Sir, You Are Being Hunted

This is game will keep you on your toes at all times - you end up in a world filled with killer robots and your aim is to survive. Sneaking around, you have to loot homes and collect gear and food while avoiding the lethal robots that venture around. The atmosphere is spot on, the voices of the robots chilling and more than once you'll jump up as you're being spotted. It doesn't have the most advanced graphics (think 2004-2005) but then again this is an indie game. There are some problems though: the game is very hard and because the game is procedurally created, it might create a situation where you don't stand a chance. I had to restart three times before it gave me a world where I could actually find some food before I died of hunger. There's also not a whole lot going on - besides surviving and trying to escape the island, there's nothing really to do. While other games such as Don't Starve give you plenty of crafting abilities, SYABH gives you nothing of the sort. In short, fun for a few days but don't expect it to last very long.

It's one of those games I really wanted to like. It's also experimental; open-world, procedurally-generated stealth games aren't an over-subscribed genre. But I don't feel it works very well. The visuals, sound, art, theme and general atmosphere are all fine. It's just that the gameplay and especially the save-system don't work together very well. You can only save at five specific points; your progress is otherwise lost if you die or quit. This leads to a strong incentive not to stray further from these points than you can help, which interferes rather with the exploratory spirit of the game. There's also a strong reason to return to these points as soon as you make any significant progress, which is tedious and time-consuming. Then there's the way the enemies ramp up in power quite rapidly over time, meaning you can't take your time easing yourself into the game mechanics. One or two more minor poor design-choices (labeling items "junk" rather defeats the purpose of having them), but the two above are the main ones. Overall, I wasn't really a fan, but I did appreciate the attempt.

I tried my best to enjoy this game but I can't. The survival part is much too light while the stealth part is repetitive as hell. Making a "procedurally generated open-world stealth game" is a huge mistake in terms of game design : no clear challenge, no envy to progress. Not to mention the objectives are bland (look for something randomly placed, then come back, then repeat, etc...). Even the graphics are missing it, with sad natural environments where nothing moves/lives. A failed premise.

It's a fun little game. I really enjoyed my first play through. I like the mix of stealth and action. Everything is pretty simple but it works. You basically have the choice of either distracting the "hunters" (who really just feel more like traditional video game guards) trapping or fighting them in order to retrieve the pieces of the device. This does make for some pretty fun and intense moments, but there is just not enough going on this game to hold your interest for long. There is really no plot, the ending is lame, and although the game can randomly generate new worlds on every play through, there is just not enough to keep coming back for. You can't go inside buildings, they are just glorified "crates" and 90% of the items you find don't even do anything. At least if you were able to throw more of the items for distraction, or maybe combine some items to make something useful... There is a lot of trial and error which can be frustrating in a game with limited save features. For instances some of the enemies are seemingly invulnerable (I emptied all my bullets into them before dying...) which teaches you avoidance, and yet other enemies have very important items on them, which encourages combat. There is no hint anywhere that I could find as to when you should engage and when you should flee, you just have to test it out for yourself. This, to me, is flawed design in a stealth game where every decision should be calculated. Not, try and die, then repeat. Again, there are books and letters you find stashed around, and these could have offered some hints as to how to interact with the world, but all the ones I read where useless. Still, I really enjoyed the combat, the stealth and the survival aspects. The key here is each one of the main aspects of the game could have just used a little more content, a little more flushing out. Then you'd have a great game. The bottom line is the game is fun but just feels a little unfinished.