Recent reviews by DeliriousDalty

I don't write a whole lot of reviews, but this game has certainly warranted one in my book.

• Realistic bird AI that boosts immersion
  
• Firearm ballistics data that rewards skillful shooting and careful ammo selection
  
• True to life waterfowl hunting tactics that both add immersion and help new players understand why they're used
  
• A point system that feels rewarding and adds re-play value
  
• Fantastic audio design that adds immersion and underlines the importance of stealth and being aware of your surroundings
  
• Developers that care about the experience/authenticity of waterfowl hunting in-game; thus, reflecting their own real-world knowledge on the topic

• Sometimes character dissappears while using boats causing a hard reset and losing currency
  
• Other ways to increase body temperature (heat packs, layering up, coffee)
  
• Various ways to tell wind direction other than reeds and audio cues
  
• A free-look and auto-walk key bind
  
• More options for deployable blinds or a way to make/set-up permanent blinds
  
• Overall lighting needs to be a smidge brighter or allow the player to adjust it themselves
  
• Goose hunting

I've hunted waterfowl in real life since I was a kid so this game feels like home. I haven't played a game that gives that similar adrenaline rush of seeing a duck fall after a well-placed shot.


Bult definitely leans more towards a simulation (as stated in the title) rather than a traditional hunting game. Don't expect a shooting gallery like most other games depict waterfowl hunting. Bult's focus is more on realism and the reward/frustration that can follow with any type of hunting. As others have stated, the game doesn't hold your hand. There's a basic sub-menu when you start that'll explain a few basic mechanics, but the rest is for you to explore. Being a hunter in real life it was fairly easy to apply what knowledge I had, but I can see where some people may get frustrated with minimal direction or tutorials. There are books in-game that I recommend you read in order to get a few more tips. That being said, when you finally get a method down the game truly shines above the rest.




The AI system for the birds is what really impresses me above all else. Making the comparison to ducks in real-life, it's almost a 1:1. The flight patterns of the birds aren't staged. The birds fly, change direction, or land based on multiple different factors. Variables such as: weather, player movement/noise, decoy placement, camo selection, and many more all affect the bird's behavior and movement. Ducks have exceptional eye sight and hearing in real life and the developers made sure the player recognizes this. Every decision you make in the field has to be carefully calculated if you want to have any success.




The map included in early access is solely based off of the developer's home of Yakutia. It encompasses all the right ingredients of a prime duck (and grouse) habitat. Unlike most hunting games, there's no pre-determined hunting zones or "hotspots". Choosing the correct location for your hunt ultimately depends on the season and weather. The map is fairly easy to traverse and isn't overly large that it feels overwhelming. The environment feels alive and does a great job at immersing the player. Various forms of wildlife (aside from waterfowl and grouse) can be found throughout the map. The map offers a few lakes, ponds, and sloughs to scout and hunt from. Depending on the season you choose to hunt, various waterways and locations around the map will change. Everything from the swaying reeds on the edge of the lake down to the mosquitoes that land on your hand; the atmosphere feels carefully crafted to mimic real-life.




Every hunt starts with your equipment. You have to dress warm or hunt in the fall if you can't afford warm clothes. If you don't, you'll be shivering the whole time affecting your shot placement and stamina. Your camo matters. If you're sitting in the reeds with a autumn leaf-patterned coat the ducks are gonna notice and fly the opposite direction. You'll start pretty barebones so it can be a grind but eventually you'll afford better clothes, decoys, better shotguns, better ammo and more. Starting out can be pretty frustrating and it'll test your patience. That being said, I enjoy the gameplay loop the developers have crafted. I really only play "Free Hunt", but only because the "Bet" mode doesn't seem all that interesting to me. The soon to be added "Contracts" mode is what I am most excited for. It'll be a mode that'll allow you to sign with an organization that'll hand out tasks to harvest certain species of birds to earn huge rewards. It reminds me a lot of what Tarkov does with traders, so not exactly a new concept, but it'll add more replay value.






