Better Than Dead

Does a lot of things really well but also need to be refined quite a bit. Currently its got too many problems like enemies seeing you and shooting you through walls, your shots being blocked by invisible walls. Guy hiding behind door clipping through door but killing me through the door. a lot of frustrating problems. I'll leave my review positive but in its current state i've gotta say its a long ways from feeling finished. On one hand if it gets properly updated its gonna be amazing. On the other hand its just not that enjoyable for me to play in its current state. The overall atmosphere is awesome. Level/mission design and UI leaves room for improvement. Refunded for now I'll come back if it gets finished.

Nah , its not worth the price... - Maps are 1-3 min long. - Enemies are dumb . - Shooting feels rng . - Game runs poopoo even on my 5080. Bring it back to the oven and cook it.

I cannot recommend this game with its price and current state, You cant have a ready or not style game where you have to avoid hitting civs, WHILE having a character that cant aim, its one or the other. Also, maps with big opening do not match this playstyle because of the previously mentioned problem of not being able to actually aim. And there's a bunch of other things like Downed enemies getting up super fast, enemies not being affected when shot, enemies being able to wall bang. However the Setting, music, and story are all great. My least favorite map (That cargo container one) has my favorite soundtrack in the game to a point where I'm hoping its on Spotify.

Optimization is terrible

[b]Short version[/b] + Visuals + Menu/options + Idea + Vibe - Lack of tight controls to support the intended gameplay - Weird design decisions It delivers what it promises, but it is highly frustrating for most of the time. [b]Long version[/b] The visuals are great, the bodycam feel and the Hong Kong aesthetics are spot on. The character models are a bit goofy at times, but for the most part it's all great. There was one single instance where a character I was supposed to save was so far in the dark shadows that I looped around the level three times before finding them, but otherwise most of the levels feel fairly organic to navigate. One specific level is so dark that you pretty much just have to follow the muzzle flashes. Thankfully it's not very long. There are a lot of options to tweak so that's nice as well. The default FOV made me barf, but they generously allow you to push it way up. The idea of a vulnerable character that needs the violence of action in order to take down their enemies is totally fine. There is clearly a wrong and a right way to play this game. Slow and careful gets you killed. Fast and violent brings success. Now here's where the problems come in for me. Even if playing very aggressively, there are seemingly random elements that kill your runs. I'll try and list them in order of severity and explain. For context whenever the character runs and slides, they enter a bullet time, during which your aim improves drastically and you are near invulnerable, this is the key they want you to use to succeed. [list] [*]Aim without bullet time is awful, this is okay for the most part, but can end in magdumping someone next to you and ending up with that Pulp Fiction scene. [*]Aim while sliding is greatly improved, but still not reliable, so there may be instances where you are suddenly sliding into two or three enemies and end up with two of them shrugging everything off and killing you. This can mostly be avoided by "picking your battles" and using the slide from enemy or a pair of them to the next. [*]Getting stuck behind level geometry. This kills your sprint, which kills your slide, which kills you. This should absolutely not be a thing. [*]The inconsistent enemy health. In addition to the unreliable aim, some enemies drop from one shot, some drop from five and then get back up and tank five more. Now don't get me wrong I am not opposed to some variety in the damage model, but if I magdump some dude twice and he gets up behind me and pops me in the head, I am slightly frustrated. This is not a very common issue, but there are usually one or two terminators per level. [*]Being "heavily wounded" brings you to a wounded state where you are unable to slide and your aim is even worse. While this can be mended by killing an enemy or waiting for like 5 seconds, a lot of the time it's just a "well it's over" status. Now I kind of see what they were trying to do with this as being a "second chance", but not letting you slide or shoot straight is the absolute antithesis to the intended flow of the game. The cycle should be (Kill) -> (Get hurt) -> (Kill) but ends up being (Kill) -> (Get hurt) -> (Die). [*]A lot of the time either the sprint and slide or even reload buttons don't respond. This is an awful thing to happen in a game where it's all about quick actions. I'm not sure if the sprinting ties back to the level geometry thing or some stance state stuff, but it's bad. Not triggering the reload also leaves you super vulnerable. [/list] While the aim and wounded stuff can be chalked up to "skill issue" (though it's not, exactly the same route for successful runs gave me the best score once I finally got it), the geometry and input registration things should 100% be polished for the game to go from frustrating to amazing. To top it all off there are also a few levels that love spawning enemies right behind you which is always "fun". I get that the developers are going for that "Hotline Miami" or "Superhot" style trial and error gameplay with short levels, but usually it just gets frustrating when you manage to fight through the unreliable controls and then get shot from a place you cleared not two seconds earlier. New Game+ could give you a machine pistol or a sub-machinegun to mess around with. Otherwise currently going back to some of the levels doesn't feel that fun. Got enough out of it currently in the two hours of gameplay that I'll probably give it another go when it's actually released. A very slight thumbs up. The idea and most of the execution is great. Just needs some rethinking and polishing.

The good: Excellent aesthetics. Great graphics. Pure Kane & Lynch 2: Days of Dogs. The bad: Horrid gameplay. Frustrating is the word I'm looking for. I can't get past the level and it's incredibly frustrating. I won't play anymore until they fix that aspect. I understand that's where the game's difficulty lies, but it seems worse than Dark Souls haha

It's 2008 and you're Liam Neesons daughter..... except no ones got a particular set of skills and no one is coming to save you. Better Than Dead sets the tone perfectly, yes the aiming is loose and difficult to tame yet it isn't a hindrance, the game tells you in plain english how it is intended to be approached and the less you fight that intention the more badass and unintentionally "john wick" you will feel. With a little over 2 hours to complete I must say this is a vindictive and addictive game. If you're looking for a realistic looking and feeling shooter with weight and intent this game hits all the right marks. most of my notes sound as if the handling is an issue but it's the opposite, for the setting and environment the handling/aiming works perfectly, but I would love to see more options, campains and ways to enjoy this game. to the devs; - I would love to see in the setting to atleast have the option for a tighter more precise handling/aiming option, even just for those who find the loose handling a turn off, I would hate to see people turn away from this game before getting hooked. - Carrying on in theis same vain, I think as the main missions progress the player should become more experianced with handling the weapon, the game revolves around the protaganist having no skill and that's why the aiming is loose however as the game progresses it would feel very rewarding to become more accurate atleast by the end missions. - The game does at the time of this review have a nice progression and final mission, and thankfully I find myself wanting more, I would love to see more of this even in the form of a different campain story, the gameplay and setting lends itself to so many possabilities if inseasd of an inexperianced person fighting their way to revenge, the player could be an exerianced police officer taking down the same sort of organisations that are already seen in the current campain. but hey I'm not a game dev so I'll just stick to playing the games., - This is an extremely fun game please keep adding and expanding on it.

LOVE IT CANT WAIT FOR MORE