[quote][b][url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset_flip]Warning: Asset Flip![/url][/b]
3D PUZZLE - OutPost is a Digital Homicide style asset flip, or what Valve calls a "Fake Game". The "developer" paid for/pirated a few Unity asset store packs, dumped them all in a blender, and submitted it to Valve as if they're real game developers.[/quote]
Two notable criteria for what makes an asset flip instead of legitimate use of stock assets are whether those assets comprise the majority of the game, and whether the "developer" properly credited the people who created most of the assets in the game. This game fails both of those tests. The "developers" here didn't credit any of the artists and real, actual game developers who created the assets here, so this is plagiarism, as well as cash grab shovelware.
In this case, the asset flipper took a bunch of generic industrial assets from the Unity Asset Store and dumped them on a really first person hidden object game template, something this Russian asset flipper has done dozens of times now, endless shovelware pollution with fake reviews. Hede didn't test this one, however, it has missing objects, textures, and you just fall through the floor if you move around anyway. It's a broken asset flip... you couldn't even take this seriously if you wanted to. Which you shouldn't. It has no value or merit as a real game.
3D PUZZLE - OutPost is a <WHAT KIND OF GAME>
Hede/PUZZLE Games have shown a repeat pattern of unethically dumping other people's work onto Steam as a cheap, nasty cash grab, through this account or through closely linked/alt accounts. Here's some examples so you can see for yourself:
[list]
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1547500]Snowboard[/url]" = [url=https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/templates/systems/snowboard-game-starter-pack-template-186097]Snowboard Game Starter Pack[/url] developed by Denis Lapiner
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/3079410]3D PUZZLE - Sun Temple[/url]" = [url=https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/environments/sun-temple-115417]Sun Temple[/url] developed by Sandra T
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2703270]GTH 3033 - Grand Theft Hunter 3033[/url]" = [url=https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/environments/urban/polygon-apocalypse-low-poly-3d-art-by-synty-154193]POLYGON Apocalypse - Low Poly 3D Art[/url] developed by Synty Games
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/937780]♞ The Tactics of War ♞[/url]" = [url=https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/environments/fantasy/polygon-knights-low-poly-3d-art-by-synty-83694]Polygon Knights Low Poly 3D Art[/url] developed by Synty Studios
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2703230]3D PUZZLE - Hangar[/url]" = [url=https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/environments/industrial/fps-hangar-20040]FPS Hangar[/url] developed by Yunus Emre Yaman
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/1915910]Hidden Build Top-Down 3D[/url]" = [url=https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/environments/industrial/polygon-construction-low-poly-3d-art-by-synty-168036]Polygon Construction Low Poly 3D Art[/url] developed by Synty Studios
[*] "[url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2703240]Scream or Die - Virtual Circus[/url]" = [url=https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/3d/characters/creatures/cursed-toys-100431]Cursed Toys Pack[/url] developed by Serhat Yucekaya
[/list]
Taking this shovelware seriously as if it was a genuine attempt to make a game, it doesn't meet basic minimum requirements that most PC gamers expect as standard.
There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks. There's no way to ensure this is running at the native resolution of your display. There's no guarantee this game will look right on any PC as a result of this hamfisted design decision.
The controls can't be customised, which will be an annoyance for many, but it can also render the game unplayable for differently-abled gamers, left handed gamers or gamers using AZERTY or other international keyboard layouts.
These technical defects push this game below acceptable standards for any modern PC game.
3D PUZZLE - OutPost didn't appeal much to the people who own a copy of the game, either. It has achievements, and they show us a very clear picture that the game didn't really capture any interest from gamers. The most commonly and easily attained achievement is "Level4", finishing a level, trivial to get, but less than 20 percent of players bothered to get that far before uninstalling the game. Hardly a success story, even the people who own this game weren't interested in it.
The poor quality of this game is also reflected by how many people spent time with it. At the time of this review, SteamDB shows the all-time peak player number was only 2 players. This is a remarkably low number, and now, the only player activity occurs once or twice a month, presumably someone loading it up to see what it is then quickly uninstalling it. Considering there's over 120 million gamers on Steam and well over 100,000 games for gamers to choose from, the overwhelming lack of interest in this low quality game is to be expected.
[quote][b][url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2017/01/18/steam-takes-down-art-of-stealth-after-developer-posts-fake-reviews/?sh=750e13e12354]Warning: Review Manipulation![/url][/b]
This game features a number of fake positive reviews from accounts known to be in the business of review manipulation/paid reviews. They're all written in either Russian or broken English, appear at almost exactly the same time, very shortly after the game launched on Steam, all have a direct Steam purchase of the game, and the accounts are used consistently to write fake reviews for asset flips and other cash grabs/scams. The "Positive" review score on this game should be disregarded due to this blatant, unethical review manipulation. This is done to deceive and scam gamers into paying for a bad product.[/quote]
This kind of asset flipping isn't harmless. It makes it harder for gamers to find genuinely made games from ethical developers. It makes it harder for genuine indie developers, who put hard work into trying to make real games, to find an audience for their products. It gives indie developers a bad name.
So, should you buy this asset flip? Is this one of the best of the 100,000+ games on Steam?
3D PUZZLE - OutPost has the completely insane price of $200 USD, which is incredibly suspicious, higher than AAA pricing for an asset flip shovelware scam game. Why would the "developer" put such a high price tag on an asset flip with no true value as a game? There's no direct proof for this, but it's entirely possible this game is priced this way for money laundering or other criminal purposes. Higher prices allow more money to move with fewer transactions. Valve have previously banned developers for running money laundering scams. While there's no direct evidence in this case, it's highly suspicious and gamers should be wary. Given the defects and quality issues with the game, coupled with the unrealistic price, and the questionable ethical nature of the developer and/or their associates (as outlined above), this is impossible to recommend.
[quote][b][url=https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/marketing/profile]Profile Features Limited![/url][/b]
Valve have marked this game as "Profile Features Limited" at the time of this review. This is usually caused by poor sales figures and low community acceptance for the game (to date). Until this status changes, this game will not give you +1 to your Game Collector badge count, appear in profile achievements or any other Steam meta-accomplishments, nor can it be displayed in some profile showcases. If these factors are important to you, it may be worth holding off before buying this game.[/quote]
