Recent reviews by Harrk

Despite what some of the review sites may be saying. This is not Tears of the Kingdom or Immortals Fenyx Rising. It's not an open world game either. The game starts off putting you on a linear path which gradually opens up into wider zoned areas, but it lacks the sense of exploration and mystery.

Half the time I'm fighting with the controls (Xbox pad). You have the option of two input schemes which barely make a difference so if you need to rebind buttons it'll require you to go via Steam's controller config.

The game itself isn't bad though. It's just average. The game feels like it could be optimised more. I'm getting between 40-60 frames with a 2070S at 1440p and going down from medium quality (to even 1080p!) doesn't seem to change that. DLSS makes the game look horrible for a few extra frames and wasn't worth enabling.

Now the decision of giving you a small inventory is an odd decision. It pulls you out of the world to return to the camp, to then run back... It's tedious and I hope they rethink this one.

NPCs need markers to inform players of what they can offer. Currently everyone has a speech bubble to say you can talk to them, but nothing says this guy can help you craft gear. This takes me to the crafting system, which I think is awesome. I love the flexibility of picking materials which affects how gear looks. It's unfortunate that the game hides the system from you, albeit not intentionally.

So I'd suggest holding out for a bit if you're on the fence. Or wait for a sale. I'm not going to refund this one as I do want to support a new studio and to see this game through, but I just can't recommend it for now.

Not bad.

Returning to try the game following its relaunch and it's sad seeing how far it's gone down the monetisation track.

* The game isn't cheap and you have to fork out extra for the expansion which adds features I'd expect to see in the base game.
* Season pass requires an additional purchase
* Limited cosmetic options outside the in-game real money store

I'm going to try to give this update a fair shot with a new character and I may revisit this review as I've heard good things. However, I go into this feeling bitter about mounts being gated behind a paywall.

Great engine that’s easy to pick up. And it’s completely free!

A list of things I noted, whilst not major overall, just add up to be a bit annoying more than making the game fun:
* I got fined twice during the tutorial due to AI trucks driving into me whilst I was sat still.
* Batteries... They drain too quickly. An option to recharge them would also be great.
* I struggled identifying where I could find shops / jobs as the icons don't show until you get really close.
* Can only do one transaction at the shop then the shop UI closes with no way to reopen it? I had to undock and dock again.
* It's a bit odd that the job board / shop require docking at separate locations. Why not just make them one hub?

I played on normal and made a few deliveries so far. But now I feel like I need to restart the game as I can't keep up with the constant maintenance needs of my truck. Feels more like a survival game than a sim.

In all, I'd say hold off for now and see how the game is after a few updates. (assuming they come)

Post review update: I refunded. The game's AI needs sorting out.

Updated my review to positive. With the addition of signal mode and 4 extra campaign levels, the game feels more complete.

Though I do have some quality of life requests:

* Please pause the game speed when you start a level. Most of the challenges are time based which require you to plan beforehand. (or as an option in settings to turn this on)

* Another one on pausing. When you pause the game speed then open the game menu (esc key) and close it, the game speed it set to normal speed. I would expect it to remember the speed I set it at before pressing esc.

Not bad.

A game that has gone through one heck of a redemption arc. Hello Games has released one major update after another and they're still cooking.

VR mode is also great. Haven't had to pay a penny more as there's no DLC or microtransactions. A big thumbs up from me.

Lost the game after a pip murdered my whole village. 10/10.

It's alright. I'd only buy on sale though and I wish I could give it a neutral review but I can't.
Game tries to be a few things and kinda fails at all of them. Will keep my eye on this for future updates, however.

+ Cloud servers, play with friends easily without paying for your own hosting
+ Pretty fun levelling up and bashing stuff.
+ Two modes, survival (story) and last stand.
+ Journal for enemies, materials, bosses. Though wish it wasn't fully unlocked right away. Spoiled future content by showing you everything to come.

~ Micro transactions, cosmetic only. Given they host your servers for you, it's a fair tradeoff imo.

- Player structures sometimes go missing, requiring relog
- Netcode feels sluggish. 20ms ping yet the lag is noticeable, particularly when transferring items
- Gear progression is, ugh. Log out to unlock crafting recipes using horns to log back in again and craft the armour.
- Menu UIs are all over the place
- Build cap: managed a small shack for 2 players before hitting cap. My guess is because the netcode can't handle anything more. There's literally no point to building because of this, which is a shame.
- Vertical progression has no doubt been the focus, but it gets boring quickly. We defeated Fenrir then stopped playing. Felt like we saw everything there was to see.
- Experienced multiple crashes / bugs.
- No offline mode.