Product received for free through a curator I write for, IndieGems. This has no effect on what I say in my review. I also have my own personal curator, Elysian Reviews.

I was drawn to this game at first by its name, and then a look over the Store page where the strong themes around nature and old Gods really appealed to me. Then I played it, and a good deal of enthusiasm was lost, and as I played on, it was replaced by frustration. This game has a great concept, and I love the natural setting, but what I played had little to commend it.

• 2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti
• 8GB Single-Channel DDR4 @ 1330MHz
• Intel Core i5 9300H @ 2.4GHz
• 1TB HDD @ 7200RPM

I played initially on very low settings (the game just chose that apparently) and averaged 40FPS. I raised it to ultra-settings, the visuals didn’t noticeably change, and the FPS was still around 40. It’s playable enough, and I didn’t have any performance related issues.

The only really commendable part of this game is the graphics. They aren’t incredible, but textures are generally quite sharp and the environments do overall look nice, with scattered ruins and overgrown vegetation. They are quite atmospheric.

Lighting is also generally good, with some light rays, and nice atmospheric fog. The visuals were the part of the game I was most impressed by. Small areas where you can see seams in the environment where it is clear two items meet, such as floor and rocks, or see under textures (like rocks again) are among the smaller complaints I have about Ex Natura.

Between creatures registering hits against you even when you clearly dodge, getting stuck in rocks, the UI prompts only being for controllers, and the combat coming down to chaotically spamming attack and block, the Ex Natura is only a frustrating experience to play.

Combat has an auto-lock feature that you can’t disengage without killing the enemy. Sometimes on low health, knowing the game to be clunky, I wanted to run to a save point to restore my health, and this was impossible because I couldn’t turn the camera around to see. Similarly, if in combat, and one enemy ends up behind you, there’s nothing you can do – you can’t turn to face him because the camera keeps pulling you back to the first target.

I only managed to progress by getting the enemies to bug out on environment, getting stuck on rocks or something. And to compound my dislike of this game, as soon as I’d done this, I then also end up stuck, with a totally black screen (aside from the HUD) and nothing to do but quit and restart.

Collectible items in the game world are highlighted so you can’t miss them, and the linear map design totally negates any sense of exploration. There are small paths you can take that go away from where you’re meant to go, and usually there’s something to collect like a potion or plant, at the end, but it’s a very shallow sort of exploration and ultimately there is only ever one way forwards.

Saving the game at glowing trees (the equivalent of Dark Souls’ fires) doesn’t save the fact you have just cleared an area of enemies, so in walking back through, they all respawn (sometimes a tooltip triggers again that introduced you to a game mechanic last time you were there too) and you have to endure the frustrating fight again.

Achievements:
If you are a completionist, stay away from this. It is hellishly hard to get through the game and all the achievements are ‘hidden’ so you cannot see the requirements.

The music in the game was surprisingly good. It’s nothing memorable, but it feels higher quality than the game. There’s one track which is quite mellow and calm, and another that plays on the main menu with a deep male-vocal in a similar fashion to Skyrim’s main theme. It has a tension and darkness about it that fits well with the game world.

However, the music is louder than the voice acting and this is not something I was able to adjust. Settings only allow music, master, and SFX adjustments – there’s no smaller category like “HUD” or “Voice” etc. It’s very basic, as are graphics settings.

This was mostly what drew me into Ex Natura, as the setting (as described on the Store page) was promising and I wanted to know how the story played out. Unfortunately, the game got in the way, and ultimately, as of writing this review, I never found out. I couldn’t pass the third part/chapter boss fight.

The setup idea of a meteor striking the Earth, introducing water, and water and fire elements splitting up and fighting as followers of their separate Gods had a powerful metaphor somewhere, but it was lost – buried deep below an irritating and badly designed game that fights you at every step of the way with no reward at all for the effort.

When I first opened this game it looked amateur, but in a way that could easily have been charming too. The graphics had a degree of quality about them – the lighting was quite nice in the first fight, and the building you start in, while empty of immersive clutter, was a decent looking backdrop.

As I played on, though, Ex Natura tried my patience. I hate the combat system and ultimately this kept getting in the way of my progressing through the world.

I know this is an indie game developed by a small team and so I didn’t go in expecting AAA quality. But three more levels are not what this game is crying out for by the end of early access. It needs tidying up. For now, it is an unpleasant experience to play, and I can’t in good conscience recommend it. At least not yet. I will try and update my review if I notice the game changes in the future.

