Depths of Insanity Review

[Michael {United Critics}]

Depths of Insanity

Background check. Your spacecraft has crashed onto the planet so called earth and now you need to explore the town and its surrounding to find materials and items to fix your spacecraft and make it back home.
But there is something odd with this town. Houses are empty, fire’s everywhere, barricades on the roads, and a man who is dressed up like a chili-hotdog superhero…
I don’t know what’s going on in this town nor why my spacecraft malfunctioned. But I am going to find the cause of this and make my way back home.

The Game of The Play

The game starts out with after the spacecraft has crashed. The player will start in third person and after a short while go into first-person and begin to search the available area.
The player will find a bucket and a small pool of water to put out the fire on the spacecraft. Instructions will come along for how to do it when the designated item has been equipped to the player and in this case filled with water. The task will appear of what the player need to do.
After the spacecraft Is no longer burning, an unexpected explosion happens in the background which opens up a path to a new area.

That’s the start of the game, after that the player will find more paths that leads to other areas with different outlays and items. Some hold treasures while others are just a clear path to the next area. Some areas are important, in some designated areas there will be NPC’s and in one area, the player will be able to set up a base camp for the time remaining until they are able to get back home.
On the map in the inventory the player will be able to see all the different areas with their numbers, but the player needs to remember which area it said they entered because there is no dot showing where the player is on the map.
And the player will be able to find a map that shows where all the “brains” are, that is needed to repair the spacecraft. All the brains are hold by a boss.

I managed to find one or two puzzle bits (The keys for Dr.F.Rogmans laboratory) and it seems like the player acquires them from mini bosses. And yes, Chili-Hot dog man seems to count as a mini boss by achieving a puzzle bit from him.

SLAJM-WATCH-3000
The SLAJM-WATCH-3000 is the device that the player can save their progress, see the player stats, go into inventory, quit to main menu, etc.

Fighting & Enemies
When fighting enemies or especially zombies with any type of melee weapons, only the first blow deals damage and clearly shows it aswell. But when attacking right after the first blow, it does not deal any damage or as the look of it shows.
The enemies have no health bar and there aren’t any hit marker/indicators like numbers that proves that the player is damaging the enemy.
Only the few times when the player gets in a blow, and it shows on the screen a clear sign that it has dealt damage.

Another problem with melee fighting is that the enemies deals a precise attack onto the player in a fast paste, while the player can’t even do one blow after another.
So it turns out to be that the player needs to walk right up to the enemies to attack but gets damaged twice the amount then what they tried to damage in the attack of the enemy.
With no health or damage tab, the player doesn’t know how far away they need to be standing to be able to deal damage and with a hit that will actually damage the enemy.

Visual & Audio

Visuals
Textures
The game has a cartoonish 90s look. The game is a combination of 2D characters in a 3D world animated by the developer themselves.
The animating in the game looks very good and very hilarious to the small confusion of the lore and gameplay. The look of the textures and the characters has a big difference, but my assumptions are that that was the plan from the developer. That the textures should have been more realistic in a cartoonish way while the characters are more smooth and clean looking in the animating.
As the name says “Depths of Insanity” the game is supposed to be silly and be the opposite from normal.

NPC’s & Enemies
The NPC’s and enemies are both in 2D. The look of everyone looks well made done and fits the image for the type of game this is.
The characters are very smooth looking and detailed in the cartoonish way of look. The enemies are supposed to look intimidating but also silly. And with the music plus the amount of damage, they do really fit in with the role.

Audio
Music
The music in-game changes depending on where the player is. The map is looking like a chess board with different tabs, so each tab has a different music file for the environment that tab has.
Like outside the skeleton fort the music gets louder and more scary, sinks one more into the actual depths of insanity while walking in the town it has some chill casual tone in the music.
And the music will change in overall, depending if its day or night. So the music by the starter base or in the town will change depending on day or nighttime.
And I myself have had issues finding which tab in the settings is for the music audio and no other audios.

Voice-Acting
The voice-lines that both the main character and (Some) NPC’s has, doesn’t sound the best but I assume it’s meant to sound that way. The voice-lines are unbroken with clear pronunciation and no buzzer in the background.
It fits in for the game style and I love the voice-lines for the two cows in the barn that the player is able to build. (You either have to find it on YouTube or get the game yourself because I ain’t spoiling this)

Pros and Cons

Pros
• Clearer instructions.
  
• Better menu for weapons, flashlight, building, etc.
  
• More chickens around the map.
  
• More side quests.
  
• Music changes depending on day and nighttime around the map.
  
  Cons
  
• Zombies being able to spit/damage through walls while player in other room.
  
• Errors in fighting enemies with melee weapons and dealing damage.
  
