Info about Bleak Faith: Forsaken: Official game description: Explore the last remnants of civilization in this vast, unforgiving, and interconnected world. Learn what is left of its history. Discover pockets of civilization in the perpetually expanding Omnistructure. Lose yourself in a journey unlike any other. Open World and Exploration -------------------------- Explore the Omnistructure for the first time ever. Rich in atmosphere and rife with danger, be prepared to be immersed in a new world unlike any you've experienced before. Not every path is paved and catered to you, so be prepared to run, climb, leap, to ascend in Bleak Faith. Hardcore Combat Experience -------------------------- Combat is dangerous and will push you to your limits. Positioning, timing, and resource-management are all things you must keep in mind at all times. Expect to be challenged. Epic Boss Fights ---------------- Be prepared for memorable boss fights with unique soundtracks. Bosses ramp the danger levels even higher and ensure a thrilling ride through the manifold sectors of the Omnistructure. RPG Progression and Playstyle Versatility ----------------------------------------- Choose a class and progress into your perfect playstyle. But remember, not every choice is reversible, so decide wisely what direction you take your character in. Release date: 10 Mar, 2023 Categories: Open-World Exploration, Souls-like Combat, RPG, Character Progression, Character Customization, Tactical Combat, Climbing Gameplay - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: No data - Playtime Metrics: No data - Time-to-fun: No data - Player Archetypes: No data 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: - Overall Game Quality & Improvement (weight 0.88): Players overwhelmingly praise the game's overall quality, especially noting its significant improvements since launch due to consistent developer updates. Many consider it a hidden gem that offers a highly enjoyable and engaging experience. - Improved & Engaging Combat (weight 0.58): The combat system, while initially perceived as clunky by some, is now largely seen as responsive, engaging, and satisfying. Players appreciate its unique twists, tactical depth, and the variety it offers compared to other Souls-like games. - Vast & Rewarding Exploration (weight 0.45): Exploration is a core strength, with players commending the vast, interconnected, and non-linear world design. The sense of scale, discovery, and freedom to wander without strict guidance is a major draw, making exploration consistently rewarding. - Exceptional Atmosphere & Aesthetic (weight 0.43): The game's atmosphere, aesthetic, and world-building are consistently highlighted as exceptional. Players are deeply immersed by the bleak, mysterious, and unique environment, enhanced by a fitting and memorable soundtrack. - Creative Enemy & Boss Design (weight 0.21): Enemy and boss designs are frequently praised for their creativity, visual appeal, and variety. Boss fights, in particular, are noted for being unique, challenging, and well-designed, contributing significantly to the gameplay experience. - Deep Character Customization (weight 0.19): The game offers extensive character customization and build variety, with a wide array of weapons, armor, and a well-implemented perk system. This allows players to experiment with different playstyles and create specialized builds. - Impressive Indie Development (weight 0.11): Players are highly impressed by the game's quality and ambition, especially considering it was developed by a very small team of only three people. This achievement is frequently cited as a testament to the developers' talent and passion. Common complaints: - Pervasive Bugs & Lack of Polish (weight 0.99): Players consistently report a high number of technical issues, including pervasive bugs, visual glitches, poor optimization, and unpolished mechanics across various systems. This leads to a generally 'janky' and unfinished feel, significantly impacting the overall gameplay experience and value perception. - Clunky & Unresponsive Combat (weight 0.96): Combat is frequently described as clunky, slow, and unresponsive, with issues like floaty movement, input lag, and stiff animations. Players also highlight unreliable hitboxes and inconsistent enemy behavior, making fights frustrating and lacking impact. - Confusing & Empty Level Design (weight 0.9): Level design is frequently confusing, monotonous, and leads to players getting lost due to a lack of clear direction or a map. Many areas are described as vast but empty, filled with filler, and lacking meaningful content or objectives. - Poor & Misleading Graphics (weight 0.83): The game's visuals are widely criticized for being low-resolution, blurry, and lacking contrast, often appearing worse than advertised. This extends to poor texture work, unpolished animations, and a generally gloomy or monotonous aesthetic. - Poor UI & Controller Support (weight 0.81): The user interface