[h1]Overview:[/h1]
'[i]Marrakech[/i]' is a first person shooter that joins the large group of first person shooters that do the bare minimum they can to call themselves a "first person shooter". When first diving into the game, any sane person would be under the impression that the game is well, not very good. I too fell into that latter but to what extent the terribleness was another story in itself. The plot based on the description in the store page revolves around a hospital by the name of "Marrakech" (hence the games name) that became overtaken by evil. The source being what is presumably a doctor who was supposedly raised by demons and born for the sole purpose of being a nuisance to the world. What a story huh?
So what do you do in this situation? Why send in a man named "Jack" to rid the doctor and the evil that plagues the hospital as he's apparently the [b]only[/b] person in the world capable of doing it of course! Why he's the only one able to do it is beyond me because it doesn't seem like he achieves this goal and I'll get to that in a bit. Not only is the plot thought out terribly but nowhere in the game does it even tell the player about the story. The player is just thrown into an opening cutscene of someone driving a car while indistinct chatter can be heard over a radio followed by the driver crashing into what looks like a humanoid monster. The video on the store page doesn't tell potential players anything either and is possibly one of if not the [i][b]worst[/b][/i] trailer for a game of this low quality I've ever seen and [b]that[/b] is saying a [i]lot[/i]. How could you even pass off a video that can't even last 3 seconds without suddenly blacking out as something feasibly usable?
It follows the extremely cliche and stereotypical "unknown evil with no backstory that can only be defeated by one select individual or in this case: "[i]The Chosen One[/i]" following no other continuity whatsoever." I know it can be hard to come up with an original idea but damn, do we [i]really[/i] need another one of these?
[h1]Gameplay:[/h1]
Not intuitive at all and it played exactly how I expected it to the moment I saw that famous (or in this case infamous) [i]Unity[/i] logo pop up on screen. Whether or not the game itself is an asset flip is a mystery to me but I wouldn't be surprised if it were so. There are two weapons to my knowledge that you're able to use which is the AK74M and what looks like a classic pump shotgun. Apparently there's a pistol as well but I haven't been able to find it and don't really care to considering the time it took to beat the game. That's right, it took me about 10 minutes to run through the entire game and even then, it ended abruptly leaving no clear conclusion to the games objective being accomplished.
Essentially, you clear out the hospital floor by floor killing the same type of enemy which is a nude greyish blue human looking monster with the only difference being in size. They can be 7 feet tall, 2 feet short and other sizes in between. That's this games idea of "variety" and to use that word is beyond generous. Their hitboxes are inconsistent and considering how much ammunition the game gives you at the start of the game, you're better off spraying them down rather than trying to land accurate shots to conserve ammo. And I've tried, a hitbox for the head is nonexistent, so no skill is required here ladies and gentlemen.
On top of that I've found real people (at least they look like real people) lying on beds in various rooms appearing to be strapped or constricted although no constraints were found on them. Genuinely curious, I walked over them and they simply vanished as if never existing to begin with. Whether or not grabbing them is required to move to the next floor, I don't have the patience or will to find out myself. The entire game is just an unfinished mess that doesn't even follow it's own plot properly. Wasn't the goal to kill the doctor and purge the hospital of its evil? Why does the game just consist of the player running around killing a handful of android looking humanoids and saving hostages who are in less danger than a baby in a crib?
The ending also comes out of nowhere. After killing a small wave of enemies, I entered an elevator across from the one I just emerged from and was greeted with a blackscreen followed by a pathetic credit scroll. There was no doctor to be seen anywhere despite him/her being the main antagonist of the game and basically the one and only goal for Jack to kill. The game is unfinished and leaves the player on a cliffhanger, intentional or not and honestly, I don't see the developer doing anything else to the game despite it being relatively new.
[h1]Controls:[/h1]
As these games usually go, you have controls that feel sloppy, unpolished and awkward to use even though there aren't many of them. Aiming and moving like many other games of similar quality have an odd glide and flow to it making the entire game feel uncomfortable to play. Although the controls [i]do[/i] work, they don't work well and play like almost every other crappy first person shooter out there that uses the [i]Unity[/i] engine.
[h1]Graphics:[/h1]
Just as bland as the enemies you fight. The screenshots on the store page scream "Asset Flip" as it consists of an empty hospital with occasional furniture scattered around. Combine that with a lack of consideration to lighting and you have yourself a visual masterpiece that only someone ingesting laxatives could produce.
[h1]Audio:[/h1]
Annoyingly obnoxious and horrendous to a unique level. Throughout the entire game your ears are assaulted with rock/metal music that just won't stop for the light of day until you reach the first floor, to which it'll just repeat itself. Sound effects are basic and ripped straight outta an asset pack (that I'm certain of) and confirm that no effort was put in whatsoever for the audio. The only praise I can even consider giving the game is the audio during the opening cutscene. Although it was done terribly, at least it was something different.
[h1]Conclusion/TL;DR:[/h1]
'[i]Marrakech[/i]' is a terrible first person shooter that doesn't even follow its own plot and is very possibly an asset flip. Spend about 10 minutes fighting the same boring enemy throughout 3 floors of a hospital to which the game will then conclude leaving the player either mystified as to why the game suddenly ended or filled with joy that they can finally stop playing this mess of a game. Even as a gag, you're better off playing something else.
