I haven't gotten very far - at least, I don't think so. I have no idea how to judge progression. Is it based on the number of logs I find as I play? I've played for about 6 hours, which should be enough to form an opinion. Basically, everything is random, and the risks aren't worth the rewards. Mistakes or bad luck are punished severely, and can end your run. Good luck is some minor reward or upgrade. Your run ends either when you run out of fuel or viable drones. Essentially, gambling. You're betting everything in the hope of getting a minor payout. I'm sure extremely skilled players can make it work, but I don't have the pain tolerance to get there. No idea what the story is, but it's hinted that mankind did something to erase humanity from existance... The same premise every other mysterious disappearance of humanity turns out to be. It's a shame because the graphics are cool, and I like the concept. I just don't have the patience for slot machines with no jackpot.
If you don't like Papers, Please - you won't like this. I didn't understand why a detective mystery game was made by the same person until I played it. It's not really about solving a mystery. They show you what happened in cutscenes, and then you have to try to figure out which of the 60+ people the victim is. It's mildly interesting, but I wish it was a mystery about the story (because the story actually looked semi interesting.)
A puzzle game that is programming. It's okay.
As soon as I start the game, the writing feels like it's trying too hard. Then it tries to be funny and I realize it's Millenial Writing. My character has amnesia due to alcohol. We're just starting and there's already a plot contrivance. So I guess I'm a cop, down on his luck, that has to solve a murder? Okay, but why should I care? Because the game is here to be played? I wandered around and talked to people for a few hours because that's what the game expected me to do, but I was bored the whole time and stopped. The art direction looks like an oil painting, which is nice, but it's not enough to keep me awake.
Everything that this game steals from another game; the other game does better. This game is worse in every way than every game this one draws inspiration from. I wanted to like this game so much, but it just reminds me of other, better games with everything it does.
Good visuals, good sound design, good atmosphere. No real story, though. The game is a spectacle (or novelty) and once you've played it there's no point to play it again.
Good gameplay, I enjoyed getting a peek at how an investigator thinks and analyzes crime scenes. Good graphics, good sound design and music. Feels immersive. Good story up until the ending - then everything is ruined.
Good visuals and art direction, reminds me of Astro Boy and Metropolis (or Bioshock, if you prefer.) There's music, kinda. It's mostly environmental that didn't do anything for me and didn't really stand out. Nothing catchy or engaging. Gameplay is okay. The "javelin" system is interesting enough. Bosses are very difficult and require knowing their patterns and timing. Difficulty supposedly adds more - not just increased damage and health for enemies, though I didn't try it. The big problem is the game design. Level design is confusing, so I needed the map for basic room navigation. Different areas only look different, they don't really change the gameplay. Metroidvania abilities that typically open new areas are generally used once, while upgrades that could have actually affected level design and gameplay are optional. Story is confusing. It's incomplete and makes no sense unless you get 100 percent and the True ending. Humans are also portrayed as the good guys, even despite all the horrible things the optional pickups talk about. Overall, the game is okay. I had fun at times.
The game crashes during the ending for me, so there's that. There's a lot to like about the game. The characters seem real, the dialogue is mostly okay, the art direction fits the game, music is good at setting a background. I wanted to know more about the characters and the story. Unfortunately, the story itself is kinda muddy. It takes a somewhat simple premise and confuses it with flashbacks. The characters don't have any growth or arc, but maybe they should because the girl that hated us at the beginning likes us at the end with no explanation. I finished the game being confused, and the game acts as if I grew to know and the love the characters when I'm barely acquainted with them.
The full release (Version 1.0) now requires Windows 10 and Up. It seems to be a Unity thing, so it's not going to change. For anyone that can no longer launch or play the game, that's why. I know there's going to be a lot of sycophants on here saying that "I don't own it" or "just upgrade" but these companies happily keep our money while taking away what we paid for.
