Info about MISERY:

Official game description:
Roadmap
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About the Game
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**MISERY is a co-op rogue-lite survival game for fans of Lethal Company and Stalker.**
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You play as PMCs guarding a secret research institute in the Republic of Zaslavie.  
The Scientific Institute for Research of the Zaslavie Exclusion Zone (SIRZEZ) was built before the war to study anomalies and artifacts. Over time, these artifacts became the cause of conflict between international military blocs. Neither side could allow artifacts to fall into enemy hands, ultimately leading to nuclear war.
A siren sounds — a nuclear bomb is incoming! You have 60 seconds to grab whatever you can and make it to the bunker. Then, the survival begins. Each day, you venture into the Exclusion Zone to scavenge procedurally generated locations: abandoned military bases and research stations, radioactive wastelands, and ruined cities.
The Zone is full of secrets and deadly traps, and radiation is far from the only threat.  
You’ll encounter other survivors ready to kill for food and resources, weird mutated creatures with unique behaviors, and various anomalies.
No one knows how exactly anomalies work or their origin. Some phenomena can help you, others will tear you apart. Anomaly areas often hide artifacts — rare, valuable items distorted by anomalies and charged with unique effects.
The bunker is your new home.
Expand it room by room: install generators (gas, solar, or gnome-powered), build crafting stations, grow food, cook meals, and decorate your shelter with whatever you drag back from raids: a table, a dresser, a worn-out sofa, or even a cozy rug. Don’t worry, the previous owners won’t be needing them anymore.
After each raid, you can unwind and chill at the bar in the basement of the institute: have a drink, talk to other survivors, and trade your loot and rare artifacts with the merchant.
Remember, watch your vitals.  
In the Zone, people can easily die from hunger, thirst, radiation sickness, or lose their minds and turn on their teammates. Go out looting during the day, and return to bunker before nightfall.
And one last thing: the Zone plays with your mind. Too much stress and you’ll start hearing whispers, seeing things that aren’t there, and feeling someone watching you. Lose your grip, and not even the bunker will save you. Nothing will.
Life in MISERY isn’t easy.  
But there’s nothing better than going through it all together.  
Exploring bandos with friends, watching each other’s backs, sitting by the fire, drinking whatever’s left, and exhaling smoke into the cold rain — in moments like these, you can feel alive again!

Release date: 23 Oct, 2025

Categories: Cooperative Multiplayer, Survival, Roguelike, Base Building, Resource Management, Exploration, Procedural Generation, Real-time Combat


- 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:
- Engaging Core Gameplay & Value (weight 0.99): Players find the game's core mechanics, concept, and overall experience highly enjoyable and immersive, especially considering its affordable price. Many highlight its unique premise, atmospheric setting, and fun gameplay loop, often comparing it favorably to other titles.
- Strong STALKER-like Experience (weight 0.3): The game successfully captures the essence and atmosphere of the STALKER series, offering a co-op experience that many players have long desired. It blends elements reminiscent of STALKER with other survival and extraction games, creating a unique and appealing niche.
- Exceptional Atmosphere & Vibes (weight 0.16): Reviewers consistently praise the game's strong, unique atmosphere and captivating vibes. The Soviet-era, post-apocalyptic setting, combined with specific visual and audio elements, creates an immersive and memorable experience.
- Significant Improvements Since Demo (weight 0.14): Players are impressed by the substantial improvements and added content in the full release compared to the demo. The developers are commended for actively listening to feedback and polishing the game, resulting in a much smoother and more enjoyable experience.
- Impressive Solo Developer Effort (weight 0.12): Many players express significant respect and admiration for the solo developer behind the game. The quality and depth achieved by a single person are seen as highly impressive, contributing to the game's overall positive reception.
- Unique Interactive Elements (weight 0.07): The game includes quirky and unexpected interactive elements, such as playable guitars and the ability to eat unusual items like poop or cockroaches, which add to its unique charm and humor.
- Enjoyable Multiplayer & Co-op (weight 0.06): The game offers a robust and fun multiplayer experience, particularly for co-op play with friends. Features like the server browser and support for up to five players enhance the social aspect, making it a great choice for group gaming.
- Engaging Bunker Customization (weight 0.05): Players enjoy the ability to furnish and improve their bunker, finding the process of collecting items and customizing their base to be a cool and rewarding aspect of the gameplay loop.
- Balanced Difficulty & Progression (weight 0.04): The game strikes a good balance in difficulty, being neither too hard nor too easy. Players appreciate the sense of progression that comes from overcoming challenges and slowly acquiring better items, making failures feel constructive.
- Stable Performance (weight 0.04): The game generally performs well, with players reporting stability in terms of no crashes, freezes, or disconnects during gameplay, especially in multiplayer sessions.

