Tombwater Review Summary

Very fun with varied weapons and builds plus rewarding exploration and satisfying fast combat, though map navigation is terrible and fighting can feel stiff and clunky.

Extremely fun and enjoyable: Players consistently describe the game as very fun, great, and enjoyable overall, with many calling it fantastic or phenomenal. This broad positive sentiment highlights the game's strong appeal across multiple aspects.

Varied weapons, spells, and build options: A wide arsenal of weapons, spells, guns, and charms enables diverse playstyles and build experimentation. Players highlight the massive variety and freedom to tinker with different setups.

Fun and rewarding exploration: Exploration is consistently described as very fun, incentivized, and rewarding, with plenty of secrets and cool areas to discover. The large world encourages players to wander and find hidden content.

Fast-paced satisfying combat: Combat is frequently praised as fun, fast-paced, and mechanically sound, with satisfying difficulty and smooth feel. Players appreciate opportunities to learn enemy behavior and find the combat fair.

Excellent music and atmosphere: Music and sound design are frequently praised as great, fitting, and even perfect, contributing strongly to the game's atmosphere. The soundtrack enhances the overall experience.

Map navigation is terrible: Players consistently complain that the map is awful, confusing, and bogs down exploration. It is described as atrocious, horrendous, and a nightmare to use.

Map lacks useful details: The in-game map is considered woefully inadequate, lacking paths, markers, and detailed routes. It becomes meaningless as progress is made and requires manual marking of important locations.

Weak map guidance causes confusion: The map's guidance is weak, with no local map option or indication of where to proceed. This leads to incredibly confusing navigation that is painfully bad and convoluted.

Fast travel unlocks too late: Fast travel and respec are locked until mid-to-late game, which frustrates players. One review mentions fast travel is behind a paid unlock.

Combat feels stiff and clunky: Combat is described as a little stiff with clunky elements, though manageable. Boss fighting can be awkward and frustrating.

Soulslike and Metroidvania blend: The game is widely described as a Soulslike Metroidvania, combining challenging combat with exploration and ability-gated progression. Many reviewers highlight its fusion of Soulslike mechanics with classic Zelda-style navigation.

Rich combat with varied weapons: Combat features melee weapons, guns, spells, bombs, and throwables, offering multiple playstyles. Players appreciate the abundance of weapons and spells that support different builds.

Exploration and secret discovery: Exploration is a major focus, with a sense of mystery driving players to find secrets and hidden paths. The game features interconnected areas and shortcuts that reward thorough exploration.

Map system with custom markers: The game includes a map system that allows players to place custom markers for navigation and identifying points of interest. Reviewers find the map design solid and useful for tracking progress.

Challenging boss fights: Boss fights are a core part of the game, requiring players to learn attack patterns. Enemies and bosses are noted for their difficulty and telegraphed moves.

Excellent Steam Deck performance: Multiple users report the game runs smoothly on Steam Deck without tinkering, including the OLED model. It also performs well on desktop and modest configurations at a stable 60 fps.

Frequent stuttering and frame drops: Players experience constant stuttering, especially when dodging or during screen scrolling, and frame drops occur even on capable PCs. The issue is present in both full-screen and windowed modes.

Frequent crashes and lost progress: The game crashes quite often, with some crashes occurring early and costing progress. This significantly disrupts gameplay.

Input delay affects controls: Input delay is reported, making aiming and movement feel off due to the engine. This impacts overall responsiveness.

Game slows down noticeably: Some players report the game going into slow motion, which can cause dizziness. This slowdown may be related to performance issues.

Overwhelmingly Positive Recommendations: The vast majority of clusters express strong positive recommendations, with many reviewers highly recommending the game to anyone. This sentiment is widespread across multiple clusters, indicating high overall satisfaction.

Worth the Price: Numerous reviewers find the game well worth its asking price, even at full price, and consider it a valuable purchase. Some mention it's worth picking up on sale.

