Recent reviews by Mr Xombie

Simple yet enjoyable game.

Don't care for the only way to maximize villager happiness is just to make them all furniture hoarders with no walking room in their houses.

Or that sprinting eats up so much energy even with happiness upgrades and the stew bonus.

I'm floating too high from where the game thinks I am on the Quest 2 through SteamVR.

Only fix is to set the floor height from the Quest's settings to just below your chin and then adjust the in game height of the machine's cabin.

Still leaving this negative though. Having the redo settings just to play this one game isn't ideal functionality for something that should work out of the box.

Fun. A bit short on the two runs I did but I completely missed when buying that it was a roguelike game. I imagine it takes longer and longer as you play and complete relapses. Or maybe its because I played on medium.

I'd love to see a selection of average time to complete when starting a game. So I can just pick one fitting my mood and playtime I'm wanting to use up.

I wish I could scale the text boxes in game, they hit the edges of my screen on the quest 2 so I can't read anything on the edges.

The cinematics following the headset makes it hard to read/look at. I'd just turn off all the other visuals or swap all textures to just a black texture so its dark, lock the player in place but can still look around and just have it be on something in 3D space than on their face.

And finally I wish there was a body orientation arrow at the bottom of my vision. I'll turn to look at something, press forward thinking I'll go forward, but then I'm going left.

Fun little time killer.

Bugs (cards being buggy sometimes or too close together causing it be goofy) and accidental softlock at the start aside. I wish it was longer with different boards dictating new areas with different blueprints, more enemies.

Only issue I have with the game design overall was after you get the attack kit and armor kit, it becomes a little too easy and the enemy on board at end of day damaging you directly was a little harsh. I'm not saying to nerf these things. If I was making the game, I'd make the enemies have an attack radius and slowly creep towards bots and the player and force combat on touch, if the player is caught in its radius at end of day, they get attacked but if the player is in combat with the enemy at the end of day, no damage taken from that enemy. It'd force players to expand the board fully. As for the armor and attack kits, I'd make a separate blueprint, which basically serves as a level up kit (with each player level requiring more of the level up kits). Replace degrading armor with end of day regenerating armor, so its semi-permanent.

Game design musing done, I look forward to the supporter dlc.

Fun AC like game.

The only issue I really have with the game is it feels like a really long tutorial. Other than that I have nothing negative, other than the quality of life stuff I mention below. Keep in mind I haven't finished playing the game and haven't seen everything yet.

If a sequel is ever made, I'd like to see a reroll option for the town layout (or a way to edit it in game) and the paint and dyes merged into one item, instead of two that do the same thing on fabric or furniture.

Another would be item storage in the workshop automatically pulling the items from storage as needed when crafting. Also it feels like you need to farm crafting supplies obnoxiously for a while to have enough to freely make stuff. So maybe a design option and then a craft option being separate? So you could design stuff but not need the ingredients at the moment. It kills the game play flow constantly realizing you need an item or more of an item. So you either have to stop designing and start over or you save it and it instantly makes that unfinished version, making you need more supplies.

I'm 12 hours in and still haven't unlocked everything crafting wise or game play, I still don't have clothing options yet and some other stuff. Maybe use the bulletin board to also push players to do things that will make unlocking features faster without spoiling the game by guides. Like say not knowing fishing is locked behind cleaning up trash. It could've been a request to pick up the trash and then a surprise bonus of unlocking fishing. I swear if I haven't unlocked clothing design because I haven't uncrafted clothing thats acquired from requests I'm going to be a little upset.

Pros
Doom 3 darkness and corridors vibe (could use more of it being dark as hell with only the headlamp to see) with the occasional F.E.A.R jump scare (could use more of it too.). Also needs more storytelling through corpses, blood trails and stuff laying around the bodies. Like the one zombie pierced to a wall with a samurai sword (they are way out of place in the setting, I'd replace them with a machete). The darkness and environmental story telling would cut back on people complaining areas looking too similar.

