Info about DESOLATE:

Official game description:
Check out new Survival Sim
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About the Game
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Two years ago Granichny Island became an epicentre of a large-scale disaster of unknown origin. “The New Light” conglomerate covered up this catastrophic event - and now aims to rectify the consequences as much as they can.  
A massive campaign is underway, during which so-called “Volunteers” - most of whom have never held a weapon in their hands - are sent out onto Granichny. Their mission - to research the paranormal activities of the island, gathering information and undertaking dangerous tasks, all in hope of amending mistakes of the past. None of them are ready for what comes next.  
Play the role of a Volunteer, and explore a place filled with threats of every shape and size - from monsters and madmen to supernatural anomalies and seemingly impossible weather patterns. Journey through the present of this forsaken world to uncover its secrets.  
*   Dark past
    ---------
    Explore the enigmatic island filled with abandoned settlements, military bases and top secret facilities. Investigate secrets of the island - find notes and diaries from Granichny’s previous settlers to uncover its mysterious history.  
*   Research the threats
    --------------------
    Battle for your life in open fights against monsters, marauders and soldiers, or use stealth to do critical damage out of the shadows. Research the creatures of Granichny - and gain advantages in battle while you learn more about them.  
*   Strength Through Unity
    ----------------------
    Join a 4-player team to have a better chance at surviving the dangers of the island with unique team-based abilities, such as reviving your fallen team members - or act as a lone wolf to prove your mettle.  
*   Thrive among the wastes
    -----------------------
    Unlock new abilities and train them to increase your chances of survival. Gather recipes and components to craft, modify and upgrade your weapons and equipment. Customize your Volunteer with new clothing and armor you scavenge throughout your journey on the island.  
*   Resist the madness (Or let it consume you)
    ------------------------------------------
    Take care of not only your physical condition, but your mental state as well. The insanity of Granichny will change the world around you, as well as yourself.
Survive, explore and investigate the dark world of DESOLATE, alone or with friends in a party of four.

Release date: Jan 17, 2019

Categories: Open World Exploration, Survival, First-Person Shooter, Cooperative Multiplayer, Crafting, Resource Management, Character Progression, Psychological Horror

Feature scans:
- Proton/Linux: score 10; verdict: Works Well; summary: Based on a single user review, the game runs well on Steam Deck (Linux/Proton) with only a minor lighting glare when turning. No launch issues, crashes, or required tweaks were reported. The user rates it as effectively verified despite the store label of 'unsupported'.
- Steam Deck: score 40; verdict: Playable with Minor Technical Issues; summary: The game is generally playable on Steam Deck with no need for proton tweaks or launcher workarounds, but suffers from occasional frame drops, crashes related to early access, and minor visual artifacts like lighting issues and glare. Most users still recommend it, but the technical shortcomings prevent a seamless rating.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $3.00 - $10.00
  - Reasoning: Multiple reviews indicate that the current $15 price is acceptable but many recommend buying on sale. Specific values mentioned include $3 as a definite worth, $5 as a price one would pay, and $15 as possibly worth it but not universally accepted. The community consensus suggests a fair base-game price range lower than the full $15, with a minimum around the typical sale price ($3) and a maximum around $10, as several players would only consider buying at a discount or a lower price point.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 90.0h
  - Story completion: 20.0h
  - Session length: 4.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The 90-hour claim directly measures full game completion including story, side quests, and exploration. The 20-hour claim measures story completion in early access. The 10 continuous hours and 'several hours' phrases indicate typical session lengths; I conservatively estimate 4 hours as a typical session (midpoint of 'several' and 10). No specific endgame duration is reported.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Desolate starts with significant friction from inventory limits, boring quests, and poor combat, but becomes fun after leveling up, acquiring better equipment, or playing cooperatively with friends.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: After leveling up or playing in co-op mode
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: strict 60kg inventory weight cap forces constant backtracking; fetch quests are repetitive and tedious; clunky combat with poor hit detection; lack of tutorial explanation for core mechanics; early equipment feels weak and frustrating
  - Unlock drivers: leveling up improves combat and gear; earning a room at Oasis Camp reduces inventory hassle; co-op play makes exploration and combat more manageable; crafting provides meaningful progression and healing items
  - Conditions: playing with friends in co-op mode; persisting through early game frustration; focusing on leveling and equipment upgrades; willing to accept janky AI and occasional bugs
- Player Archetypes:
  - Co-operative Survivalist (sale)
    - Motivation: Shared cooperative survival experience with friends.
    - Playstyle: Team-based exploration, cooperative stealth and combat, sharing resources and covering each other in dangerous areas.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: co-op enthusiast; survival game fan; multiplayer seeker
    - Reference games: Dead Island; Dying Light; STALKER
  - Atmosphere-First Explorer (buy)
    - Motivation: Immersion in a unique, atmospheric post-apocalyptic world.
    - Playstyle: Slow, cautious exploration, avoiding unnecessary combat, focusing on lore, environmental storytelling, and stealth.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: STALKER fan; Fallout fan; post-apocalyptic explorer; horror game lover
    - Reference games: STALKER; Fallout; Metro; Alien Isolation
  - Euro-Jank Connoisseur (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Appreciation for ambitious, unpolished games with unique charm.
    - Playstyle: Patient playthrough, tolerating bugs and jank, seeking out all content, and enjoying the quirky design.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: Euro-jank fan; old-school gamer; Gothic/Elex fan; indie gem hunter
    - Reference games: Gothic; Elex; STALKER