is consistently criticized for being unpleasant, unintuitive, and messy, often appearing as a placeholder. Additionally, controller support is reported as severely lacking, making the game difficult or unplayable for some. - Problematic Enemy & Boss Design (weight 0.27): Enemy and boss encounters suffer from significant issues, including unreliable hitboxes, repetitive attack patterns, and inconsistent difficulty scaling. Bosses are often described as buggy, uninteresting, or frustrating due to unfair mechanics. - Frustrating Stamina System (weight 0.1): The stamina system is a major point of frustration, with players reporting rapid depletion and extremely slow regeneration. This forces excessive waiting during combat and exploration, hindering fluidity and enjoyment. - Incomprehensible Story & Lore (weight 0.09): The game's story and lore are widely considered incomprehensible and ambiguous, with a complete lack of clear explanations or traditional storytelling methods. This leaves players feeling disconnected from the narrative and world. Gameplay feedback: - Strong Souls-like inspiration (weight 0.14): The game is widely perceived as a Souls-like action RPG, drawing significant inspiration from Dark Souls 1, particularly in its combat, exploration, and overall atmosphere. It incorporates elements like 'bonfires' and a focus on interconnected level design. - Gear-centric character progression (weight 0.13): Character progression is primarily driven by gear and a gem-slotting system for customization, rather than traditional leveling. Players can allocate points into four core stats and unlock various perks and abilities to enhance their build. - Deliberate and strategic combat (weight 0.11): Combat is described as slow, heavy, and strategic, requiring precise timing for attacks and parries. While initially feeling rigid or clunky, players note that it improves significantly once core mechanics like perfect blocks and combos are mastered. - Unguided exploration and discovery (weight 0.09): The game offers a challenging, unguided exploration experience with no in-game map or clear objectives, forcing players to discover paths and systems on their own. This can lead to initial confusion but encourages thorough exploration. - Lenient death penalty (weight 0.06): A unique death mechanic means players do not lose experience or items upon dying, reducing the typical Souls-like penalty. However, there is a reported permanent character deletion after an extremely high number of deaths (around 400). - Optional and scaling bosses (weight 0.05): The game features a significant number of optional bosses, with only a few being mandatory for completion. Bosses often scale with the number defeated, and some introduce unique mechanics, including a challenging secret boss. - Control and performance optimization (weight 0.05): The game was designed with keyboard and mouse controls in mind, and players may need to adjust settings, particularly for controllers, to achieve a smoother experience. Capping the framerate at 60/90 FPS is also recommended to avoid physics issues. - Customizable passive perks (weight 0.04): Players can equip up to four passive perks, gained by defeating unique enemies and bosses. These perks offer significant build customization, providing effects like lifesteal or increased attack power for specific weapon types. - Cryptic and fragmented story (weight 0.04): The game's story is cryptic and fragmented, delivered through journal entries and sparse NPC dialogue. Players are expected to piece together the narrative and interpret its meaning, contributing to the game's mysterious atmosphere. - Customizable respawn points (weight 0.04): A notable feature is the ability for players to place their own custom respawn points between main checkpoints. This mechanic offers strategic flexibility and a unique twist on the genre's checkpoint system. - Climbing on large enemies (weight 0.03): A distinctive gameplay mechanic involves climbing onto large enemies and bosses once they are staggered. This allows players to target weak points, similar to the system found in Dragon's Dogma. Performance notes: - Improved Performance & Stability (weight 0.13): While initial launch optimization was poor, recent patches have significantly improved overall performance. Most players now report stable 60 FPS, though some still experience occasional frame drops in specific areas or when casting spells. Adjusting settings like V-sync or using DLSS can further enhance stability. - DLSS Support Benefits Performance (weight 0.02): The game supports DLSS, which significantly helps mid-tier machines achieve excellent performance and visual quality. - Strong Graphics & Visuals (weight 0.01): Players generally praise the game's graphics and visual design, noting that it can look comparable to modern AAA titles. - Ultrawide Monitor Support (weight 0.01): The game offers ultrawide support, though it may require a minor .ini file edit for optimal