[quote]A review copy was provided by the developer.[/quote]
[h1] Game Summary: [/h1]
This is a rendition of a fairly popular game type nowadays, the survival game. Thankfully, it avoids the zombie aspect, instead focusing on a global war that's shaking society to the core and brought humanity to its knees. Perhaps not the most realistic situation, but moreso than zombies would be. It's your standard setting and survival scenario: a small rag-tag group of survivors foraging for supplies, building tools and utilities, and dealing with stress and trauma.
[h1] Pros: [/h1]
• The gameplay is straightforward and simple enough, as you start figuring out how the menus and items work. There is a ? button that explains some of these mechanics, though not necessarily all the nuances of them.
• The group starts off small, but can grow to as many as 8 people. Having more people has its pros and cons, as it's more mouths to hydrate and feed, but offers more opportunities to forage.
• The drab, muted colors fit the tone of the game. You're trying to cobble together basic needs and tools to maintain survival. It shouldn't be vibrant and colorful.
• Characters can be good at either foraging, building, or cooking. Their results seem skewed though, as Bill, a forager, always seemed to get hurt.
[h1] Cons: [/h1]
• Even though you can pick where you want to have your survivors explore, since there's four different common items they can find, what they bring back is very random. You desperately need them to bring back bandages, and they bring back something you have in great abundance. What I would like to see is a way to prioritize key items. You specifically need wood and iron, so you prioritize those two items. If there isn't any in a place one of them is exploring, they get whatever they find, like normal. If the area has that as a possible item, it wouldn't guarantee they'd get any, but it'd increase the likelihood; say from 25% to 50%. There'd still be randomness, since that's how foraging for materials would be in that environment, but it wouldn't be teeth-grindingly annoying to have to rely on dumb luck that they get what you want them to.
• The game seems to be buggy. There's very few sounds, and sometimes music plays, while other times it's utterly silent. Similarly, sometimes mice relentlessly raid my supplies (including as much as four of my [b]canned food[/b], something they shouldn't be able to eat) and other times, I have no rodent issues. Also, I've eaten the canned herring, more than once, but not gotten the achievement for it.
• There are different events in the game, where it will tell you to send a person to an area to get a unique item. That's good, as it's going to be of benefit, but what prompts this to happen seems very arbitrary and random. One playthrough I had, it rained a lot, so the idea was proposed to make a rain-water collector. Another time, it barely rained, so that wasn't an option.
• Story development happens the same way, as the characters all have some background to them and what their motivation is. I don't know if sending somebody to explore a certain place triggers it, or if it's entirely random. So frankly, I'm not aware of how to develop the story, other than see what happens.
• Nothing is animated, so everybody just stands looking at you, with no movement or changes in their wholly static image. You can randomly click on people to talk to them, but I don't believe it has any meaningful impact.
• The game was not translated into English very well, with many lines of dialogue not making coherent sense.
[h1] Tips: [/h1]
• I personally would prioritize bandages (people get hurt often), water (sewage, herbs, & fuel), and canned food. Iron and wood would be a close second, since they're needed to upgrade items. Copper wiring, rubber, and plastic are also needed, but to a lesser extent, and they can be annoying to acquire. Everything else has a purpose, but doesn't seem as vital.
• All foods spoil, so always check their status each day (not in the storage area, won't show their status). Tomatoes spoil fast, lettuce lasts for a long time. When possible, make something out of your food supplies, as a salad is better than the individual components, but it's always best to eat something about to spoil, as it just gets pitched otherwise.
• You can store more items in the storage area than the maximum, but it will eventually break and you'll lose random items, so it's not wise to push your luck. It's best to either increase capacity or discard items yourself, as you'll get to choose what you get rid of that way, instead of RNG taking away something vital you can't afford to lose.
• I'd keep exploring areas until all four of the common items are determined, as that last one may be absolutely essential. The top row are common items, the bottom row is rare (but may be a basic item). I know the top four are randomly generated, unsure if the bottom four are too.
• If your character has the red teardrop for trauma, a bandage can be applied where you give them food and water, and they'll be healed. That person can build stuff in the base, but can't forage for items. Same applies for the green disease icon and those cold pills.
• Upgrading equipment is done by clicking on that component (such as the water filter) in your storage area.
[h1] Conclusion: [/h1]
Honestly, with the different bugs and lack of visual dynamics, the game overall feels unfinished. Even the price of the game reflects that, as otherwise this style of game would have more to it and cost more. Having such little direct control over what your characters forage for, when they'll always build exactly what you tell them to, is also quite limiting. I'll admit, without these simple features, the game becomes off-putting, especially since the English translation leaves a lot to be desired. If the game was more flushed out, not only would it be better, I think it'd merit a higher price as well, because there is something enjoyable about trying to gather supplies and build equipment to help guarantee survival. However, I have to review the game as it is now, and I can't recommend this game without it first being further refined, which puts me [i]under the weather[/i].
