Recent reviews by SketchtheAwesome

The fact I played this for 2 hours and didn't realise might be telling.

Graphics are very nostalgic of PS1 era, clean, and simple.

Gameplay - addictive, simple combat with skills like an mmo, but free aiming

World - can feel a bit flat and empty due to the lower end graphics, would be nice for a small ambient upgrade like grass etc to make it more there, but again, ps1 style graphics

Quick Edit: Forgot to mention, the weapons are actually interesting, already come across a weapon I have yet to see in a game and loving it, Magic 2 hander. considering how early in the game I am I assume I will find more

And the comparison might sound weird, but for some reason I feel like I am playing a Klonoaised Ghost in the Shell from the PS1 era, the dashing, attacking and dodging just feels like it

for the current price, AND early access, this is one I am going to be waiting for updates for regularly, as it has definitely impressed

For those that want downsides:
only 3 (kinda 4 see below)classes - the back to basics - Fighter, Thief, Mage (Fighter, Bandit, Mystic in this game)

Not clear how "locked in" the races are at the start, overall you can get the racial skill later(this is from wikiing so I don't know how easy this is), so pretty much is looks so don't worry too much

Stats aren't TOO clear, but are boiled down to the basic four (health - Strength - Dexterity - Magic) so shouldn't be too hard to figure out, no idea if you can reset these those, but there will defo be a minmaxing calculator at some point guaranteed

From what I've played, I have yet to understand how to change from Novice class to one of the 3 "actual" classes

I will undoubtly play this more so will update after a few more hours

picked this up along with Necrosmith 1, and this sequel almost entirely deals with every issue I had with the first Necrosmith,

If you liked necrosmith 1, this is simply a no brainer, for those that have not played either, you can start with this one and not really miss anything in the way of story, other than a couple of nods to the originals plan of escape

Control for units under a general priority - attack, defend, collect,
different spells to have different effects on the field of battle
more variety of parts

and the big ol titan unit

I think the only thing I would like that isn't added is making things like centaur units, or other multilimbed monstrosities, but I am not far in yet.

This game is criminally underpriced.

I wouldn't jump into this game expecting a fully fleshed out experience (clues in the title of Early Acess)
But I can see this game having a lot of potential, and in that regard I will list the things that are missing from typical RTS that would enhance this game for the shooters

"Hero units" - upgradable unit, normally limited to one or two, special for the shooters to unlock something more than just a basic gunner or alien

"Neutral Enemies" - something for the shooters to hunt to gather resources early on to assist the commander, this can be linked to hero units

"More UI functionality and tool tips" quite self explanatory unlike the games controls xD

"more buildings that the shooters can interact with" - I.e ziplines for infanty, or teleporters to get around the map, when needed

"starters Buildings" FPS players want to get into the action, not wait for some buildings to be completed before they can get on, I would personally think that having the first few buildings being free and fast built would make sense

NOW why do I think this has potential?
The game being multiplayer and even in single player the concept makes sense since there are times where I can't micro manage, and having some one boots first on the ground handling threats in a better way than an RTS NPC would help it both be interresting and engaging, but this is also why I believe players should be able to have access to hero units as well

it seems the patches are coming out quickly enough that I would suggest if you have the spare cash and would like to support and indie and have a bit of funs with friends, give it a crack, I wouldn't quite suggest it for the solo experince right now though

So voice acting from the same actress from a previous title was amazing.

music . . . was questionably, kinda intense for the game.

Scenes were well drawn, writing pretty decent, delivered solidly from the actress

8.5/10 would "milk the muscle" to it again.

Update post EA abandonment:
I still recommend this game if you want a monster hunter like game in a different enviornment, however after the abandonment by EA due to their poor launch I feel dismayed as there was so much potential in this game, constant adjustments to Karakuri and weapons made in haste leaves the game in a slightly awkward state for End Game replayablility but the journey throughout I believe is still quite solid, I would not suggest buying at full price though. all my original points below still stand


Optimisations poor - Bugs, mostly non game breaking visual/video - fix apparently inbound

With that said, I think the looks of the game are fantastic, the Karakuri system is a really interesting take on the hunter formula and the world being built is amazing.

GOOD POINTS
Weapons feel varied, there is simple or complex, different ranges, different build ups, but with a common theme of building up to a mega hit that allows you to learn weapons without a weeks worth of training like Monster Hunter can feel like Sometimes.
For example - Hand Cannon -> Shoot gauge to power up -> Hit with set up strike -> Charge -> Boom
Bow -> hit with Rapid shots to set up "mines" -> charge up power -> Hit with a charge attack that sets off "mines" -> Boom

and this rather simple ideology can be seen in all weapons which I find quite enjoyable, and easy to understand so I can vary my playstyle as much as I like

Exploration opens up as your powers do, makes the game enjoyable to simple go into an exploration hunt and enjoy



BAD POINTS
Monster Attack Patterns: Can be too quick with little in the way of identifiable patterns, so you WILL need to learn to Spring KaraKari dodge or iframe attacks in particular on your first 3 star kemono. I found this one was the epitomy of what bothers me about some design choices, Jumps up in the air and can just do a 270 degree turn mid air with no apparent means of propulsion. and ALL it's attack Track your hunter.

