Paracom

Played a fair bit so far, im enjoying it but i do have some criticism which are really holding me back from giving it a thumbs up. The theme and the story are nice, good to see the weird genre represented in a rpg with a modern setting, but there are a lot of typos and spelling mistakes all throughout. The way to use items is also kinda counterintuitive. The defib lets me revive a downed teammate, but no matter how much i click on them, it doesnt work. I have the battery, it should work. Turns out i have to click on someone whos alive to use it and it revives the squad. Just kinda backwards logic. The combat is pretty simple, but there needs to be a better explanation of things. What does Dislocation do? Why does the single shot do 0 damage, even on the class where its supposed to be his specialty? Why does the attack that costs 50 bullets and hits all enemies do 0 damage? Is it armor, the a miss, or something else? And the enemy encounters are rough. Playing on realistic which is the intended difficulty, i do not understand how the fights go. Theres an optional boss pretty early in the library. I wanted to kill it to see if it dropped a key or something special. It took well over a dozen attempts, which is fine, i went in without 2 grenades which wouldve made it a lot easier, but not a single time could i tell you what the turn order would be. It always seemed random with the enemy, and i could only guess when my guys would go in the turn besides Rook, who usually went first. Usually. The most unforgiveable thing though is after killing it, it didnt drop anything just a lot of EXP, which is fine, but the boss didnt die in the overworld and immediately charged me starting the fight over again. Retreating isnt explained either, i guess its a 50/50 if you can or cant, but even if you can you can run right back into the enemy on accident and start the fight over again. And God help you if you try to fight it, because those 3 runners in the overworld are actually 5 runners, a corrupted, and a Shambler. But if you fight the Shambler in the same location, its 2 Shamblers instead. Whered the other one come from or go Cotton Eyed Joe. The puzzles are alright, i especially like that if you solve a puzzle without knowing the solution through the ingame world that your team gets suspicious of you. Brute forced a puzzle and my team started mistrusting me. Game says that your squad can help you with them, but i didnt see that happen often. Aggroing enemies also leads to them running after you until the end of time. Leaving the zone and coming back SOMETIMES resets them, which is mentioned in the tutorial, but not always, and my current save is waiting for a Shambler to move out of a 1 person bottleneck so i can investigate some pyramids. Theres lots of secrets too, like the save area im in has a secret boss i found on accident. But im running so low on supplies im tempted just to restart the mission on an easier difficulty. Im enjoying the game and the vibes but a lot of this is just frustrating and could be easily fixed i feel. Edit: Having beaten the game and gotten a few of the endings, i can say there is almost no way you can beat this on the intended difficulty. Playing on easy i found messages written on the walls that give hints on how to deal with certain enemies and areas, something that mightve stopped a lot of frustration on a first playthrough. I know theres a exclusive ending for beating it on Realistic, but again, i dont see how its possible. Playing on easy i still almost used up every supply they gave me, while i was trying to avoid fights as much as possible. Enemies respawn after being killed, in this case i think it was a bug because i see the intent of destroying the eggs before they hatch, but almost all enemies in the game never lose aggro once they see you. You can only dodge for so long before youre forced to fight, often without the retreat option, which as i said before is really finicky. It feels like you need to play the game twice just to understand the basics of the map. Speaking of, they make you backtrack a lot in the last section of the game. From the deepest part, to the very beginning, back to the deepest part, and depending on the ending back to the beginning again. No sprint, fast travel, just walking and dodging. One path said to find another Gate, but no hint as to where it might be, so i have to search aimlessly. Another message on a wall, which you can only access by going through a certain ending to see a another message on a wall to give you a code that you have to load back a save to use, said to purify a sister of silence. This aint warhammer 40k, i dont know what that means without context. In another area, you use enemy body parts as one time weapons against other enemies, which is awesome. Whats not awesome is that the item says it does 500 damage to all enemies. I had it deal between 431-1300 damage to enemies. And in this particular section of the game, you dont have your weapons and this is the only way to progress. If the damage is too low, you dont kill the enemy, and you will die. Another frustrating thing is that you cannot quit to the menu from combat. I know i cannot win the fight, or that itd be smarter to reload a save with new knowledge, but i either have to die completely or try to retreat and press pause before another fight starts from the same enemy. The game says it can be beaten at level 1, but i want to issue a challenge to the Devs: Beat this game on the intended difficulty, realistic, doing the secret stuff for the best ending because i dont know what it is, but i assume it has to do with the candles. Upload the video to Steam, YouTube, where ever. But show people what theyre supposed to be doing. A lot of this feels like it wasnt playtested well and is very frustrating because i honestly enjoy the genre its going for, but its such a slog. Show me that you want this game to go as far as it can, so that we can improve on it and i can recommend it to people who i know would love a lot of elements of the game, but i cant in good heart recommend it to them in the state its in Edit 2 Electric Boogaloo: The developer actually contacted me after my review and we discussed in length a lot of the problems i had with the games, and went back and forth on how to solve them and why some things were the way they were. While we did not agree on everything, i respect not only that this project is his to make however he sees fit, but that he took the time to message me and ask what i though could be improved. Too often games just do not seem to care about community feedback, and i am happy to say this is different. I am changing this to a positive review, and encourage you to check out the game and to engage in the community. Best of luck to all of you entering this Devils Playhouse