experience. - Limited Graphics Settings (weight 0.01): Some players feel that the in-game graphics settings lack sufficient granularity for fine-tuning performance. - Missing Animations Noted (weight 0.01): One reviewer noted that many animations appear to be missing, which could impact visual fluidity. - Long Boss Runback (weight 0.01): One specific complaint highlights a long runback to a boss, which can be frustrating for players. Recommendations: - Mixed but generally positive reception (weight 0.61): Overall, player sentiment is mixed but leans positive, with many recommending the game, especially on sale or for specific player types. However, a significant portion advises caution due to unpolished aspects or suggests waiting for further improvements. The game is often seen as a 'hidden gem' or a title that requires an open mind. - Strong appeal for Souls-like and exploration fans (weight 0.25): The game is highly recommended for fans of the Souls-like genre, particularly those who prioritize exploration, atmosphere, and unique world design over combat polish. Many reviewers draw comparisons to Dark Souls 1 and the manga 'Blame!', emphasizing its appeal to players who enjoy getting lost in vast, mysterious megastructures. - Support for developers and future potential (weight 0.06): Players express strong support for the small development team, acknowledging the game's potential despite its current flaws. There's a desire to see the developers succeed with future projects, ideally with more resources and funding, and an appreciation for their commitment to patching and improving the game based on community feedback. - Need for technical and combat polish (weight 0.05): Several players highlight the need for technical improvements, specifically mentioning graphics settings, combat mechanics, and controller support. These areas are seen as crucial for enhancing the overall player experience and reaching the game's full potential. Other player notes: - Small Team Development (weight 0.25): Players frequently highlight that the game was developed by a very small, three-person indie team. This context is often used to explain or excuse the game's perceived lack of polish, budget limitations, and ambitious scope, while also expressing admiration for what the team achieved. - Unique Niche Experience (weight 0.13): The game is consistently described as unique, niche, and not for everyone, often praised for its distinct atmosphere, world-building, and sense of scale. Its slow pacing and obscure narrative appeal to players who value exploration and immersion over traditional action or clear explanations. - Blame! Manga Similarities (weight 0.05): The game is frequently compared to and recommended for fans of the 'Blame!' manga due to its similar atmospheric and aesthetic qualities. While it shares some 'Souls-like' elements, players emphasize that it is not a direct clone and offers a distinct experience. - Desire for Future Content (weight 0.03): Many players express a strong desire for future content, including DLC or a sequel. There's a clear hope that the developers will continue to build upon this foundation, potentially with more resources, to create an even more refined experience. - Addressed Asset Controversy (weight 0.03): The game faced negative publicity due to an issue with unknowingly using illegally copied animations purchased from an asset store. However, the developers have since addressed this by replacing the problematic assets with original ones, demonstrating their commitment to resolving issues. - Localization Needed (weight 0.02): There is a demand for additional language localizations, particularly Chinese and Spanish, to make the game accessible to a wider international audience. Emotions: - Satisfaction (weight 0.25): Players felt satisfied due to the game's overall high quality, particularly its unique atmosphere, immersive world design, and rewarding exploration. Significant improvements through patches and engaging combat mechanics also contributed to a positive experience, often exceeding initial expectations. - Frustration (weight 0.14): Frustration stemmed primarily from numerous technical issues, including bugs, poor hitboxes, and unresponsive controls. Players also struggled with confusing level design, a problematic stamina system, and unbalanced enemy encounters, leading to a lack of polish and unfair difficulty spikes. - Disappointment (weight 0.12): Disappointment arose from the game's perceived lack of polish, clunky gameplay, and unfulfilled potential, often failing to meet expectations set by trailers or the initial concept. Issues like uninteresting combat, empty levels, and technical flaws contributed to a feeling of low quality and a desire for a refund. - Admiration (weight 0.11): Admiration was largely directed at the small development team's ambitious achievement in creating such a unique and expansive game. Players praised the game's artistic vision, impressive world design, captivating