Appeals to Souls-like Fans: Reviewers frequently recommend the game to fans of Souls-like games, highlighting its challenging combat and rewarding exploration. It is praised as a worthy entry in the genre.

Not for Everyone: The game is not recommended for players who dislike certain genres or mechanics, such as challenging combat or extensive backtracking. Some negative reviews stem from mismatched expectations.

Mixed Opinions on Price: While many find the game worth the price, some reviewers feel it is not worth the full price and recommend waiting for a sale. A few suggest it's only worth it at a lower price point.

Community fair range: $14.99 - $19.99.

Game completion: 24.5h.

Story completion: 16.5h.

Session length: 3.0h.

Tombwater is described as immediately hooking players, especially through its demo and first hour, with fun driven by tool-based progression and exploration. Early confusion, limited starting options, and map/navigation friction are common complaints but do not outweigh the immediate appeal in most reports.

Friction: Early disorientation about where to go; Limited early weapon selection and only stamina/life leveling; Early deaths feel instantaneous and encounters feel frantic; Map is easy to get lost in and secret entrances are easy to miss; Opening the map to place uninformative markers is boring and frustrating; Fast travel is a late-game convenience rather than a major help.

Unlock drivers: Acquiring tools that bypass previously impassable obstacles; Exploring the map to find power-up pathways; Combat tools such as the hook caster that pull enemies into melee range; Tool-based progression that supports the exploration loop.

Metroidvania/Souls Genre Veteran: Exploration-focused; compares systems to genre classics, hunts secrets, and values atmosphere and map coverage. Motivation: Experiencing a fresh fusion of classic exploration-driven Metroidvania and Souls-like design, and mapping a handcrafted interconnected world. Stance: buy.

Hardcore Challenge-Seeker: Aggressive boss-rush play; measures the game by encounter difficulty and critiques undertuned fights. Motivation: Testing skill against demanding bosses and wanting a punishing, rewarding difficulty curve. Stance: buy.

Build and Class Optimizer: Theorycrafts around classes, equipment loadouts, and 'OP' builds; experiments with respecs and focused combat options. Motivation: Discovering synergistic class builds, loadouts, and stat combinations that unlock powerful playstyles. Stance: buy.

Across the provided Windows cohort, performance feedback is divided: higher-VRAM users report patch-improved play with some map frame-rate issues, while lower-VRAM users report frequent stuttering and frame drops.

Windows <8GB VRAM: mixed. 8GB VRAM Windows 10 users describe patch improvements but still note map scrolling dropping to about 10fps, while 4GB VRAM Windows 11 users report frequent stuttering and frame drops.

Steam Deck: Overall, the game delivers a seamless Steam Deck experience with stable performance, no tinkering required, and good controller support. A single report of stuttering and frame drops is unverified and not Steam Deck-specific, posing minimal friction.

Linux and Proton: The available feedback is uniformly positive for Steam Deck/SteamOS compatibility. Users report that the game runs great on Steam Deck OLED, works without tinkering, and delivers stable 60 fps at modest settings. No Linux-specific launch failures, Proton tweaks, anti-cheat blockers, or graphical issues are mentioned.

Bloodborne meets top-down Zelda: Many reviewers describe the game as a fusion of Bloodborne's combat and horror with classic top-down Zelda gameplay, often in a weird west setting. This comparison consistently highlights the game's core identity.

Weird west eldritch setting praised: Feedback frequently mentions the game's unique blend of Wild West and Lovecraftian horror, with comparisons to Bloodborne and Hunt: Showdown. This setting is a standout feature for many players.

Larger than expected map and content: Reviewers are surprised by the game's scale, noting a massive map and a wealth of content. The game offers more than initially anticipated, adding significant value.

Demo available before release: A demo was released prior to launch, allowing players to try the game early. This was appreciated by those who used it to gauge their interest.

Compared to Hyper Light Drifter: Some reviewers draw parallels to Hyper Light Drifter in terms of graphics, gameplay, and depth. This comparison highlights the game's stylish presentation and engaging mechanics.