Recent reviews by celesware

love it, perfect return to form for me after longing for something like overwatch for so long now. heroes feel more like tf2 than overwatch where even the weaker characters can take care of themselves, maps are well designed, progression is nice, it's all lovely. so it hurts me to say that this game would be such an easy recommendation if it just had better optimization. 6gb vram for lowest texture settings is ridiculous. can't even tell my friends to get on without having them stutter like crazy, and I was having similar issues too with a 8gb vram gpu until I turned down the texture settings. completely unacceptable for the kind of visuals this game offers.

game runs at like 10fps for me. graphically incredible game, but there is simply no justification for this rancid optimization, considering I'm able to play games like alan wake 2 at a MUCH more playable framerate. the fact that there's no DLSS / FSR does not help things in the slightest.

refund pending, will be giving it another go after they made some serious optimization patches. damn shame, because I was seriously excited for this game.

came back to this game after a while just to find out they removed steam workshop content

since I can't see any actual serious reviews being left on this game, I guess I'll be (one of) the first:


ever since this game's initial debut on itch.io, I was one of the people who saw this game for what it objectively is: a unique, but rather short rng-based experience that lasts you anywhere from 20-30 minutes and then you never play it again. the double or nothing mode (not the steam version) tried to add replay value to the game, but the game itself still had the same fundamental rng problems that made it borderline unfair to play.


honestly? not much. but what HAS changed, has essentially changed the game forever. other than scoreboards for double or nothing which already adds a TON of replay value to an already very replayable mode, and some minor but ultimately insignificant additions to the base gamemode, new items have been added for use exclusively in double or nothing mode. not many items have made it in, but people seriously do not hype up just how much these items completely change how you play the game.

If you just needed a heads-up to get this game in doubt whether it's worth it over the itch.io version or not, then get it, no doubt about it. but I will now go into detail on how one of these newly introduced items adds strategy and tactics into the game through scenarios that may be spoiler-y to those wishing to go in completely blind, so proceed with caution.

not going into detail because there's too many strategies for each item, but easily one of the coolest items so far is the adrenaline booster. what it essentially does is upon use, it lets you steal ANY item from the dealer's table (except for more adrenaline boosters) and then use it immediately. so if each of you had 4 hit points, you had 4 adrenaline boosters (for some reason) and the dealer had a handcuff, 2 handsaws, and a magnifying glass, you could steal the magnifying glass to make sure it's a live round in the shotgun, steal the handcuff to secure yourself 2 turns, steal the hand saw to deal double damage, shoot the dealer and deal 2 damage, and then steal his last hand saw and take a gamble on whether it's a live or blank round by shooting him again.

yes there's still rng in the game, but it no longer feels unfair like the itch.io version. instead, it feels visceral like the original vision for the game intended, while still feeling like every mistake you make is your fault in some way or another. the items introduced with the steam version add a layer of fairness and strategy that was simply absent from the itch.io version, and that's why I recommend this so strongly, even to those that already played the game.

it's fun, can't argue with the price of free

but for anyone seeing this when the game is priced at 7.99, just get lethal company instead. this game is taking on a colossal task of being priced 2 bucks less than lethal company, a task which it ultimately fails at, as it doesn't even have a fraction of the content that lethal company does.

tldr; it's fun, but not 7.99$ fun, especially when lethal company only costs 2 bucks extra

dev is dedicated and I can respect that, but that won't stop me from reviewing this game like any other game, and to be completely honest, this game is just so unbelievably clunky, unfun and even frustrating at times. only buy if you have a genuine hyperfixation for backrooms content, as this game definitely scratches that itch with its lore-accuracy. but other than that, it's just not enjoyable in the slightest.

it's ok, I guess

my honest reaction to the remake color palette:
https://youtu.be/U_qZtLu52nM?si=LKc41YjU8N4SN7w0

I can't remember the last time a game made me feel this way, but it must've been years ago at this point

[INITIAL REVIEW (positive)]
servers seem to be working again, so I changed my review to be positive. sure there are the glaring issues like the horrendous progression system and the always-online, but the game itself is fun, so I'm willing to look past it for now since I know changes are coming.

UPD [04/05/2024]
"the game itself is fun, so I'm willing to look past it for now since I know changes are coming"

I guess you could say I lived long enough to see myself swallowing those words. changes never came. or rather, they did, but it's too little, too late, and too few and far between. you'd think that after having been out for almost a year, that the game would be SIGNIFICANTLY different now, but nope. it's still the same horrifically broken and unrewarding experience from launch, and all they've been adding lately are features that should've been in the game in the first place. there's no excuse for this, people got scammed plain and simple, and I'll be surprised if this game survives its entire live service span without starbreeze declaring bankruptcy. this game had so much going for it, and they completely fumbled the bag on everything outside of gameplay.