Dark Skies 2: Keepers of Nemansk

Dark Skies 2 : Keepers of Nemansk is not quite as good as the first game. At least not so far. This review is for the alpha version and assumes that certain things will be improved or replaced in some parts. I didn't know that this was an alpha when I was playing it though which caused some confusion. This might seem overly negative. I just try to voice my complaints as accurately as I can to give feedback to the development of this game and I hope it can be perceived as such. :) The first game does a pretty good job at setting up the game and introducing the setting in the first couple of levels. You are introduced to the general tone, which is of course largely inspired by GSC's Stalker series as this is a fan game, you'll run into your first fire fights and then get some simple exploration themed puzzle at an outpost. From there on the game slowly introduces mutants and other paranormal elements. Now Dark Skies 1 is a Game Guru fan game for Stalker and therefore not a perfect game but it knew what it wanted and did it with passion and skill to the extend that its often cited as the best game guru game out there. I can agree with that statement and am a fan of the other work by this dev as well. Dark Skies 2 is less clear with its intention and I think the introduction to the game, while initially pretty to look at, falls a bit flat. The new, more subdued pastel colored look and the evening atmosphere in the first few levels is really neat to look at, so are the new character models even if they seem a tad life less. However, all of this is relative, this game looks really good for its engine, a detail that most players will likely not pick up on. The player will however pick up on the comparatively lack luster game play in the first half of this alpha version. At this point the game frustrated me to no end. I was playing the earliest builds of the previous dark skies. I remember the first levels when the game still had very different weapon sets (so, many years ago) to be far more engaging, atmospheric and challenging than what this sequel has to offer early on. Even the mutants were actually unnerving in DS1's old night time swamp level... This game too, starts to slowly pick up on atmosphere and intrigue past the bandit camp but I can foresee the majority of players having given up by then for reasons I will go into later on. The good stuff: While I feel that a lot of this game does not quite have the passion the first one had, there is still a lot to like here. Later levels have the scale and autumnal atmosphere that is pretty tough to do in this engine at a decent frame rate which DS2 always maintains. It runs more stable than its predecessor. Loading times are short and the over all presentation is pretty solid. Radiation has been removed as a mechanic and I am not sure if this is a good thing but it makes collecting the various resources a lot breezier. The reduced UI makes the game seem a lot simpler, however, its also clearer where to go. The PDA has been removed but unfortunately also the compass (bringing the compass back and maybe a simple map image when pressing "m" with capital directions on it would make it easier to find the traders when gathering resources). The weapon models are genuinely very good and my personal favorite was the bunker level. Very stalker'esque and the game not only has higher quality models and media here than in the previous levels, it also has more interesting enemies. The previous level with the beached ship and the motor way overpasses was also extremely well done. In fact, I feel like this game jumps ahead in creativity and production quality once you are like 5 loading screens in. There are PDA's to find that can tell an interesting tidbit of information, like a shape shifting cave full of mutants (and a little jumping puzzle). This whole area was not only gorgeous to look at, despite being an indoor level in game guru but also quite eeriee and completely optional. The "softer" texture approach here and there can actually work and the game looks a bit as if the Nemansk zone has been there for a while and normalized a bit. Its an interesting evolution compared to the darker stye of DS1. Skyboxes are spot on, beautiful blue skies and detailed high resolution stars. Same with the ground textures. The best I have seen in game guru, but again, a cartoonish green slime texture that comes out of a sewer in the early part of the game looks a little silly. Character models are genuinely good, even though them just looping idle animations make them seem a little lifeless, especially in the beginning. Later on you'll have the odd guy talking to you, you see someone doing push ups. Characters seem to sit in life like, realistic places to chill. Again, the quality goes up as the game progresses. Its also interesting that the game has these compounds in caves! If development on this title continues, I would love to see a bit more done with this. Maybe returning to such a place and see it in different light with different characters in it. It felt very "metro"...which is good! I also like to see that the game introduces characters that seem to have more to do with the story line. I feel that there is a bit more that could be done here, animations, cine guru etc. but what is here so far ain't bad. You can find a lot of work in details like the radio announcer talking about the keepers and other tidbits of Nemansk which adds to the flair and charm of the game. This too can be missed entirely but I am glad I stuck around and listened. Dima, the protagonist, also has a very different personality than Visinov. I found that to be a cool choice. The story itself, what it tries to do, has a lot of potential. I just see what we have so far as a very rough draft. The bad stuff: The first bits of gameplay are very unfocused and seem almost as if they are improvised on the spot. There is no initial set piece or real intro. You will walk along a path, get a bit of narrative and then you're eventually asked to gather camomille plants for a bunch of scientists and trade them for weapons. This is presented as optional and you might get the impression that it can be ignored entirely but the game does expect you to have a lot of ammunition in the following levels so its recommended that you should indeed roam the largely empty map for those plants. Not 12 or 20 or so that are somewhat hidden with enemy spawns or bandits across the map. But a good 100 or more that are plentiful. You get 1 point for a plant of camomille and another 5 points for shooting a wild dog. Generally speaking, I appreciate the attempt to give the player some kind of "looting" mechanic to roam the levels a bit more but its unfortunate that the first time the player interacts with this mechanic, the level it takes place in is rather dull and there is very little here compared to later levels where this feels far more appropriate. In conclusion: This could be a great game, it could be better than DS1 even if it remembers to be a first person shooter a bit more often. After all, it has all this gun but almost nothing fun to shoot. DS1 introduced its world with some combat, had you collect fuel cans, search for corpses, be escorted by other companions, have hallucinations,detonate a convoy, fly a helicopter and nuke a meteoroid. Dark skies has some genuinely beautiful levels and strong ideas but I feel that what I am doing is mostly walking around and shooting the occasional "whack-a-mole" type enemies. There is potential for a whole lot more though. :) Recommended for fans of hobbyist games, all things S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and other developers who would like to give feedback.