My first thought when I launched the game: „Oh great, this gives me F.E.A.R. flashbacks… cool, can’t wait to cry.” At the start it wasn’t even that scary. Well-designed, clear mechanics, easy to follow. Then the library... „It’s could be simple.” — i thought. „Just watch the movement patterns.” Haha. No. The sounds from that place? The darkness? And the way the thing moved differently every time I looked away? I alt-F4’d so fast I almost uninstalled my own soul. It’s been years since I had to tell myself out loud: “Bro, it’s just a game. Stop panicking.” One day I’ll finish it. Probably. Maybe. Don’t bet on it. 😀

Pretty cool game, especially considering that this is an indie project. Minimalistic graphics, but that is actually very nostalgic. RPG elements, too bad that the characters don't have any perks when levelling up. Lots of mysteries. The missions are long and sometimes hard to figure out and the huge number of monsters can be a challenge due to ammo and other equipment limitations, but I guess that is part of the game.

Ugly, tedious, frustrating and so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ buggy its most interesting mechanics only work right in the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ tutorial.

It is genuinely a huge breath of fresh air to play an RPGmaker game that does not shamelessly look like all the other hundreds out there. Paracom knows its niche fairly well, having a strong aesthetic and artistic direction obviously influenced by late 90s games like Resident Evil, but as well as taking more than a few notes from the pseudo-near futurism of FEAR and some other early 2000s launch titles. One thing can be said, there is a chronic shortage of milslop RPGmaker games and let alone ones that actually have a lot going for them lore wise. While not necessarily more high brow than some of its contemporaries, there is a lot of unique ideas here and the first episode has a genuinely great set up. It works pretty great for a game of this sort and you can definitely see the Fear and Hunger influences from miles away, but it very much so is more invested in telling its own story rather than trying to be like anything else. Clearly, there is inspiration from SCP here and as someone who once created SCP mods, specifically factions and scenarios for Arma 3, it is really cool seeing someone tackle their own IP rather than be reliant on the legal grey-space that SCP provided. That being said, the Hungarian developers have actually made it clear that this is a community driven game in the same vain but with a lot more direction. Conceptually, this is bones of a much larger project that with some more polish and enthusiasm from the right people, could very well become something special. The numerous interesting biomes and environments in the first episode alone, I can see this being greatly appreciated by players and streamers alike. Not all of the art is coherent with each other and the quality varies a lot in some assets, (the tutorial level looks like Space Station 13, but I don't think that is a bad thing other than grating colour clashing) but that is typical of pretty much every RPGmaker game that was developed by more than just a single person. There is some great ambition here. The mechanics are sound and actually work, although some reviewers have stated otherwise. For me, I found that the mechanics worked as intended and that there is simply something lost in translation with how they were explained. When it comes to my genuine critiques of the game, none of them are really tied to "what works" vs "what doesn't" in a literal sense. Gameplay wise, it has more going for it than a lot of games in this genre. It is nice that it is not a "metaphor for depression" walking simulator, even though I do love those. But it is still held back by some ambition creep and the fact that engine cannot properly execute what are initially great ideas. A genuine suggestion: players should need a quick access option menu with audio sliders and etc. Not only that, they need something in combat to basically kill themselves for when they get stuck. You see, there are some encounters that you are doomed to die from and while it is entirely the player's fault for falling into these traps, its easy to see a serious problem with the game's overall design philosophy. And that is that it is a bit too retro and has far more backtracking than even veteraned Resident Evil fans will be comfortable with. Combine this