The Point system or Reputation system is basically a ranking system that allows you to buy better gear and I'm guessing in the future will allow you to sign with various organizations. It's nothing ground-breaking, but one thing I like about it is, ironically, the penalties involved. If you kill an endangered species or a bird that isn't allowed to be hunted at all you'll receive a penalty. This ensures players are identifying their birds before taking a shot and making sure they're making clean shots. Once again, adding a layer of realism to the game. The shotguns feel pretty great and have some tinnitus-inducing audio to follow. As mentioned, the ballistics data implemented in-game creates a lot of realistic scenarios. This isn't your typical boom-stick that every other game seems to think shotguns to be. You'll have to account for wind, spread pattern, shot size, and distance. In a perfect scenario you'll send a bird towards the water with one shot, but sometimes you might "wing" a bird and it'll land quickly and find cover from you. It's aware of you and may even dive in the water to avoid you finishing the kill. Developers have talked about adding a penalty to your reputation dependent on how much damage you do to a bird which could be costly when having to finish an injured bird. All of these mechanics circle back to making sure you can effectively and confidently make a clean shot or face the consequences.






Bult, as stated by the developers, "is a game made by hunters for hunters". To be totally honest, I could sum up the whole thing with that statement. I don't think this game has anything super groundbreaking when it comes to hunting games, but it's layer of realism is what makes it stand out. I'm not gonna speak for all hunters, but a quintessential piece of what makes any form of hunting rewarding and fun is the challenge and difficulty it poses. That's an aspect of hunting that many games have either missed the mark on or have completely bypassed in order to attract more casual players. There's nothing wrong with wanting a more relaxed and casual hunting experience, but the layer of realism Bult adds makes the experience overall more rewarding. That's not to say that you'll be shooting birds left and right if you apply all the right techniques. Some days you'll get lucky just sitting in the tall-reeds as flock by flock flys over your head. Other days you'll sit in your blind blankly staring at your carefully-set spread of decoys wondering if you should've done something different. That's duck hunting in a nutshell and Bult nails it.

Another extraction game for the cheaters to flock to. Pretty disappointing to be honest... At least you have a kill-cam to watch how you got cheated.

good

Day 1: My father gives me the keys to the family restaurant insisting I carry on the legacy of kebabs. I gladly accept and start cleaning the place up for tomorrow.

Day 2: My father teaches me some simple recipes and lets me loose upon the trail of kebab fame and fortune. I'm feeling pretty good about this.

Day 3: I actually made a profit today and bought some new appliances for my restaurant. I will now be able to add more recipes and make A LOT more money. I hired a new worker to help out. His name is Javier, but I call him J.

Day 4: As expected, we've made record profit today! Time to celebrate at the local bar with J.

Day 5: I lost $2000 in blackjack last night and called in hungover. Don't worry I'll make it up tonight by winning it back.

Day 6: I lost today's earnings while gambling. Decided to sell my microwave to gamble some more and lost that too. ♥♥♥♥...

Day 7: Had to let go of J today because I can't afford him. The health inspector stopped by and said I have rotten food in storage an the restaurant is filthy. I can't afford to buy more groceries for today. I'm gonna have to pull out a loan from the bank to stay a float.

Day 8: Decided to try and gamble my loan so I could make back everything I lost and then some. i lost it all.......... my dad is gonna ♥♥♥♥♥♥ kill me


Gambling Simulator 10/10

The game has a great base and promises a lot of cool features in the future. That's all fine and dandy, but it has a LONG way to go.

I've logged 4 hours and would estimate that maybe 1 and a half of those hours were spent actually playing. The others were spent trying to fiddle with settings and troubleshoot so my game could run some what decent. Obviously it's early access, but the game feels more like it's in pre-alpha stage. Very poor optimization for even mid-range graphics cards and lacks server stability when you are able to join one.

I really hope the developers can start pushing the pace with this influx of money coming in. Until then, it just seems like they tried to cash out on Tarkov's recent fumble.

The game could be great, but overall lacks development. Played for 255 hours as of posting this and definitely got my time out of it for the price. But as of late, the game is going in multiple directions confusing and frustrating players.

I haven't played a game this great in a long, long time.

