Section 13 Review Summary

Tight controls, satisfying gunplay: Reviewers consistently praise the tight, responsive controls and satisfying gunplay mechanics. They appreciate the variety of weapons, the impact of each shot, and the overall feel of combat. Smooth movement and reload mechanics also contribute to the positive experience.

Meaningful character progression, customization: Reviewers appreciate the sense of progression and customization through upgrades, perks, and character development. The meta-progression systems are well-designed, encouraging players to keep playing and improving their characters. This makes each run feel different and rewarding.

Good roguelike elements, replayability: The game incorporates roguelike elements such as procedural generation and permadeath, which add replayability and variety to each run. Reviewers appreciate the dynamic gameplay and the feeling of freshness with each playthrough. Randomization of maps, enemies, and items keeps the experience engaging.

Variety of weapons and enemies: The game offers a wide array of weapons, each with unique characteristics, encouraging experimentation and diverse playstyles. Reviewers appreciate the variety and the impact of weapon choice on gameplay. This variety extends to locations and enemies as well.

Fun solo and co-op play: The game offers enjoyable solo and cooperative play options, catering to different player preferences. Reviewers note that playing with friends enhances the fun, requiring communication and teamwork. Recent patches have made solo play more viable.

Lacks content, feels repetitive: The game suffers from a lack of content, repetitive gameplay, and uninspired level design. Players feel there is not enough variety in enemies, weapons, maps, and objectives, leading to a quickly stale experience. Some reviewers note that the game feels unfinished or like an early access title despite not being labeled as such.

Poor weapon balance and usability: Many weapons are underpowered, awkward to use, or have long reload times that leave players vulnerable. The limited weapon variety and poor balance force players to rely on a small subset of weapons, diminishing tactical options. Some weapons are considered outright useless in solo play.

Uninspired, weak progression system: The meta-progression and upgrade systems are uninspired, slow, and offer lackluster bonuses. Many upgrades feel inconsequential or provide minimal impact on gameplay. The lack of meaningful character builds and the resetting of gun upgrades between runs diminish the sense of progression.

Excessive and unforgiving difficulty: The game's difficulty is considered too high, especially for solo players, with limited recovery options and frequent one-shot kill scenarios. The permadeath mechanic and lack of checkpoints can lead to frustration, as progress is easily lost. Some reviewers feel the difficulty is artificial, stemming from enemy health scaling or poorly designed encounters.

Tedious and unbalanced boss fights: Boss fights are tedious due to excessive health pools and bullet sponge enemies. Some bosses have poorly designed mechanics or spawn too many adds, making them frustrating to fight. The final boss is considered absurdly difficult and requires specific builds to defeat.

Core gameplay: roguelite twin-stick shooter: The game is a top-down, twin-stick, roguelite zombie shooter. It combines elements of cooperative gameplay, strategic resource management, and character progression. This core combination defines the overall gameplay experience.

Tactical, strategic gameplay focus: The game emphasizes tactical gameplay with slower movement, manual reloading, stealth elements, and friendly fire. Players must carefully plan engagements, manage resources, and utilize stealth to succeed. Sound affects enemy awareness, and perks can buff damage against unaware enemies.

Permanent and temporary upgrades: Players acquire temporary power-ups and permanent upgrades through meta-progression. Experience and money are used to improve stats and unlock weapons, but progress is lost upon death if a safe zone isn't reached. This creates a cycle of grinding for permanent enhancements.

Complex class and weapon system: The game features a class system ('Departments') that influences weapon and skill choices. Weapons have levels and perks, and damage types (physical, psionic, golden) affect enemy behavior. This system adds depth to character customization and combat strategies.

Semi-procedural, linear level design: The game features hand-curated maps with some procedural generation, creating a mix of familiarity and variety. Some players feel the maps can be narrow, while others appreciate the changing paths that prevent repetition. The maps change partially from death to death.

Generally good technical performance: The game's technical performance is generally positive, with many players reporting smooth gameplay and good optimization, even on older hardware. Some reviewers specifically noted the absence of bugs and crashes, indicating a stable experience.

Game is graphically demanding: The game appears to be graphically demanding, with some reviewers noting that it heavily utilizes the GPU, potentially requiring a dedicated gaming PC for optimal performance. This could limit accessibility for players with less powerful hardware.

Multiplayer stability depends on host: Multiplayer stability is a concern, as matches can be unstable if the host has a poor internet connection. The inability to rejoin sessions in progress further exacerbates this issue, potentially leading to frustrating experiences for players.

Parking lot area poorly optimized: The game's optimization suffers in specific areas, such as the parking lot, where the presence of purple creatures causes lag. This indicates that certain graphical elements or environmental interactions may be poorly optimized, leading to performance dips.

Wait for updates/sale: Many reviewers recommend waiting for updates or sales due to bugs, balance issues, lack of content, and unpolished gameplay. Some even suggest considering a refund if possible. Some reviewers mention specific issues like difficulty scaling, flawed mechanics, and repetitive gameplay.

Anticipation for future updates: Many reviewers express excitement for future updates and the full release of the game. They are interested to see how the game evolves and improves over time. Some reviewers are specifically looking forward to new content, features, and gameplay enhancements.

Price vs. Value is debated: Several reviewers mention the game's price, with some finding it worth the cost and others suggesting it's only worth considering on sale. This suggests that the perceived value of the game is tied to its price point. Some reviewers feel the game is worth the price, especially in its early access state, while others suggest waiting for a sale to support the developers.

Avoid review bombing: One reviewer urges people not to review bomb the game due to misunderstandings or overreactions. This suggests that the game has been the target of review bombing. Review bombing can be harmful to a game's reputation and can discourage potential players from trying it.

Improve reload mechanic: One reviewer specifically calls out the reload mechanic as needing improvement. This suggests that the current reload system is clunky or unsatisfying. Improving the reload mechanic could enhance the overall feel and flow of combat.

Early access, active development: The game is in early access, with developers actively communicating updates and planning to add more content like classes, weapons, and maps. Players are anticipating these updates and looking forward to the full release, with some hope for further polish.

Top-down co-op roguelite shooter: The game is a hardcore, top-down, isometric, co-op shooter with roguelite elements. It has shifted from its original concept as a Left 4 Dead-style horde survival game.

Demo progress not transferred: Progress from the demo version of the game does not carry over to the main game. Additionally, the game may still indicate a trial state even after completion.

Lack of available co-op: One reviewer refunded the game due to a lack of available co-op rooms after attempting to play solo. This suggests potential issues with the matchmaking or player base size for co-op play.

Missing Japanese localization: The game currently lacks Japanese localization, which is a feature that at least one reviewer is hoping to see in the future. This limits the game's accessibility to Japanese-speaking players.