Jesus Christ this game is nerve-breaking. I had to divide my sessions in two to get to the end. I see some inspirations from Resident Evil, but it's giving it a disservice, as there are plenty of imsim elements, like authentic weapon handling and fully functional DOS on PCs - reading e-mails, unlocking doors, all of that extra layer of interactivity that makes it very much different from other games.
Puzzles weren't exactly difficult, I'd say they were just in the region of not being stumped while also giving that rewarding 'aha!' feeling when solved. Okay, maybe the sticky note with password was a little too easy (I was hoping to find some posters with the whole word for the login, like the title of the movie).
Enemies though. Mess hall was really messy. Repopulating areas with new enemies was dreadful. Killed enemies waking up, new enemies showing up in already cleared areas, or random spawn of two bigger critters... man, I died a lot. At one point I was chugging health potions like an addict. It's good that you have plenty of ammo and health pickups as I was burning through them fast. I think that enemies are too fast, especially small critters. The window to land a successful shot is too small, they're always chasing you and will always get a nibble or two. My only reliable way of killing them was waiting for them to land after biting me and hoping I'll align my shot when they're stationary after the attack. Also enemies are relentless when they're close to you. Shooting them from a short distance should stagger them more reliably, I think they also should have bigger cooldown between attacks.
I have to praise you for music and ambient sounds. Save room is one of the places where you can really appreciate the time between fights. Music getting unnerving when the enemies are active immediately makes me tense, similiarly just entering the mess hall is just overwhelming with that dense atmosphere. The occasional sound of cracking pipes in the flooded area - the very definition of oppressive (but I think that enemies in that area shouldn't attack you immediately when triggered, let them stand up fully).
For the bugs, game crashed once. I couldn't start my second session from a save, I had to start the game from the beginning and then load it. The letters on the PC screen were scrambled after that. Crouching and then moving between some areas (like security checkpoint's gate) could make you stuck and your gun act like it's held above your head. Wiggling in various directions eventually freed me.
Overall, I survived. The feeling of isolation is almost too strong. The boss was handling me like a puppet until I discovered that the best way to avoid his attacks was strafing. Shooting down the very fist enemy that was covering the keypad and then having the same enemy being the weak spot on the boss - I'd say it's the intelligent game design. Also enviromental destruction, mid-battle attack change, chance to stagger the boss, slow camera pan at the beginning - great stuff. I'd say I want to see more but I'm not sure if I'm brave enough for another deep dive.
I beat the final boss at the end, this game is amazing! I love the horror elements and mechanics. The guns are both awesome and the unique reload system works amazing. Shooting zombies was fun and solving the puzzle was difficult but felt good in the end. The only bad thing is the misspellings in some of the menus, otherwise fantastic game and please make more levels and content!
Well done, I think the presentation is really great and reminds me a lot of a first-person Signalis, if you've ever played that. The weapon reloading feels great. I was playing on Windows and it did crash once when transitioning from one room to a hallway. I think some areas were too dark for me and throughout playing I wish I had a center reticle. Initially I didn't realize "F" was the primary interact button, so I was confused at the first dialog section but managed to figure it out.
It has a bit of a Lynchian vibe which I like. Overall nice graphics. The game crashed when I was in storage and tried F on the keypad. I managed to get the ladder down and as soon as I climbed it the game ended or crashed? It's a bit clunky but maybe that's part of the appeal. Thanks for the upload.
I am genuinely enjoying this game: here is part 2. I plan on finishing the demo so expect a part 3.
Things of note: There is a module in the messy room and a security desk where where i feel like i could jump over it IRL but because i can't jump in game I have to go around. It's a bit immersion breaking. I think you need to add some glass or some addition barriers to really sell the fact that you have to go around. The environment should tell me what I can do rather than having to focus on the limitations in the game mechanics.
There is a small gap between a water tile in the sewers.
The pallets (the wooden things) are a too low res even for your game, it breaks the otherwise fairly consistent art style.
The sewers are a bit too labyrinth and samey. It could benefit from some hall marks.
There is a large flesh thing in one of the offices i wasted a bunch of bullets on and wasn't able to kill it. Everything in the game indicates that i should be able to kill it after wasting 12 or 18 shots, I decided it wasn't worth it. Not sure what your intention is but I feel tricked into wasting so much ammo.
The game starts windowed but goes fullscreen after file creation. Loading screens show the main menu (because it's loaded underneath?). Text boxes are advanced using escape? Why is space not mapped to anything? Default mouse sensitivity is way too high. The game is really choppy, has regular frame hiccups. No reticle? The game does not teach you how its shooting mechanics work. The sound effects are very clearly stolen from Half-Life. Every door being a separate loading zone is really lame, since the cells are tiny. I don't like how complex the controls are. Only having a laser sight when aiming with the RMB is bizarre, and made me think blind-firing was the intended method.
The presentation and atmosphere is great, but the game is (likely purposefully) frustrating to play. I would have much preferred if it played like System Shock 2.
Thanks for the feedback, and checking out the demo. By loading screens, you mean the menu showing up during screen transitions? Did you use Windows or Linux build?
Comments
Jesus Christ this game is nerve-breaking. I had to divide my sessions in two to get to the end. I see some inspirations from Resident Evil, but it's giving it a disservice, as there are plenty of imsim elements, like authentic weapon handling and fully functional DOS on PCs - reading e-mails, unlocking doors, all of that extra layer of interactivity that makes it very much different from other games.
