Claustrophobia: The Downward Struggle

At the time of this writing it's been nearly ten months since the developer updated this game. It looks to be abandoned at this point in time. That said, I certainly don't think that this is a bad game. It is an uncomplete game, yes, but what's there is solid and fun to play. However, being solid and fun to play does not save this game. There is nowhere near enough content to the game to keep long-term interest from someone looking for a meaty rogue-like to whet their appetite. Sadly, as mentioned previously, the developer seems to have lost his interest in updating the game in any way. That being the case, I cannot recommend purchasing this title even at the five dollar asking price.

I'd like to start off by saying, even though I am giving this a negative review, it is known to the community that the Dev was the only person working on this aside from one other person who was added later. Also that the Dev was in College/University and this was a "Free-time" Project. Now that I have that out of the way, I would love to sit here and tell you how great a game this is. really, I would.... But, Alas, I can not do that. Although I do think the overall game play is enjoyable, there is far too little content to leave one satisfied. The last time this game was updated was Early in 2015 just after the new year, Although it did provide a new level to the dungeon after the first Boss was defeated (Making for 2 Dungeons essentially), sprite upgrades and a few visual fixes, as well as an audio upgrade (Which had to be hot-fixed). The communication attempts towards the Dev on Forums (Even his own website) go unchecked and unanswered. I honestly had a good feeling about this game as I LOVED Desktop Dungeons (Which plays very similar), but it DOES seem like the Dev has just dropped this game, as sad as it is for me to say it. As far as purchasing this game goes, Part of me says buy it for the roughly $5 its at and try to have fun anyway (Like I now do), or play it safe and don't give a cent to a Dev that dropped a game like so many before him have.

I actually liked this game but can't recommend it because the developer has abandoned it. It will be stuck in early access forever now..

Claustrophobia is, as of this writing, a very barebones roguelike covering only the base mechanics characterizing the genre. It does little else to make it stand out from its competitors. In fact, every element in the game up to the design of the monsters is very textbook. As a result, the gameplay is fairly simplistic and not very interesting. The UI offers some minor quality of life improvements, such as the ability to click on locations of the map to auto-walk there, and providing range indicators of abilities. However, overall the UI and controls are bog standard for roguelikes with minimal interaction. Claustrophobia so far lacks in difficulty due to lackluster dungeon design. Traps are pointless, as even classes unsuited for trapfinding have no issue with them. Funnel tactics are easy to employ with the way the dungeons are layed out (with only one enemy type that has a ranged attack to foul this tactic). Monsters do not roam, providing many safe areas for you to recover health. There is automatic health recovery every turn as long as you are not starving, but with the availability of food and safe areas means you will always engage encounters with full health. Gold is too common (especially since you can sell undesired gear), giving you plenty resources to always buy the best equipment from any shop you encounter. Character progression is equally dull. Leveling up provides you with 2 points to enhance your attributes, but with the gear enhancements being so much higher it's easy to ignore them. Every odd level you also get 2 points to spend on advancing in a skill tree, but the skill/ability system is far too convoluted. An ability must first be activated using a skillbook, which can only be read if you have sufficient points in a skill (e.g., defense, assassination, etc.). Reading the book is not enough to learn the skill, as you then have to spent points into the ability before you can use it. This system is in desperate need of a rework, as you need require 3 different things before you can even use an ability, while abilities should be fairly important in diversifying combat. As it currently stands the game is not worth buying or playing, as it needs a lot more development to stand up to its competition. It seems, however, that the developer has abandoned the project. This game is [b]not recommended[/b] for anyone who values their time and money.

As most people have said the game is entirely abandoned at this point. It's unfinished in it';s current form and we won't be getting a conclusion for our money. If the game WAS to be finished it would certainly get a positive review from me as it does what it sets out to do, but only if you consider what it would have had if it was finished. Good game, but not complete and not worth paying any money for right now. If I couuld get a refund I would. UPDATED: The game still has no updates. I've notice 0 people find this helpful, but I'm not sure what could be more helpful than informing potential buyers that the game is unfinished and the developer has gone silent. There is never an excuse for silence from a game developer relying on Early Access sales to finish their game. If the developer is creating alt accounts to downvote negative reviews, or using friends to do so, then it really is a sad state of affairs. 2 years on with no update and no intent from the developer. I think that speaks for itself.

