effort put into the game by the development team, contributing to a positive overall impression.
- Diverse biomes and exploration (weight 0.08): The game offers a variety of biomes and environments to explore, filled with secrets and diverse enemies that keep gameplay interesting.
- Solid core concept and ideas (weight 0.08): The game's core ideas and overall concept are considered strong and well-received, forming a good foundation for the overall experience.
- Enjoyable initial experience (weight 0.07): While some players found the game enjoyable for a short period, others note it has lasting appeal due to its depth and ongoing development.

Common complaints:
- Game abandoned by developers (weight 0.43): Multiple feedback clusters indicate the game was released unfinished and then abandoned by its developers, with no updates or further work. They moved on to other projects like Scarlet Tower.
- Unfinished and half-baked (weight 0.18): The game feels like an early access or incomplete product, not even half-finished. It was sold in a state that requires much more work.
- Missing tutorial or guidance (weight 0.16): Players report a complete lack of tutorials, tips, or any in-game guidance. There is no explanation for game mechanics, which leaves new players confused.
- Excessive grinding required (weight 0.13): The game demands too much repetitive grinding for materials and progression, which feels tedious and like a chore rather than fun gameplay.
- Numerous bugs present (weight 0.13): Many reviewers cite a high number of bugs throughout the game, including issues with achievements, hitboxes, and general stability.
- Co-op mode is broken (weight 0.1): The co-op mode has severe issues: players cannot see each other on the map, cannot drop items to friends, and it is generally buggy and unplayable.
- Enemy AI is poor (weight 0.07): Enemies are described as brainless rushers that simply need to touch the player to be effective. They lack intelligent behavior or interesting combat.
- Strange difficulty spikes (weight 0.07): The difficulty curve is unbalanced with sudden spikes and little warning, making progression feel unfair or random.
- Lack of developer communication (weight 0.07): Developers are described as mute and rarely update the community, contributing to the feeling of abandonment and lack of transparency.
- Multiplayer is unstable (weight 0.07): Multiplayer modes are reported as unstable or unplayable, likely due to netcode issues or lack of polish.
- Poor translation quality (weight 0.07): Translations, especially into Japanese, are noted as poor and may confuse players. The text quality needs improvement.
- Uninteresting tower defense (weight 0.07): The tower defense mechanic requires waiting 5 in-game days and is considered tedious, pointless, and not engaging.
- NPCs are uninteresting (weight 0.07): NPCs have no dialogue and only serve as shops, making the world feel empty and lacking story or interaction.
- Enemy animations look janky (weight 0.07): Enemies have few animations and some appear static or have infinite speed bugs, making combat feel janky and unpolished.
- Ridiculous hitbox issues (weight 0.07): Hitboxes are described as ridiculously large or weird, affecting gameplay accuracy and fairness.

Gameplay feedback:
- Extensive crafting and upgrade system (weight 0.21): Players highlight a robust crafting system for weapons, armor, and accessories, supporting survival mechanics and resource gathering. This merges feedback from Cluster 1 and Cluster 5, emphasizing material farming and forging.
- Metroidvania exploration with abilities (weight 0.11): The game features Metroidvania-style exploration, requiring ability-based progression across interconnected areas. This is consistently mentioned in Cluster 2 as a core design element.
- Unique character classes with skills (weight 0.11): Five distinct character classes, each with unique abilities, are noted in Cluster 3, covering roles like attacker, tank, healer, archer, and caster. This provides tactical variety.
- Fusion of Castlevania and Terraria elements (weight 0.08): Cluster 8 notes a mix of Castlevania's gothic platforming and Terraria's crafting-survival mechanics. This defines the game's unique identity.
- Corruption system with base defense events (weight 0.08): Cluster 10 details a corruption mechanic that increases difficulty and triggers village attacks, adding strategic pressure and base defense layers.
- Resource gathering through fishing and mining (weight 0.07): Cluster 4 describes fishing and mining as key resource-gathering activities, alongside wood and ore collection. This supports the survival crafting loop.
- Multiple biomes with diverse enemies (weight 0.07): Cluster 7 highlights multiple biomes, each featuring unique enemy types. This increases exploration value and replayability.
- Day-and-night cycle affecting enemy strength (weight 0.07): Cluster 12 features a day/night cycle that changes enemy behavior and difficulty, enhancing gameplay dynamics and risk management.
