This game is not a cross between Kenshi, Fallout, and Mad Max.

This game is also not some "hidden gem" like many posts are saying.

What this game is, is a game with future potential, that is yet to be seen.

Pros:
Post apoc
Crafting
Interesting details that bring the world alive (at very sparing times).

Cons:
Bugs
Inventory Sim
Lack of meaningful things to do
Lack of interesting enemies
Clunky mechanics

If this game gets better, I'll change my review, but for now, I wouldn't spend more that $5 on it.

If you long to traverse the wastelands like Mad Max this is the survival/sandbox game for you! The world feels desolate but alive with enemies, merchants, friendly npcs and different factions. The vehicles, their maintenance, upgrades, and the constant hunt for fuel are a fun touch that make it feel unique.

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.