Don't Buy This Game! (Review from GOG)

[Chowster]

Hey there, I was trying to figure out a way to get this up on Steam so people don't fall into the same trap I did.

Found out about this game from a Nintendo Direct I think about a year ago now and it looked AWESOME. Loved the art style and silly-ness of it all. But given that it was a FPS, I thought it would be better to have on PC rather than Switch.

So yesterday I bought it on GOG and was playing it. It's not what I had imagined at all. Granted that is my fault for not doing more research. But that is why I'm here to let others know what the game is about.

This game is a Rouge-lite where you play as a boy trying to figure out why the company LabiWorks is destroying your house and this sends you on an adventure to find out the truth!
The unique twist is that you recruit characters as your "weapons." The 2D art is great and the characters, while kind of one note can be kind of funny.

The problem starts when you actually play the game, and while I've heard that the gamepad controls are pretty bad, I played on Keyboard/Mouse. The mouse has a weird acceleration to it that you cannot turn off, but I got used to it. The game equips your main character with a Stick and that all you get from what I can tell. You can get range attacks from the other characters and from consumable items that you throw. However, you run out of consumables and your other characters get "tired" from attacking and getting hit so you can't rely on them. So you will be forced to use the kid with the stick and while the range of the stick is generous, it quickly becomes very boring while running up to the enemy swinging while in range and backing off enough to not get hit. I ended up beating a "run" within an hour or so, but the game forces you to grind out Stars to unlock the ending. I was done with the game at this point, so I have not bothered to grind out for more stars.

I wanted to love this game, I really did. I enjoyed the humor, even if it is a bit dark, but I laughed at some of the early character's dialogue. I love the art style of the characters and enemies, but the gameplay kills any enjoyment I have with the game.

TLDR:
Pros
-Cute 2D Art Style
-Humorous Dialogue
-Enjoyable music at times

Cons
-Boring and repetitious combat
-Characters lose all personality once they are in your party
-Due to the rouge-like nature, it makes you endure more boring combat

Again, I can see the love that was put into this game, I didn't have any crashes or problems during gameplay. I can see that this was a passion project, it just ended falling a bit flat. I would take a pass on this game, at least for now.

[Rin D. Pryde]

Yep, I concur - what that guy said =)

But I can also add something: the combat is not only repetitive and boring but also very clunky. Since all the monsters are 2D sprites there is really no "attack" animation, so you can't even dodge properly — it looks like enemy just comes close and you start taking damage. Very dumb and unresponsive system without any feedback. Instant "no-no" for me.

Even games like Ziggurat, City of Brass or The Pit Infinity, even if not perfect by any stretch, are leagues ahead of Away in terms of combat and overall "good feeling", lol. Away is not "goodfeel", that's a terrible lie xD

PS. The game looks cute indeed though =)

[TemmieNeko]

Originally posted by Chowster:

Hey there, I was trying to figure out a way to get this up on Steam so people don't fall into the same trap I did.

Found out about this game from a Nintendo Direct I think about a year ago now and it looked AWESOME. Loved the art style and silly-ness of it all. But given that it was a FPS, I thought it would be better to have on PC rather than Switch.

So yesterday I bought it on GOG and was playing it. It's not what I had imagined at all. Granted that is my fault for not doing more research. But that is why I'm here to let others know what the game is about.

This game is a Rouge-lite where you play as a boy trying to figure out why the company LabiWorks is destroying your house and this sends you on an adventure to find out the truth!
The unique twist is that you recruit characters as your "weapons." The 2D art is great and the characters, while kind of one note can be kind of funny.

The problem starts when you actually play the game, and while I've heard that the gamepad controls are pretty bad, I played on Keyboard/Mouse. The mouse has a weird acceleration to it that you cannot turn off, but I got used to it. The game equips your main character with a Stick and that all you get from what I can tell. You can get range attacks from the other characters and from consumable items that you throw. However, you run out of consumables and your other characters get "tired" from attacking and getting hit so you can't rely on them. So you will be forced to use the kid with the stick and while the range of the stick is generous, it quickly becomes very boring while running up to the enemy swinging while in range and backing off enough to not get hit. I ended up beating a "run" within an hour or so, but the game forces you to grind out Stars to unlock the ending. I was done with the game at this point, so I have not bothered to grind out for more stars.

I wanted to love this game, I really did. I enjoyed the humor, even if it is a bit dark, but I laughed at some of the early character's dialogue. I love the art style of the characters and enemies, but the gameplay kills any enjoyment I have with the game.

TLDR:
Pros
-Cute 2D Art Style
-Humorous Dialogue
-Enjoyable music at times

Cons
-Boring and repetitious combat
-Characters lose all personality once they are in your party
-Due to the rouge-like nature, it makes you endure more boring combat

Again, I can see the love that was put into this game, I didn't have any crashes or problems during gameplay. I can see that this was a passion project, it just ended falling a bit flat. I would take a pass on this game, at least for now.

Not my place to say, I don't think at least? But this post really shouldn't be here. If people wanna check out the GoG reviews, they can. PLenty of people have posted thelinks to the reviews here.
I'm still on the fence for the game, but I'm looking into it more to make sure.
your post seems a bit rude, and out of place.
I can appreciate you wanting to help people out, but you're essentially cutting this game's legs off before it can have a chance to walk on Steam.

[Rin D. Pryde]

Originally posted by TemmieNeko:

Not my place to say, I don't think at least? But this post really shouldn't be here. If people wanna check out the GoG reviews, they can. PLenty of people have posted thelinks to the reviews here.
I'm still on the fence for the game, but I'm looking into it more to make sure.
your post seems a bit rude, and out of place.
I can appreciate you wanting to help people out, but you're essentially cutting this game's legs off before it can have a chance to walk on Steam.

Yeah, but for me personally the regional price is kinda almost twice higher on Steam than on GOG. So this is pretty scummy move you're defending here - we need to pay developers "extra" for the right to review the game on Steam? Don't think so. Go away, please.

[Mawthra]

I bought on GOG and can say I was pretty disappointed with it after playing it for a bit... it's a well polished game with a lot of charm, but it's just not that fun to play... the videos they're using to promote it are a bit deceiving to me as well because they're cut it in such a way that all you see is constant action... but actually playing the game, it doesn't feel that way at all... I know that's the whole purpose of trailers, but... in the case of this game, I don't think it represents the game very well at all

[76561198859604772]

Hey so not liking the game and commenting its flaws is TOTALLY FINE (of course).

But writing in all caps about not buying the game in the title isn't cool. So the thread is locked.