- Cooperative multiplayer mode (weight 0.07): Cluster 13 emphasizes cooperative play, supporting team-based strategies for exploration and combat.
- Base defense protecting a crystal (weight 0.07): Cluster 16 focuses on base defense with upgradable gates and crystal protection, a key objective in survival scenarios.
- Multiple character classes with roles (weight 0.07): Cluster 18 defines five classes (melee, hunter, caster), refining the unique skill set from Cluster 3 for clearer tactical roles.
- Survival hack-and-slash gameplay (weight 0.07): Cluster 6 combines survival elements with hack-and-slash combat, suggesting a hybrid action-survival experience. This adds to the game's challenge.
- Side-scrolling platformer with adventure (weight 0.07): Cluster 9 describes side-scrolling action combined with platformer exploration, fitting a classic 2D adventure format.
- Farming and material gathering (weight 0.07): Cluster 14 includes farming elements for material collection, linking to the broader survival and crafting systems.
- Pixel art graphics style (weight 0.07): Cluster 17 confirms a pixel art aesthetic, aligning with the game's retro visual appeal and 2D platformer genre.

Performance notes:
- Hitching and freezing on high-end hardware (weight 0.05): The game experiences hitches and freezes lasting half a second that worsen over time, even on high-end systems like a 5900x and RTX 3080 with an NVMe drive.
- Poor optimization causes overheating (weight 0.05): The game suffers from poor optimization that leads to significant hardware strain, with specific cases like the Veromus fight causing overheating on a Ryzen 5 5600x and RTX 2070s setup.
- Horrible performance across hardware (weight 0.05): General reports of horrible performance indicate widespread issues across various hardware configurations.
- FPS issues on high-end hardware (weight 0.05): High-end hardware like the NVIDIA Titan Xp and i9 9900K still suffer from FPS issues, highlighting poor optimization.
- Performance issues on newer high-end hardware (weight 0.05): Even the RTX 3070 and i7 11900k experience performance problems, showing the issues are not limited to older or mid-range hardware.
- Heavy lag with many enemies (8 FPS cap) (weight 0.05): When faced with many enemies, the game drops to an 8 FPS cap, making combat nearly unplayable.
- Long loading times without SSD (weight 0.05): Loading times are excessively long when not installed on an SSD, indicating poor asset loading or file management.
- Low FPS despite low GPU/CPU usage (weight 0.05): The game runs at less than 50 FPS even when GPU and CPU usage are low, indicating a bottleneck or optimization problem.
- Stuttering lag is severe (weight 0.05): Stuttering lag is severe enough to impact gameplay, with some reporting it 'kills' the player experience.
- FPS caps limit performance potential (weight 0.04): Built-in FPS caps prevent the game from running faster, even on capable hardware, limiting performance potential.
- Poor optimization causes lag and weird effects (weight 0.04): Lag is accompanied by unusual graphical effects, suggesting deeper engine issues.
- Very high memory usage over 4.5GB (weight 0.04): Memory usage exceeds 4.5GB, which is unusually high and may cause system instability or memory leaks.
- Connection drops occur (weight 0.04): Players report connection drops, suggesting network or online stability problems.
- Heavy load affects sync issues (weight 0.04): The game’s heavy load may cause synchronization issues, possibly affecting audio or input lag.
- Smooth performance at lower resolution (weight 0.04): A minority report indicates smooth performance at 2560x1440 with 60 FPS, suggesting inconsistent optimization.
- Minor screen tearing occurs (weight 0.04): Some players experience minor screen tearing, likely due to V-Sync or frame pacing issues.

Recommendations:
- Wait for updates (weight 0.28): Several reviews suggest waiting for future updates or sales before buying, indicating the game is not ready for full price. This is common advice.
- Avoid the game (weight 0.24): A few reviews strongly advise against buying the game, calling it garbage or a waste of money. This is negative but less frequent.
- For specific genres (weight 0.21): Several reviews recommend the game for fans of specific genres like Castlevania or survival crafting, indicating a targeted audience. This is positive but limited.
- Not worth buying (weight 0.17): Multiple reviews state the game is not worth purchasing, citing it as unfinished, unbalanced, or not respecting player time. This feedback is strong and frequent.
