My Pneumata Alpha Demo review for your consideration, Deadbolt Interactive.

[Vicious]

Pneumata Demo

by Victor Torres

Pneumata Alpha Demo is ambitious, but is Deadbolt Interactive coming in too strong? Will their risks pay off in the live game?

The Pneumata Demo is my intro to Deadbolt Interactive, and I am a fan. This review is mostly positive with the usual bump reports that come with development. My challenges with this review were: to not compare against other survival horror; to ask what Deadbolt Interactive intended versus what detracted from my experience; and to adapt to what information this demo was giving or not giving me.
Below are topics, facts or issues I had, and how it made me feel. At times I get very specific, but that is me admiring the team's great potential.
I used a keyboard/mouse for the demo, because I needed more controller customization.
PC and monitor specs are in my profile.

Controls Layout / Key Binding

• Will the game have an option to re-bind pc and controller commands?
  
• I have my mouse pointer speed set to max on my pc and in-game, but in-game I still have to pick up my mouse and set it back down to re-center; it’s not as fast as I play, and distracting – the game is already terrifying as it is. lol
  
• At times I can not exit out of the menu/journal/inventory with Tab or Escape.
  
• On the controller, L3 Toggle or Hold sprint worked sometimes. Walking was so slow I had to switch to mouse/keyboard.

Combat / Puzzle Balance

• Melee
  - Knife swings feel like punching; I lost my reward for seeing and hearing the effects from the knife. If I am at a last stand, or saving my resources, I am taking a risk, so I need my aesthetic reward.
  - Foot stomps have to be timed and aimed precisely or else your toes are going to get eaten. It is still interesting to have to change your pov down to stomp; it put pressure on me because I was not looking up and being aware. It’s a small challenge that forces me to use different skill sets.
  
• Mobs
  - Level 1 zombie mobs have an invisible extra reach. I can easily get out of their way, but they have an extra invisible fist length reach.
  - While the upper half of the level 1 zombie mobs swipe at you, their lower half stays still.
  - First engagement with masked villain : they were facing a door as I approached from behind. I unloaded my pistol on them, but they did not retaliate or engage, just reacted to the shots, then died.
  - Careful: you can die if you see an edge with water at a certain point in the game, and walk off it.
  - When you reach the switch to finally activate the platform, and get on, it keeps moving you; I had to keep moving so I would not fall off.
  - I was sorta disappointed when the classic, red barrels did not explode when I shot them as the albino mobs poured in trying to get me at the end.

Interface

• Journals
  - The yellow highlights over an entry are just bright enough to be hard to see, especially against the journal background; I have to keep checking which entry I selected. - Would you consider maybe orange or red since they are darker against the journal background?
  - Descriptions for items are off-center – this game experience is also off center which works! It messes with your mind, but off-center description doesn’t feel intentional.
  - The writer (our character?). Judging from their penmanship they seem calm, neat, and literate, but their surroundings are chaotic, psychopathic, and dangerous. Is their personality so put together, even in the midst of this threat? Will we experience more of their lore later?
  
• Thank you for the graphic setting explanations.
  
• I have been having a hard time getting my HDR settings right. I have an HDR monitor, but some games want the monitor on or they want it off and their in-game HDR on. It’s very confusing. For Pneumata, I had my monitor HDR on and in-game off. The other HDR color space and profiles.… no clue… the game helped with some explanation, but I had to settle on default for those; some space/profile settings washed the screen out or had the lights and reflections turn black. [monitor and pc specs in my profile]
  
• Benchmark was helpful. You run it, then it auto-sets Graphic settings when complete. However, I wasn’t sure what it did the first couple times I used it.
  
• At two points in the game, the cassette on the couch (upstairs by a valve), and the cabinet to get the code , I was able to click and use them. If I reloaded the game and tried to reopen the cabinet to double-check the code it would not open. Sometimes I would not be able to click and use that cassette either.
  
• When you open the cabinet with the code inside, the camera will keep moving you.
  
• Pressing the door code did not work on my mouse, just my controller.

