Recent reviews by Arona

well, what can i say?
if you like 40K: buy it

if you like crpg: buy it

if you want to get into 40k: buy it, no, really, it has a fistful of built in things to make it real easy to get into 40k lore, you'll go in one side not knowing a lasgun from a laspistol and come out the other side knowing the difference between a chrono and a halo device and why they are both terrible, nightmare inducing tech.

if you want to get into crpg: buy it, the onboarding process is accessable enough, provided you have the ability to read.

if you want a high speed turbo action story: nah bruh, go play space marine/space marine 2

if you want an easy going low stress story based rpg: nah, go play disco elysium, there's combat in this here rpg

This ain't it chief, the magics missing.

What are you looking at the reviews for?

it's got a free demo to try before you buy
it's cheap as chips
it's got a kick ass ost
the gameplay is awesome

try it then buy it

Where do I start

yes the game has interesting premise and art style, but that's the only things the game has going for it, as for the negatives.

1: the missions are lack any notable structure, usually being "go and get X" without even so much as giving you a hint as to what map X would be on, let alone how to get a hold of it on said map.

2: The water system, you collect a barrel of water, it gives you +1 day to your timer, the timer ticks down irl even when you're not playing the game, if it hits 0 you lose everything in your home base and have to basically start from scratch.

3: The gunplay, it's terrible, not surprising given that you're a scavenger not a solider, and that wouldn't be an issue IF the stealth system worked worth a damn so you could avoid enemies and the game also didn't go "you dare to pick up a single piece of loot? for this crime I shall drop 20 enemies directly on you" and then, naturally you get torn apart, die and lose everything you were carrying.

4: The lighting, good lord the lighting, it's either being awash with a certain colour like you're wearing comedy glasses or it's borderline pitch black, even with the brightness turned all the way up, the lack of a flashlight doesn't help either, so you spend most of the time fumbling around.

tl;dr it's a stealth game where you're forced into constant combat due to your characters inability to sneak, and the kicker is your character can't combat worth a damn eaither.

High speed ass kicking simulator where you will die a LOT until that magic just clicks, and then you'll transform into a 200mph 80s action anime protag that did 40 lines of coke

Three things of note however
1: if you are even a teeny weeny bit photo sensitive , avoid the game like the plague or it will ruin your day

2: strangely enough the easiest diffcuility mode (the one with the timer disabled) is actually harder than the normal diffcuility due to how the mechanics change

3: the game is shorter than you think, being able to be 100% achivements + #1 on global leader board (at time or writing) in only 13 hours.

but those points aside, i'd defo recomend the game if you're up for some high speed chaotic fun, where it's not about going fast and causing carnage, but about the flow and staying ontop of things, also the art direction is to die for <3

assassins creed japan, done right

also you can, in fact pet the fox.

Pros:
the game play is enjoyable

Cons:
you can beat the entire thing in under 1 hour
the story if bleh tier kind of bland
there's not enough of the game by a LOOONG shot
Did I mention that there's nowhere near enough of the game?

It's defiantly a Bethesda game
just without
-open world exploration
-environmental story telling
-lore that's more interesting than a gnats fart
-plot that gets your attention
-Combat that's engaging
-characters that are enjoyable

Instead you are left with "Copy/pasted square mile of barren rock with one of thirty pre-made assets #3890" which leaves you with such a bland milk-toast tier experience that this game will at most be remembered as "the one that broke Bethesda" if it's remembered at all

tl;dr Game was so boring and bland I forgot I was playing it when I tabbed out to check my discord messages, and didn't realise it was running in the background until I went to shut down my computer....

Before I continue, do note that I am NOT saying that the game is bad, buy it, play it, have fun, heck I sat down yesterday and played it through until about midnight to complete it in one sitting, I am however saying that it does not stack up to the peak of the series AC:FA

Gone are the shoulder slots, replaced with nothing
Gone is the weight tuning, replaced with nothing
Gone is the FMC tweaking, replaced with a straight upgrade system
Gone is the PA system, replaced with a stun mechanic
Gone is the back weapon variety, replaced with 30 kinds of missile launcher
Gone is the weapon balance, replaced with a deflection mechanic
Gone is Overed boost, replaced with it's asthmatic brother, assault boost
Gone are the hangered weapons, replaced with the ability to punch when you run out of ammo
Gone is the option to dual wield swords, replaced with overheating on weapons
Gone is the blazing speed, replaced with a middling trundle
Gone are the special fights(arms fort), replaced with soulslike spectacle bosses which do not feel right for the series
Gone is the tactical considerations for ammo and health, replaced with resupply lockers and repair kits

Spooky-ish game with a very not quite, but somewhat related to dead space feel, which is not surprising all things considered, worth the coin given the sheer length of it alone

what is surprising is how quickly they were able to address the performance issues, which were more or less eliminated with the dec 3rd patch (minus a single stutter when the game loads in a new area, but that has happend a gran total of three times during my playthrough so far)

update: good lord, turns out I posted this review no less than an hour before the end of the game which I did not know at the time, add in the fact that the NG+ option is bare bones to the extreme, the weapons are extremely lackluster and the enemy variety is basically zero, and well, just go and buy the deadspace remake instead