atmosphere, and the developers' dedication to improving the game post-launch. - Excitement (weight 0.06): Excitement was generated by the game's immersive atmosphere, engaging exploration, and interconnected level design, which often led to a sense of addiction and a desire to uncover all its secrets. The game's unique blend of influences and its potential for future content also fueled enthusiasm. - Enjoyment (weight 0.05): Players found enjoyment in the game's overall quality, particularly its immersive ambience, rewarding exploration, and engaging combat, despite some initial onboarding challenges or minor flaws. The game's unique world design and the variety in combat and builds also contributed to a fun experience. - Appreciation (weight 0.04): Appreciation was expressed for the game's unique artistic vision, particularly its distinctive atmosphere, world design, and soundtrack. Players valued the developers' efforts and the game's daring approach to the genre, often seeing it as an underrated gem that captured the essence of early Souls-like titles. - Hope (weight 0.02): Hope was primarily tied to the game's future potential, with players anticipating further improvements, bug fixes, and new content from the developers. The small team's active work and responsiveness instilled confidence that the game would continue to evolve and reach its full potential. - Awe (weight 0.02): Awe was inspired by the game's breathtaking scenery, impressive world design, and overwhelming sense of scale. The hauntingly beautiful atmosphere, exceptional music, and unique enemy and character designs contributed to a profound and immersive visual and auditory experience. - Love (weight 0.02): Love for the game stemmed from its immersive world, captivating atmosphere, and engaging exploration, often despite its flaws. Players deeply connected with the game's unique design choices and its ability to provide an unforgettable journey, especially for fans of specific genres or artistic styles. - Joy (weight 0.02): Joy was experienced through the overall enjoyment of the game, often surprising players with its quality and ability to provide more fun than other popular titles. Discovering hidden areas, engaging in boss encounters, and appreciating the art style contributed to a delightful gaming experience. - Surprise (weight 0.01): Players were surprised by the game's unexpected quality, especially given its small development team or initial negative reviews. The interconnected map, unique blend of themes, and significant post-launch improvements also contributed to a pleasant and unexpected gaming experience. - Acceptance (weight 0.01): Acceptance reflected players' understanding and tolerance of the game's jankiness and technical flaws, often attributing them to the limitations of an indie development team. The improvements brought by patches and the game's unique style helped players overlook its imperfections. - Anger (weight 0.01): Anger was directed at perceived poor design choices, such as 'troll' enemy placements, and allegations of stolen assets or false advertising. The game's overall low quality and its sale in an unpolished state also fueled player frustration. - Enthusiasm (weight 0.01): Enthusiasm was driven by the game's high quality, particularly its immersive setting, captivating atmosphere, and well-designed features. Fans of the Souls-like genre found the game's design elements, including its level design, soundtrack, and difficulty, highly appealing. - Fascination (weight 0.01): Fascination arose from the game's unique and eerie world, its distinctive cultural setting, and its awe-inspiring vistas during exploration. Players were captivated by the game's weird and intriguing atmosphere, which encouraged deep immersion. - Engagement (weight 0.01): Players felt engaged by the game's enthralling world, which encouraged deep exploration and creative build variety. The compelling gameplay, including its fighting style and enemy diversity, kept players engrossed and eager to continue their journey through the mega-structure. - Concern (weight 0.01): Concern was expressed regarding specific game mechanics, such as the Entropy system, and visual issues like flashing lights during combat. There was also concern about the developers' accountability and potential copyright infringement, alongside a desire for continued improvement. - Nostalgia (weight 0.01): Nostalgia was evoked by the game's map design and overall feel, which strongly reminded players of their initial experiences with Dark Souls 1. The game successfully recaptured the sense of wonder and challenge associated with early Souls-like titles. - Relief (weight 0.01): Relief was felt as the game improved significantly after initial issues, particularly with fixes to climbing mechanics and boss encounters. Players also appreciated the manageable difficulty, lack of death penalties, and the realization that fears about leveling were unfounded, leading to a more enjoyable experience.}