Info about Above Snakes: Official game description: Experience a mixture of creation and mild survival elements in this isometric Wild West-inspired adventure RPG. Build your own world piece by piece while navigating various biomes and battling against the elements or - even worse - dangerous Lost Souls. Gather resources, construct bases, and craft weapons and tools to hunt, fish, farm, and fight. Create Your Own World --------------------- Unleash your creativity and craft a world to your liking from different biomes. Each biome offers various materials and resources that you can use to progress through your adventure and build your equipment and base. Craft, Cook, Hunt, and Fish --------------------------- Find food, make nourishing meals and craft necessities. Expand your base and build essential workstations such as a workbench, a saw mill, a furnace, or an anvil. Enhance your crafting skills to create more advanced gear and tools that help you advance. Build ----- Create your very own outpost and base with a simple but clever modular building system. Make it your own with hand-crafted furniture and beautiful gardens. You can even enjoy a relaxed sundown on your porch. Farm ---- Find seeds from wild herbs and vegetables, create crop farms, and harvest your goods. Watch over your farm, water it regularly, make fertilizer for increased growth speed, and take care of your harvest. Key Features ------------ * Relaxing survival craft worldbuilder - create a world from world pieces * 100+ unique world pieces with different biomes and biome combinations * Craft, farm, hunt, fish, build bases, fight, and explore. * Make it your own - adventure RPG with a long-term progression system * Complete quests at your own pace and unravel the secrets of the land * A lightweight story of a young woman in the middle of a conflict Accessibility ------------- Full controller support, key and button rebinding, disable camera shake, disable smooth camera movements, photosensitive mode, custom volume controls for sfx, music, eating noises, and footsteps. Release date: May 25, 2023 Categories: Base Building, Crafting, Farming Simulation, Resource Management, Exploration, Survival, Character Progression, Relaxing Gameplay Feature scans: - MTX: score 65; verdict: Aggressive Monetization; summary: The game is perceived as overpriced given its quality, and there are indications of a setup for potential paywalls and aggressive in-game purchases. These factors contribute to a negative user experience and suggest a monetization strategy that could be seen as predatory. - Wiki: score 50; verdict: Needs Improvement; summary: The analysis of user feedback reveals significant reliance on external guides for quest and crafting information, as well as issues with map progression clarity. Additionally, there are severe technical problems reported, such as crashes and unresponsiveness, which greatly affect the user experience. - Steam Deck: score 50; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The game Above Snakes has a mixed reception on the Steam Deck. While it is generally compatible and runs well on the device, there are notable issues with controls and performance. The control scheme has been described as both good and problematic, indicating inconsistency. Performance issues such as low FPS and frame drops have also been reported, affecting the overall experience. However, the game's compatibility with the Steam Deck is a significant positive point. - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: - Community fair range: $8.00 - $12.00 - Reasoning: The evidence suggests that the community generally finds the game not worth its full price of $24.99. Multiple reviews indicate that the game is more suitable for purchase at a discounted price, with some suggesting it is not worth even half of the full price. This sentiment points to a fair price range that is significantly lower than the current base price. - Playtime Metrics: - Game completion: 64.0h - Story completion: 15.0h - Session length: N/A - Endgame: N/A - Reasoning: The evidence provided includes several direct mentions of playtime metrics. The first quote mentions a total playtime of 64 hours to complete the game 100%, which can be used to estimate the `gameCompletion` metric. The second and third quotes provide insights into the time taken to finish the main story, which helps estimate the `storyCompletion` metric. The fourth quote suggests a range of 10-15 hours for story completion, with additional time for sandbox play, supporting the `storyCompletion` and `gameCompletion` metrics. There is no direct evidence for typical single-session length or endgame hours, so those fields are set to `null`. - Time-to-fun: - Summary: The game starts fun with its unique tile-based concept and progression system, but the fun drops as the gameplay becomes repetitive and grindy. - Stance: Fun then drops - Anchor: Exploring and unlocking new tiles - Time to anchor: 1h 0m - Friction: Repetitive tile system; Lack of variety in unlocked tiles; Grindy resource collection - Unlock drivers: Initial exploration and unlocking of new tiles; Progression through story quests - Conditions: Engaging initial quests; Satisfying early progression; Unique tile-based concept - Player Archetypes: - Chill Beginner (sale) - Motivation: Relaxation and casual gameplay. - Playstyle: Casual and relaxed, focusing on exploration and light survival elements. - Experience: newcomer - Purchase stance: sale - Labels: Beginner; Casual gamer - Reference games: Legend of Mana - Relaxed Builder (sale) - Motivation: Creative freedom and relaxation. - Playstyle: Focused on building and exploring with a relaxed pace. - Experience: familiar - Purchase stance: sale - Labels: Builder; Explorer - Reference games: V Rising - Survival Grinder (deep sale) - Motivation: Enjoyment of survival and crafting mechanics. - Playstyle: Grinding and repetitive tasks with a focus on survival and crafting. - Experience: veteran - Purchase stance: deep sale - Labels: Survivalist; Grinder - Reference games: N/A 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: - Enjoyable tile-based world creation (weight 0.52): Players enjoyed the creative and rewarding process of building