Common complaints:
- Unfinished and Buggy Release (weight 0.54): The game was released in a very unpolished state, plagued by numerous glitches, game-breaking bugs, and poor optimization, leading to frequent crashes, FPS drops, and an overall janky experience. Many players felt it was an unfinished product, akin to a paid demo, with little difference from earlier playtests.
- Limited and Repetitive Content (weight 0.24): The game suffers from a lack of diverse content, with monotonous, procedurally generated maps that feel empty and repetitive. Exploration quickly becomes boring due to similar scenarios, few unique locations, and a general absence of engaging activities or end-game content.
- Multiplayer Desync and Bugs (weight 0.2): Multiplayer functionality is severely hampered by critical bugs, including desynchronization issues where players see different maps or locations, items disappearing upon reconnection, and crashes when attempting to start or save a game with friends. This makes cooperative play frustrating and often impossible.
- Frequent Crashes and Save Issues (weight 0.18): Players experience frequent game crashes, often leading to significant loss of progress due to a lack of autosave and unreliable manual saving mechanisms. Crashes can occur during various actions, including saving, opening menus, or even within minutes of starting the game.
- Poor Inventory Management (weight 0.13): The inventory system is highly restrictive, with very limited capacity, small stack sizes, and no item rotation, forcing frequent trips back to base. It also suffers from glitches and an unpolished UI, making item management frustrating and inefficient.
- Voice Chat and Audio Issues (weight 0.12): In-game voice chat is buggy, frequently causing voices to become high-pitched or robotic, making communication with teammates annoying and difficult. Other audio elements, such as gunshots, also exhibit issues.
- Clunky Combat and Hit Detection (weight 0.09): Combat feels unpolished, with janky animations, delayed melee hits, and unreliable hit detection where attacks often pass through enemies without registering damage. Camera shake during combat is also excessively intense.
- Lack of Clear Goals and Guidance (weight 0.09): Players report a significant lack of clear objectives, story, or guidance, especially early in the game. Beyond basic survival, there are no compelling goals or achievements, leaving players unsure of what to do or how to progress.
- Server Performance Degradation (weight 0.06): Servers experience significant performance degradation over time, with severe FPS drops occurring after continuous play sessions of a few hours or after specific in-game events. This makes prolonged gameplay difficult and unenjoyable.
- Loss of Items on Disconnect/Death (weight 0.06): A critical bug causes players to lose their entire inventory and progress upon disconnecting from a multiplayer session or even sometimes upon dying. This issue severely punishes players for technical problems or accidental disconnections.
- Unintuitive and Poor UI (weight 0.05): The user interface is widely criticized for being wonky, difficult to use, and poorly designed. Players found the UI changes from previous versions to be a downgrade, contributing to a frustrating user experience.
- Bunker Navigation and Utility Issues (weight 0.05): Players frequently struggle to navigate back to the bunker, finding the compass unhelpful. The bunker itself is seen as having limited utility beyond crafting, and the constant need to return to drop off items makes solo play tedious.
- Invisible and Instant-Kill Anomalies (weight 0.04): Anomalies are often invisible or bugged, leading to instant deaths without warning. They can also spawn in inconvenient locations, blocking exits and making progression difficult or impossible.
- Too Short Day-Night Cycle (weight 0.04): The in-game day-night cycle is perceived as too fast, with days lasting only about 10 minutes. This rapid time flow makes it difficult for solo players to accomplish tasks and explore effectively.
- Divergence from Stalker Expectations (weight 0.04): Some players felt the game deviated significantly from the expected 'Stalker' experience, leaning too much into roguelite or 'Lethal Company' elements. This shift in tone and gameplay was not well-received by those anticipating a true Stalker co-op game.