- - - Edit: It's clear this project was left unfinished so I recommend you don't purchase this game until it is completed. My old review is below: - - - I like this game. Claustrophobia has options; lots and lots of options! Different classes, armor and weapons, shops, and spells for every class, not just the mages. Now add unknown scrolls and potions, traps, teleporters, and dealing with hunger, Then add the management of character stat points for each level as well as dealing with your choice of specialties and you quickly realize Claustrophobia is a different game every time you play. Another thing I enjoy about this game is it's fair. The best way I can explain it is every time I have died, it is because I made a mistake and I know it. Thismay not be a good thing if you're a roguelike veteran who makes very few mistakes. Personally, I prefer strategy over luck-based gameplay and Claustrophobia does a good job of making the game tough, but fair. I'm going to confess that I'm not a fan of roguelikes but I am having a blast with this game. It feels like a good dungeon delving RPG with tough objectives. I die a lot, but I get a little better every time I play. I look forward to seeing how Claustrophobia develops further; it's quite playable already.

5+ years ago the guy stopped working on the game and told nobody. now he's pretending the game is fully released and working. the main menu shows stuff that are not implemented "yet" and the game loves to crash or bug out. most classes don't have anything to offer past level 5-7. this game is a mess. the dev's a douche.

Not a bad roguelike, but it's abandoned so RIP.

[b]Claustrophobia: The struggle to finish this game.[/b] Update-- Back when I wrote this review, that was how I felt about the game. It seems the developer shares the same sentiment as the game is now officially abandonware. Yup, this game will be early access and unfinished [i]forever[/i]. Hooo boy, I regret buying this game! I like Rogue like games. Every encounter is tense, you never know when or where more supplies are going to turn up from, you are kept on your toes and if you get overconfident, you die. It really is a thrill and many of us would agree that you feel crushed when you die in a Rogue-like game, but from the ashes you rise again! Hell, even games that aren't rogue-like in nature may feature an ironman mode or a hardcore mode such is the legacy of the rogue-like. Enter this game. [i][b]Rouge-likes are supposed to be hard![/b][/i] For me, I've played a lot of rogue-likes or games with perma-death and without a doubt the one recurring theme is that you take the safest build possible. This obsoletes most of the other things in the game. Build health, build just enough damage to kill things respectabley and not an iota more. Build defensive stats and evasion. Horde food. Playing through this game was just me going through the motions. It didn't bring anything new or "challenging but fair" it was just another rogue game, designed like it was painting by numbers. But wait! You can customize your own class! That's what the promotional blurb said anyway. I won't critique the interface for not being clear on this aspect, that is subjective. However how can I customize my class when there are no classes to customize with! We have warrior, shieldbearer, ranger, thief and hex-caster/warlock. With the exception of pairing up Warrior and Shieldbearer, [b]none of those other classes work well, combined![/b] An argument can at least be made for ranger/thief since thief gets stealth but what on earth are you going to combine warlock with? Doesn't matter anyway because here is the golden rule. [b]Stun rules[/b]. Rules every game that it is in and this is no exception. Shieldbearer and Warlock get stun, you may combine the two classes if you want but regardless you will want shieldbearer since he has the longest stun, no matter how you build your class, get that stun or you are going to get annihilated. [i][b]This game is a struggle to keep playing[/b][/i] Ultimately the game is not good. It is drowned out by a sea of games that do what this is trying to do but better, much better. The music is good, the art direction is very good, but the game is just paint by numbers. Traps you can't see? Check. There is a perk for that by the way and it is the ONLY perk worth your while. Hunger? Check. An outdated relic but hey, Rogue did it so we'll be damned if we don't! Monsters that outscale you horribly? Oh yes, got to have that, so playing Melee is a huge waste of your time. I could go on but you get the idea and really the only question worth a damn is; is it good? To which my answer is no, it is too tedious and too boring because that is the only playstyle that will keep you alive. Stun, hit a few times, run away. If Ranger, place a trap, run away. If thief, you are already dead. If Warlock, cast poison, run away.

Abandonware. Avoid purchase.