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:
- Interesting world and atmosphere (weight 0.45): The game's world is described as interesting, strange, and well-realized with good visuals, atmosphere, and lighting. Players enjoy exploration and the apocalyptic setting inspired by Stalker.
- High potential and content (weight 0.25): Many reviews mention the game has great potential and many creative elements. Despite some issues, the overall content is considered quite good.
- Great Russian voice acting (weight 0.24): Players highlight official Russian voice acting as a strong positive, mentioning specific known actors like Boris Repetur. This adds immersion to the story.
- Cooperative multiplayer works well (weight 0.24): Players appreciate working 4-player online co-op without issues, with fine-tuning of co-op difficulty and the fun of not suffering alone.
- World exploration and town repair (weight 0.19): Exploring the medium-sized big world and collecting/repairing old towns is enjoyable, with leisurely exploration supported by a large open map.
- Nice gameplay systems (weight 0.19): The game includes crafting mode, survival mechanics like hunger/thirst/fatigue, and character customization. The combat system has improved and become more diverse since release.
- Engrossing story and quests (weight 0.16): The story is engrossing with fun quests, many side quests after the main story, and a dark tone that supports the atmosphere.
- Interesting artifact and upgrade system (weight 0.15): The artifact concept that enhances the player is interesting, though only obtained near the end. The random perk and build system adds variety to character progression.
- Enemy variety and boss fights (weight 0.15): There is good enemy variety with unique enemies, random encounters, and engaging boss fights that keep the gameplay interesting.
- Good value at low price (weight 0.12): The game is considered decent at $15, with a low price that makes it a good deal, though some suggest waiting for a sale.
- Many items and weapons (weight 0.11): Players note an impressive arsenal of weapons and many diverse items, adding depth to survival and combat.
- Easter eggs and secrets (weight 0.11): Players enjoy discovering easter eggs, secrets, and achievements/collectible cards, adding replayability.
- Controller support and accessibility (weight 0.1): Controller support is available, and the game works well for casual play if already owned.
- Ability to continue after story (weight 0.06): The game allows players to continue exploring and completing side quests after the main story ends, which is appreciated.
- NPC voice acting quality (weight 0.06): NPCs are voiced and sound great, contributing to immersion and story delivery.
- Realistic rock throwing (weight 0.05): An oddly specific but praised feature: realistic rock throwing adds a touch of immersion.
- Passable music (weight 0.05): The music is considered passable, not a standout feature but acceptable.

Common complaints:
- Combat is janky and unpolished (weight 0.29): Players report that combat mechanics feel sluggish, slow, and unpolished, with melee attacks lacking impact and often missing.
- Confusing story (weight 0.27): The story is confusing and difficult to follow, leading many players to skip it or find it nonsensical.
- Game feels abandoned (weight 0.25): Multiple players perceive the game as abandoned by the developer, with no ongoing support or updates, contributing to an overall empty feeling.
- General jankiness and bugs (weight 0.25): The game is widely described as janky and buggy, with glitchy hitboxes and various technical issues affecting gameplay.
- Voice acting is cringe (weight 0.21): Voice acting, particularly the protagonist's lines, is described as cringeworthy, amateurish, and barely passable.
- Boring fetch quests (weight 0.12): A large portion of quests are repetitive fetch tasks that players find boring and unengaging.
- Loot despawns too quickly (weight 0.12): Loot and uncollected items disappear too soon after a kill, making it frustrating to gather resources.
- Weapon durability is too low (weight 0.12): Weapons break very quickly, forcing constant repairs and disrupting gameplay flow.
- Co-op progress does not save (weight 0.12): Story progress made in co-op mode does not transfer to singleplayer, and only the host's save progresses, causing lost work for other players.
- Fast travel system is limited (weight 0.11): Fast travel is restricted to elevators that are often far from actual points of interest, making navigation tedious.
- Poor optimization for older computers (weight 0.11): The game suffers from poor optimization, especially on older hardware, causing performance issues.
- Graphics are mediocre (weight 0.11): Graphics are considered below par and mediocre, not meeting expectations for the generation.
- Enemies respawn too quickly (weight 0.11): Enemies respawn almost instantly after death, eliminating any sense of scarcity or accomplishment.

Gameplay feedback:
- Open world survival crafting (weight 0.29): Players describe the game as an open world survival crafting game, similar to Fallout or STALKER but stripped down. The core loop involves collecting, crafting, and surviving in a hostile environment.
- Exploration and anomaly encounters (weight 0.24): Exploration is key, with players encountering multiple monsters, zombies, mutated animals, and anomalies. The open world is filled with interactive elements and environmental hazards.
- Cooperative multiplayer support (weight 0.21): The game features four-player online cooperative play, with some noting it as optional co-op. It enhances the survival horror experience on an island with anomalies.
- Melee combat and ammo scarcity (weight 0.16): Due to ammo scarcity, combat heavily relies on melee strikes and blocking. Enemies are tough, and weapons include pipes, melee tools, and some firearms.
- Diverse quest types (weight 0.16): Quests involve gathering, crafting, hunting, and faction missions. However, some missions require about 5 real minutes of travel between them, and fetch quests are common.
- Perk system and survival stats (weight 0.16): Perks focus on inventory, hunger/thirst, stamina, and health. Skills also increase health, stamina, and money. A skill/perk system supports character progression.
- Crafting stations and item variety (weight 0.15): Players can use crafting stations to create and modify equipment. Item variety includes color-coded weapons with durability, enhancing the survival loop.
- Boss with high health and phases (weight 0.15): A boss named The Blindman has 80,000 health while most enemies have 3,000. Phase 1 charges at spikes on walls (like Dying Light), phase 2 pulls out eyes limiting vision and teleport slams.
- Collecting and repairing towns (weight 0.07): Players engage in collecting, repairing, and liberating old towns. This provides a sense of progression and rebuilding in the survival setting.
- Crafting system is poor (weight 0.07): The crafting system is described as poor, which may frustrate players expecting more depth or polish in this core mechanic.
- Flashlight with limited battery (weight 0.06): The flashlight has limited battery, adding tension during dark areas and night exploration. It forces strategic use of light sources.
- Survival mechanics with stress system (weight 0.06): Survival mechanics include a stress system alongside hunger/thirst and stamina, adding a psychological layer to the survival experience.
- Mix of STALKER and The Long Dark (weight 0.06): The game attempts to blend elements of STALKER and The Long Dark, combining anomaly horror with harsh survival simulation.
- Cannot join bandit faction (weight 0.06): Players noted that they cannot join the bandit faction, which may limit role-playing options or faction-related content desired by some users.
- Teleport system for fast travel (weight 0.06): A teleport system between points helps reduce travel time, addressing some complaints about mission distance.
- Enemy AI behavior (weight 0.06): Enemy AI is noted, likely affecting combat difficulty and immersion. Players may find it adequate or lacking depending on expectations.
- Main quest line present (weight 0.06): A main quest line provides narrative structure, guiding players through the game world and story.
- Similar to Dead Island but lesser known (weight 0.06): The game is compared to Dead Island, though it is described as a special, lesser-known title. This suggests a familiar open-world zombie survival experience.

Performance notes:
- Poor performance optimization (weight 0.25): Players report severe optimization problems with low FPS, lag, and visual quality degradation even on high-end hardware like RTX 5060.
- Serious crashes and stability (weight 0.21): The game crashes frequently, including UE4 errors, crashes within 15 minutes, and co-op disconnections, indicating critical stability issues.
- Memory and resource leaks (weight 0.12): High RAM consumption and memory leaks cause the game to become unplayable over time, leading to crashes or slowdowns.
- Collision and geometry bugs (weight 0.06): Players can get stuck in textures, which disrupts gameplay and immersion, especially in combat or exploration.