Puzzles weren't exactly difficult, I'd say they were just in the region of not being stumped while also giving that rewarding 'aha!' feeling when solved. Okay, maybe the sticky note with password was a little too easy (I was hoping to find some posters with the whole word for the login, like the title of the movie).
Enemies though. Mess hall was really messy. Repopulating areas with new enemies was dreadful. Killed enemies waking up, new enemies showing up in already cleared areas, or random spawn of two bigger critters... man, I died a lot. At one point I was chugging health potions like an addict. It's good that you have plenty of ammo and health pickups as I was burning through them fast. I think that enemies are too fast, especially small critters. The window to land a successful shot is too small, they're always chasing you and will always get a nibble or two. My only reliable way of killing them was waiting for them to land after biting me and hoping I'll align my shot when they're stationary after the attack. Also enemies are relentless when they're close to you. Shooting them from a short distance should stagger them more reliably, I think they also should have bigger cooldown between attacks.
I have to praise you for music and ambient sounds. Save room is one of the places where you can really appreciate the time between fights. Music getting unnerving when the enemies are active immediately makes me tense, similiarly just entering the mess hall is just overwhelming with that dense atmosphere. The occasional sound of cracking pipes in the flooded area - the very definition of oppressive (but I think that enemies in that area shouldn't attack you immediately when triggered, let them stand up fully).
For the bugs, game crashed once. I couldn't start my second session from a save, I had to start the game from the beginning and then load it. The letters on the PC screen were scrambled after that. Crouching and then moving between some areas (like security checkpoint's gate) could make you stuck and your gun act like it's held above your head. Wiggling in various directions eventually freed me.
Overall, I survived. The feeling of isolation is almost too strong. The boss was handling me like a puppet until I discovered that the best way to avoid his attacks was strafing. Shooting down the very fist enemy that was covering the keypad and then having the same enemy being the weak spot on the boss - I'd say it's the intelligent game design. Also enviromental destruction, mid-battle attack change, chance to stagger the boss, slow camera pan at the beginning - great stuff. I'd say I want to see more but I'm not sure if I'm brave enough for another deep dive.
Thank you for the detailed feedback - good to see what worked and what needs to get looked at some more. Glad you enjoyed the demo!
I like what I’m seeing but the game keeps crashing every other door, so I’ll wait for further updates.
Thanks for checking out the demo, I'll definitely check to see what might be causing the crashes.
I beat the final boss at the end, this game is amazing! I love the horror elements and mechanics. The guns are both awesome and the unique reload system works amazing. Shooting zombies was fun and solving the puzzle was difficult but felt good in the end. The only bad thing is the misspellings in some of the menus, otherwise fantastic game and please make more levels and content!
Thanks for playing! More content will definitely come later.
Well done, I think the presentation is really great and reminds me a lot of a first-person Signalis, if you've ever played that. The weapon reloading feels great. I was playing on Windows and it did crash once when transitioning from one room to a hallway. I think some areas were too dark for me and throughout playing I wish I had a center reticle. Initially I didn't realize "F" was the primary interact button, so I was confused at the first dialog section but managed to figure it out.
Thanks for playing! Sorry for the crash, will definitely have to look into what causes it.
It has a bit of a Lynchian vibe which I like. Overall nice graphics. The game crashed when I was in storage and tried F on the keypad. I managed to get the ladder down and as soon as I climbed it the game ended or crashed? It's a bit clunky but maybe that's part of the appeal. Thanks for the upload.
Thanks for playing! There's more after the ladder, crashing seems to be a bug. Did you try the Windows or Linux build?
I played the Linux build
Video feedback:
I enjoyed the game, but i got stuck after getting a metal bar. While writing this comment i realised that i should have checked the ladder.Thanks for the video, appreciated! There's quite a lot more after the ladder if you want to check back on it.
I am genuinely enjoying this game: here is part 2. I plan on finishing the demo so expect a part 3.
Things of note:
There is a module in the messy room and a security desk where where i feel like i could jump over it IRL but because i can't jump in game I have to go around. It's a bit immersion breaking. I think you need to add some glass or some addition barriers to really sell the fact that you have to go around. The environment should tell me what I can do rather than having to focus on the limitations in the game mechanics.
There is a small gap between a water tile in the sewers.
The pallets (the wooden things) are a too low res even for your game, it breaks the otherwise fairly consistent art style.
The sewers are a bit too labyrinth and samey. It could benefit from some hall marks.
There is a large flesh thing in one of the offices i wasted a bunch of bullets on and wasn't able to kill it. Everything in the game indicates that i should be able to kill it after wasting 12 or 18 shots, I decided it wasn't worth it. Not sure what your intention is but I feel tricked into wasting so much ammo.
Here is part 3:
This is by far the most fun i've had playing a demo day game so great job.The game starts windowed but goes fullscreen after file creation. Loading screens show the main menu (because it's loaded underneath?). Text boxes are advanced using escape? Why is space not mapped to anything? Default mouse sensitivity is way too high. The game is really choppy, has regular frame hiccups. No reticle? The game does not teach you how its shooting mechanics work. The sound effects are very clearly stolen from Half-Life. Every door being a separate loading zone is really lame, since the cells are tiny. I don't like how complex the controls are. Only having a laser sight when aiming with the RMB is bizarre, and made me think blind-firing was the intended method.
The presentation and atmosphere is great, but the game is (likely purposefully) frustrating to play. I would have much preferred if it played like System Shock 2.
Thanks for the feedback, and checking out the demo. By loading screens, you mean the menu showing up during screen transitions? Did you use Windows or Linux build?
Windows.