Half Life, Prey, Project Zomboid and SCP had some kind of science-experiment lovechild;
that lovechild turned out to be a wunderkind in every single way I could have imagined.

Level design is superb, with a mish-mash of classic tropes and modern thinking:
Secrets hide around every corner and over every ceiling, crying out to be found.
The expansive locations are often initially overwhelming, and every new area
is a joy to explore and get comfortable with - the enemies aren't taking prisoners!

Survival elements are not only well balanced, but also tweakable in the settings.
I can't remember the last time a survival game did hunger and thirst in a way that is so
unintrusive, yet also so impactful to overall exploration gameplay without being a chore.
Cooking is fun to experiment with, crafting recipes are clearly well thought out and the
progression is masterfully done; every time I was thinking 'x is becoming a chore', a new
technology would come along to help me deal with it in a more efficient manner.

The atmosphere, soundtrack and lore all work together to create a surprisingly tense,
but simultaneously lovably-goofy backdrop with just enough horror elements in tow.
Make no mistake; this game has horror elements, and they will catch you out at times.
The 'SCP' elements could have easily been lazily dropped in and left to do their own heavy
lifting, but instead every single aspect has deep lore, including audio logs, explaining them;
there are pieces of furniture in this game scarier than some of the monsters in 'AAA' horror.

Bugs are being rapidly addressed, the initial release has dozens of hours of potential content,
and the post-release roadmap is quite frankly absurd in terms of how packed with content it is.
Quality is outstanding across the board, and you can see how every element has been designed with love and care for their proper implementation; this is a true labour of love.

GOTY contender for 2024 for certain; there's a timeless classic in the making, here!

Half Life, Prey, Project Zomboid and SCP had some kind of science-experiment lovechild; that lovechild turned out to be a wunderkind in every single way I could have imagined. Level design is superb, with a mish-mash of classic tropes and modern thinking: Secrets hide around every corner and over every ceiling, crying out to be found. The expansive locations are often initially overwhelming, and every new area is a joy to explore and get comfortable with - the enemies aren't taking prisoners! Survival elements are not only well balanced, but also tweakable in the settings. I can't remember the last time a survival game did hunger and thirst in a way that is so unintrusive, yet also so impactful to overall exploration gameplay without being a chore. Cooking is fun to experiment with, crafting recipes are clearly well thought out and the progression is masterfully done; every time I was thinking 'x is becoming a chore', a new technology would come along to help me deal with it in a more efficient manner. The atmosphere, soundtrack and lore all work together to create a surprisingly tense, but simultaneously lovably-goofy backdrop with just enough horror elements in tow. Make no mistake; this game has horror elements, and they will catch you out at times. The 'SCP' elements could have easily been lazily dropped in and left to do their own heavy lifting, but instead every single aspect has deep lore, including audio logs, explaining them; there are pieces of furniture in this game scarier than some of the monsters in 'AAA' horror. Bugs are being rapidly addressed, the initial release has dozens of hours of potential content, and the post-release roadmap is quite frankly absurd in terms of how packed with content it is. Quality is outstanding across the board, and you can see how every element has been designed with love and care for their proper implementation; this is a true labour of love. GOTY contender for 2024 for certain; there's a timeless classic in the making, here!