Visual Aesthetics

• I could walk through some lockers, like the 2nd save room locker. [screenshots on my profile]
  
• I love the uneasy, the out of focus, the brightness and the darkness. I played for four hours, though, and it started to hurt my eyes how out of focus most things are (it also took me a bit for my stomach to not feel queasy–and I’m used to playing these games). It’s a cool technique as a summation of the experience you will get with Pneumata, but, after a while, all the richness and layers it brought… the aesthetic got slightly flat.
  To me, this focus effect is a huge driver that sets this game apart, but could there be a wider, sharper area our eyes can rest on? I am aware we can choose what to focus on, but it doesn’t feel enough… I feel a bit unattached to the world… the effect works, but maybe an option to adjust its strength. 🙂
  
• Main character
  - Is our character really this tall? I feel like there is a space between FOV and actually being there that messes with my mind/depth perception.
  - I already get a feeling of tightness, claustrophobia in the environment and visuals, but our character is holding weapons way too close to the body – is this another FOV thing?
  - Aiming is scary too because our character holds weapons up so close that it obstructs my view.
  - The noise our character makes when stomping is slightly irritating and doesn’t match their speaking voice (Doom guy’s voice is the best). The speaking voice is also hard to hear, ex, when you inspect or place a valve on, and they say, “Something is missing.”
  
• I was disappointed to see a pig head used as a mask; It is very specific to an American audience, and unoriginal (as is the one painted upside down cross I saw).
  What this did was take me out of the game. Then I started thinking of where I saw this pig mask in the media, which made me think of how those pig people were portrayed…
  The albino mob is unique and the default zombies are staples (I would gladly hold a zombie mob's hand and escape with them so they can see the world lol). Maybe the villain that did that watched too much TV?
  Will we get reasons for the pig (and dead animals) thing? What does a maniac with a pig head mean to you? Have you ever tried one on?
  Is there a concept villain y’all worked on that didn’t make the cut? Is there a mob that is more personal and unique to you we will see?
  
• Some barrels move, some do not.
  
• The pressurized cylinders make no noise when they are struck or fall down.
  
• The red, fleshy, body laying in the same goop… is that a normal sized human or something else is going on in the story? It is a big body.
  
• This flashlight is a blessing and source of terror because it is so dim. Lol A great way to add on pressure in-game. I enjoy advantages in games that are only teeny. It reminds me to really focus my senses inside the nightmare.

Audio Design and Mixing

• All Volume controls do not work.
  
• The tape cassette audio logs lure you with a moment’s respite, being able to hear another human voice amidst the chaos, but still assure that you are in a nightmare.
  
• All the sounds in the game, the voices, the sfx, are ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up. Deadbolt Interactive is a messed up crew with problems… and I love it; it fed me the entire time. There were few moments where I could not stop feeling the pressure.
  
• Love the masked villain. Their constant threats compounded the tension.
  
• Nice touch when you hear grinding noises the first time you reach the pig mask room.
  
• Would it detract or add to the pressure if we heard our character’s emotional state?

The Flow of the Playtest

• This map feels like it would be near the end game; it is an ambitious and risky map to put up as a demo. I was lost a lot. I was like, Do I need to sketch a map for this level? Anyways, it is a great level for an intro; new and experienced users will feel what Pneumata (and Deadbolt Interactive) is all about.
  
• Over four hours of play, I can’t speedrun from the middle to the end of the map yet. lol

The Level of Direction

• Thank you for using rats to guide us in this hectic labyrinth. Love the RE reference .
  
• I am fine with the amount of prompts and subliminal guidance the game gave. Near the end of the map is when the psychotics kick in–are the blue lights/red lights/blue paint/red blood guiding me or not? Lol I wonder if I go back and study those things, would they really have been useful guides?

Replayability
Oh, I’m following you. I would replay this again. I just need to see a few more options and tweaking. 🙂

For fun 😀
-There was a time I glitched in a locker and the masked mob said in the background, “Oh, yes, please hide.” Perfect timing.
-Woopsies. One time I unloaded a clip and a half on masked villain, and to no avail; he shrugged that off. lol
-Special hint! I was excited when my strategy to break only the bottom boards, so that only I, and not mobs, could escape by ducking worked!

Overall

Deadbolt Interactive came in hard and heavy with their Pneumata Alpha Demo. This demo said, “WHAT. What are you gonna do about this? I don’t care about your survival horror background. Survive this, ♥♥♥♥♥!” lol
This demo is great preparation for when the game comes out. I know what to expect now, and I’m gleefully scared. Bring on the intense experience, but with all the fixes and feedback in mind. 👍

Thank you.