- Play with friends (weight 0.14): Some reviews recommend the game only if playing with friends, suggesting multiplayer enhances the experience. This is a niche but specific preference.
- Support developers (weight 0.09): Some reviews encourage buying to support development or bug testing, suggesting a positive view on the game's potential.
- Consider alternatives (weight 0.09): Some reviews suggest playing better alternatives like Terraria or other games, implying the current game is inferior. This is a specific comparison.
- Bugs and issues (weight 0.07): A few reviews mention fatal bugs and imbalances, along with online issues for Japanese players. This is a specific technical complaint.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.28): Players experience frustration due to a combination of factors including unbalanced difficulty, linear progression, buggy controls and unresponsive input, as well as the game being abandoned by its developers for another project. Many feel the game lacks essential guidance and tutorials, making early gameplay exceedingly difficult, while issues like unresponsive controls and basic quality-of-life feature omissions further hinder the experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.23): Disappointment stems from the game failing to live up to its potential and expectations set by titles like Terraria, as players find it half-finished, buggy, and lacking core content despite a promising concept. The feeling is compounded by the perception that the game was abandoned or released in an unfinished state, with design flaws and missing features persisting even after updates.
- Anger (weight 0.07): Anger arises from perceived deception by the developers, including a lack of basic features like tutorials, poor combat systems, and the game being abandoned after early access promises. Players also express frustration over issues like no controller support, broken skills, and a sense that the developers do not engage with their own game.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.06): Enjoyment is expressed in spite of the game's issues, with players citing fun co-op gameplay, beautiful graphics, and a satisfying progression loop as key draws. The combination of favored genres and responsive controls also contributes to an overall positive experience, with many seeing significant potential for hours of play.
- Excitement (weight 0.06): Excitement stems from the game's combination of Metroidvania and survival crafting elements, which is described as fun and addictive. Players also highlight the developer's responsiveness and quick bug fixes as reasons for anticipation, along with the promise of future updates.
- Hope (weight 0.05): Hope is rooted in the game's perceived potential, with players expressing optimism that developers will address bugs and add content to realize the game's promise. The solid foundation of combat and systems, coupled with developer responsiveness, fuels this expectation of future improvements.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.05): Satisfaction arises from the game's amount of content and customization, as well as the enjoyable gameplay loop of gathering, crafting, and base defense. Players also appreciate the developer's active communication and rapid fixes, which have turned the game around in recent updates.
- Betrayal (weight 0.02): Betrayal is felt due to the perception that developers abandoned the project after promising a finished product, instead announcing a new game while the current one remains incomplete. This is seen as a breach of trust, particularly after the developers used delays to promote a spin-off.
- Confusion (weight 0.02): Confusion stems from a lack of in-game guidance, with players feeling lost upon starting without explanation or a story. The odd behavior of game elements and the fact that the game remains unfinished despite its potential further deepen this bewilderment.
- Optimism (weight 0.02): Optimism is driven by the game's potential and active development, with players confident it will improve. The developers' passion and communication, including rapid bug fixes and feedback incorporation, support this belief, leading to expectations of a completed gem.
- Boredom (weight 0.02): Boredom is attributed to the tower defense mechanic requiring long waits and uninteresting gameplay, as well as the game becoming repetitive after some hours. Long travel times and a lack of engaging music also contribute to this feeling.
- Appreciation (weight 0.01): Appreciation is expressed for the game's beautiful graphics and soundtrack, which are specifically highlighted as positive aspects despite other issues.
- Affection (weight 0.01): Affection is felt due to personal fondness for the game, with players acknowledging it provides 20-25 hours of content and is genuinely good despite flaws like translation issues.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Anticipation is for future updates, with players looking forward to the game's potential and upcoming content like version 1.0 and a new soundtrack.
- Concern (weight 0.01): Concern is focused on the presence of bugs and imbalances that remain unfixed from old versions, which players worry about.
- Interest (weight 0.01): Interest is specifically in the concept of the game, which is noted as appealing.
- Sadness (weight 0.01): Sadness is linked to the game being abandoned despite being well-made, which players find unfortunate.
- Pride (weight 0.01): Pride is felt due to the game being Brazilian, which players see as worth supporting and a point of national pride.
- Annoyance (weight 0.01): Annoyance arises from the crafting system requiring tedious clicking, which is described as a minor but persistent frustration.}