25 people found this review helpful
3 people found this review funny
1
Not Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 2.6 hrs on record
Posted: 3 Jun, 2023 @ 7:46pm

Curator page here--> DaRevieweD #229 <-- New review every week

"JUST CAUSE IT’S CHEAP…"
https://steamoss.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2984463062

Here's The Thing:
You see the world, now in the wake of the KN028 virus having ravaged it and turned millions into zombies, through Alfred’s eyes and suffering is the life many are all too familiar with… He wakes up one day to find his brother Jake has gone to seek out one “Captain Jack” who’s supposedly taking in survivors. Antsy that the worst has happened, he sets out to catch up to his only family before it’s too late ~


[+] PROS;

:) A-HA, SEE WHATCHU DID THERE. I’LL TAKE YOU ON~
Plays somewhat like a mutated sister of Resident Evil’s (RE) tank control and Silent Hill’s (SH) 3D over-the-shoulder camera! A welcome change that then immediately plunges you into familiar territory as well as mechanics like having precious ink ribbons to save progress, storage boxes, green herbs to munch on… or snort. Well, you get the picture; an obvious homage that doesn’t bother to cover its tracks.

There are even minuscule brain teasers such as cracking number combinations, the now-obligatory sliding picture puzzle, way-finding to proceed to the next area, and the usual birds and the bees of survival! You should be right at home with the combat seeing as it gets the job done despite being otherwise elementary and not going overboard on the weapon variety.

The first run occupies roughly 3 hours on account of the hard-hitting zombies and a handful of careless deaths. $2 for a RE-like title seems overly generous, but alas there’s a catch- several in fact. See you in the cons~

TIPS:
1) Knife can stun-lock the zombie goons.


:) PLAYS YOU LIKE A FIDDLE, BUT THAT’S OK… FOR THE MOST PART.
The low-poly graphics grant it that dose of PS1 nostalgia which would’ve been enough to sway your judgement, but the list of locations you’re to frequent; however little the actual resemblances give it that extra kick of reminiscence towards the named survival horror games regardless! The vacant city streets are grand and disorderly, their presence only extending onto the areas you’re to frequent. Whether it be a derelict apartment building where hope goes to inhabit before committing suicide, a police station that’s seen better days just longing for crime, a hospital so desperate for patients it will inflict- so on and so forth.

I appreciated and adored the sound design more than anything it had to offer visually… It complemented the loneliness and deathly silent atmosphere by having you walk-run with either nothing but the noises you make or the snarls of zombies. RE/SH-ish music only materializes out of thin air in safe rooms (if even then), boss encounters, jumpscares, and when Alfred literally whips out his instrument to strum away and sing a tune~
https://steamoss.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2984465756


:) A NIGHTMARE… RE-CREATED!? Z FOR YOURSELF!
The plot is largely exempt of any profound influences and probably the most original out of everything! That said, the searching for family plot line gave me throwbacks to RE2 & SH (1999); the looking for a safe haven- RE Afterlife. The minutely open-world design of a city in ruins recalled specific instances of SH Origins, The Last of Us, and I Am Legend. Seems like a lot of watered-down caricatures, but they didn’t come off as such. It appeared to genuinely attempt (emphasis on this) to tell a heartfelt story that could rival even The Walking Dead only more close-knit and small-scale~


[-] CONS;

:( MORE LIKE, THE DEAD AREN’T ALL DEAD!?
While I’m most thankful the narrative isn’t as heavily plagiarized as their previous entry Evil Is Back, which by the way they’ve gotten away with, this time they’ve reached a new low… What’d they do? Well, they copied RE & SH in a “style over substance” manner and once more have to lean on nostalgia for crutches! This particular endeavor grossly reminded me of Delivery Man (DM), which was yet another game averse to the word “new” and inserted only what they themselves thought were the most telling elements of what made a RE title!

This naturally led to the existence of previously context-laden puzzles which shouldn’t otherwise belong here for they defy all logic. With the only explanation being, well, other than the fact that the OGs had them back then; ergo their inclusion is more than justified. Despite DM doing it a tinge better, both were outright starved of any worthwhile personality or memorable characters… serving solely as placeholder “remember that more interesting individual in RE/SH? Yeah, good times”.


:( ON THE MAP ALRIGHT- FOR DIFFERENT INFERIOR REASONS.
I was feeling the locations initially, but variety did JAKE all in taking away from the reality that they were subpar in their dressing and layout. I thought the apartment was the biggest offender with rooms that differed little to none from each other. But really, every single area was ridiculously spacious and identical in their environmental storytelling thanks to repeating props… Almost as if to exclaim “forget interesting set pieces, we just need places to pad the runtime” which becomes gospel in the next cons~


:( NOT ON THE RIGHT… BACKTRACK!
You would think “RE-esque title” and “fun” are synonymous, well think again; the latter is aggressively as well as aggravatingly replaced by long bouts of backtracking. Sheer amount of plot-bending done to allow for key items to be found in places that, in a sane world, would have zero chances of being associated! This key with no discernible markers whatsoever must open that locked door from halfway across the city…! DUH!!