Gameplay feedback:
- Bunker building and expansion (weight 0.13): A central gameplay loop involves building and expanding a customizable bunker. Players can sledgehammer walls, build new structures, and craft storage or furniture, which serves as a permanent base between expeditions.
- Core survival mechanics (weight 0.11): The game emphasizes resource management, requiring players to scavenge for items like vodka, condensed milk, and carrots to survive. Players must manage hunger, radiation, and threats from anomalies and bandits in a harsh, procedurally generated world.
- Harsh and unforgiving combat (weight 0.11): Players frequently encounter dangerous monsters and human enemies like gopniks, often leading to quick deaths. Combat involves basic weapons like axes and knives, and death can result in losing all loot.
- Unique Slavic cultural elements (weight 0.09): The game incorporates a distinct Slavic aesthetic, featuring elements like vodka, gopniks, and a twisted Soviet world. This adds a unique flavor to the game's setting and encounters.
- Looting and item collection (weight 0.08): Players spend significant time searching for items, weapons, and resources in various locations like dumps, huts, and pits. Collected loot is then stored in the bunker, often to be used for crafting or survival.
- Procedurally generated expeditions (weight 0.06): Expeditions take place on randomly generated maps, ensuring that each run offers a unique exploration experience. This procedural generation contributes to replayability and varied encounters.
- Immersion-breaking humorous elements (weight 0.05): Some players noted peculiar and somewhat crude interactions, such as eating poop or appearing in a 'pissed-on bunker.' These elements, while potentially humorous, can detract from the survival immersion.
- Co-op multiplayer experience (weight 0.05): The game supports co-op play with up to four friends, allowing players to explore the world together. Features like whistling to show bunker locations enhance the cooperative aspect.
- Initial nuke survival event (weight 0.03): The game often starts with an intense sequence where players must survive an initial nuke event. Successfully enduring this event marks the beginning of a new day and unlocks new areas for exploration.

Performance notes:
- Performance issues in specific areas (weight 0.09): Players report FPS drops, particularly when entering dense building clusters or urban areas, and when using certain items like chemical lights. Some drops are tied to character actions like jumping, and can be temporarily resolved by reloading saves or removing clothing.
- Good performance on Linux/Steam Deck (weight 0.07): Many players on Linux, especially using specific Proton versions like Proton-cachyos or GE-Proton, report excellent performance with no lag or issues, even on high settings or Steam Deck.
- Desynchronization issues in multiplayer (weight 0.02): Some players experienced desynchronization, particularly towards the end of multiplayer sessions, though it generally did not critically impact gameplay.
- Long loading times (weight 0.01): One player reported experiencing extremely long loading times, which could impact the overall player experience.
- Overclocking causes instability (weight 0.01): Disabling overclocking significantly reduces crashes, suggesting a potential incompatibility or issue with the Unreal Engine 5 when systems are overclocked.

Recommendations:
- Strong Recommendation & Potential (weight 0.39): Many players highly recommend the game, often citing its potential for future development and content. They express excitement for updates and hope the developers continue to improve the game, suggesting it's a solid start worth watching.
- Wait for Fixes & Updates (weight 0.18): While many see potential, a notable portion of feedback advises waiting for bug fixes and further content updates before purchasing. Some players are holding off on a full recommendation until issues are resolved.
- Appeals to STALKER Fans (weight 0.12): The game is highly recommended for fans of STALKER and similar post-Soviet survival games. Reviewers suggest it captures a similar atmosphere and gameplay loop, making it particularly appealing to this niche.
- Good Value for Price (weight 0.1): Players frequently recommend the game due to its modest or low price point, considering it a good value. Many feel the current offering is worth the cost, especially for playing with friends.
- Best Played with Friends (weight 0.09): A significant number of reviews emphasize that the game is most enjoyable and recommended when played with a group of friends. Cooperative play is highlighted as a key strength, enhancing the overall experience.
- Refunds Due to Issues (weight 0.04): A small but vocal group of players have refunded the game, citing various issues. This indicates a level of dissatisfaction with the current state, leading some to abandon the game entirely.
- Gameplay Tips Provided (weight 0.03): Some players offered specific advice for new players, such as saving often, restarting for a better map, not relying solely on the compass, and setting up solo play correctly. This suggests a learning curve or specific mechanics to master.
- Specific Content Requests (weight 0.01): Players are looking forward to new random items being added and placed, and one specific, low-importance request was for a particular song to be more accessible on the in-game guitar.