the world tile by tile. The exploration and tile placement mechanics were highlighted as enjoyable features. - Relaxing and enjoyable gameplay (weight 0.37): Many players found the gameplay to be relaxing, enjoyable, and stress-free. The missions and overall experience were described as captivating and engaging. - Beautiful and distinctive art style (weight 0.28): The art style of the game is widely appreciated, with many players praising its beauty and distinctiveness. The graphic style is considered one of the strong points of the game. - Unique and original concepts (weight 0.24): The game introduces unique and original concepts, such as the tile-placement mechanic and world-building. These innovative ideas are well-received by players. - Cozy survival-crafting experience (weight 0.08): The game is described as a nice casual, quaint crafting survival game. Players enjoy the cozy and relaxing aspects of the survival and crafting mechanics. - Variety of biomes and exploration (weight 0.08): The game features a variety of biomes and encourages exploration. Players enjoy discovering different tiles and areas within the game world. - Decent replay value (weight 0.08): The game offers decent replayability, providing good value for the price. Players find that there is enough content to warrant multiple playthroughs. - Fun cooking system (weight 0.07): The cooking system is fun and features a variety of recipes. Players enjoy experimenting with different recipes and finding the cooking mechanics engaging. Common complaints: - Repetitive and monotonous gameplay (weight 0.46): The gameplay is described as repetitive, monotonous, and tedious, with a lack of variety in activities and music. Players find the gameplay loop boring and grindy, which significantly reduces replayability. - Unengaging and forgettable story (weight 0.4): The story is criticized for being simple, uninteresting, and forgettable. It lacks depth and coherence, making it unmemorable and anticlimactic for players. - Technical issues and bugs (weight 0.38): The game suffers from various technical issues, including poor optimization, frequent frame drops, and annoying bugs. These issues detract from the overall gaming experience. - Clunky crafting system (weight 0.21): The crafting system is described as clunky, tedious, and overly convoluted. Players find it unenjoyable and time-consuming. - Frustrating combat mechanics (weight 0.21): Combat is described as frustrating, terrible, and sluggish. Players find the combat mechanics slow, janky, and unresponsive. - Weak task guidance (weight 0.17): The game lacks clear instructions and guidance for tasks and quests. Players find it cumbersome to navigate and complete tasks without proper direction. - Poor progression system (weight 0.16): The progression system is criticized for being slow, frustrating, and poorly designed. Players feel a lack of sense of progression and reward. - Unclear farming mechanics (weight 0.15): The farming mechanics are criticized for being unclear, time-consuming, and requiring more work. Players find them awkward and unrewarding. - Lack of additional content (weight 0.15): The game lacks additional content such as DLCs, expansions, mini-games, and sandbox-like features. Players find the content lacking in detail and depth. - Lack of challenge (weight 0.12): The game is criticized for being too easy and lacking challenge. Players find the gameplay too simple and not engaging enough. - Lack of survival elements (weight 0.1): The game lacks real survival elements and difficulties in combat or survival, making it less engaging for players seeking a challenge. - No adjustable difficulty settings (weight 0.07): The game does not offer adjustable difficulty settings, which limits the ability of players to tailor the game's challenge to their preferences. Gameplay feedback: - Resource collection and crafting (weight 0.29): The game includes a resource gathering loop where players collect items to use in crafting and building. This is a fundamental part of the gameplay. - Survival mechanics (weight 0.28): Survival elements such as health, hunger, thirst, fatigue, and a day-night cycle are integral to the game. Players must manage these aspects to progress. - Mission-based and story-driven gameplay (weight 0.21): The game features a mission-based structure with a strong emphasis on story-driven gameplay. Players engage in a linear mission system while also having the opportunity for open-world exploration. - Wild West and zombie setting (weight 0.08): The game is set in the Wild West and involves a plot with zombies. This unique setting adds a distinctive flavor to the gameplay. - Unlocking upgrades and recipes (weight 0.08): Players can unlock various upgrades and recipes as they progress, adding depth and variety to the gameplay. - Fast travel mechanics (weight 0.08): The game includes fast travel mechanics, although these may be limited. This feature helps players navigate the world more efficiently. Performance notes: - Performance and optimization issues (weight 0.23): Many players report frequent frame drops, poor optimization, and performance issues. These problems are widespread and significantly impact the gaming experience. - Bugs and minor issues (weight 0.17): There are various reports of bugs and minor issues, though some players note that these do not significantly affect the overall experience. - Frequent game crashes (weight 0.15): Several users experience frequent crashes, which disrupt gameplay and indicate stability problems with the game. - Overheating and hardware stress (weight 0.11): The game causes overheating issues and stresses PC hardware, leading to potential system shutdowns and fan stress. - High system requirements (weight 0.06): The game has high system requirements, which may limit accessibility for players with lower-end hardware. - Memory usage problems (weight 0.05): Some players report issues with memory usage and optimization, which can affect game performance. - Screen tearing issues (weight 0.03): There are reports of screen tearing without vertical synchronization, which can detract from the visual experience. - Controller support issues (weight 0.03): Some players have encountered issues