Ctrl Alt Ego

Very impressive and ambitious game that feels half puzzler, half immersive sim, but comes with some flaws. The puzzle-like sections revolve around bypassing turrets and patrolling robots in a way that reminded me of Portal, crossed with immersive sim elements that felt a bit like System Shock 2 in how you approach some of the levels and the tools/abilities you have access to. I definitely found it very good value for its price and was surprised at how much content it has. I didn't encounter any bugs and the whole thing took me about 24 hours to complete, but I did play on the hardest difficulty (there is a good range of difficulty options) which was a significant challenge and resulted in me having to quickload A LOT. A standard playthrough is probably around 15-18 hours if you explore most of it. I did feel it was a few hours too long and slightly outstayed its welcome, which is a particular shame given the second half of the game is where it really shines. The story and worldbuilding is good for a small indie title and touches on some interesting themes, while the gameplay is innovative and delivers enough immersive sim elements to be worthwhile for fans of the genre. I enjoyed the tone of the game a lot in how it has a serious and thematically resonant story, while sprinkling in a lot of witty humour that didn't feel obnoxious. Really reminded me of listening to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio series as a kid (the voice acting is good and remarkably similar to some of those HGTTG voices). The gameplay gives you a lot of ways you can approach each level, but mainly comes down to choosing between a more destructive approach (the combat elements are probably the weakest feature of the game by far and feel janky/unreliable), stealth, hacking, and manipulating objects like crates and explosive traps. The hacking is good, but I felt it was a bit awkward to execute when trying to transfer between multiple robots/cameras etc quickly to pull of a complicated sequence of actions. I also felt this was good as a core mechanic and quick to understand, but didn't really evolve throughout the game. I did find the visual design a little basic and while the enemies and robots you interact with have charm, there is a lack of variety which really does make the game feel very repetitive by the end. Also didn't find it overly atmospheric as a result, which was a little disappointing, though some of the electronic soundtrack is pretty good. I also found some of the objectives a bit tedious and like fetch quests — there are a couple of moments when you are told to collect several items from around a level to progress (you may have been able to bypass the worst of these, but I didn't work out how to do so). Overall, a very impressive game for largely a one-person dev team and I am very interested to play the follow-up that's being worked on. Does require some patience though due to its slow pace and I do feel the structure of the game works against it, which I will cover below as a potential spoiler. ***MINOR GAMEPLAY SPOILERS*** As mentioned, the game only properly opens up into a true immersive sim in the second half (chapters 7 and 8) with expansive levels that can be approached as you choose. I was slightly confused as to why the game was talked about as an imm sim before this point given the first half is quite linear and corridor-based without offering many alternative routes to your objective. I do feel a lot of people might get bored in the first half and not make it to the open levels later in the game, which would be a shame. I genuinely feel you could cut about 50% of those first six chapters and the pacing would feel better. By the final chapter I was really ready for the game to wrap up and found myself trying to rush through to finish it.

Control Alt Ego often feels like the most immersive sim game I have ever played. The variety of solutions to levels and situations you are put into great. It really feels like a game in which you can solve anything with any build. The unqiue possession mechanic and way you interact witht the world can be a bit overwhelming, but once you get the hand of it. A world of options opens up to you, all you need is a bit of ingenuity. If you like immersive sims with genuine puzzle mechanics and a light hearted story, would recommend!

Great Immersive sim in the vein of System Shock and the Original Deus Ex, but if you like any of the genre I would definitely give it a try. Stick past the prologue, which I initially bounced off and you'll find an interesting and clever game just a little ways in with a just the right kind of thinking that let me play at any level and still have fun.

One of my new favorite games. I plan on coming back to edit this review with the detail it deserves later, but for now I want to get back to playing!

SUCH A FUN IMMERSIVE SIM

In the top-50 games of all time

Дякую за українську локалізацію, дуже гарна візуально і класна у гемплеї гра, рекомендую