The bullet sponge bosses painfully drain the fun out of the very sad amount there already was. To add insult to injury? 2/3 of bosses could’ve been easily bypassed by simply ignoring them had you been permitted to use your brain. It’s only cause the game forces you to deal with them by making that completely unobstructed gap and the door that wasn’t locked suddenly inaccessible. Lastly, the degree of inventory stupidity going on whereby picking up similar items don’t automatically pool them together and so you have to slow travel to safe rooms to dump your crap. It’s just a whole thing to artificially pad the runtime in terms of gameplay~
https://steamoss.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2984468786


:( CLEAN UP YOUR ACT. PRETTY PLEASE!?
Put simply, Twitch streamers rarely make for good voice actors. There, said it! At least pick the semi-decent ones much like Night at the Gates of Hell did. If I wanted disinterested & soulless reads that border on hilarity, I would just view an adult film~


BUGS:
x Entering a new area, the camera does this thing where it flies towards the player-
x 2 of 3 bosses can be exploited through environmental means.
x Alfred clips with certain objects
x Camera stutters when touching the environment
x Textures keep changing place…
x Auto-aim disabled when an object gets in your way.


NITPICKS:
~ Gun reloads automatically…!
~ Map opacity is terrible.
~ “Files” menu has more slots than there are notes! Misleading.
~ Short black screens after QTEs are jarringly intrusive.


"DON’T MEAN IT’S EXCUSED FROM A GOOD OLD-FASHIONED RIBBON!!?"

Last Words?
Scarily basic survival horror that bares too much of its muses… Save for a few scraps of novelty & sincerity; winds up feeling derivative, ill thought out, and rushed. “Affordable” came at a price~


5 / 10
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Developer response:
616 GAMES  [developer] Posted: 4 Jun, 2023 @ 4:49pm
Thanks for your review, I always try to bring you fun and weird games for a good price. I'm an indie and solo developer and I'm learning more and more.
19 Comments
DeadeGuard98 11 Jul, 2023 @ 7:33am 
@Luli You said it! I think it's fine for games that have 1 or 2 negative ones. Like this one!

However, it should be obvious enough that this review was due to taste, disappointment, and essentially preferences. I tried to give it a really balanced overview and by the looks of the commenters; they bought it out of spite for me anyway~

But I hear you. Steam should really have a "mixed" reception. Thanks so much for yer time~~
Luli 11 Jul, 2023 @ 1:48am 
This is another interesting point of discussion indeed. I think steam's reviewing system has a HUGE flaw: negative reviews have too much of an impact on the visibility of games. I totally understand developers who get pissed off by the visibility of their games getting dramatically decreased by a single negative review. However, every steam user should be free to express their opinions and to leave negative feedback if they feel it necessary. The solution would simply be to decrease the destructive power of negative reviews. I don't understand why it has to be so high instead.
DeadeGuard98 10 Jul, 2023 @ 8:37pm 
@Luli Well, thanks for following!!! Always nice to hear from you. This is why we are entitled to our *opinions*!!

I appreciate you being respectful and civil about it at least, wut am I sayin'- you are that all the time!!!!

Yeah, that's all I'm saying, haha. THe big "what if" But nope, let's get pitchforks and overreact at this reviewer~
DeadeGuard98 10 Jul, 2023 @ 8:35pm 
@The Burger King Sweet! Fuq reading...! Have fun dude~
Greggers 10 Jul, 2023 @ 6:52pm 
Yeah erm... too long, didn't read. Purchasing the game I guess ! :steamlaughcry:
Luli 10 Jul, 2023 @ 4:05pm 
I followed this discussion with much interest. I am a huge fan of Raphael's games, I love his style exactly for what it is, and I don't think I'd like it to change. Like all italians, I have a peculiar taste for the "so bad so good". HOWEVER, I cannot help but wonder what he could achieve with a bigger investment of both time and resources. It would be much interesting, to say the least!
DeadeGuard98 30 Jun, 2023 @ 2:18am 
@gamesare2fun That wasn't really my biggest contention with the title, not to my recollection anyhow. Never said it didn't work! It worked too well even.

Oh, and good for you! Have fun!! My reviews aren't for everyone, just like this game isn't for everyone~
Gamesare2fun 29 Jun, 2023 @ 9:52pm 
this seems... over the top.

Using old tank controls isnt nostalgia bait, it works for a reason, the clunkiness makes it harder to get too good at combat and keeps threats constant and real. if anything, this review just inspired me to buy/try the game.
DeadeGuard98 11 Jun, 2023 @ 4:52pm 
@janner66 Y-yes, that has been my intent from the start... YES.

*coughs*

And thank YOU for stopping by~:UDG_Heart::campsunshine::AOTS_Teacup:
janner66 11 Jun, 2023 @ 6:59am 
It's nice to read a genuine conversation between reviewer and developer that is frank but polite and courteous. Well done to both of you for being so honest but keeping your temper. :squirtheh: