Hard Reset Extended Edition Review Summary

Great cyberpunk visuals, varied weapons and modes, and deep upgrades, but the bland, confusingly told story falls flat.

Impressive Graphics and Visuals: Graphics are widely commended for being beautiful, detailed, and holding up well over time. Many reviewers highlight the cyberpunk aesthetic with neon lights and explosions.

Weapon Variety and Modes: Players frequently praise the variety of weapons, noting that although there are only two base guns, each has multiple distinct firing modes and modifications. This variety keeps combat interesting and allows different playstyles.

Cyberpunk Atmosphere and Setting: The game's dark, atmospheric cyberpunk world is highly praised for its immersive and fitting design. The noir and technopunk elements contribute to a unique experience.

Weapon Upgrade System Depth: The upgrade system is a standout feature, allowing weapons to evolve into different forms with multiple upgrades. It adds RPG-like depth and makes players feel more powerful.

Old-School Shooter Gameplay: Fans of classic shooters appreciate the fast-paced, straightforward action. The game captures the essence of old-school FPS with modern touches.

Bland and basic story: Some players felt the story was too basic, bland, and lacked depth. It was often described as boring and banal.

Confusing and poorly presented story: Many reviewers found the story confusing, hard to follow, and not presented well. It was also described as muddled and lacking a satisfying ending.

Lack of enemy variety: Enemies are repetitive and lack visual variety, with only a few types that are hard to distinguish. This made combat monotonous.

Autosave only, no manual saves: The game only uses autosave with no quick save or manual save options. Checkpoints are often far apart, causing frustration.

Abrupt and unsatisfying ending: The game ends abruptly with no resolution and an unsatisfying cliffhanger. Many felt the ending was disappointing and left loose ends.

Two transforming weapons with variants: The game features two primary weapons that can transform into different types such as assault rifle, shotgun, rocket launcher, or grenade launcher. Each weapon has multiple modes and upgrades, effectively providing a variety of combat options.

Old-school DOOM-style FPS: The game is described as a fast-paced, old-school first-person shooter reminiscent of DOOM and similar classic FPS titles. It combines retro gameplay with modern visuals.

Limited weapon upgrade system: Players note that the weapon upgrade system is limited to three upgrades, providing only a few ways to enhance weapons. This restricts the depth of customization despite the presence of an upgrade system.

Cyberpunk dystopian setting: The game is set in a dystopian cyberpunk world in the year 2436, featuring a dark atmosphere with horror elements. The story revolves around a conflict between humans and machines.

Alternative fire modes: Most weapons have secondary fire modes or alternative firing options, adding tactical variety to combat. This complements the main firing modes of each weapon.

Stable performance without crashes: Many players report smooth gameplay with no FPS drops, lag, or freezes, and the game runs well without critical bugs. It performs impressively on modern hardware and various configurations.

Excellent optimization and engine performance: The proprietary HavoK engine is praised for being light, scalable, and well-optimized, delivering solid framerates and top-shelf lighting. It performs well even on older hardware like the GTS 250.

Random crashes and stability issues: Several reports describe crashes after a few hours of play, during chapter reloads, or when using DLC, which can also affect the main game's stability. These issues may cause freezes or require restarting.

Graphics glitches and disappearing geometry: Some players encounter minor graphical glitches such as disappearing walls, floors, stairs, or level decor, often fixed by restarting the game. These issues are occasional but noticeable.

AI breakdowns and optimization problems: Big robot AI occasionally breaks down completely and stands idle, and some players note small optimization issues or high system requirements due to physics and effects. These can impact gameplay flow.

Good Value For Money: Several players find the game worth the price, especially with a discount, and recommend buying it for the overall experience. It offers solid value for the time and money spent.

Best Purchased On Sale: Many reviewers agree the game is worth buying only when discounted, often at prices like $10 or less. Waiting for a sale is frequently recommended.

Appeals To Retro FPS Fans: Fans of old-school, fast-paced shooters and retro FPS games highly recommend it. It is particularly praised for pure shooting excitement and classic shooter mechanics.

Redux Version Is Superior: Reviewers consistently recommend buying the Redux version instead, as it includes fixed bugs, balanced enemies, and extras like the katana. If you buy Redux, you also get this version, but not vice versa.

Solid Robot Shooting Mechanics: If you enjoy shooting lots of robots, the game offers solid shooting mechanics and plenty of targets. It is recommended for those who don't mind the game's negative aspects.

Community fair range: $2.00 - $10.00.

Game completion: 10.0h.

Story completion: 5.5h.

Session length: 0.5h.

Hard Reset offers satisfying FPS shooting and progression that many players enjoy early, but the fun tends to wear off as repetitive combat, bullet-spongy enemies, and weak pacing make it tedious later.

Friction: Bullet-spongy enemies and lack of impact cues; Repetitive combat and repeated enemy waves; Similar early cyberpunk levels; Early game is the worst part; Autosave/checkpoint issues and no quick save; Repetitive gameplay and uninteresting story.

Old-School Arena Shooter Veteran: Runs-and-guns through enemy-filled arenas on high difficulty, experiments with weapon upgrades, and seeks tough bosses. Motivation: Testing and reliving old-school FPS skills through challenging, fast-paced arena combat. Stance: buy.

Cyberpunk Atmosphere Immersionist: Explores detailed environments, appreciates visuals and soundtrack, and plays through the single-player campaign at a measured pace. Motivation: Immersing in a striking cyberpunk sci-fi world with horror-tinged atmosphere. Stance: buy.

Achievement Hunter Completionist: Hunts secrets, explores levels thoroughly, and may choose the original release over Redux to satisfy achievement requirements. Motivation: Unlocking achievements and fully completing the game. Stance: buy.

Steam Deck: The game appears to launch under default Proton on Linux, which is a positive sign for Steam Deck compatibility. However, users report missing essential controller actions and obstructive, unreadable dialogue bubbles during combat. These issues create significant friction on the Steam Deck, especially because the UI readability problem matches the unreadable-UI criterion for a high friction score.

Extended Edition Includes DLC: The Extended Edition bundles all DLCs, including the Exile DLC, which is a high-quality expansion. Some confuse it with the Redux version, but it is the same game as Redux.

Redux Version Preferred: Multiple reviewers compare this version unfavorably to Hard Reset Redux, noting Redux is better balanced, has improved pacing, and fixes issues. Some consider this version obsolete or plan to switch to Redux.

Cyberpunk Noir Setting: The game features a chaotic dystopian cyberpunk world where you fight robots, with a noir atmosphere often compared to Blade Runner. It draws inspiration from works like Ubik and The Matrix.

Comparisons to Genre Classics: Reviewers frequently compare the game to classic shooters like Painkiller, Serious Sam, Doom, and Quake, often suggesting those are better alternatives. The game is sometimes called a futuristic Serious Sam with robots.

Developer Flying Wild Hog: The game is developed by Flying Wild Hog, a Polish studio also known for Shadow Warrior. This connection is often mentioned by fans of the developer.