5089: The Action RPG

This is the fourth game in the XX89 series by Phr00t starting with 3079. This is an improvement on 3079 and 3089 that does the series justice. It keeps some of the good things that were in 4089 but get's rid of most of the bad from that game. Comparing to 3079 this game has better graphics, better weapons, better controls, and is overall way more polished. It doesn't have the character that the first game had. The first game I have lots of nostalgia for which means it is higher up than this game on my list even if this game is a better game. Compared to the two the game developer came a long way with his skills and knowledge of game design. Comparing to 3089 this game is the more refined older brother of the two. The gameplay is very similar but there are more mechanics in this game that makes it a lot less rinse and repeat than 3089. It's a refreshing take between the two and I would recommend this one over 3089 and 3079 (even though I love 3079 more). I had a good time playing this game until the final bit. I was somehow able to select multiple endings which then gave me some weird prompts that didn't make sense and then I was locked out of being able to see what happened. I tied to back my save up before getting to this point but didn't do it correctly because the same file isn't inside the normal game files. If you want to play this game I would strongly suggest taking your time with the endings and back up your save before the ending under "C:\users\*your user*\5089" so you don't make the same mistake as me and have to try to figure out how to restart the game but not loose all of your progress (I was able to get my character's stats into a new save). I enjoyed this game quite and bit and most of the bugs I ran into has an easy solution. I love 3079 better than this game because that was the first game in the series and it has the nostalgia factor but this game is the best out of the series so far.

While this game has an interesting concept, I think its been executed poorly. Quests are boring and repetitive. They mostly involving a few rounds of going to a random location to fight some enemies, open a box, talk to an npc or even just stare at some guy for a whole minute. Sometimes there's extra requirements for not killing or being seen which mostly just do nothing or function as a random chance to fail the quest. The rewards for completing quests are some cash and skill points which are vital for progression, though you get very little per completion resulting in alot of tedious grinding. Weapons are unsatisfying to use and lack variety, making combat a bore. Most types function almost identically, and the variety of weapons within each type forms a scale between near awful and kinda good, heavily weighted toward awful. Progressing up said scale involves sifting through random parts from loot and shops in the hopes they have better stats. There's seemingly no way to reliable get better parts aside from elite enemies which may rarely spawn out in the open, or function as a final fight for slogging through also rare enemy HQ buildings, and even then it still might randomly generate with bad stats bad stats. Once you do get a decent weapon it becomes useless fairly quickly when you move to a higher level area and you're back to scrounging. Game progression boils down to capturing enemy base tiles while doing repetitive quests and combat in a number go up system with nothing really changing as you move forward. The only exception being the main story which you progress through by defeating boss enemies which spawn at progressively higher levels, which are just giant versions or the basic goons that spawn everywhere. I haven't found the story to be very interesting and isn't even necessary for progression, it just makes a few new enemy types spawn that function similarly to most others. Overall the game leans on procedural generation in an infinite world in the absence of engaging core gameplay, leading to an experience that is interesting for a while but ends up feeling more like a slog the more you really get into it.

Yeah.... there are much better RPGs, certainly ones with better sound. I actually tried this because of the 'great soundtrack' tag, and whoever added that was really, really wrong. Also, you can play this with your flat screen friends, but none of them will want to because there are MUCH better RPGs, ones that have won awards, that have stood the test of time that they just haven't gotten to yet. Why would you play this game? As a VR player, there are way better RPGs that also have a reasonable narrative, so I advise using your limited life-span on one of those. Also, those award winning games your friends havent gotten to are actually cheaper, with more diverse content. Sure 5089 is procedurally generated, but it all looks the same so it totally doesnt matter at all. It wasnt boring per se, just totally pointless as an experience, a product, and a purchase. Doesnt benefit from, nor showcase VR. At any price, its a waste. Play something else.

one of the better ones, but yea, don't expect a lot.

I really like this game, this is pretty cool. There's a lot of procedural aspects which *can* help with repetetiveness, though I do see this getting old fast because all the quests are basically "go give this object to this person, then go spy on this person for 1 minute, then go kill this guy". I think having different objectives like bringing different objectives into or out of an enemy base would be cool, but i doubt this game is going to get big updates ever again because a sequel exists. Combining weapons and armor is also really cool, though they're basically just stat upgrades; having actual effects like making bullets flammable or something (ala the binding of isaac or some other roguelike) would be nice. I also really like the graphics, i think they look old school and otherworldly, reminds me a lot of jet island (I will also probably not buy 8089 because that game looks really ugly in comparison. unless it fixes a lot of the content issues with this game). other than these flaws, i do really enjoy a lot of the things about this game and all the neat little bits it has going on.

5089 is a worthy offering. If you enjoy the game play loop associated with looter shooters (think Borderlands) and you don't mind the primitive looking graphics (think Virtua Fighter), go ahead and scoop this one up. While it can be hard to get into at first, once you've run some quests, skilled up, and found a weapon that suits your play style it becomes a lot of fun. Your character is highly customizable. Just keep dumping skill points where you want to improve and while you're earning more of those, combine parts for weapons and equipment as you find them. When you don't feel like you're improving, push out to a harder area. The world is procedurally generated and functionally endless so you can keep doing this for as look as you want. There are some weak points that you may not enjoy, of course. The 3-D graphics are low poly and straight out of the early 90's. There's a tiny bit of a story in there but it isn't much and is finished quickly. If you're looking for cutting edge visuals and masterful storytelling, this isn't the game you're looking for. If you're into solid game play, telling your own emergent story, and finding your own fun (do you have an imagination?), then this game is definitely worth it.

The base-capturing system is a nice addition and gives you something concrete to work toward, but the grind drags everything down. Progress feels slow, and getting wiped over and over when you’re still not sure which stats or gear you should be focusing on gets old fast. There’s a decent idea underneath it, but the pacing and constant setbacks make it hard to stay invested.

Unless you've ever played any of phr00t's other games you probably haven't played anything like this. It's eight bucks for a really unique and fun game, well worth the price and if you find it one sale it's practically a steal.

good

retro, point scaled Action RPG, gold!