Disfigure is a terrific free-to-play, top-down, Rogue-like, horde survival game that introduces the unique and novel concept of limited vision. Although the concept of limited vision isn't new to video games whatosever, I haven't seen it before in this over-saturated genre which makes this game stand out from its competitors and because it adds a slight sense of terror and dread to the game.

Overall, I recommend it due to its fun and balanced gameplay, the multitude of weapons and upgrades that are available to you which results in plenty of replay value, the smart use of limited vision to invoke more tension and even a hint of fear, and the fact that it's free but is still regularly updated by the developers.

Note: this review is current as of Update 19 released on 12 April 2024.

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S U M M A R Y

- The gameplay is typical for a horde survival game but is nevertheless fun and quite balanced which is a welcome surprise;
- The replay value is high due to the number of weapons and upgrades that are available to you;
- The graphics are minimalistic and lacking in detail altogether but this works well with the game's overall theme of horror;
- The soundtrack is made up of heavy and slow drum and bass songs that have a trace of sci-fi synth to them but are forgettable and are simply background noise;
- The story is non-existent but the theme of horror is somewhat refreshing because it is underused in the genre; and
- The game is missing some quality-of-life features that should be standard in the genre but has some great visibility options.

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A C H I E V E M E N T S

The game has 31 achievements which are relatively easy to get and should take less than 20 hours if you're proficient in the genre; however, the game is marked as "Profile Features Limited" which means that it will not count towards your "Perfect Games" count and other achievement-related stats until it makes a minimum number of sales or has met other non-revenue criteria thresholds.

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R E V I E W

The gameplay is very typical for a horde survival and bullet heaven game: you must survive for 20 minutes, defeat three bosses at set intervals, and then optionally continue afterwards in an endless mode for a high score on the leaderboards. That being said, what makes it stand out is its unique use of limited vision wherein you can only see the parts of the map that you are directly illuminating with your torch which can be toggled between a standard circular lantern that lights up a circle around you or a conical bullseye lantern that only lights up a conical area in the direction of your cursor.

This vision concept is something that I have never seen before in the genre and it works extremely well as it adds a palpable sense of tension and even a modicum of trepidation as you never know exactly where the next enemy is going to come from unless you hit them or mark them with a persistent effect such as burn or shock. It can even lead to minor jump scares if you happen to shine your cone of vision at something that has been following right behind you for some time.

The game has no meta progression, making it more of a Rogue-like, but you can unlock an assortment of melee weapons and guns with the points that you earn during runs. Every time you level up during a run, you can choose between many relatively well-balanced upgrades which each have two upgrade paths of their own and you also get to choose a special weapon-specific upgrade at levels 10, 20, and 30. The sheer number of weapons and upgrades allows for a wide variety of builds and, thus, replay value especially since the upgrades are quite well balanced which is surprising but refreshing among the genre.

The maps have nothing on them which is disappointing — there is nothing to interact with, no obstacles for you or the enemies to weave around, no sights to see, and no easter eggs to discover as far as I'm aware.

The graphics are extremely minimalistic and are very lacking in detail but this actually adds to the frightful atmosphere of the game. For instance, the enemies are simply vague, black, bug-like shapes but this gives them a certain ominous and foreboding quality which might otherwise be lost if they were fully detailed and colored; however, the same cannot be said for the backgrounds of the two maps which are a dull grey floor with minor pattern differences that carry on indefinitely. Although the minimalism works well for the enemies, it doesn't work nearly as well for the backgrounds and these could definitely use more detail despite being mostly obscured by darkness unless you get a number of vision upgrades.

The soundtrack is composed of decent but forgettable drum and bass songs which have a hint of sci-fi synth to them. The sound effects are far louder than the music and become extremely repetitive very quickly so I recommend turning down the volume of the sound effects so you can actually hear the music while retaining your sanity.

The story is completely non-existent, including from the store page where some developers write at least some narrative snippet (not that this genre has a history of having deep and immersive stories to begin with though). That being said, the game does have an overall theme of horror which is somewhat underused among the genre and is a relatively fresh idea as a result.

The game is missing some quality-of-life features which should be commonplace in this genre but I don't fault the developers too much as the game is completely free. The major examples I have are being able to view your weapon's stats and each upgrade's description and path on the pause menu as well as being able to see how each upgrade will affect your weapon when choosing an upgrade on level-up.

The game has a number of useful visibility options including the ability to change your character and cursor to any color you want as well as being able to lock the camera on your character, both of which are very handy in a bullet heaven game. Otherwise, you are unable to change any settings other than color at all during a run which is annoying and there is no way to lock the mouse inside the window when using windowed mode.

Overall, I recommend the game due to its unique and novel gameplay, which is also astonishingly well-balanced, its high replay value, and the underused theme of horror. Despite being a free game, the developers regularly update it which is very commendable considering how much potential and room for improvement the game has. It is easily one of the better entries in the genre and most certainly surpasses many buy-to-play horde survival games on the market. If you feel that the developers should get something for their hard work then they have a donation DLC that you can purchase to support them.

This game is really fantastic. Polished, engaging, fully developed, and very replayable. I think this dev has great potential for a grander scale, and I look forward to seeing what they've got.

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