Some people might say that the survival gameplay isn't top notch. That's true, but let's face it, we don't play 11bit games for the survival aspects, we play it for the storytelling. And there, this game is their best effort yet, it's truly gripping and immersive, you find yourself not trying to pick the right conversation choices for maximum reputation, but instead relating to your characters, trying to understand them, reassure them and lead them through the extreme situations you find yourselves in. Absolutely 5*, no doubt about it, the first game in years that merits full price imo!
started out as a band of mercenaries, evolved into the tyrant at the head of a swarm of molerats, 10/10
Ixion dances the fine line between punishing and rewarding, between pushing you onward to unlock new content and giving you the option to finishing it at your own pace. You absolutely can and will fail sometimes, but usually not in such an unavoidable way that loading the save 30 minutes prior doesn't let you overcome your previous failure. It doesn't shine too much storywise, but then again, this isn't an RPG - it's on par with Frostpunk in that aspect. Building up the station is great, and frequently going back and improving efficiency by changing sector layouts makes sure you can actually grow with your experience instead of having to learn through inefficiency and then having to start all over to actually see what can be done.
There's a widely established consensus that HOMM3 is one of the best turn-baseds of all time, so I really don't need to say much. It still holds up as a great multiplayer game, but I have to admit, the campaign is always what draws me back.
When you come into Dungeon Rats expecting a squad based dungeon crawler with lite roleplaying and a lot of combat, you won't be disappointed. if you expect it to be like age of decadence, you absolutely will be. You HAVE to fight, and you HAVE to build your character(s) based on combat. story is there, you can get immersed in it, you always feel like there is a stake to what you do, I really enjoy my playthroughs and come back to the game at least once a year.