with controller support, affecting their ability to play the game comfortably. Recommendations: - Recommended to buy on sale (weight 0.29): Many players suggest that the game is worth purchasing, but only when it is available at a discounted price. Full price is often considered too high for the value provided. - Recommended for genre enthusiasts (weight 0.19): The game is highly recommended for players who enjoy puzzle/adventure games or are fans of the genre. It is seen as a solid choice for those who appreciate this type of gameplay. - Recommended for a casual experience (weight 0.14): The game is recommended for players looking for a relaxing and casual experience. It is also suggested for those who enjoy games without too much hassle or difficulty. - Try before buying (weight 0.06): Some players advise trying the prologue or demo before purchasing the full game to ensure it meets expectations. - Add more achievements (weight 0.02): A suggestion to add more achievements to the game to enhance the gameplay experience. - Recommended for fans of bad movies (weight 0.02): The game is recommended for players who enjoy truly awful films that are so terrible they're amazing. Other player notes: - Promotion of social media channels (weight 0.05): Several reviews included links or mentions of social media channels such as YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok. This suggests that some users might be using the review section for self-promotion or sharing related content. Emotions: - Frustration (weight 0.28): Players are frustrated by a multitude of issues including frequent game crashes, bugs, and repetitive gameplay mechanics. Specific problems such as building mechanics, tile placement, and control issues are frequently mentioned. Additionally, the game's slow pace, tedious tasks, and lack of content contribute significantly to this frustration. - Disappointment (weight 0.24): Players express disappointment due to the game's lack of depth, repetitive and monotonous gameplay, and a perceived mismatch between price and value. Many feel the game is incomplete, rushed, or lacks meaningful content and polish, leading to a lack of engagement and enjoyment. - Enjoyment (weight 0.15): Players enjoy the relaxing and engaging gameplay, particularly the map-building and exploration features. The game's unique mechanics, beautiful art style, and the freedom to customize the world are highlighted as key aspects that provide a fun and enjoyable experience. - Satisfaction (weight 0.08): Players find satisfaction in the relaxing and enjoyable gameplay, as well as the building mechanics that allow for visually cohesive worlds. The game's overall positive aspects, decent replayability, and good value for the price contribute to a satisfying experience. - Relaxed (weight 0.04): Players appreciate the game's relaxing nature, stress-free progression, and chill gameplay. The game's ability to provide a calm and non-stressful experience, even with aggressive mobs, is highly valued. - Boredom (weight 0.03): Players experience boredom due to the repetitive and monotonous gameplay, lack of content, and poor quest variety. The game's lack of variation and interesting activities leads to a boring experience over time. - Joy (weight 0.02): Players find joy in the game's story, graphics, and the fun mechanics of building and exploring. The enjoyable gameplay, charming aspects, and the overall engaging experience contribute to a sense of joy. - Frustrated (weight 0.02): Players are frustrated by the game's various issues, including difficult mechanics, tedious missions, and performance problems. Specific frustrations include map building, resource farming, and repetitive tasks. - Entertained (weight 0.02): Players are entertained by the game's engaging and unique take on the survival genre. The innovative core mechanics, exploration, combat, crafting, and construction aspects provide an entertaining experience. - Disappointed (weight 0.02): Players feel disappointed due to the short and uninteresting story, repetitive tasks, and tedious mechanics. The game's lack of challenge and depth, as well as its simple combat, contribute to this disappointment. - Excitement (weight 0.02): Players are excited by the game's innovative gameplay mechanics and the steady progression. The immersive and free gameplay experience, along with the excitement of adding new pieces of land, contribute to this feeling. - Bored (weight 0.02): Players feel bored due to the monotonous and repetitive nature of the game. The boring combat, story, and late-game turning into a walking simulator contribute to this boredom. - Mixed feelings (weight 0.02): Players have mixed feelings due to the fun aspects of the game being overshadowed by grinding and control issues. While some aspects are enjoyable, others are found lacking, leading to a mixed overall experience. - Satisfied (weight 0.02): Players feel satisfied with the enjoyable gameplay experience and unique world customization. The developers' responsiveness to feedback and the game's respect for the player's time contribute to this satisfaction. - Relaxation (weight 0.01): Players appreciate the game's overall relaxing experience, calming atmosphere, and immersive nature. The game is seen as a good option for relaxation and stress-free gaming. - Excited (weight 0.01): Players are excited by the game's unique ideas, engaging story, and addictive gameplay. The innovative crafting system and the game's ability to exceed expectations contribute to this excitement. - Anger (weight 0.01): Players express anger due to severe technical issues such as GPU overheating and system shutdowns. Flawed combat mechanics and cumbersome mining also contribute to this anger. - Hope (weight 0.01): Players feel hopeful about the potential for improvement in future installments and updates. The possibility of continued story development or new similar games contributes to this hope. - Fatigue (weight 0): Players feel fatigue due to the game requiring long playing sessions with meaningless gameplay, leading to a tiring experience. - Interest (weight 0): Players are interested in the game's peculiar combination of themes, which works well and piques their curiosity.}