Enter a world where nature's delicate balance has been disrupted, where the forces of corruption and destruction threaten to overtake the beauty that once thrived. Blackburne Games presents Ex Natura: Nature Corrupted, a thought-provoking and visually stunning game that stands out from the crowd and offers a truly unique gaming experience.

Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZiVtXxWMPs

What sets Ex Natura apart is its deep narrative, told through richly designed characters and evocative storytelling. As you embark on your journey, you'll encounter an array of enigmatic figures who hold the key to unraveling the mystery behind nature's corruption.
Each interaction is imbued with a sense of urgency and importance, adding layers of depth and emotional investment to the gameplay.

In addition to the captivating gameplay, Ex Natura boasts an awe-inspiring soundtrack that further enhances the immersive experience. From the haunting melodies that accompany quiet moments of reflection to the epic scores that punctuate intense encounters, the music serves as a powerful catalyst for emotions, intensifying the impact of the narrative.
If you're looking for a game that challenges your mind, stirs your emotions, and transports you into a world where beauty and corruption collide, look no further than Ex Natura: Nature Corrupted. Blackburne Games has created an unforgettable experience that will leave you yearning for more and inspire a newfound appreciation for the delicate balance of nature.

ex natura definitely looks interesting at first glance, with a promising level design and excellent lightning, so it got a decent atmosphere going, but in all honesty i can't recommend the game at this point since it got an abundance of glaring and kinda game breaking issues, even for an early access title.

- terrible optimization and performance, it's almost unplayable for me. settings are basically cosmetic and i've got the same abysmal fps on all of 'em. frames are dropping heavily as well.

- basically everything is glitching and bugging out:

- odd invisible walls (or the lack of), which can make your character easily get stuck on seemingly climbable rocks or other terrain. the lake area is a prime example. on the other hand, there are some invisible walls blocking off some visual paths. let's hope this is just an early access thing due to missing content and areas.

- enemies stuck on terrain, rocks, trees or even worse glitch into mountains or walls.

- gameplay is very clunky and feels kinda stiff. climbing is especially clunky and tends to glitch heavily. running feels odd and doesn't work properly. combat is kinda alright, but got some disturbing issues as well. from glitches to attacks not working properly, coming out oddly delayed and so on. the same goes for enemy attacks.

- enemy ki is somewhat broken at times and is too passive.

- ui controls are kinda not working correctly. tried on controller and m&k, both got issues.

- the game doesn't tell you what the stats are doing unless you've already spent the level up (or i'm blind, but if so - highlight it better). coming from modern souls games, i've naturally pumped my first level ups into vigor, but vigor doesn't increase health in this game, endurance does - what a bummer. i don't mind different approaches for stats, but please i'm begging you, give more detailed information and insight.

- i really don't like how heavy attacks are working. i'm preferring a dedicated button over this holding the attack button to perform a heavy attack.

- i'm not very far and haven't tried crafting yet, but i'm kinda concerned that this game is using some kind of crafting system over a health flasks which replenishes on checkpoints. the next session might prove me wrong, so take this complaint with a grain of salt.

- your special attack (bonus damage and time slow) is on the same button like sprinting, so you basically have to use it at any point. odd i have to admit.

- target look isn't working properly.

- not a single flavor object in this game. you've got the shinies here and there, but the world feels so empty and lifeless. let me at least smash some barrels. i'm not asking for any loot!

- i have no words for how poorly the cut scenes are, both in quality and performance. the first one kinda cut out, lagged and was so grainy i could barely see any details.

- lackluster and amateur voice acting. idk, better scrap it altogether and stick to well written texts instead, if you don't have the means for an enjoyable synchronization.

- somehow my character bugged out during the first boss and is invulnerable now. probably a blessing from the gods to soothe the broken combat.

i haven't played much at all and the list goes on and on. i'm thinking about refunding, but i like supporting passionate developers with their ambitious projects, so i might keep it and wait for updates. the game could be good in the future, but it's nowhere near there right now.

edit:

refunded. i've waited two weeks for any meaningful update, but nothing happened beside that "day 1 patch" which didn't fix anything at all. this fact combined with the overkeen 1.0 release date in summer 2023 makes me kinda wary. i'll still follow this game and check for improvements, but not with my money commited since the game is still unplayable.