• Only being able to carry one chicken at a time. (For me this is 50/50, I do understand why only one but atleast two could do. The player is able to carry multiple of swords.)
  
• Swimming rings challenge still bugged. (If the player “jumps” through the rings it won’t indicate that its activated. Only when “swimming” through it counts.)
  
• Should be a “You are here” dot on the map in inventory. (Would help the player know a bit better where on the map they are.)
  
• For some reason the player gets extremely sick or hallucinating when walking on the porcelain tiles in the house that the main character can build. Even hears voices at times.

My final little thoughts

The game has become a lot better and more player friendly. More clearer instructions, more side quests, MORE CHICKENS!
I managed to make some further progress this time when I played from the start but still found some errors in the game. The game was a lot easier to understand and didn’t make my mind go like the name says.
There is also a few things that would help with the player experience, I’ve putted them in “Pros” and “Cons” just as a little tip.

I do recommend the game if you like some silly and weird ideas put into a game, you might go down with the depths of insanity or you’ll find the joy in it and want to find out how it ends by finishing the game yourself.

Rating: 7/10

Reviewer: Roger
Sweet Sweet Göran.

[SloppyJoe85]

Hello!
And thanks for playing the game in it's earlier states as well.
In the latest update (1.3 that released some minutes ago) the shotgun item has been reworked and feels waaay better.
The menu have some added features and more extras in the background.

Regarding the workbench and making a house, it is all there if you just scroll the mouse-wheel on the temp. house map. A fast-menu pops up when scrolling the mouse wheel.

in the menu there is a note-section that is supposed to be used for the player to add their own notes as they progress.

There is also a new in-game achievement section that gives good hints on what to do to complete the game.

The game is about exploring and getting new items to be able to get further.
There are also a lot of extras just for fun but the whole game is without a doubt finished and has a start, mid and a finish.

Hope you'll give it an extra chance and try to find the brains and all cool locations.

Reading this text gives me the feeling you only scrapped the surface of it.
there is more!

And as you said, updates are coming every week. Still have some stuff to add for the user-friendlyness.

Thanks for the feedback and I hope you'll enjoy it more in the next playthrough.

It is not yet released and will get updates still.

Kind regards Sloppy Joe Studios

[Roger_Gaming]

It was my pleasure playing your game. I will give it a retry soon enough as when i have some extra time over in my hands.

And i highly appriciate the information for the building functions. I had no clue how to do it and there wasn't any key bindings that said which was to what. So thank you very much for that. And as i might have said in the review, it would be a huge pro if maybe some kind of instructions or quests/missions were put in the game.

So that people won't have the same confusion as i had, like with the building. Because when going into the note-pad i wrote some things that would be good to know for the future but also saw the list of the house making and all, but yeah. No clue how to craft anything.

I'll make the base and workbench to then see what i can make with that and see if i am capable of completing the game. Can't wait to see now when i've gotten some more information.
And if you want to ask anything more or tell us anything else then its just to do so.

Sincerely Roger from United Critics

[SloppyJoe85]

Thanks!
I will try and make it a little more obvious which button do what in the beginning but if you looked closely at the intro, some icons fades in and out that tells the buttons. Also, the robot voice blabbering in the spacecraft tells all the keybindings as well on a loop until you pick up the Control Unit.

Good note though that the jump button info didn't show if not having the bucket, will add that before the game releases :)

In the note app in the slajm-watch-3000 you can see that you need to build a house using a different amount of materials that you gather.
There are 4 steps in building the house. Might change that in the future but it works as intended for now as well.

Then as you get materials you will be able to craft some stuff at the workbench but that in only optional.

Repairing the spacecraft will happen automatically if you progress with bosses and make one vital thing inside the home when it's done.

Hope it all becomes clearer and I'll add more player-friendly stuff to help out as I can. Will update this game a lot as more feedback comes in :)

Looking forward to hearing your next opinion :)

[Michael {United Critics}]

Thank you for the information, will forward this to Roger and he will take another look at the game when he has the time.

Any other questions or information, feel free to let us know here or send us an email at: [e-mail]

Best Regards,
- Michael
United Critics Team Manager

[SloppyJoe85]

More user friendly features added :) Version 1.3.1 for the full game will be ready on launch day.
Also the demo now has all new features as the full game 1.3.1 and can be tried right away today!

Starting a new game will show everything better since so much stuff has been reworked and/or added :)

HAVE FUN!

And if you like the changes, please consider changing your verdict on the game :)
Thanks!

Still have other stuff up the sleeve. I am preparing for a minimap but I will first try to figure out the best way to do so. please be patient. Might even be abe to have it ready befor the game releases :)

And by when that is done, I think I have addressed most of the complains you wrote.

Have a good day folks!

