Don't get me wrong, this is a fantastic game. But I have to knock off a point for things like getting killed while waiting for the teleporter to the next area to finish loading. Or worms constantly angering the gods while you're in the shop. That shit gets old really quick.
there are issues with the GoG Overlay because everytime you die the game restarts to generate new worlds.. and this comes with a issue that spams messages about the GoG overlay and they wond dissappear.
And the second shitty thing is that we have to play outdatet versions.. I dosn't feels like the publisher is looking around the forum at all...
There is a lot of love for this game both here and on steam, and... I just don't get it. I mean, it's... fine? I guess? It's ok for what it is? But... am I missing something? Are there some hidden mechanics in this games that I just didn't figure out? Becuase for me, the game feels more like an open beta for a game engine, than a regular game.
Don't get me wrong, I get the appeal of the game being a sandboxy, no lore, no story, no goal, no help, no nothing kind of game to uncover it's mechanics, but there is just so little to uncover. There are basicaly two things that happen here in terms of physics mechnics, ie: things burn and liquids flow. And yeah, the game does more than you'd expect with those two mechanics, but that's still so very little to build a whole game around. It feels like good old Liero* mixed with one of those games that are not really games, but are about you messing about with pixel physics for sand and water and fire and whatnot. There is a whole wand and perk system (which also have a Liero feel to it), but it's very unpolished.
A lot of people love it though and spend hours in it, so I guess... you do you. Fair enough. Still, I just don't get what the fuss is all about.
*If you don't know, Liero was a surprisingly satisfying and fun indie spin on non-turn based Worms from some 20 years ago.
Game of the year for me already from early access and ever since it has gotten only better. Personally I feel like the physics and the "sandbox" is over represented in the marketing of game. Its a cool touch and made really well, but the thing that keeps me playing is the actual gameplay. It is easy to get into, but you can also go to high levels of detail with wand building if you really want to. You can create big enough explosions that will literally crash the game. Need I say more? But to beat the base game learning every detail is never needed. Each run varies and you will be finding new ways to combo spells and explore the map to keep each run fresh. But you will be dying and a lot. The game is filled with mystery and it wont hold you hand at any point. The way to lear is by trying and dying. But with each death atleast I kept just wanting more and more.
The game features a pixel art-style from 1980, but after playing the game for a couple of minutes you instantly realize that it oddly enough feels more vivid than modern games trying to emulate reality with their graphics.
Why is that?
- Every pixel in the world inhibits "real-world" features in terms of stability, combustibility and characteristics that determine how they interact with one another stuff. There is even a feint of physical algorithm in terms of kinetics.
- The game treats does not treat you like an infant, but a grown-up being trying to get along in world like anybody else. You need to find out how it works, every point of health-damage is important to you and your enemies. Progressing through levels and solving problems can be done in multiple strategies.
- Wand-building is a kind of simple in-game programming and you get explanations as well as dummies and a display-wall in order to find out how it actually works, as if you are the little magician yourself that needs to learn his powers.
- Game is not easy, but still motivates to go on after dying simply 'cause the gameplay and world-building is topnotch, which includes a reasonable UI and control-scheme for a PC. In 2022 this is no longer a matter of course.
For whom is this game?
I'd say for everyone. It is possible that the difficulty and requirement for the player to learn interactively through "try and error" will chase off some players after a couple of hours, but it is not unlikely that these people will return to their Gog-library a few years later to give it another try.
Highly recommended!