And that's what we should get more of. Games that force you to think, where there are real consequences to your choices, where you're not a super powerful chosen one right from the outset. Great and challenging combat mechanics, hand-crafted encounters... which are actually optional, you can finish the game as a diplomatic character. The game has a very interesting setting, great story, the atmosphere is present in every location and every dialogue. It portrays how even in the most desperate situations, where cooperation is imperative to survival, people would rather strive to carve out power and wealth for their own, consequences be damned. So, try it out, Iron Tower make great games for gamers who want some depth beyond the easy dopamine.
Thanks to the recent ressurection of the genre we are now getting some interesting dungeon crawlers to conquer and Vaproum is a quality title, make no mistake. The steampunk environment adds unique atmosphere, the storytelling is nicely done and for a dungeon crawler game is very good. The graphics are also spot on. Now to the specifics - you control a single character, which is a refreshing take and also makes the story telling more personal. You don an exo suit of choice (three builds available) and embark on an suicidal exploratory mission into the depths of a foreboding tower, where you will learn more about a strange substance called fumium and yourself, solve puzzles and fight with various enemies... acutally mostly just fight enemies rather than solve anything but more on that later. The character progression is implemented via upgrading your exosuit (similar to e.g. The Surge) and is quite straightforward where you just get flat percentage bonuses to your chosen ability. Nothing too complicated and it gets the job done. Puzzles seem to be innovative at the start and are quite enjoyable, however, they run out of steam (or fumium) fast and get quite repetitive IMO. Most puzzles... ah well... most actions you perform lead to combat. Usually in an enclosed space from which you cannot retreat forcing you to deal with multiple enemies at significant disadvantage. It basically comes to a DPS race where you either manage to kill one enemy faster to get some chance of maneuvering or just die in a corner. While this might be touted as hardcore, in my opinion this gets old fast, as you just accept that every room is a deathtrap where enemies spring from several hidden places. TLDR: good title, however I feel its potential was wasted in some aspects. My advice is grab it on sale. Hope there is an improved part 2 coming in the future.
This game has it all - a protagonist with a great backstory, a postapocalyptic (under)world divided between different factions maintaining a fragile status quo, great story with a sense of progression, fun and responsive combat system and wonderfully designed missions. The game was ahead of its time and its core elements ensure hours of fun and great experience even today, more than 20 years after its creation. It might take a little while to adjust to the controls and the fact that unlike submarines today you actually have to stick to the bottom or risk doses of radiation. P.S.: This game has the power to keep you from going to bed, so beware:)
Piranha Bytes have shown again that they are masters of game world creation. No easy way out via level scaling and respawning loot (looking at you Bethesda), every item is carefully hand-placed to keep the pace of the game, there are almost no artificial terrain gates that keep you from content the devs thought you should not see for some reason, which means every discovery you make feels very rewarding. And did I mention the jet pack? I was afraid it would break the game but instead it adds a whole new level of fun! Player that are not familiar with the formula this studio uses to create its games may struggle and find it unfair, player who are used to be pampered by uber graphics might be disappointed, players used to handholding/level scaling/follow-this-little-arrow-and-you-can't-go-wrong-type-of-gameplay might feel lost. That's ok. These games are demanding on the player, but the rewards are great. Free roaming around the world of Magellan, if you put the time and skill into it (aka avoid getting killed/eaten etc). Meaningful exclusive factions, which are by no means black and white. World that exists just fine without you and where you have to work from the bottom to make it take notice of you... and the great sense of reward for your achievement, because you know you earned it yourself and wasn't just given an emtpy title/cosmetic item. I am a big fan of the original two Gothic titles and the first Risen (though inferior in my opinion) and I have been waiting long for something that would fill the need for such games. And Elex delivered. It is by no means perfect and might not be for everyone but know that your gaming experience would be much poorer if you don't give it a chance.
Papers, Please may sound and even look unimpressive and weird; however this game is deceptively fun and immersing. Upon "winning" a job posting on the newly opened border checkpoint your role is easy - stamp passports and either let people in or not. You receive some meager salary per each processed applicant. However, as in real life, things get complicated fast and you need to apply new methods to verify the papers. More checks means more time per person, which means less persons a day and less money in your pocket. You have a family to feed and the rent won't pay itself... so what do you do? Be dutiful and do your job properly, or risk the wrath of your superiors by being lenient? As time goes by in your new workplace you will face many people with different stories and whether you intended or not the setting will suck you in and force you to make these choices, which may be hard. It will even make you wonder what would you do if you really were a customs clerk. The game mechanics are simple yet remain challenging throughout the game so that you will have to remain alert and concentrated. Whenever you slip, whether intentionally or not, the inevitable reprimanding fax from the ministry will appear to remind you that you too are being watched. In short - addictive, immersive, challenging and fun, 5 stars for me, hope you all will enjoy the experience
