PARKSIDE: DECAYED SOUL MANIPULATION

Genuine peak

~2 hours in. Gam is good so far outside of some unescapable text sections between missions that are a bit long.

So, what if Deus Ex was made by 1 guy. (Good, but also, Bad) Parkside is the most ambition fueled game I've ever seen made. Despite severe technical issues(framerate dimension, CPU Behavior is the wonkiest in any Imsim I've ever played, Perks are messed up, ADS is broken during reloads, social cues almost never work right. The Ending, etc.) significant graphical limitations, broken lighting detection, half a soundscape with no propagation, and writing that bounces from inspired next level cyberpunk to literal fallout slop, this game is good. It is just so underbaked that I can not ever recommend it from a perspective other than I really like Imsims, and this is impressive beyond measure in some ways. While the visual presentation of the game is horrid, there are some particularly excellent designs and ideas in the levels themselves. I would even argue that the level design of this game is best in class, just trying to see anyone anywhere in them is a coin flip. Weapon animations are also excellent. I thought this would improve as the game goes on but it actually gets worse lol. The audio is, interesting. Sounds themselves are excellent, but the ultra-quiet guards strike again, and no idle dialogue makes this much worse. The OST is also best in class, and almost revolutionary in current age to have such a old school feel. The mixing is culprit here, as different sounds in the environment are either loud or very quiet, with no in between. The gameplay has all of the pitfalls of Deus Ex 1 but worse, the trade off is that the base character is quite competent compared to JC even at endgame, so most perks are basically flourishes rather than requirements to progress. The Social mechanics are subliminal, but extremely underdeveloped, and for reasons I won't get into, completely ruins the ending of the game. I think there are cool ideas here, but not nearly enough was put into making the trees for a game that wants to have so many small variances. NPC behavior is just straight up jank. Nothing is consistent or works right. The writing in this game pivots from excellent to literally worse Deus ex, and while I like the idea of different routes getting different story details, and ultimately, all runs being canon in a way, the dev fundamentally does not understand the nuances of something like writing with conspiracy fiction without making esoteric slop. A lack of real choice and consequence also plagues this game in a way, because the writing doesn't really approach it. Especially without saves mid mission, it feels abjectly horrible to get ambushed and restart over again and go loud and ultimately none of it matters. The Ending completely ruins the game to be honest, and despite being really cool conceptually, and visually, falls so flat it comes off as fake and disingenuous. Maybe some of the broken notes and secrets will allow for the correct ending to happen? I got 2 of the games 4 endings at time of review. Maybe there is a more finished game that better entices me, because while there are things I adore about this game, it is deeply flawed. I cannot in good faith give this a thumbs up at time of review because while it runs, it runs badly and no saves with cpu jank makes the game barely playable at points. I can't be neutral, but I can not say this game functions as intended.

worth the price very fun

Great game

Upon finishing my first run of this game, I'd have to say that despite the game's bugs (that the dev responds to and works on when put in the discord) this game is just excellent. It feels so awesome to go fast when bunny hopping, picking up speed and flinging myself around. The art direction, although jarring at first, is easy to get used to and every single asset stays on track with the style. You can definitely see the many inspirations this game has, yet it manages to be unique with its gameplay and story. I give this game an 8/10, but it can only go up.

i should like this game but i dont