Recommendations:
- Strongly not recommended overall (weight 0.47): The majority of feedback advises against purchasing the game, using phrases like 'do not recommend' and 'do not buy'. This is the most frequent and consistent message across multiple clusters.
- Not worth time or money (weight 0.27): Multiple users state the game is 'not worth your time' and that every hour feels wasted, emphasizing a lack of value.
- Avoid even on sale (weight 0.25): Several reviews specifically warn against buying the game even at a reduced price, indicating the game is not considered worth any investment.
- Game not mature yet (weight 0.19): Several reviews state the game is not ready for purchase in its current state, advising caution or waiting.
- Game is fundamentally flawed (weight 0.12): Some reviews describe the game as 'fundamentally flawed on every level' and state that fighting is pointless, suggesting deep systemic issues.
- Spyware concerns (weight 0.12): A review reports the game originally had Red Shell spyware, and even after removal, the game is still not recommended.
- Poor value for price (weight 0.11): Some feedback indicates the game is not worth its price tag, with one user specifying a maximum value of 150 rubles.
- Not recommended for co-op (weight 0.07): One review specifically says the game is not worth buying for cooperative play, implying poor multiplayer or co-op design.
- Cash grab concerns (weight 0.07): A review calls the game a 'cash grab', suggesting the developers prioritized profit over quality.
- Ending ruins experience (weight 0.07): One review mentions the game is not worth full price because the ending ruins everything, highlighting narrative issues.
- Avoid early access from developer (weight 0.07): A review warns against buying early access games from this developer, implying a pattern of unfulfilled promises.
- Not for general audience (weight 0.06): One review suggests the game only appeals to a niche audience familiar with specific cultural references.
- Buy at your own risk (weight 0.06): One reviewer warns to 'buy at your own risk', indicating the game may have significant issues.
- Possible casual fun for owners (weight 0.06): One review notes that if you already own the game, you might have some fun playing casually, but does not recommend buying.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.51): Players are frustrated by game-breaking bugs, such as NPCs disappearing and broken quest objectives, which block progression. The combat system is clunky with bad hit detection, and poor optimization leads to frequent crashes and low FPS. Additionally, tedious resource management and excessive grinding for repair mechanics contribute to a unenjoyable experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.37): Players are disappointed because the game shows good potential but feels unfinished and abandoned since 2019, with no meaningful updates. The combat, optimization, and storytelling are poorly executed, and the ending makes progress feel pointless. The empty world and weak crafting system further undermine the experience.
- Boredom (weight 0.1): Players feel bored due to repetitive fetch quests and excessive running across the map. The empty world and simple story make exploration uninteresting, and the slow-paced gameplay with a lack of content leads to a dull experience.
- Anger (weight 0.1): Players express anger over punishing loot mechanics where enemies respawn and heal constantly, causing loss of progress. The co-op save system only saves host progress, wasting days of effort. Misleading multiplayer marketing and poor controls further exacerbate the feeling of being cheated.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.03): A small number of players enjoy the atmosphere, world exploration, and the feature of repairing towns. Random encounters and NPCs are cited as well-done elements that provide some positive experience.
- Annoyance (weight 0.03): Players are annoyed by tedious survival mechanics like hunger, thirst, and frequent repairs that interrupt gameplay. Fetch quests and a poor flashlight duration add to the annoyance, while clunky combat and troublesome movement make the experience frustrating.
- Sarcasm (weight 0.02): Players use sarcasm to mock the game's low-quality shooter and horror elements, describing it as a 'bruh' genre. The satirical praise highlights the poor content and optimization in a mocking tone.
- Irritation (weight 0.02): Players are irritated by the bad sound design, which detracts from the overall gameplay experience and contributes to a sense of frustration.
- Discouragement (weight 0.02): Players feel discouraged due to the limited fast travel system, which makes traversing the game world tedious and time-consuming.
- Confusion (weight 0.02): Players are confused by the use of gibberish names for items, making it difficult to identify and manage inventory effectively.
- Mockery (weight 0.02): Players mock the game's stress mechanic that requires consuming vodka, finding it ridiculous and detracting from immersion.
- Rage (weight 0.02): Players experience rage due to a game-breaking boss bug that occurs after 40 hours of progress, wasting significant effort.
- Regret (weight 0.02): Players regret spending time on the game even when obtained from a bundle, feeling that the experience was not worth the hours invested.
- Disgust (weight 0.02): Players are disgusted by the game's buggy and garbage state, expressing strong dissatisfaction with its quality.
- Embarrassment (weight 0.02): Players feel embarrassed by the cringe-worthy voice acting and protagonist lines, which break immersion and feel poorly written.
- Resignation (weight 0.02): Players resignedly quit the game due to movement issues that make gameplay unplayable and frustrating.
- Dissatisfaction (weight 0.02): Players are dissatisfied after experiencing the prologue, which is enough to put them off continuing the game.
- Caution (weight 0.02): Players caution others about spyware bundled with the game, indicating a security concern that adds to its negative reception.
- Lack of fear (weight 0.02): Players note the game fails to be scary despite its dark atmosphere, indicating it does not deliver on horror elements.}