First impressions were subpar, but after modding the game to my liking and getting used to the gameplay and its quirks, I have to say that this is an awesome hidden gem of a survival game!

Combat at first felt clunky, but once you get better weapons and figure out how to dodge enemies, it feels quite satisfying and the game is able to handle huge amounts of NPCs without slowdown. It uses a stamina system, with heavier weapons using more stamina. Enemies are varied with unique animations and styles, like the rushing bonecrushers that hit hard and run fast or the slow and weak limpers that stumble about. The shotguns feel very satisfying to use, with both power and range, very useful against hordes. The survival elements are very hardcore with extreme heat which dehydrates you very quickly and even roasts you if it gets too hot. There's some rudimentary base building that also features base NPCs like workers and guards, but I've read that the devs plan on improving it. The game feels very grindy in the beginning, but once you get going you'll have plenty of resources.

One of the more intersting aspects is the randomized event system which spawns enemy camps and other objects dynamically, however it can sometimes spawn objects inside other objects, like that one car I saw stuck inside a building. It makes every trek through the wasteland feel unique and can lead to pretty cool events like hordes of brainscorched lowlives raiding settlements. There's also randomized environmental effects like heatwaves and meteor showers, the latter which can be especially annoying during permadeath runs, when that one meteor just has to hit you even though you hid inside a building. NPCs will also drive around in the neat hover cars, which makes the world feel lively. There's a basic faction system, with 4 factions currently, with 2 of them being the main factions.

Optimization wise it runs rather well (RTX 3050 laptop) and the game has very long rendering distances for both NPCs and lights. It's very atmospheric to see hordes in the distance or the city lights at night. Plains of Pain features multiplayer but sadly the servers are unpopulated. Singleplayer is still very enjoyable, but I can see this being fun online. Overall this is a pretty good post apocalyptic open world survival game.

One of the best and jankiest early access survival games out there. Tons of crafting depth and cool npcs and factions to get involved with. Loads of Mad Max vibes but def its own thing. The vehicles driving around add a nice touch to liven up the world. Looking forward to finishing to my first craft to see what its all about. Def recommend but understand this is the definition of early access.

Takes a little getting use to at first, but love the game so far. Wish there was a way to take stuff from your inventory to storage with a press of a button versus clicking each one. Also would like them to change the take all button to something different LOL, as I keep hitting F and everything moves to my inventory, They do have a great going so far. Glad to see that they are doing updates as well. I only had 1 game crash just after 30 hours in. For the price give the game a try at least. Being able to play with others is a great option for this game. Keep up the great work guy!