This product does not match the demo reel and developer aspirations. I fell for those and I regret purchasing it.

This is an art project being sold as a game. The aesthetic they are aiming for is outstanding and sometimes little things hammer it home as much as the big ones; like the sound distortion of a muzzle blast from inside a concrete pipe.

The stated intent as I understood it was grim dark combat voyeurism. You as the player were a nobody trying to eek out an existence on the margins. This product does NOT deliver on that in the slightest, largely as a result of the gameplay loop and wall clock time pressure.

Here are a few things that stand out:

(1) Hunter Killers are immediately dispatched when looting.

It doesn't matter if any units are nearby to discover the looting and there's no delay, it's instant. This feels a bit like you touch that water can and Seal Team 12 and 6 are being dispatched for you immediately. Do they have tripwires on every can of water? Does every tripwire connect to high command and warrant scrambling dozens of highly trained personnel with heavy weapons for "1 gallon" of water? Me as tired old man with a surplus AK and three gallons of water to my name don't FEEL that important.

(2) Current AI and performance compromises don't provide much voyeurism, they do provide abundant frustration though.

I've filled my pack, I've avoided detection, I can see the exit pipe, there's no unit in sight, I'm going to sprint for the pipe "Children of Men" style and get out. *POP* *BOOM* I'm now surrounded by several elite Euruskian troopers and starring briefly up at the bottom of Toothy's knee before being staggered by weapons fire and stepped on. Sure I guess that could happen, possibly. But having it happen in a reproducible fashion is immersion-breaking. Now I know to creep towards that exit even if it looks clear to see what spawns as I get closer to it.

For another one: walking through an empty area when suddenly a squad spawns around you and each takes it in turn to stagger you until you die. You will memorize the spawn locations and you will approach them slowly.

(3) Immersion and Time Pressure and Patch Direction

So much of the aesthetic that drew me to this game was the idea of being immersed in the grim universe of the demo reel. It was hard to be immersed with so many rough edges when early access launched but I kept fiddling with things hoping to see improvements towards that core vision. Unfortunately I don't feel like subsequent patches moved things in the right direction.

Multiple changes to the AI and subsequent bugs have made it clear that I, the player, am the most significant object on the battle field. I arm and armor myself heavily because stealth doesn't work. I kill squads I come across in most cases, then sell their loot back to the faction vendor when I get out of the map to rebuy faction reputation.

The heavily teased Water 2.0 amplified the risks associated with not regularly logging in. I had been doing this every few days to check on things and do some "water runs." The fact that I have to plan real world scheduling around things like water runs is dumb and immersion breaking. I do this because I'm afraid of losing my progress spending time I'd rather be exploring the world of Forever Winter. Now when I'm not playing I sometimes catch myself wondering if my base has been looted by water thieves and now I've got a nagging feeling I should log in to check. That's not respectful of my time or attention. That's real-time pressure coming from a recreational source.

I don't want that and I don't need that.

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If patches had gone another way I might be exploring the game world as the devs intended when able to play and exploring more lore or making fan art when I'm not. Today I do neither of those things so I'm voting with my attention.

Most intense 45 minutes of any game I ever played.

After 6 deaths I finally extracted with some goodies.

Got the game on sale, best 45 minutes I have spent in a game from this 2024 Winter Sale.

The worst shooter game I've played so far. Key points:

• Gunplay is awful and junky. I can't even compare it to something.

• Feels like inventory system was made in 1 day with absolutely zero QoL features. It took me 30 minutes to figure out how weapon customization system works and why the hell my weapons got duplicated. Same goes for rigs (basically backpacks). I truly hope this is just a placeholder.

• AI is a simple script that makes enemies move from point A to point B, with occasional detour for sound (gunfire) sources and shootouts between NPC groups. No suppression mechanics, no hiding in cover, no idling or looting. This needs not just a rework, but a full replacement.

• Progression system is unintuitive, and for some reason your progress degrades while you are NOT playing. Die to stupid aimbot AI however much you want, but don't you dare quit for days, or you'll lose everything.

This is not a hard game, it's simply rough and unenjoyable.