Pleiades - A Subversion Saga Game

Seems like the few people who have reviewed the game haven't had a chance to spend a ton of time with it, so I thought I would chime in with a more detailed review. It's gonna be all kinda jumbled cause I'm just gonna write what I think and keep writing until I think I've covered everything. I was hesitant to give the game a chance due to the low amount of reviews and the one lengthily negative review. After watching the trailer, I really wanted to see what it was all about and give it a chance. I'm glad I did! When I found out the game was developed by one man over the course of a few months, it blew my mind! That's crazy, especially for a game with this much going on in it! That's another reason I decided to write this review, this game deserves more attention and love from people who I know will enjoy it. Anyways, I approached the game with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised. As the negative reviewer states, the game doesn't really do anything revolutionary in the mechanics department. Hell, most games don't nowadays. The mechanics work well though and I very much enjoyed running around using my different light sources to explore the very unique and diverse levels. Not to mention the enemies in the game, which aren't anything crazy but they are satisfying to kill and add more to the story than really present a major challenge. Although I did die a few times and often found myself running for my life. Where the game makes up for the lack of mechanics innovation, is in the rich story. I think the negative reviewer is not the type that is into immersing themselves in a world and was just trying to run through to “beat” the game. I took a completely different approach. I let myself get lost in the story, exploring every inch of the levels and I found myself taking a deep interest in the details strewn about. Take the papers scattered around the world for example. In most games I look these over and just keep going because they are usually some boring writing that's not really relevant to anything and doesn't add much to the game. With Pleiades, they are pivotal to the full experience. I stopped to find and read as many as I could and it was always something different. Sometimes it was just a nothing note, but it still added to the richness of the world and explained something about it's strangeness. Sometimes, I caught myself laughing out loud as I read the hilarious woes of a notes author. Other times, I was highly intrigued by the science-fiction accuracy to real world UFO research. This guy that made this game really knows his UFO stuff and he made an excellent game and story that really entertained me. Some of the papers hold information that is absolutely vital to moving forward in the story via key codes or clues, etc, so I highly suggest reading every note you find and enjoy piecing the story together like that. None of the notes are really all that long and it never seemed like a chore to me like some games make it. But if you don't like reading, or don't like that type of story telling addition then this probably isn't the game for you. Moving on, I think the voice acting is pretty damn good. Especially for a game made by one man, on what I can only assume was a really low budget. The main character Michael is actually voiced by the creator of the game and he does a great job of bringing the story to life with a very unique and enjoyable voice and character. Sometimes the acting is a little corny but given the rest of the humor peppered throughout the game I really think that was on purpose haha. The attention to detail given to every aspect of the game, story and world makes me think everything was intentional. The other characters don't play massive roles vocally but there is some quality content in there. The overall writing of the dialog is great and moves the story along at a nice pace. I don't want to give away any spoilers to the story but it is a great story in my opinion. If you are fascinated with the UFO subject like I am then I think you will really enjoy it. I really enjoyed the rest of the sounds and audio in the game including the music. It was all very unique and different to what I am used to. The footsteps on wood and some other surfaces are a little corny and outdated but they aren't that prevalent throughout the game. I think the guy who gave the game a scathing review kept saying things like you walk here, do this, then walk there and do that or something like that haha I'm pretty sure that's like every game ever haha Anyways about that, I really enjoyed running around and exploring and walking through the puzzle areas and taking the full story in while doing so. The puzzles aren't anything mind blowing but they are certainly interesting and I found myself having absolutely no clue what was going to happen next, which I very much enjoyed. I kept thinking I knew exactly what was going to happen next and I was almost always wrong. The game certainly has a few “scary” moments and an overall aura of mystery and fear but it isn't overly scary and I wouldn't really call it a horror game. It's more of a mystery with hints of horror. What else... the graphics are pretty damn good, a little dated and certainly not AAA status but I enjoyed the art direction and a lot of the world does really have a lot of detail. Not too often you see UFO's in video games so seeing those parts of the game made me extra excited. The game runs really well. To be fair I am playing with a GTX 1080 at 1440P so it's probably a bit overkill for this game. The levels were really well laid out and I found myself using the camera in the game to take quite a few pictures of really beautiful shots. (Which save to your PC so you can share them!) They aren't the biggest levels, some are bigger than others but there is a happy medium. There is plenty of painkillers and light refueling items strewn about to make it relatively easy to make it through the game and there are no difficulty settings either. I've never been the guy that enjoyed games that make it near impossible to beat, so I really enjoyed the easier approach to survival and not having to sweat bullets or re-load all the time. Sometimes I just want to experience a game, enjoy the story, have some challenges but nothing over the top and Pleiades delivered on that experience. Cut-scenes are at times breathtaking, sometimes hilarious and other times a little lackluster. Overall they are great and the pacing of them is good. This isn't the longest game. I took me about 5 hours to beat it and I was poking around exploring a lot. I know I didn't catch everything though and I intend to go back and give it an even more thorough play through in the future. (There was a secret area I found but didn't have all the clues put together to access it.) I wish the game was longer and there were more enemies and weapons and all that. BUT I did enjoy having a more limited experience for once with a game. Where it's not all about getting new weapons to kill the enemy in a slightly different way. The game focuses on the story and gives you a handful of mechanics that aren't extraordinary but do the job and fit well. Well, I hope this answered some of your burning questions if you were on the fence about getting the game. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it if you are intrigued by the UFO topic, enjoy exploring and reading, like to game but aren't in dire need of a massive challenge and you'd rather just experience the story. The ending is EPIC!

Game is fun, great story and keeps you pushing forward to find out whats next

Interesting and engaging story. Solid voice acting and great soundtrack that immerses you in this well crafted world. Good scares and awesome visuals. A lot of hard work and passion went into this game and it shows

Новый инди sci-fi хоррор про Сергея Дружко, который все таки решил проверить и найти НЛО. Геймплей и часть прохождения найдете здесь: https://youtu.be/F84OWaKdkpQ Это сырой проект с интересной задумкой, неплохими сюжетными поворотами и моментами, который напоминает даже чем-то старую пенумбру, особенно в уровне с пещерой. Ваша задачка продвигаться по уровню, который обычно не такой уж и маленький и с кучей мест куда можно пойти, находя записки о событиях, что были здесь, а также ключи. И от пары моментов действительно захватывало дух (жалко, что не хватает крутой графики и анимации). Отдельная тема попадания в игру, настройки только перед запуском и нельзя включить субтитры. Очень забагованное главное меню, в случае чего просто перезапустите игру. По поводу звука, у ГГ очень классный голос и озвучка действительно хорошая, но вот звук ходьбы и бега просто лютый ужас. Неплохой и сырой проект про НЛО с интересным сюжетом и ужасным звуком ходьбы.

This game is a FANTASTIC value for the price. While was initially confused, it is quite immersive and story-driven. If you enjoy games focused around a bit of mystery and heavy storytelling, this is the game for you

Savage game! I just started but so far the scenery is amazing, all the little easter eggs are awesome and the story is really cool. Cant wait to see what happens next. Highly recommend

This game is awesome! Very fun and interesting and always makes me want to come back!

Very affordable, easy to play, vivid graphics, makes you feel like your stranded on the shores of a mysterious island. Reminds me a lot of Ark: Survival Evolved. Super realistic, Beats most fictional games with lack of strategy & Immersion. Would highly recommend to anyone looking for an extremely intricate game full of adventure and value.

A decent sci-fi indie horror game. There are some bugs and the cutscenes are very cheesy, but I enjoyed it.. Quite a long game too.