Reclusive

VD was kind enough to send me a key for RECLUSIVE, and while this game has got some fun elements and atmosphere, there are a few mechanical shortfalls which in my opinion make this game unplayable in it's current state. I think there's a lot of room to improve, and I'm interested in seeing how this developer improves in the future. I'll list my mechanical issues here which broke my experience, followed by quality of life improvements. These have been actively workshopped with my livestream viewers on tiktok: THE BIG FIXES NEEDED: 1. The forced perspective change. I'm confused as to why this game began in third person and then switched out of nowhere to first person. FP was locked, and several mechanics as a result become useless. ---with the forced switch to first person, the running mechanic became non functional. essentially it just makes my character bob up and down. I can only assume that's because the running animation was built for third person. it functioned well enough in third person view, but translating into third person, it makes my perspective bob downwards and run at a slightly faster pace that is barely noticeable. ---The camera shift key becomes non functional with the forced first person perspective _________________________________________________________________________________ 2. the individual fuel dispensing is a chore. There's no need to include this as a mechanic as the creatures do not follow you into the lighthouse (however they can kill you through the walls). The game needs to make a mechanical choice here: ---if the monsters can follow you into the lighthouse, then the individual fuel dispensing can stay, however there should be multiple exits or some sort of way to reasonably escape the monster, perhaps a lockpick door in the fuel tank room or an ability to exit the lighthouse from the top of the stairs. ---if the lighthouse is safe, then there ought to be some sort of "auto dispense" mechanic. if there is no actual danger when dispensing fuel, having to hit the E key 55 times everytime I go to drop off fuel is a complete chore. (not to mention it's bad for my keyboard). _________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Lockpicks are unavailable. if a core mechanic of this game is the lockpicking of doors, then lockpicks need to be a somewhat available resource. I scoured the island for lockpicks for a good 30 mins, and couldn't find any. Either the lockpicks need to be more available, or they are unnoticeable with their current locations. as there is no skill progression, the difficulty level of the lockpicks doesn't make a lot of sense. ---either make lockpicks accessible, (make them noticable with a glow if they are actually available around the island) increase the hit box for picking them up, and make some sort of skill progression or perk system ---or just do away with the lockpick resource entirely. The need to sit and lockpick a door can make for exciting, dangerous gameplay, but as it stands there is no point in having breakable lockpicks. breakable lockpicks make sense for games with a lot of scavenging, merchents, etc. in a game with almost no resource availability, no skill trees, and no shop of any kind, the limited availability of lockpicks make progression nigh impossible. _________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Enemy AI. it sppears that the AI of the creature is told to explicitly follow you at all times. with no ability to hide, this means you are just constantly running with a creature walking/galloping behind you. it becomes an "immortal snail" type game, where you are just constantly being followed by something trying to kill you. it takes away from the scare factor. my viewers began joking that the creature is like a pet, and aside from the incredibly loud noises and red screen effects, nearly all scare factor was lost quickly. ---either add the ability to hide from the creature. make it actively search for you but not actively know where you are. ---or if the creature does actively follow you, make the map less of an open space full of dead ends, and more of a maze. take a look at the game's map from a bird's eye view and wherever there is a dead end, add an opening or passage to somewhere else. _________________________________________________________________________________ 4. UI. the user interface in this game is very limited. this can be effective for immersion, however with the current implimentation of mechanics, the game is very unaccessible. ---With the forced perspective change, (third person becoming first person) there needs to be some sort of indication or whether the player character is crouching or not. this could be a simple icon or a crouching figure/standing figure. ---add a minimap of some kind, even if the fog only reveals a 15-30 foot circle around your characters. if some of the above mechanics are tweaked, this suggestion could be ignored. _________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Instructions. add some sort of quest line in the pause menu or instructions at the beginning of the game. this is needed with the current state of the mechanics. _________________________________________________________________________________ Final thoughts: the game is barely playable in it's current state. the most important change is the perspective, pick either first person or third person and stick with it. build the rest of your mechanics around this. Cognitive: 0 star Aesthetic: 1 star Emotional: 0 star Technical: 0 star Enjoyment: 0 star 1/5 stars. not playable in it's current state.

Reclusive é um jogo com gráfico ok, mas é enfadonho e as vezes irritante.

After adding over 500 units of diesel to the generator, I gave up and just let the time run out. Not sure how close I was but that seems like WAY to much when not much else was happening. took a lot of time out of my life for nothing. Maybe knowing the % complete would go a long way? No idea what or where I missed, but definitely feel like something was missing?

game looks cool and gameplay is kinda good but it crashed a lot.

6/10 Game needs more updates and balancing to make it perfect, but its a bit of fun and good for the price point. Reviewed here, and vod linked. https://youtu.be/tFeXGqWfI8E

[h1] Выживач с элементами хоррора [/h1] В общем то довольно однообразно,местами страшно , и темно , но благо есть собака - верный друг и спутник.

J'ai trouve le jeu vraiment sympa !!!! L'ambiance est plutôt cool et honnêtement j'ai passé un bon moment. Graphiquement c est pas trop mal et les mécaniques sont assez simples donc la prise en main est plutôt easy. Reste a savoir quelle sera l’évolution de ce jeu. Du gameplay horrifique c est ici : https://www.twitch.tv/themidnightnation

i realize horror games often have some resource searching,,,but this game was 99% looking for fuel cans. Couldn't bring myself to try to finish it after the timer started since that doesn't let me explore anywhere properly. Would have enjoyed if there was more linear story progression instead of just,,,looking for fuel cans