Kind Regards
Sloppy Joe Studios

[Roger_Gaming]

Surely will do. I'll rewrite the review after i've tried it now with all the updates. And getting to know all these things that was hidden right in plane sight, i was really blind lol.

Future updates can be added into the review when they arrive, its just to email us or send an comment here and we'll fix it.

[SloppyJoe85]

Alright.
Let's have it another go now that Version 1.4 is ready to test for you.
A lot of things have been improved the last weeks and also added more into the whole expperience.

Lots of things that you didn't thought was in the game was due to me not having that properly explained in the earlier versions but it has all been made more user-friendly and all pointed out cons have been tackled for version 1.4.

[Read about all the latest updates through Depths of Insanity's page].

I'll specify each thing you brought up below:
"Cons"

"• Swimming test that cost 200. Need to swim through the rings, won’t indicate that the player has gone or jumped through the ring."

Answer: A sound indicated from the start if you swam through them.

"• No purpose or questline in game, just exploring to find stuff."

Answer: There is a main quest and it can be read from the menu-tabs called Progress &
Notepod.

"• As far as I know, there is no way to make a crafting table or build the starter base."

Answer: There has always been a way to craft by just scrolling the mouse wheel. It was
however not very well explained in earlier versions and that has been taken care of and
ALSO expanded even further.

"• Impossible to beat the wiener challenge if I cannot build a toilet at the temporally base."

Answer: It was never impossible to beat that. Multiple buildings surrounding the
challenge are has toilets. But it's supposed to be stressful. You can however wait to take
the challenge untill you have found a toilet to make it easier.

"• Slashing monsters won’t always indicate that the player has hit them. Some times they won’t take damage."

Answer: All enemies have been improved and work exactly as inteded now with all
weapons. It will however not be a walk in the park if you're not prepared with healing
items or the right weapons. Some weapons doesn't hurt certain enemies and vice versa.

"• No telling how to use the flashlight."

Answer: A LOT of new Player friendly additions have been made since you played it and I
think you won't feel that lost in the newest version. Start a new game and go ahead and
see.

"• The moving and turning movement."

Answer: The moving in the game is supposed to be "tile-based" and it is all worked
around to be a big grid in the map. You can go up,down,left,right and diagonal using
w,a,s,d and look around freely using the mouse.
All about the controls are being given to the player in the start of the game.
If things are still unclear, there is a controls-setup file in the game folder the player can
look at but I don't think that is needed anymore with all the new player-friendly
additions.

"• The map parts (Like when in one part, you just see the road cut off and then its just void and an arrow showing that you can go this or that way.)"

Answer: That is intended to make it easier for the player to know exactly on the world
map the player is since everything is in a big grid for easier locating.
It is meant to be like in the older games back in the 90s.

---

OK, with all that said. It might just be that you should try and explore the game one more time from the start so start a new game and see what have been added.

Here is a video of another tester who very thoughroly goes through every bit step by step and he has a whole other opinion on the game.
His video is from version 1.39 so you should watch it if you're hesitating still.

Not recommending this game is a bit harsh I must say and you should consider remaking the review when you've tried version 1.4.

Here is the video of his gameplay:
https://youtu.be/o9HiejEtNiI

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Kind Regards
Kenny at Sloppy Joe Studios

[SloppyJoe85]

Here are links to some of the updates:

Version 1.4: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2310590/view/6521815776489929091

Version 1.3.9: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2310590/view/6521815776473727323

Version 1.3.8: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2310590/view/6521815776471677366

Version 1.3.5: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2310590/view/3705939572709017707

Version 1.3: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2310590/view/3680043140537622548

Kind regards
Kenny at Sloppy Joe Studios

[Michael {United Critics}]

Thank you for letting us know Joe, I will forward this to Roger and he will take a look at the game when he has time.

- Michael
United Critics Team Manager

[SloppyJoe85]

Here are some gameplay videos from one of the Indie-artists in the game's Soundtrack.
Check it out to see more what the game is all about since this "not recommended"-review is old and are not for the final release version.

Lots of additions since this review was written. :)
If you'll play the game now, you'll like it!

https://youtu.be/GriFTmPj3QQ

https://youtu.be/TmaNrwm9XMo

https://youtu.be/vHgOdaSAGhM

Wishlist it today!
PLAY IT TOMORROW :D

[Michael {United Critics}]

Review Update - 22/06-2023

The review has been updated & changed.

(Also this is the place where you did the normal comments & many of them, maybe it was these, that you thought we removed?)

- Michael
United Critics Team Manager

[SloppyJoe85]

Hey!
Thanks for giving the game a new chance after beta build :)
Glad you enjoyed it and I'm really grateful for the feedback :)

New stuff will be added along the way. A new side-story will be added in the future.

Thanks again!!

/Kenny at Sloppy Joe Studios