Cons
No pause menu I could find to quit the game or play with settings. I pressed every button unless its some weird combo of button presses or a hold button thing, its probably a Quest issue where what I consider the start/select buttons are already used by Steam and the other by the Quest itself. Maybe add a button diagram for the controls in the options menu if its not already there.

No height setting for seated gameplay.

Also the belt inventory sucks for seated gameplay, its very immersive if standing but a pain to use when seated, you will punch yourself in the nards trying to grab stuff quickly or break your sternum with your chin trying to look at the belt and whatever the little box is I never figured out what it was for (please don't tell me I could've stored grenades or more stuff this entire time). In which case I'd add an option to put the ammo and weapon slots on the edge of the vision [left side ammo, right side weapons], can have it fade out to a degree and then become fully visible if a hand goes over it. Just an idea. Also it would prevent accidentally grabbing stored ammo when trying to pick up an item on the ground quickly. I managed to drop all my pistol ammo going for an axe mid fight...

Also make the weapon circle glow to show if you release your grab on an item it will be stored. The amount of time I spent dropping weapons to the floor and awkwardly picking them up...

For whatever reason I cannot reload a shotgun while moving. I have always run on, but it always just drops the shotgun shell on the floor for me. Also pumping a shotgun seems to just eat the ammo as if it was shot and not drop it as a pick up, it made me sad.

Its never explicitly mentioned but when climbing, when you grab it releases the other hands grab. Led to some goofy but irritating shenanigans of falling repeatedly for about 4 minutes until I figured it out. Nothing to fix, just make it known. Maybe 3D audio on the hands? Have a slight audible noise for grabbing and one for letting go?

There is an ammo counter on firearms. Could put a hit counter on melee weapons of how many hits are left until it breaks and make it blink red when on the last bullet or hit.

An option to tone down the low health noise/blinking. Or replace it with a film grain effect/black and white filter.

Maybe replace the entire screen going red for damage and green for health to just a see through red/green circle around the edges of vision.

I don't know if this can be fixed as it seems the Unreal and Unity game engine for vr eat the right sticks up and down input for teleport functionality by default, so you would have to go in and edit their ♥♥♥♥♥♥ starter input/controls code. But it is annoying when you press left or right but because its a little too high up it counts it as up or down and won't let you turn.

I feel like I've picked the game apart too much. But I had fun and look forward to updates.

Just gonna list the things I don't like.

The crouch resetting to standing automatically.
The screen blacking out if you collide with something.
The bucket. I spilt it so much from it colliding with other things and it reacting to one step and getting enough momentum to turn itself upside down to spill out.
The tablet, specifically the aim laser disappearing when I'm trying to hit the scroll bar. Also the tablet never being in a convenient location.
Hand collision its not needed except for the few item that require you to open with no grab point, and I guess I accidentally threw one of my hands away with the trashbag and even going to the main menu didn't reset it.

I CANNOT PET THE FISH IN THE LOADING SCREEN!

I had hoped for a zelda-ish combat or a twin stick shooter type deal. Thats what I get for just looking at screenshots.

Enemies can attack from every direction. You can only attack with swords from 6 pixels out in a straight line 3 pixels tall, only to your left or right. And enemies love to stand in the 6 pixel safe zone of right on top of your character because of the chase ai. It can be fixed simply by increasing the attack range of enemies and then having them stop and attack when the player is in range, instead of hugging them to death. Or giving the player a secondary hitbox that only tells the enemy they are in attack range to stop the chase.

But I have a feeling it was intentionally made like this... BS mechanics don't make a game difficult, only annoying. Difficult games can be fun, annoying ones not so much. At least give a small highlight of the attack area for the player, like a cross hair from fps games except for this game.

I wonder how the crossbow works, it looks like its not forced into a straight line in the trailer.

Green is where the enemies will stand if you don't constantly run away. Red is the area you can attack.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3400912381

Otherwise a decent game.

