A roguelite FPS, sort of like Ziggurat. It's fun to play for a while, but its shortcomings become apparent very quickly: * Randomness is not enough. It doesn't feel like each run is unique at all. All rooms are the same and just arranged in different order. * The theme is ancient Egypt, but for the most part I really don't feel like I'm fighting ancient Egyptian monsters. * The main character's spoken lines are very few and sparse in between. The game barely reminds you of the titular protagonist... or that the game is supposed to be "comedic" * Some weapons feel OK, a few feel great, but most weapons are just utter junk. For example: The Minigun needs a whole bag of ammo just to kill a couple of enemies, the Shotgun is too inconsistent, automatic weapons are usually extremely inaccurate and have extremely limited max ammo capacity, some explosive weapons deal friendly fire but others do not (and there's no way to find out except the hard way). On the other hand, weapons meant to be used over distance (e.g. Sniper rifle, Bow) are balanced well individually, but unfortunately you'll barely get to use them, since most rooms are too cramped for that. * The biggest issue: Chests (and sometimes enemies) will give you upgrades and abilities in the forms of Scrolls. There's no way to know what a scroll will be before you pick it up. And there's no way to get rid of a scroll after you pick it up. Well, the devs decided this was the perfect system to introduce artificial difficulty through Cursed Scrolls. You can't tell them apart from normal Scrolls, and they work the same way (can't know what they are until picked up, can't be gotten rid of). These can be really debilitating and can ruin whole runs. At first they seem quirky and fun, but there's just too many of them, and you are guaranteed to get something that will break your run. It's just a cheap way to extend the gameplay time.
You should be aware that there's a few misconceptions about this game, which I'll try to dispell. This isn't a horror game and it's definitely not a shooter game. Your character will often be brushing with death, but you won't be attacked by space zombies. The story is set around 2059, and Earth has become a wasteland following an ecological and climate collapse. Humanity decided too late to clean up its act, and had sent years prior a mission to the Moon to mine for Helium-3 and produce enough energy to power Earth without damaging the environment further. Presumably, this energy is used to grow food and recycle water. 5 years ago, a mysterious event occured on the Moon, which stopped the energy production. You are on a one-man mission to travel to the Moon, discover what happened and try to repair whatever malfunction has occured to resume the energy production, without which, humanity is doomed. The gameplay is basically an on-rails walking simulator. However, that doesn't work against it at all. The game oozes atmosphere, and the attention to details helps to bring the world alive. There's plenty of things to explore in each area, and everything you encounter provides a small clue as to what happened. Furthermore, the exploration is almost always accompanied with puzzle solving that will enable you to proceed to the next area (which makes sense as you are basically repairing an entire space station by yourself). Most puzzles aren't too difficult or complex, but they are never annoying, they fit in with the world around them, and some of them are fantastically interactive. That gets us to the strongest aspect of this game, which is its writing and story. I can't say much for fear of spoilers, but as you uncover the story bit by bit, you get to discover a rich array of complex characters with solid voice acting to bring them to life. I've had lots of fun playing DUTM. It took me about 5-6 hours to finish, and I enjoyed every second of it.
Overall, a very relaxing experience. If you are looking for a hard-core space sim, this is not it. It's easy-going, with a very simple control scheme and straightforward flying. However, its graphics more than make up for this, as it is just a joy to fly around and enjoy the vistas. There is a very solid economy simulation running in the background. It's seemingly simple, but if you care to delve behind the front window, you'll find detailed production lines and the ability to greatly influence it, without messing it up, if you have the resources and inclination to do it. However, earning credits is not that challenging and there's not a whole lot to do with those in the early game. Right away, you can start buying ships and building an automated fleet that will earn money for you. After a while, you can start building your own stations, which will turn you a bigger profit, or assist you in other tasks, like research. Progress in the game is partly blocked behind a simple research game. Essentially, you just earn Research points by exploring, and then you spend them right away to improve your ships, be able to construct different types of stations, or just outright gain new options and abilities for flying. There's a small variety of ships, but it's decent enough. They all are good at one particular role, so while there's not a lot of variety, what you get doesn't feel too weak or too OP. It's good to do the job you want with it. One major drawback is the very limited map size. After a while, there's not really a whole lot to see. There's around 20 sectors to travel around in, and most of them don't really look that different from each other. However, in the little time I've had with this game, I found myself enjoying it. It's calming, it's easy-going, it's something to do to pass the time and have fun while doing it.
Be warned, this game comes with DRM. There is a game launcher which asks you to create an account with the company using a valid email (requires verification). Then you need to register the game, which is going to be a hassle (you need to find the serial number in a version of your game library which is only accessible via browser, which no one tells you about). You can play the game without an account, but your games will not be saved and you won't be able to save any settings, despite being able to click buttons. Enjoy playing at Low graphics at 1024x768 resolution. Also, without an account you can not access the DLC content you paid for. Without this, I would rate the game a 5/5. It's got an incredible aesthetic and a very solid gameplay. It's a true heir to the Heroes of Might and Magic series in all regards. Each faction is unique, interesting and enjoyable to play. The city building plays like Civilization, and it's not as fleshed out as it could be, but it suffices. There are fun spells to play with, a nice campaign and interesting in-map quests to follow. I always have a fun time playing it, and even after so long, I always return to it to get some more.