Other player notes:
- High Potential, Needs Development (weight 0.4): Players recognize the game's significant potential, often comparing it to established titles like STALKER. However, they emphasize that it requires substantial further development, content expansion, and bug fixes to reach its full potential and provide a lasting experience. Many are hopeful for future updates.
- Strong Demo Performance (weight 0.08): Many players extensively enjoyed the demo, with some logging dozens of hours. This positive demo experience led them to purchase the full game immediately upon release, indicating a strong initial impression and anticipation.
- Gameplay & UI Adjustments (weight 0.05): Players recommend specific gameplay and UI adjustments, including a brightness setting, improved aiming, reduced camera shake, and a more functional compass system, particularly for locating the bunker.
- Russian Thematic Elements (weight 0.02): The game's Russian theme, including elements like vodka and the AK-74, is noted by players. This contributes to the overall setting and atmosphere.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.24): Players are highly satisfied with the game's unique blend of STALKER-like atmosphere, survival crafting, and co-op gameplay. The engaging gameplay loop, meaningful progression, and overall quality for its price, including good performance and lack of major bugs, contribute significantly to this positive sentiment. Many also appreciate the game's ability to fulfill a niche desire for a multiplayer Eastern European exploration experience.
- Frustration (weight 0.16): Frustration primarily stems from numerous bugs, glitches, and performance issues, including game crashes, desynchronization in multiplayer, and loss of progress or inventory items. Players also express annoyance with unintuitive UI, lack of clear goals, repetitive gameplay, and specific challenging or unfair game mechanics like invisible anomalies or difficult navigation.
- Excitement (weight 0.14): Excitement is driven by the game's immersive atmosphere, addictiveness, and strong potential for future development, including anticipated updates and mod support. Players are thrilled by the unique blend of genres, the promise of a 'true' STALKER-like experience, and the fun of playing with friends in this setting, often exceeding their initial expectations.
- Disappointment (weight 0.11): Disappointment arises from the game's perceived unfinished state, lack of content, and poor optimization, leading to a feeling of repetitive or empty gameplay. Critical bugs, misleading marketing, and a significant gap between high expectations and the current implementation also contribute to players feeling let down, sometimes leading to refund requests.
- Hope (weight 0.06): Players express hope for the game's future, anticipating that developers will address current bugs, improve optimization, and add more content and features through updates. There is a strong belief in the game's potential, with many looking forward to mod support and continued development to enhance the overall experience.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.04): Enjoyment comes from the fun and engaging gameplay, especially when exploring the eerie world and figuring things out with friends. Players appreciate the unique mechanics, the satisfying blend of influences, and the overall immersive atmosphere that makes the game a blast to play.
- Joy (weight 0.04): Joy is frequently associated with playing the game with friends, leading to many fun, immersive, and often humorous social interactions. Players enjoy the customization options, unique in-game activities like playing guitar or befriending house spirits, and the overall engaging experience, even when playing alone.
- Amusement (weight 0.04): Amusement is sparked by the game's unique, bizarre, and often chaotic gameplay scenarios, including janky physics, absurd in-game events, and humorous interactions with other players or NPCs. The game's quirky elements, satirical descriptions, and funny bugs contribute to a lighthearted and entertaining experience.
- Anticipation (weight 0.02): Players are looking forward to future content, new items, and especially mod support, which they believe will significantly enhance the game. There's also anticipation for starting multiplayer sessions with friends and seeing the game's roadmap unfold.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger is primarily caused by severe loss of progress due to bugs or griefing, the perception of the game as a 'paid demo' with minimal new content, and the game being unplayable. Some players also express anger over suspected fake positive reviews and the game's overall poor quality.
- Admiration (weight 0.01): Admiration is directed towards the solo developer for their significant effort, passion, and understanding of video games. Players appreciate the developer's hard work in blending various game elements and creating a unique experience.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Boredom arises from repetitive gameplay, less interesting exploration due to randomization, and a general feeling that the overall experience is unpleasant or lacks sustained engagement, particularly during solo play.
- Optimism (weight 0.01): Optimism is rooted in the game's huge potential and the expectation that developers will address current issues and add more content through future updates. Players believe that typical early access problems will be resolved, leading to a better game.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion stems from not understanding why the game crashes, what the game's purpose or goals are, or how to navigate its systems. Multiplayer desynchronization and unexpected in-game events also contribute to player bewilderment.
- Desire (weight 0.01): Players express a desire for more map variation, specific in-game features like certain guitar songs, smarter NPCs, increased difficulty, and options for single-player or pausable multiplayer. There's also a wish for more realism and changes to specific mechanics.
- Annoyance (weight 0.01): Annoyance is caused by repeated deaths from other players, voice chat issues, specific clunky mechanics like the shift-push, and disruptive elements such as camera shake, loud sound effects, and overly dark nights. The lack of a dedicated single-player button also contributes to this feeling.
- Engagement (weight 0.01): Engagement is evident through players providing detailed strategic advice, playing for extended periods, and offering extensive suggestions for future content. The captivating graphics and gameplay also contribute to a strong sense of involvement.
- Mixed feelings (weight 0): Players experience mixed feelings due to the game being rough around the edges but offered at a low price, or from receiving both pleasure and frustration from specific game mechanics like the hoarding system.
- Interest (weight 0): Interest is generated by the game's unique blend of mechanics from other titles, as well as the introduction of new animations, mobs, weapons, and items. Players find the game captivating and intriguing.
- Disgust (weight 0): Disgust is triggered by specific unpleasant in-game elements, such as realistic cockroach corpses as items, or a strong negative reaction to perceived poor UI changes and the overall quality of the game.}