- Fun, creative, and engaging open-world experience.
- Enjoyable, customizable mech combat.
- Improved over 'Cruelty Squad'.
- Unforgiving difficulty, frequent instant deaths.
- Lacks clear direction and objectives.
- Fragile player, clunky mech controls.
Verdict
Mixed
Summary
Positive 68% · Negative 32%. Score: 32 / 100
Positives:
- The game offers a compelling and creative experience with fun gameplay, interesting concepts, and a cool atmosphere. Players find the game enjoyable and engaging, with potential for growth and depth as they dedicate time to it. Many reviewers express excitement for the game's future development.
- The game improves upon elements of 'Cruelty Squad,' offering more tactical gameplay, a coherent visual style, and a stronger narrative focus. While drawing comparisons, it distinguishes itself with unique features and a more manageable difficulty curve. Many reviewers highlight that it iterates on the previous title without feeling like a simple copy.
- The mech combat is a highlight, with players enjoying the fast movement, destructive power, and customization options. Piloting the mechs feels awesome, and upgrading them adds to the enjoyment. Reviewers specifically mention enjoying the ability to acquire and use enemy mech weaponry.
- The game features fantastic and funny dialogue, with surrealist and well-written interactions between NPCs. The writing is often described as amazing and hysterical, adding to the overall enjoyment of the game.
- The game features an appealing and consistent art style, complemented by improved audiovisual presentation. Distinct NPC designs and varied music contribute to a more immersive and engaging experience. The game retains the dark humor and themes of its predecessor but in a more modern setting.
Negatives:
- The game suffers from extreme difficulty, often resulting in instant deaths and a punishing experience even on lower difficulty settings. This is compounded by a lack of clear direction and explanation of game mechanics, leading to player frustration and a sense of being overwhelmed from the start.
- Players report feeling lost and aimless due to a lack of clear objectives, guidance, and meaningful rewards. The game's cryptic nature and reliance on trial and error contribute to a frustrating experience, making it difficult to understand how to progress or what to prioritize.
- Both the player character and the mech are too fragile, leading to frequent deaths and frustrating combat encounters. The mech controls are often described as clunky and unresponsive, making it difficult to aim and maneuver effectively, while outside the mech, the player is extremely vulnerable.
- Many reviewers feel the game's $40 price tag is too high, especially considering its early access state and perceived lack of content. Some reviewers feel that the price is not justified given the game's current state of development and the amount of content available.
- It's difficult to distinguish between enemies and non-hostile NPCs, leading to confusion and potentially deadly encounters. Additionally, NPCs are often unhelpful and deliver walls of text, making it difficult to discern important information.
Gameplay:
- Players pilot customizable mechs in an open-world environment, blending exploration, investigation, and FPS combat. The mech's handling is weighty, like a tank, and many locations accommodate the mech's size.
- The game incorporates RPG mechanics such as earning money from enemies, using money to level up or acquire equipment. Death results in the loss of money, creating a risk-reward system.
- The mech gameplay doesn't significantly alter the core gameplay loop, which still revolves around hiding and shooting. Obstacles frequently block mech shots, hindering combat.
- The game blends elements from various titles, including Morrowind, Cruelty Squad, Deus Ex, and classic movement shooters. This fusion creates a unique experience, combining different gameplay styles and aesthetics.
- The game features unconventional gameplay elements such as snorting coke, running over innocents for fuel, mortgages, capitalism, cryptocurrency exchanges, and porridge.
Performance:
- The game's performance is inconsistent. While it generally runs well, some players experience lag and audio stuttering in specific areas, such as interiors with reflections or when transitioning to outdoor areas near the HQ. Some players report good performance on lower-end machines and Linux.
- Players report that changing difficulty and graphics settings via the pause menu does not work as intended. The settings reset upon death, forcing players to reconfigure them repeatedly. This bug detracts from the user experience.
- The game's graphics are perceived as outdated, with one reviewer comparing them to a 90's screensaver. This point lacks specific details, but indicates that the visual style may not appeal to all players.
Recommendations:
- Many reviewers suggest waiting for a sale or more updates before purchasing, citing the game's incomplete state and high price. Some are hopeful for future improvements, while others are disappointed with the current early access version. A few reviewers even suggest pirating the game to try it out.
- Some reviewers strongly dislike the game, considering it a downgrade from the developer's previous work (Cruelty Squad) and possibly a cash grab. These reviewers do not recommend the game and do not expect significant improvements in the future. Some of these reviews appear to be in response to overly positive or joke reviews.
- The game is recommended for fans of the developer's previous titles, such as Cruelty Squad and Gorbino's Quest. However, some players expecting a direct sequel to Gorbino's Quest may be disappointed, as this game offers a different experience.
- Some reviewers feel the combat and exploration are a slog, and they are unsure if the artistic expression is worth the effort. They hope for patches to improve combat and more engaging level design with alternate paths.
- The game is described as a unique fusion of Deus Ex and Armored Core, with enjoyable mech combat and a weird Europe-Police theme.
Miscellaneous:
- The game is in early access and feels unfinished, with missing features and content. The startup message stating "Your favorite part of the game is not in the game yet" encapsulates this sentiment. Despite this, reviewers express hope for future development.
- The game features a complex and violent world filled with references to various media and real-world concepts. The author's unique style and worldview are strongly present, creating a distinct atmosphere.
- The game emphasizes the importance of specific actions, such as exhausting dialogue options with NPCs and upgrading armor. These mechanics are crucial for player progression and understanding the game's narrative.
- The game is compared to Cruelty Squad in terms of difficulty and user-friendliness. This comparison highlights the game's challenging nature and potentially unforgiving mechanics.
- The game world is divided into smaller areas, likely due to performance limitations with the Godot Engine. This design choice impacts the overall flow and exploration of the game.
