I avoided this game for a long time due to the majority of reviews. Never again will I follow public gamer opinion on whats considered good or bad. To think this gem was dunked on so bad makes me realize how modern gamers are the most whining and incompetant lot. To be fair, yes the game had a lot of bugs and issues initially, but most of these were addressed later on. Whats unfair is the critique to everything else. Lets start with visuals. My God, for a 2014 game, it looks gorgeous at max settings. There were a number of memorable sights for me. The contrast between cold and warmth (blue and orange) was so good, it felt like I was actually there trying to warm myself in the icey cold. Then there are the weapons and armor sets, which look so creative; their description cards are nice and colorful too. Coming to gameplay. People complained about the slowness and controls but really, when you learn to 'read' the enemy it is never a problem. There was a satisfaction of hacking and slashing but even a greater satisfaction when you tried a particular strategy against a particular enemy. The bosses uptil the final one were enjoyable without being too difficult. The final one is perhaps the only negative in this game, and it frustrated me so much that i had to use the glitch to beat it (works as of this writing). The story is commendable. It really got me invested. A lot of it is told directly through the audio notes, but there is still elements of environmental storytelling. All your choices matter, and this is reflected in the end cutscene. I'm really looking forward to playing the remake. The game is the perfect lengh, not too long, not too short. If there wasn't a word limit to this review, Id write a lot more about how much I appreciate this game, despite all the rough edges.
A great FPS where the S stands for survival not shooter. And thats exactly how you should play this. You need to conserve ammo and equipment, hunt for masks to stay breathing, discard your weapons for newer ones instead of hauling everything. Its realistic. What I particularly love about this game is the atmosphere. My God, despite the grim setting and circumstances, I love the perfuse amount of smoke, ice, grime, dirt, especially how they all stick to your mask. The lighting is exceptionally done despite being an older game. Shadows flicker with the light, laser lines glisten in the dark, how your flashlight illuminates, its all well done. The voice acting is also decent and the characters, while not people you would easily get attached to, still add color to an otherwise brown and grey world (but i love those colors). Mechanics-wise there is a whole lot of nice touches, some explained some not. One of my favourites is how when enemies are aware, their defenses are low, but when they know you are around, adrenlaine rushes into them so they become bullet sponges. Sound can be masked in noisy enviroments, lights can be shot off. And the physics are also neat if you have physX enabled. Story is a strong point, but keep in mind, you will have to play the whole series to understand the lore. Enemies, while a few variety, are still fun shooting, and they way they react to bullets reminds me so much of the killer apes from the movie Congo. In conclusion, if you like a good narrative survival game set in Russia, or just want to feel 'Russian', then play this game.
I made the mistake of ignoring this game because I saw the word 'mixed' on its steam page. Lesson learnt, you miss out on a lot more good games if you only follow popular opinion. This game is underrated to be honest. Yes, its not without flaws, such as the muddy graphics, the janky execution animation, and some bugs that happen rarely like clipping or slowdowns. But lets talk about the positives: FUN shooting, fleshed out weapon customization, rewarding skill tree, and superb art design. Going into more detail, the devs got the shooting right. Every weapon feels unique and satisfying to shoot. Whats more you can deeply customize weapon that really adds to the tactics. Make a weapon more accurate and give it a scope for long range, or make it more powerful and strip it of every other attachment. Even the cosmetics on the gun are pretty. There is a whole range of them, from pistols, to assaults, to plasma guns, to bolters (Yes bolters!). You may feel like the lack of space marines is negative, but the world building of warhammer 40K is there, and its nice to delve into these other factions and worlds. Speaking of world, the art direction is so good it makes up for the muddy graphics. The devs really paid attention to detail. Every corner i looked was unique. Yes, its a wasteland setting, but still awe-insipiring with all the statues and skull motifs. A lot of players complained of bullet sponges. There is a workaround. And for that you have to grind for loot but not a lot of grinding. I was lucky enough to get a good rare gun that carried me to the end of the game. The game is hard but only if you don't play it the way it is intended to. That means regular use of skills and your trusty hound which serves as a distraction and attack partner. People might be put off by this approach but there is still freedom to stealth or go blazing. I could go on on how unfair the reviews were, and I hope the devs continue making warhammer games.
