PIGFACE
Last updated: 2025-10-02
- Strong foundation with high replayability
- Satisfying gunplay and combat mechanics
- Gritty, Manhunt-esque atmosphere
- Limited content and short playtime
- Weak and inconsistent enemy AI
- Weapon balancing and handling issues
Emotions
Players are highly satisfied with the game's core gameplay, including its gunplay, melee mechanics, and overall fluid, visceral combat. The game's aesthetic, atmosphere, and gritty presentation, often compared to titles like Manhunt, resonate strongly with players, fulfilling a desire for a specific genre. High replayability, value for money, and well-designed levels also contribute significantly to player satisfaction.
Excitement primarily stems from the game's future potential and anticipated content updates. Players are thrilled by the strong foundation, unique concept, and captivating gameplay, eagerly looking forward to new levels, story expansions, and features. The game's brutal, ultraviolent style and potential for strategic depth also generate significant enthusiasm.
Disappointment is mainly caused by the limited content available in early access, with many players finding the game too short. Issues with enemy AI, weapon balancing, and a lack of quality-of-life features like ultrawide support or FOV adjustment also contribute to this emotion. Some players also express disappointment with specific weapon weaknesses or the absence of expected features.
Hope is driven by the game's promising foundation and the potential for future development. Players express a strong desire for more content, including new enemies, maps, and side quests, as well as improvements to AI and the implementation of features like Steam Workshop support. There is a clear belief in the developer's ability to flesh out the game into a more refined and expansive experience.
Frustration arises from several technical and gameplay issues, most notably the inability to rebind keys and poor optimization leading to performance stutters or unplayable lag. Players also experience frustration with inconsistent enemy AI, finicky item pickup mechanics, and specific weapon balancing issues that discourage certain playstyles.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 95% · Negative 5%. Score: 5 / 100
Positives:
- Players consistently praise the game's solid foundation, depth, and high replay value, even with limited early access content. Many find it worth the price and see immense potential for future development.
- The gunplay is frequently highlighted as solid, satisfying, and impactful, with a good variety of distinct weapons. Melee combat is also noted for its simple yet visceral and enjoyable feel, enhanced by excellent physics and gore.
- The game's dark, grimy, and brutal aesthetic is a major draw, often compared to titles like Manhunt, Condemned, and Hotline Miami. This unique visual and thematic style contributes significantly to its immersive and 'nasty' charm.
- Players appreciate the open-ended level design and multiple routes, which encourage experimentation with different playstyles (stealth, loud, melee). This flexibility enhances replayability and strategic depth.
- The sound design, including weapon effects, enemy voicelines, and the soundtrack, is consistently praised for being on point and enhancing the game's atmosphere and intense combat moments.
Negatives:
- Players consistently report that the game offers very little content, with only 4-5 levels that can be completed in 1-3 hours. This brevity leads to a lack of replayability and makes the game feel more like a demo than a full Early Access title.
- The enemy AI is frequently criticized for being unintelligent, passive, and inconsistent. Enemies often fail to detect players even when nearby, ignore gunshots, and exhibit predictable behaviors, which detracts from combat and stealth experiences.
- Players find weapon balancing to be off, with too much ammo making melee weapons feel useless and encouraging a single-weapon playstyle. Issues with weapon pickup range and slow swapping also hinder fluid combat.
- Stealth gameplay is reported as frustrating and inconsistent, with crouching having little effect on detection and re-entering stealth being nearly impossible. The 'braindead' AI further undermines any potential for dynamic stealth.
- Some players experienced significant FPS drops, freezes, and choppy gameplay, particularly in specific levels. There are also reports of resolution and refresh rate settings not working correctly.
Gameplay:
- Players undertake mission-based stages, earning money and unlocking new weapons, equipment, and masks upon completion. Missions can be replayed to earn more cash, test new gear, and explore different approaches, encouraging replayability.
- The game features a large arsenal of firearms and melee weapons, which can be customized with attachments like suppressors, scopes, and laser sights. Players can select a diverse loadout before each mission, supporting varied playstyles.
- The game's difficulty is generally considered fair, bordering on difficult, requiring caution. While some found it too easy initially, the tight controls and weighty feel contribute to a natural gameplay experience.
- The game's story centers on a female assassin, 'EXIT', who is forced to undertake dangerous missions for a mysterious organization, often involving eliminating cult-like organized crime units. The narrative is present but currently limited.
- Hidden masks can be found within levels, each granting special abilities or gameplay bonuses. These masks encourage exploration and allow players to adapt their playstyle.
Performance:
- Many players report smooth gameplay and high frame rates, especially on older maps and in specific areas like the apartment. Some even claim the game runs great on various systems.
- Despite overall good performance, some players experienced minor stutters, micro-stutters, and occasional lag. This suggests there might be optimization issues in certain scenarios or on specific hardware configurations.
- Players noted the absence of a V-Sync option and the inability to cap FPS, which can lead to screen tearing and inconsistent frame delivery. This is a common request for improved visual fidelity and stability.
- One player reported a specific bug causing movement jitter that could be temporarily fixed by running OBS Studio in the background. This indicates a potential underlying issue that might need developer attention.
Recommendations:
- Players are eagerly awaiting new levels, missions, bosses, and general content updates. Many express excitement for the game's full release and plan to revisit it as development progresses, indicating strong interest in its future.
- Many players highly recommend the game, often citing its value at the current price point, especially during early access or sales. They encourage others to buy it to support the developers and enjoy the existing content.
- Reviewers see significant potential for the game to evolve into a deep stealth sandbox shooter. They hope for more complex levels, diverse enemies, additional weapons, and mechanics like stealth systems or shooting through walls.
- Players suggest various ways to enhance gameplay, including more weapon options, different ammo types, and modifiers for repeat playthroughs. There's also a desire for improved enemy variety and balancing.
- Several players recommend trying the free demo to gauge interest before purchasing the full early access game. This suggests that while the game has potential, it might not be for everyone in its current state.
Miscellaneous:
- Players frequently request Steam Workshop integration, a level editor, and support for community-made content like maps, weapons, and mods. This suggests a strong interest in extending the game's longevity through user-generated content.
- There's a desire for smarter enemy AI, randomized enemy positions, and more refined gameplay mechanics like stealth, kicking, and cover shooting. Players believe these improvements would significantly enhance the core gameplay loop.
- The game strongly evokes comparisons to classic titles like Manhunt, Hotline Miami, Condemned, and GoldenEye. Players appreciate its gritty aesthetic and gameplay blend, seeing it as a spiritual successor to these beloved games.
- Players are looking for essential quality-of-life improvements such as key rebinding, Vsync, controller support, and a HUD toggle. These features are expected to enhance the overall player experience.
- Players recognize and appreciate the game's development by a solo developer, noting the passion and commitment. They also value the absence of modern monetization schemes like battle passes or microtransactions.
