Project:Solace

[code]Curator page here-->[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37670120/] DaRevieweD #211 [/url]<-- [i]New review every week[/i][/code] [h1]"NOT A PIECE OF JUNK- OH WAIT, IT IS!!"[/h1] https://youtu.be/Z-Niyo4F1AA [u] Here's The Thing:[/u] A recent breakup led you, Sophie McAdams, to rediscover yourself and try out new things! Fortunately, Island Outlast, that groundbreaking yet relatively foreign reality game show is hiring new cast members… to survive? Or was it to be the last eligible bachelor-bachelorette?? Point is, peoples’ hearts will be eaten out one way or another~ [h1] ! DISCLAIMER ![/h1] Couldn’t reach the end because of a missing event, and after I relayed the issue to the dev- my progress regressed! Too worn out to replay the whole thing… [h1][u][+] PROS;[/u][/h1] [h1]:) YOU’RE SOPHIE TO CHOOSE~[/h1] Have you ever pictured how [b]Dying Light[/b] would be like as a 2D side scroller? Well, with Project:Solace you don’t have to do much imagining- because that’s precisely what it is! It takes the open world formula from those titles, alongside their slew of side quests, condensing and flattening them to a fine powder of designated levels that you frequent for farming supplies such as ammunition, junk (currency), food stuffs, and whatnot. While it may be much smaller in scale and arguably more linear, the game distracts you off that reality by nudging you to backtrack just the right amount to open a door you had no means earlier on, help out a wayward survivor or two whom may be in a bind, learning of the island’s secrets, and taking the plunge by undertaking sudden death game modes for great rewards! See? It really is [b]Dead Island,[/b] just with the graphics cranked way low and the combat simplified to a few swipes! That said, it slipped in an unexpected amount of shrewdness by having upgrade benches and crafting systems, the kind you’d find in [b]The Last of Us[/b]! The insane verticality to both the games mentioned is replaced by an illusorily challenge-free platforming. So, if you really think about it, you’re not really missing out on a lot; it’s an earnest budget stand-in for the AAA zombie games! A completionist fight for survival should last roughly 5 hours~ [h1]:) A BEAUTIFULLY DANGEROUS & WELL-ENGINEERED PRODUCTION![/h1] The pixel art is one of the most ravishing I’ve ever seen in the minimalist sense! Equally breathtaking regardless of character sprites or environments… The latter featuring so many rapid yet timely backdrop changes, although they were the few usual suspects; a dusky cave, snowy mountain, idyllic forest, run-down city, relaxing beach, and so on. Game gets away with them too because of its theatricality & artificiality. Oops, I’ve said too much! Props simply must be handed to the dev as well for the impeccably mundane sound design with an assortment of effects and utterances that don’t ever miss a beat! The tracks fit like a glove, being rousing but never overpowering your senses~ https://youtu.be/OD-KR06xqAk [h1]:) OH IT’S QUITE. THE. SHOW.[/h1] Just want to preface this pro by posing to you a SINGLE question- how differently can you frame a zombie-based plot? I mean, like, especially in this day and age…!? I gave it a break because of how fun it wound up being! I for one, dug the [b]Wrong Turn 2[/b] clashes with the [b]Dawn of The Dead (2004)[/b] from the initial promise of a lucrative, if not entertaining reality show. To slowly getting acquainted with the relatively diverse ensemble, each having their respective surprisingly well thought out backstories (if they live to see the day that is), before they’re then thrust into the ultimate test of endurance. The so-called background to the “project” is all on there, stashed on PC terminals behind locked doors, but I wasn’t as invested in them. Nevertheless, glad to know a dev doesn’t skimp on details for once~ [h1]:) MAKE IT LAST, WHY NOT!? JUSTIN CASE-[/h1] The scariest parts can be divided into two main stages. Starting with the disconcerting red flags in the beginning of participating in- or rather, putting into writing even, something you’re NOT clear on the details just cause you jumped at the mention of “cash prizes”! People still get easily scammed to this day, so is that terrifying or what!!? And ending with two lessons that you learn in pretty much every game/movie that has zombies in it, but somehow conveniently forget at every turn! (1) People are expendable; as in skills can be picked up fairly easily. (2) Not everyone will make it… Shocking, I know- I’ll give you a moment. My mistake, actually they can, but good luck with that~ [h1][u][-] CONS;[/u][/h1] [h1]:( MISSING A HANDFUL OF BRIGGS…[/h1] In every level, there’s almost a guarantee, whereby at least [i]one or at most two specific spots[/i] in a particular area will give Sophie a hard time… Either the edge of the floor will give way just a fraction of a second earlier than indicated (whereas the floor hadn't really ended yet, visually) and she falls to receive damage; OR, she will get sucked in to a certain surface, and her character sprite locked in a freefall animation… This caused me to have to big brain energy scenarios and question every single one of her next move, and subsequent footing. It’s bad enough resources are already scarce, but I can’t even trust the terrain- which will often times mean the difference between life and death!? Poppycock! Call me crazy, or maybe it’s a cognitive bias spurned on by me having lost virtually [i]all[/i] of my survivors… BUT, does Sophie’s (or any of the other survivor's for that matter) reach improve and her hits connect better when she’s facing the right side? I realize this is gonna sound like me being a total baby about dying tons, and possible can’t accept that I suck at the game, but I just had to mention it~ [h1]:( ONE TOO MANY SHOTS?[/h1] Here’s where I just lost it, no ifs or buts about it! The mechanics of the game- slippery slope I know, don’t make a shred of sense…! For instance, the shared health pool between survivors for the individual assignments, like, what even is that!? How does one survivor succumbing to mortality equate to [b]critical health[/b] for the next one that you select to step up and undertake the task!? It’s an annoyance, and let’s not forget ludicrous handicap, is what that was; compelling you to revisit previous locations to grind for supplies that have low to below average drop rates. The other is the aiming (for guns) which is just counterintuitive in every way possible. You simply face forward and pray for the best… really!? Hope that the shot in which you eyeballed does not just fly past the enemies and miss them by a hair! You can’t manipulate the angle whatsoever, not even a little bit, and it’s just like if you have a full body cast on~ [h1]BUGS:[/h1] x Infinite item drop from the swarmers… Just leave and re-enter the area. x Crashed when I tried to revisit one of the labs! x It’s possible to get softlocked during the very first upgrade. x Stuck in the uneven terrain. x Invisible wall from where a metal block USED to be! x Some enemies drop to their death when they reach the edge, but others will levitate!! [h1]NITPICKS:[/h1] ~ The control scheme is absolute trash! And they cannot be remapped… ~ Your shield could be fully recharged from when you last save the game- but reload, and it’ll be drained! ~ More than a few prominent misspellings. ~ Game has you bond with survivors, but when one dies... everyone be like "WHO DAT"? [h1]"BUT REMEMBER JUNK IS GOOD IN THIS UNIVERSE~"[/h1] https://youtu.be/IltQWQ5raIE [u]Last Words?[/u] Gifted horror side scroller never got its spot in the limelight with its finicky platforming & unaired grievances… But peek behind the curtain- you just might be wowed by this truly indie project~ [h1]8 / 10[/h1] [code]Don't forget to follow my curator [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37670120/] DaRevieweD[/url] for more games!![/code]