.... and that's all the bad things I can really think of, I think the game comes together so smoothly that this is it . . certain monsters could be slightly better designed. but bare in mind this is a major part of a hunting game, so that might put some people off which is why I bring it up as if you don't enjoy the game this in my opinion will likely be the reason

The VA was utterly fantastic.
10/10 would ♥♥♥ again.

Steam ruined my review joke how dare.

Still good visuals, VA will have you clutching hard.

After a 6 month hiatus, I read the patch notes and noted some improvements to the game.

On redownloading the game, I can finally say I can rerecommend the game as the game has returned to its original playability with notable improvements.

The Deck system is overhauled with new cards, and all cards unlock at once, making the game MUCH more fun. The new Hive levels give a new level of challenge for old hands to the game.

If I had to complain about something it would be the amount of supply points you need for single cosmetic items towards the end of the runs now that Burn Cards exist which themselves need supply points or the new Skull currency.

They also buffed other ways of playing the game so Dash running the game is no longer the only way to play making Quickplay viable once more.

So well done developers you got back to where you were on release, and then kept going after what was imo, an initial dip in quality. I hope Expansion 2 will be as enjoyable.

played for an hour not massively impressed, but it is early access etc,

First off let me say I play this with quest 2 + Virtual desktop, as some issues could be attributed to setups in VR

Bad points -
1. Grip to SHEATH a weapon . . . why? I was in combat in last room of the run, and I sheathed my weapon mid fight . . . . cause I grip something when I hold it I don't let go to hold something and reverse, my god this annoyed me so much
2. the dungeons seem very plain, definitely considering the long loading times and how little is loaded per load screen, takes you out of the experience
3. TOO. MANY. MIMICS. I could tell the chest was a mimic but you can't do any thing but attempt to open it til it attacks, I tried casting spells and hitting it preemptively, doesn't work. I had 5 mimics in my single run. Mimics should be used sparely and effectively, placing them so commonly diminishes the effect of such a wonderful creature (This message is brought to you by the Mimics appreciation society)
4. having to kill all enemies before you can continue, why MUST I fight? surely I should be able to avoid a fight if I feel the enemy is too powerful, but the rooms are locked with either death or kill all the only completion scenarios.
5. Melee combat feels a bit wagglely, the enemy strikes very quickly bit this is offset by the fact they can barely hit, a better ramp up would be good, with more clear parrying results

Now what does the game do right?
The good:
1. Traps work fairly well, that said a skeleton walked through a wire and it didn't activate so might not be perfect, but they are reasonable enough to spot that it's not just a random HP reduction
2. the atmosphere, the dungeons, whilst bare, do feel like lost dungeons, the music plays well and the overall graphics are fairly nice
3. gold upgrade system per run, works again, pretty well, the descriptions are clear enough that I can tell what swords I would want to buy eventually etc


overall I have more bad points than good, but of the dungeon crawler games I have tried this is one of the better ones so far, some just don't play well at all, and others are just garish, I look forward to seeing updates to this game and will be keeping my eye on it

TLDR: the current price reflects it's early access polish, but is worthwhile if you want a dungeon crawler that could possibly last you a while, but it won't haunt you til your dying days if you give it a miss

Only played for 1 hour at time of review but I am already quite impressed

This is basically the game I have wanted to play in VR since VR was a thing, however I would mention the controls are a little clunky compared to what has been worked out more recently (at least for playing using quest 2 + VR desktop)

you don't hold grip to keep hold of items and use trigger to pick things up, I've always found this really awkward in VR games and unintuitive,

HOWEVER, the game itself plays wonderfully, and i hope to play this a lot longer considering this is called early access and i've played far less polished games that were considered a release, so very well done to the creator

First off: Bugs, if you have a minimum recommended rig, I would suggest passing for now, I've not noticed many but even with my rig they are there,

However, that major flaw aside there is very little I can complain about in the game,
I would say there is a lack of romance options, and landmines insta killing on normal is annoying, and crafting should have a auto function for how much it is needed, and that fast travel has to be done from certain points,

but in 38 hours of play that is literally all I can think of to complain about that isn't bug related, everything else is working very well, and these complaints are relatively minor,

once bug fixes comes out I will be able to say there is no reason to not buy this game