Exophobia

Primary complaint: There are softlocks where you can get stuck. The dev has addressed a few of these, but they still exist and it is frustrating when you are running around trying to figure out what to do only to find out you are just permanently stuck. It appears the ziplines are a big cause of these issues. Assuming the softlocks get even further addressed, there are still some flaws with the navigation design. The idea that you have a time limit on viewing the map outside of a save point doesn't make much sense in a game so convoluted in its level design. Not enough information on the map either, as there are many obstacles that don't show up there. The massive amount of one-way doors and the odd ziplines make for some frustrating navigation when you are trying to explore.

Why is this game intentionally designed to be as frustrating as possible? It almost seems like the devs want people to give them negative reviews.

ゲームのジャンルとしてはDOOM系FPS。 古き良き文化を踏襲しつつ、疑似3Dドット絵による独特な描画、表現方法に心を奪われること間違いなしでしょう。 というか、ドット絵ならではの想像が掻き立てられる怖さっていうと…分かります…？

It might be a great game but the fact that it has a 60fps cap makes me not want to continue playing it.

Exophobia is a retro inspired space FPS with metroidvania mechanics. Probably one of a kind game by a solo developer. You need to get used to maps, and I wish there was a zoom and marker buttons for it, since you have to backtrack a lot, but otherwise, really enjoyed it and recommend it.

I can't recommend this. Seemed very cool at first, like an interesting mix of Super Metroid and Blake Stone. But the level design gets more and more complicated as you go on, and the in-game is completely inadequate. I play a LOT of games like this but I absolutely cannot keep track of this game. I finally gave up in the third area. This game needs a better map or it's dead.

In space, nobody can hear you scream. In Exophobia, however, everyone can hear you get annoyed at the map system. Exophobia is so unashamedly retro that even the most 1995 feeling boomershooter would raise an eyebrow at how old and clunky it feels. Here is something that initially seems like an 8 colour tribute to Blake Stone before evolving into something far more convoluted and complex, being less a basic shooter and more a form of first person Metroidvania that encompass all the Game Boy eras into one title. The initial premise of a single weapon game based on only one level quickly evaporates as you gain more interesting powers and discover you have to constantly change floors in a giant, maze-like spaceship. It is an intriguing and entertaining romp, but absolutely not for peoples who get frustrated at being lost. First things first: As said above, Exophobia is not a standard boomshoot. Not only does it limit the combat to a single weapon, it also treats combat as a side element beside its exploration, as well as having a lot of technical limitations that prevent it from being a boomershooter’s best friend (will cover later). As it is, when you first start, you are hit with not only a very basic movement set (you can’t even look up or down) but also a very ugly colour palate. While this may seem off-putting at first, this aesthetic seems to be reaching for a very advanced version of what the Game Boy Color was capable of, if it was capable of raycasting that is. It takes a tone of turquoise and a dull red and adds various shades to that, mixing it up mostly with different collectable colour sets that can make it look like anything from an Atari 2600 to a few very ZX Spectrum tones. This simple aesthetic and character move set / weapon set slowly gives way to what lays beneath. It is very clear, with the various conspicuous vents and doorways that there are side routes to be explored, and the main route you are taking is very cautiously leading you from place to place, providing unspoken tutorials on how to both defeat certain enemies as well as teach you about how to interact with the environment. It goes from you having a basic popgun, shooting enemies also with popguns, to you gaining charged shots, AOE electrical stuns, Explosive shots and even a teleporting function on your gun. The enemies also eventually upgrade to variations on charging foes, enemies with shields who need precise timing to take down as well as grenade lobbing maniacs who can be used to target its own allies. The game makes fantastic use of not only the weapons, but also the combatants in numerous arenas around the game to test your mettle. The gun is possibly one of the most sublime things here, where you never have to faff about with inventory and simply need to consider various button combos to activate any ability at any time. All fantastic stuff! The real depth however comes with Exophobia’s map. While it seems to run on a system that has raycasting logic, with no height at all, the game takes place over four absolutely enormous floors. The side routes and vents you saw earlier? As soon as you get the charged shot you can blow these up and progress further. Fences and impassible voids? The teleporter can help you traverse these areas. This expands with a few areas that change the layout of the levels. On the second floor, a good chunk of the game has you locked out because of a lock-down caused by flooding. Eventually you land in the flooded area and shut off the water causing the issues, meaning the majority of the second floor becomes accessible. When all these elements reveal themselves, Exophobia really comes together and shines. That is not to say these elements are without flaws. Exophobia is very old school, and while the general design corals the player towards the next objective, it is not explicit about the objective, and if the player wanders off they can quickly become lost and confused. If in the mid game you decide to go off down a side route to get some collectables, then if you don’t remember where you were going then it can be very hard to get back on track as neither does the map have objectives, but the game itself gives none. You just defeated a boss, what now? Who knows, wander about until you find something. This lack of feedback is likely the strongest criticism I can give Exophobia. Granted, for some this may add to the sense of enjoyment they get as they used to do that an awful lot back on their old handhelds from the 90s, but for those with a poor sense of direction, or for those who need a goal to work towards, Exophobia will likely last 20 minutes before you get frustrated by the games apparent lack of direction. One other thing that Exophobia does poorly relates to its technical flaws. While there are no major issues with performance, and the only visual bugs I came across related to elevator rooms where I could either see through the walls or sometimes have my vision obscured by objects, there is a major issue for folks with high refresh monitors. The game is hard capped at 60fps, which means if you have a higher refresh monitor it is going to feel very choppy. Similarly the mouse inputs feel… off. Something feels fundamentally wrong with the mouse movement as well, which makes for a lovely combination for M&KB users where the whole game feels fundamentally wrong. I luckily played the majority of the game on a controller, and in that situation things are not so bad. The end stretch I used M&KB as it was damn hard, so I ended up using frame generation as a compensation. Sure, it smooths things out, but it is a band-aid for a much larger problem. Despite some technicalities, Exophobia is a very interesting title. If you have the patience of a kid in 1995 who is happy to search for things off their own back, then Exophobia is likely going to be one of the more fascinating first person retro Metroidvanias out there. Just bear in mind this is a very niche game for a very niche audience. If you are curious, give it a shot! It’ll likely be worth it. Just, be patient please!

Pretty solid game. I like the art style a lot. It has a lot of cool abilities for progression as well. My only complaint is that I found it extremely difficult to know where to go at time. Other than that, great game!