At this time i can't recommend the game, because of the many, many bugs and bad optimization. The optimization i don't mind so much, but the bugs/glitches are truly gamebreaking.

Enemies that don't walk but weirdly glide towards you, enemies getting stuck in almost everything.
The first glowing tree that you encounter where you can level up, save your game and brew potions is almost unusable, because at the moment you activate the tree an enemy spawns and begins to attack you while you are locked in the menu for the tree.

So by the time you leave the tree menu, the enemy that spawns there has almost killed you before you get the chance to parry or attack.

I love souls-like game for their difficulty, but this is ridiculous.

I am not going to refund, because i can see that the game has potential and also because it still is in early access.
Hoping that the dev is going to stick with the game and not going to abandon it, like many other do.

For now i am going to put the game on ice, waiting for a number of updates and then try it again. I wish that steam had a middle ground between yes and no, but giving how it is now i have to say no.

If and when the game becomes better i will change my opinion.
Keep up the good work dev and hoping that the game becomes one of the best souls-likes.

If you are tired of casual games, then this game is your choice. However, do not think that there are all complex mobs that have a million health and the same amount of damage. No. This game is difficult due to its unique mechanics, action movies, and interesting enemy placement. And, of course, the redesign. He is simply gorgeous in this game. The way these locations are intertwined with each other... I have not seen this in any game. And he also makes a corridor game - almost an open world game.
There are also other advantages to this game

Ex Natura correctly applied all the important elements of the Souls-like genre. It offers tough fights, mechanics that require strategy, and a deep sense of exploration. The graphics and sound design are also quite successful. If you're looking for a small budget but impressive game, I recommend trying Ex Natura!

Man, what a bad game... Talk about buggy and unpolished... Don't bother with this one, it's just another asset flip game with a very good "I'm not an asset flip game" costume.

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I honestly don't know where to begin with this one. So, let's start at the end of the review I guess... I don't recommend anyone buy this game unless you have the money to burn. This game has many technical issues from a game design and performance aspect.

My overall rating for this game is a 3.5/10.

In terms of the game play, combat is really bad. Enemies slide all over the map while fighting you, there is no soul in how they are programmed. They basically sit in one place until you come into their awareness range and then run straight at you and have a basic attack string that never changes.

If you move out of range, they run up to you and bonk you with the same attacks. The first boss doesn't have any really special attacks, he just walks/slides over to you and slashes you with his sword along with a jump back if you attack him.

The Rage mechanic is not implemented correctly or is bugged and not only slow down enemies, but also slows your character down as well or bugs out input detection rendering the mechanic useless.

The jumping mechanic doesn't make any sense from a design perspective. There isn't really any reason for it to exist outside of some basic traversal mechanics that should have been done in a modern way and not as if the game was made in the 90's where you were jumping up and down ledges to get around maps.

In several places the jump mechanic actually makes it really hard not to die because of invisible walls that will block you from being able to reach across drop offs and the way the "climbing" aspect of the system works is really badly executed/designed.

The game settings reset when you restart the game so you have to change them each time you start. That is slightly mitigated by the face that the only real settings you have to worry about are VSync, MSAA, and audio levels. None of the other settings really do anything; Graphics Quality doesn't actually change anything other than some lighting and post process effects for example.

The game has really bad performance. On my ryzen 7 3900x/2080TI/64GB ram system I was getting around 45-50fps on medium quality and MSAA x2.

The audio mastering in this game is almost non-existent. I have to turn down the sound effects and music volume multiple times as I progressed through the first two areas because things kept getting louder. The intro cinematic also has an issue with the music getting extremely loud as it progresses.

Sound effects are pretty bad too and don't sound right for what is happening on the screen. The music in general is alright though.

Voice acting can be hit or miss, but you can tell when the devs are doing the vo versus when they hired ona voice actor to voice over certain characters. That said, the writing in the game is pretty bad. I am guess English is not the devs first language and it shows in how badly structured the dialog is.

On top of all of this, the dev's don't seem to be fixing the game anymore. The last update was in July of 2023 and there haven't been any updates or notices on Steam that more updates are forthcoming. You can probably assume this game is abandonware at this point.

This game is half baked at best. Horribly unoptimized and with controls that just feel painful more than anything else. It needed far more work before being released. Avoid at all costs, its simply not worth it.