Why isn't this game more active?

[TΩKSYK]

I've had the game on my wishlist for a while now, but I just noticed the active player base is quite low for a co-op game. It looks fun and reviews are mostly positive, so I am genuinely curious why aren't more people playing?

[Artek [General]]

Its hard to explain, but basically: the game had exhausted itself on top of just a bunch of... Sub-optimal design decisions.

One: we had our official last major update a year ago.
The game's done and no longer supported. Whatever warts are left - are there forever.

Two: playing the game in coop with randoms requires joining the official Discord and using that to match people.
The in-game matchmaking is designed to be used for screwing around and joining random levels to play, not the ones you actually need. So its pretty much just for veterans who got nothing better to do and just want to play whatever.
Discord IS the way to play, and many people are filtered out by the idea of having to use 3rd party software to play with people, while also having to socialize (*shivers*).

Three: the game is VERY unforgiving and filters out the unprepared and uncommitted over prolonged exposure.
It takes ~50 hours of playtime to come to realization just how mean this game can get when it really wants to - and it is exhausting.

Four: the game has 0 objective replayability.
There is no long term reward system, no EXP / currency to earn, no guns to unlock - everything is available from the start.
The only reward system present is cosmetics.
There is no reason to replay a level once you've beaten it, other than the fun-value of the gameplay itself, if any are to be found. Unfortunately there's very few genuinely exciting levels worthy of replaying: most are an up to hour-long slog.


All of this combined means that the game is very niche, and then those few who actually stuck around have no reason to continue playing once they've beaten everything.
The only long-term fanbase the game has are speed-runners and other kinds of weirdos.

[El Pukaniero Bombardini]

It's difficult, edging on sadism. Some levels can probably be """ALMOST""" completed by a team of first-timers.

So, you play the mission, and it's manageable. You take one, maybe two hours—then, at the end, there's ten minutes of pure BS.

The first two hours of the level essentially serve as a time sink, punishing you for not playing well enough in the last ten minutes. It's not truly hard—it’s just trolling you for failing.

IMO, R2E1 is a perfect example. I still remember playing with my team and wondering why it was rated an E-level. Then the hard part starts. You die? Too bad. Now you have to slog through the easy, lengthy section again. And again. And again. All just to retry the ten actually difficult minutes at the end.

Honestly, it’s bad design. If you value your time and don’t have five hours to grind daily, just get the checkpoint mod. Some levels are so long that you can realistically attempt only one or two restarts per day (assuming you play after work). There are no saves, very few vanilla checkpoints, and probably none at all in the levels that actually need them (R8E2, anyone?).

[Artek [General]]

Originally posted by El Pukaniero Bombardini:

So, you play the mission, and it's manageable. You take one, maybe two hours—then, at the end, there's ten minutes of pure BS.

The first two hours of the level essentially serve as a time sink, punishing you for not playing well enough in the last ten minutes. It's not truly hard—it’s just trolling you for failing.

I can actually vouch for this observation too.
Not so much R2E1, i think its pretty hard as it is and the finale is just cherry on top...

My personal example is... I think it was R5D1? The secondary objective, specifically.
The main objective is just your standard 30-40 minutes stealth slog, ending in somewhat exciting finale and then you just go home... Unless you go for the secondary objective.
The secondary objective of that level is f*cking bullsh*t. It doubles the level's already pretty lengthy playtime and combines some of the worst stealth mechanics into one big bag of raw pain, while genuinely threatening to end your run at every minor step. I had some REALLY stinky wipes on that one. The kind that hurts.