Do yourself a favor and give this a game a shot even if it doesn't seem like it fits your style. After my first drop in the Orion sector on Angels Venture I was HOOKED. The visceral warfare that comes with mowing down bugs (terminids) makes you feel as if you are really there. One moment you are admiring the captivating landscape of an alien planet and the next you're throwing an airstrike marker to allow yourself enough time to reload your rifle. The camaraderie among fellow divers is palpable for a game that launched so recently. You are not "teammates", no no no.... you're much more than that! You're a soldier on an ever-changing front to bring democracy and freedom to all the surrounding planets of SUPER EARTH! All drama aside, the point I'm trying to make is the immersion is top notch. When you aren't killing bugs you can always switch fronts and wage war with "Automatons". An arguably much more dangerous enemy wielding laser-rifles, cannons, and freaking chainsaw arms. It's a great change of pace and a welcome freedom of choice in regards to game play.

I will say the launch has been a little rocky and continues to be at the current time of writing this. The phrase "suffering from success" comes to mind when trying to describe the situation. I can't knock the issues too hard though because the developers have reacted swiftly with continued patches and updates to resolve any glaring issues. I'm not a developer so I can't articulate what would cause these problems up-front and how they could be solved as efficiently as possible. As a consumer though, it feels good to see the developers actively "putting in the overtime" to make sure everyone gets a chance to experience the game as it was intended. Some people hate any minor inconvenience to their play time and I can't knock them too hard for that, but this a game worth every ounce of patience in my humble opinion. I can't wait to see what Arrowhead has planned for HD2 in the future, they clearly put all of their TLC into this baby.

One of the best FPS games I've played in a long time. Great re-play value, fast-paced, and smooth running.

A great game by a great team of developers. It has something for everyone. There's base building, waves of increasingly-difficult cannibals, cave exploration, a mysterious story, and so much more!

Definitely give the first game a try before this one.

After a few runs I finally made it to the princess palace. This game summed up during that experience:

I've been sweating my ass off to reach this point. After quite a few elite teams, cross-checking refs, and those damned lettuce heads I've made it. Every game is a hustle and my team is looking great. My boy Angus McShaggy can check like a semi-truck hitting a smart car. Mark Jerky is my go-to for getting the puck down the ice to Calvin Dord, my sniper. Mark Jerky and Stevie Louder move like syrup down a maple tree so I mostly use them to throw hockey sticks at the opposition (yes you read that right).

It's 2nd period with 25 seconds left, score is 2-1 the princesses...time to make a play. Our team wins the face-off and the puck heads right for my speedster Mark, PERFECT. I get the puck down the ice through a storm of fart clouds (no literally). I try to set up the perfect shot by passing the puck around, creating some room for my boy Calvin to take his best shot. He receives the puck, the lane is open, I go for top right of the net. MISS. 14 seconds left!!! The princesses skate their stinky asses down the ice towards our goalie. In a panic, I have my two defense players Stevie and Carlos take aim for the princess with the puck. Stevie throws his stick absolutely beaming the wench behind the princess with the puck. 10 SECONDS LEFT!! Stevie wanders off to grab his stick while I take control of Carlos. It's only Carlos and McShaggy that are down the ice with the princess who has the puck. If I can take her out and pass it back to Calvin who's waiting at the opposite end I can tie this game up for overtime. Time to clutch up or shut up. The princess with the puck lets a fat one rip as Carlos winds up to let his stick fly. Carlos sends it towards the princess as McShaggy crosses his line of fire. McShaggy goes down, the stick tears down the ice towards my goalie absolutely obliterating him. I laugh hysterically as I witness my boys fall apart like bowling pins to a hockey stick. I see my boy Calvin coming down the ice in an attempt to aid the absolute tragedy that has happened down the ice. The princess winds up, lets a wet-fart out, takes the shot and scores a free goal. 3-1 and 2 seconds left....... The princesses win the face-off and run the clock as I have yet to stop laughing from the madness that has just occurred in front of me. Game lost, time to start all over again from the VERY BEGINNING.

This game is awesome.