with some inconsistent enemy balance and you have a frustration simulator, especially on higher difficulties. Much like Fear and Hunger 1, the content is a few hours but the exploration, bumbling around in the dark and discovery-driven puzzle solving, as well as lots of trial and error, can easily extend playthroughs into nearly a dozen hours, I estimate, if you are absolutely helpless and are not taking advantage of easier difficulty's plenty of saves. The game is not hard, in the same way Funger is not hard, but it is 'challenging', if that makes sense. It doesn't hold your hand, even when it does, it lures you into traps more often than not. For more hardened gamers, this is fine and to be expected of this genre. I personally don't mind this gameplay loop at all, but the challenge has to feel more... well fun. The maps are surprisingly large and have archaic design, sometimes you easily get confused with what direction you are moving in and out of areas. Some parts are disorientatingly simple and other parts are complex to navigate, not because of enemies, but because of the engine limitations. In the end, the engine cannot give some of these gameplay concepts the justice they deserve but its hard to fault the developers for trying something new. So, what does Paracom do right? It has a great aesthetic, a fantastic soundtrack that is extremely fitting, some great art direction in some areas, pays tributes to its inspirations in a loving way and overall, feels very inspired, very well loved. It could use some polish. It could use some of its ambitions being scaled back a bit, but its more like an overseasoned, but still delicious pasta. In some areas, it just feels too heavy and too much, but its easy to indulge in. This pasta sauce needs a bit more meat and less noodles, if you get what I am saying. Personally, I think this is going to be among the immensely better Funger inspired games on steam. The first 20 minutes is great. Entering an environment that is hostile to you in more ways than one, the military jargon is mostly correct. There are some ACTUAL cutscenes which is wild to see. The presentation is superb overall. If anything else, this is a story that would be great in any format, but using RPGmaker to deliver it is certainly an interesting choice and not a bad one. Even if the game is just more of a platform, or rather, a vehicle to present this unique IP further, it certainly has value. You can get it for pretty cheap and even if you don't beat it, its worth a few attempts. For now, I am going to wait for them to cook a bit more, tighten everything up and see what the fuller package is. All in all, if you are even slightly a fan of this sort of stuff, give it an honest try. Paracom is rough around the edges, but its still a pretty effective blade, all in all. With some sharpening, it has a rare identity that shines through the typical RPGmaker stuff we get bundles of seasonally on steam. The developers seem genuinely invested in the community and taking in feedback, which is something to be applauded.

A Zsiványűr után egy újabb remekművet kapunk! Ezúttal egy osztagot irányíthatunk egy hangulatos, feszültséggel teli horror játékban. A játék legnagyobb erőssége számomra egyértelműen az atmoszféra, végig ott van az a nyomasztó, mégis izgalmas hangulat, ami magába szippant. Bátran ajánlom mindenkinek, aki szereti a horrort, az akciót vagy az RPG-ket. Hatalmas gratuláció a fejlesztőnek, hogy egymaga egy ilyen összetett és minőségi játékot készített!

Started [url=www.youtube.com/live/fPTALpXhE8c] streaming [/url] this to my Youtube channel and did not regret it for a second, as I ended up loving every moment of it (to the point that I completed ALL 6 endings of it!!). Lovecraftian Fear and Hunger type game with Swat squad and storyline. Cool mutated enemies along with exciting and unexpected twists and turns keep you on your toes throughout to the bitter end, whether that be by completing the mission or betraying mankind! Highly recommend for players looking for a thrilling, trippy, sci-fi/cosmic horror experience. Be sure to subscribe to my channel [url=youtube.com/user/SpecialCaesar?sub_confirmation=1] here [/url] for many more lol's and entertainment :)

After I finally made it to the library I met.. whatever that thing was, promptly shat myself, exited the game and watched videos of cats for 10 minutes. I have never been more afraid of nintendo looking game. 10/10 would never read again thanks to this game