Beholder: Conductor Review Summary

Return to series' roots: Many reviewers feel this installment successfully returns to the series' roots, capturing the essence and vibe of earlier games, especially the first. It's considered a worthy continuation, with some finding it better than the third game and on par with or even surpassing the second.

Excellent graphics and immersive atmosphere: The game excels in its visual presentation, featuring detailed pixel art, improved graphics, and appealing animations that contribute to a great and immersive dystopian atmosphere. The oppressive and tense atmosphere enhances the overall experience.

Engaging gameplay and player choices: The game is praised for its engaging and suspenseful gameplay, compelling plot, and the significance of player choices. The game offers a variety of activities and unexpected events, creating an immersive and addictive experience.

Well-developed characters and stories: The game features well-developed characters with engaging stories and intrigues. Each character serves a purpose, providing at least a small quest and contributing to the overall narrative.

Improved mechanics and interface: The game introduces new mechanics and a smoother interface, improving the gameplay experience. These additions, such as a more complex search mechanic, add depth and challenge.

Unforgiving timers, stressful pacing: The game's pacing is criticized for being too fast, driven by unforgiving timers that force players to rush and miss content. This, combined with autosave-only system, creates a stressful experience where players feel pressured to optimize their actions rather than explore the world and characters at their own pace.

Game feels short, rushed, shallow: Many reviewers feel that the game is too short and lacks depth compared to previous installments. This brevity leads to underdeveloped characters, a rushed plot, and a general sense of missed potential. Some also criticize the graphics as being worse than earlier games in the series.

Numerous bugs, loading issues, softlocks: Several reviewers reported experiencing bugs, including loading issues, cutscene problems, and progress loss. One bug causes the game to restart from the beginning when loading a save. Some players also reported the game timer freezing.

General disappointment, lacks specifics: These points express general disappointment with the game, with some reviewers finding it average or unenjoyable. One reviewer specifically dislikes a character named Major Sargas. These points lack specific details and are mostly emotional responses.

No manual save, encourages save-scumming: The game lacks a manual save option, which can lead to significant progress loss upon death and encourages save-scumming. This limitation can be frustrating for players who prefer to have more control over their progress.

Surveillance and moral choices: The core gameplay revolves around surveillance, reporting, and managing passengers on a train. Players must balance conflicting interests, gather information, and make moral choices with consequences in a totalitarian setting, similar to previous games in the series.

Ticket and equipment management: Players must manage passenger tickets and compartment equipment, facing fines for discrepancies or unmet needs. This adds a layer of resource management and attention to detail, reminiscent of 'Papers Please'.

Meaningful choices, branching narrative: Player choices significantly impact the story and lead to different endings based on loyalty, empathy, and obedience to the state. The game presents moral dilemmas with direct consequences, shaping the narrative and outcome.

Managing money and authority: The game features two key resources: money and authority, with authority being the more scarce and crucial of the two. Managing these resources is essential for progression and avoiding negative consequences.

Compartment search memory mechanic: A new mechanic involves searching compartments and memorizing the order of items, with penalties for incorrect replacement or getting caught. This adds a memory challenge and risk element to the gameplay.

Black bar issue at 2560x1080: The game has black bar issues at 2560x1080 resolution. This is a problem because the game was released recently, and this resolution should be supported without visual issues. Addressing this would improve the experience for players using ultrawide monitors.

Strongly recommended for series' fans: Many reviewers recommend the game, especially to fans of the series, with some considering it a return to form or even the best in the series. However, some find it mediocre compared to earlier installments. The game is generally considered worth the money, with many looking forward to future installments.

Story and design issues: Some reviewers found the story dull and the NPCs forgettable, with returning characters feeling like a superficial addition. The game design can be frustrating without a walkthrough, suggesting poor testing or design choices.

High difficulty for newcomers: The game's difficulty may be a barrier for new players. Reviewers suggest starting on easy mode or playing the first game in the series before this one.

Unhelpful scoring: These clusters contain meme-like scores and overall scores without specific feedback. These are not very helpful for understanding the game's strengths and weaknesses.

Best in Alawar's execution: The game is considered the best in Alawar's execution, but without further context, it's difficult to understand what aspects are particularly well-executed.

Disturbing scene involving cat: A scene involving a cat being used as food was surprising. Without further context, it is difficult to assess the impact of this event on the overall game experience.