Neptune Flux

[h1]THIS IS A MIXED REVIEW! TL;DR: SKIP TO CONCLUSION![/h1] [b][u]See written review below[/u][/b] or watch it here: https://youtu.be/fokYa5TenjI Neptune Flux is a first person underwater exploration adventure that is playable with or without using VR. I played using my desktop, so I can’t comment on the VR experience. The game is story driven. The world above the surface is dying, and humanity’s last hope for survival lies deep in ocean. While colonization is taking place, bizarre surges of energy disrupt the operations of the underwater project. You play as Sarah, and you are dispatched to investigate the cause. You start off at the A.Q.U.A. base, and you are assigned missions from command. As you venture out from the main base, you discover various wreckage sites that begin other missions. The story is fine, but there isn't a whole lot to it. Overall, the gameplay is similar to that of an underwater walking simulator with a strong focus on open exploration. Your dive pod has a battery that slowly drains as you use your sonar (pre-upgrade) or travel between the different locations. As you explore and complete missions, you start to put the pieces together, and learn the truth about what’s really going on. Completing missions, and salvaging treasure rewards you with currency to buy consumables, and upgrades for your dive pod. You can only carry a limited number of consumables at a time, and there are only two upgrades available. [h1]Pros:[/h1] [list][*]graphics are good, and exploring the sunken wreckage is interesting [*]voice acting is excellent, and the impressive (for as much as I enjoyed the strong narrative, it could have been made even better if dialog choices had been available to give the player a greater sense of control) [*]enjoyable soundtrack; it’s relaxing to listen to while you explore, and works really well with the ambience to create an immersive calming atmosphere[/list] [h1]Cons:[/h1] [list][*]extremely short for the price especially if you don't plan to use VR (less than 1.5 hours to complete while salvaging everything, and exploring very thoroughly. I went back and played it again, and you can rush through the game in less than 30 minutes, however, this type of game is best enjoyed by taking your time to enjoy the immersion) [*]most of the area is desolate, and the terrain between the points of interest mostly feels like more of the same, which was a bit boring to explore after a while (the game needs some interesting aquatic life, similar to what you would see in Bioshock or SOMA) [*]some of the sound effects (specifically the sonar, and the low battery) are very annoying and loud; the dive pod makes a high pitched whining sound while moving that also gets irritating (implementing a separate volume slider for only the sound effects would definitely be a great addition) [*](nitpick) travelling too far away from the base and wreckage sites drastically throttles the speed of your dive pod since you aren’t meant to go out that far [*](nitpick) by the end of the game you will have a ton of currency left over, but nothing to have been able to spend it on (more consumable carrying capacity, or some other upgrades to purchase would be nice)[/list] [h1]Conclusion:[/h1] I loved the narrative, and the atmosphere. I found the exploration was somewhat satisfying; investigating the wrecks, figuring out what to do, and completing missions was interesting, but I wanted to journey out further. Beyond the wreckage was just vast emptiness though, so I wish there had been more to see. I liked the game, but I find it hard to justify the price given the amount of content. I expect that Neptune Flux is best played using VR, and that’s probably why it costs more, but the price is simply too high for those planning to play without using VR. I would strongly suggest waiting for a very discounted sale price if you only intend to play using your desktop. If you like my reviews, please feel free to join my Steam group, and follow my curations [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/AzralynnReviews#curation]here.[/url] You can also view this review on my website [url=http://www.azralynn.com/review-neptune-flux-game/]here.[/url]

This game has a lot of potential. However, as it stands right now the price is excessively disproportionate to the amount of minutes, yes... minutes, worth of fun it contains (and I bought it with a 20% discount!). Yes, exploring underwater mysteries is immersive, especially with a VR device, but the experience doesn't last long. You might not give much credit to a review by someone who spent less than 2 hours in-game, yet this was all the time it took to finish the game, collect all achievements and repeat once more for good measure. My recommendation: wait until the game has fleshed out a bit more (fingers crossed) and *then* buy it at the next sale.

I really want to recommend this game, but as it stands, I can't. While the story is engaging, and the puzzles are fun to figure out, it took me a little over 100 minutes to finish the game. I'm not sure that's enough to qualify as a completed game, and it feels more like an intro to the world that has been created here. This is unfortunate, because I was really getting into the story, but when I reached the end, all I could say to myself was, "Is that it?" I thought that I had done something wrong instead of actually finishing the game. Beyond that, I really liked the undersea world, although I wish it could have had more sea creatures swimming along. Currently the underwater realm is a little devoid of sea creatures. The graphics were also pretty nice, and I really enjoyed exploring the different points of interest. I just wish there was more to this game than there currently is. If the game gets expanded with more story and more stuff to do, I'll revise this review.

Bought it an hour ago. Beat it. The story would be good if it were fleshed out some more. Fun for what it is but not worth the price. Save your money until its on sale or just don't bother.

Note: it's entirely possible that you might beat this game in under an hour. It's a short, story-driven exploration game. None of that is a real negative, but it might take some people a bit by surprise. In terms of general atmosphere, it feels like the sort of game that's typically longer than that, which might take some players by surprise. For a short game, there are a lot of good things to say! The atmosphere is unique and compelling. The story is interesting. As exploration games go, this one is unusually well-crafted: exploration is outright the entire game. I haven't personally tried this game on a VR set et, but I suspect it would only improve the experience. Go for it!

I played some parts in VR and the view was amazing! It was tempting to just move and look around a lot of times https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmNJE3Qf7yw

finished the game in 46 min, and it was alright. But they need to work on the story line more. 5 missions all easy to problem solve. not recommended at this time. maybe when they accually finish the game!

Please keep in mind that I played the game four days before launch, so the below may not reflect the final product. Neptune Flux puts you in the shoes of a young woman who, in my eyes, is caught between a rock and a hard place. You're living in an underwater world as the result of something nasty happening on the surface and while playing, I got the sense that something just wasn't right in my underwater safe haven. I enjoyed the narrative, but the back end needs work (no options menu anywhere to adjust the graphics, turn down the sound, or see what the keybinds are). You can see the first 15 minutes of the game or so in the video below. Without knowing what the price is, I'm giving it a thumbs up for the atmosphere and narrative alone. Hopefully the game will be polished a bit more at launch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl3o7-Aql80

Game is a bit too short (~60-90mins) - while I understood what was going on it was on the lower side of explaining stuff. Either more to explore or a stronger guidance through it would've helped a lot. Also I felt unnecessarily restrained by the battery power. This mechanic did not really add anything interesting to the game and just prolonged it for no good reason. However I enjoyed it for what it was, I just would've loved it more if there was more to it. Felt like it ended where it just could've started, because the potential is absolutely there for a much longer game. Underwater exploration, mystery, interesting setting, solid controls and voice acting.

Well, the to be honest, I am currently feeling a little bit betrayed. I think, this is not a finished game. The game game ends, when it should start, because the 2 hours of playing (sorry, that it took me so long) feel like the tutorial or intro into the real story. Call me old fashioned, but 14,99€ is wayyy too much for such a short game.