BUYER BEWARE: Dev is an asset flipper with minimal programming knowledge and no game dev skill. Who will change game genres the next time Unity has a sale on assets.

The game changed genre from Monster Hunter to turn based rpg... I'd have no problem with an rpg system, but removing the monster hunter action combat aspect seems a bit much. Removing the entire reason to be playing in VR if its a menu based rpg. I haven't touched it in VR as my headset is broke so I'm assuming a little, but I did play in desktop mode.

Maybe it could've been mixed to where there is a timer before your combat action can be counted for VR, then have a mario and luigi defense mechanic if you shield at the right time. Then be able to freely use restorative items regardless of the turn based timer. Instead of whatever this is.

And the option to play without the turn based restrictions and have your vr actions count while keeping the RPG stat system.

A desktop mode is nice.

Bugs I found with my playtime in desktop mode.

Using the character customization zooms in the camera to inside the head and you can't see to edit and its stuck until you leave the room.

The camera is also always looking at your butt when you load into a new area.

Potions that are in the supply chest cannot be used in the turn based system. Don't know if that includes potions player bought.

Having to right click to use the camera. Seems like it would be better to right click to free the mouse for the rpg combat menu.

There is no quit menu.

Sh!tty tutorial. Every character wears a mask so they didn't have to animate faces. I don't mind hard games, but bullsh!t is intolerable. Four ranged enemies dropping out of the ceiling on top of you, then two feet later an enemy bursts out of a box hitting you instantly, in the first area. If I wanted to be f#cked I'd install grindr.

First impression aside, after that spot they never do that again. So no more slimes dropping from the ceiling or enemies popping out of boxes. The mouths do animate in the animated cutscenes. But yeah, I was fully expecting no ai partner after that first section and constant surprise attacks.

The ai is both smart and dumb. I've seen it unleash powerful combos on two hit slimes, dodging for no reason repeatedly for up to 5 seconds, completely whiffing attacks because an enemy moved a millimeter, going for a combo when you die instead of reviving you in the brief revive window, going in and getting killed instead of healing (many boss run attempts was me watching the ai die in the beginning of the fight and having to restart between low healing items and no back up). It occasionally will attack when you attack, stun locking enemies. (the one smart thing) But for the most part they are just aggro bait and like to watch.

More ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ to contend with is enemies that will change up their combo, sometimes they will unleash 3-4 hit combos, sometimes just the first move in a combo and stop. Bosses sometimes will spam their most powerful moves, repeatedly. Sometimes they give a 3 second window after an attack, sometimes they will immediately follow up the attack within 1 second.

Even more ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Traps. Really only have to worry about it in the snow area and the final dungeon before the final boss. Ai partner being dumb will trigger these traps, the snow area ones instantly kill you and the other take more than half your health.

Thing that annoys me slightly, the ai partner has infinite healing but only uses it once their health hits a certain threshold, also they take no fall damage.

The story is alright, I particularly love the lore that this game shares a universe with another game but hate it never lets you fight the "horrors" unless you buy the DLC. Not worth playing through another 3 times for all the endings, or 4 if going for the all endings achievement. There aren't any real changes except maybe 4 different cutscenes, an extra line of dialogue in 1 ending (one word), and then the 2 extra ending cutscenes, the rest stays exactly the same. NG+ enhanced difficulty changes the game from 2-3 hits and dying to 1 hit and dying, but with the level cap on player level and weapon/armor levels its mostly a waste of time/bragging rights.

The cathedral dungeon is a maze and it is a$s even with the map unlocked. Speaking of maps there are dungeons where the map is completely f#cking useless as they overlap the floors onto each other into one big map instead of separating them.

There are only two bosses that require you to use items. One for slow and the other for poison. The rest of the bosses can be fought without items.

There is only one enemy in the game that uses an elemental shield to reduce all damage taken. To beat it you need fire attacks. Otherwise you can go the entire game without using skills.

Get it on sale, 60$ is a bit steep.