This review is spoiler free.

Abiotic Factor is a game chimera of sorts. Immersive Sim, FPS, Survival Horror and of course Sandbox Survival. Enhanced by coop. It wears it's influences on it's sleeves but tries something very fresh. I'd argue it's a very strange beast indeed but in a very good way. It's early days but it's an incredibly promising game and most importantly grippingly fun.

You're probably thinking "Well, then which is it most of all?", i'd probably lean towards Sandbox Survival but so critical is your ability to assess a situation and determine your own path with your current playstyle. It's very immersive simlike. And while it's ways of skinning a metaphorical cat aren't as expansive as a traditional immersive sim, it lets your gameplay expression be reflected through your character itself. Are you a defence analyst? Primarily focused on combat but willing to take a few downsides in xp gain to gain an edge in a fight? Maybe you're focused more on survival? Stealth is a pretty solid option, especially when you're opting to enter a new unknown area. Or perhaps you're playing with friends? You want to be the team player, healing your friends or keeping them fed? You too can be just as much a chimera as abiotic factor is, your playstyle might evolve as your tools expand, you might find one weapon class better than another for you. It also defines how you can handle any given situation, environment or enemy. It's in this that i truly believe this game functions as a cooperative immersive sim experience.

The worldbuilding and story of Abiotic Factor is frankly the best part of it, it's up to you to navigate the maze of corridors. The secrets lying behind a keypad or a hidden vent. The game function primarily around a scientific facility amid complete anarchy and containment breach but it's also not afraid to step outside. The portal worlds as they are dubbed are smaller shorter adventures outside of your standard world progression, usually linear they are a welcome and pleasant trip even when short because of how sweet they are. Each setting is striking or unexpected and takes you by surprise, each presenting unique challenges to overcome. At first it doesn't come across as a Survival Horroresque experience until it's other inspirations start to reveal themselves. To which it will drive you into a unique form of paranoia that happens rarely in games like these. "Is this safe to mess with?" "Should i take a lower profile so i don't risk a death?" It's all mixed with a mystique when you find something strange and alien that you can potentially turn into a tool. "Woah what's this?" It makes you actively want to participate in the game and make you want to learn more about it's world, it's enemies, allies for any sort of advantage you can get to survive. "Wait? This log talked about a weird creature that i might come up against! Which one was that again?" You see what i mean? It's very well thought out.

The environments of Abiotic Factor are characters in of themselves, each with their own unique layouts to figure out intertwined with it's secrets and items to discover and research. It can be so very rich when you get into that loop, it keeps you on the search constantly for that next new item to take advantage of. Keeps you exploring.

The sandbox survival elements are a bit of a mixed bag at least to me and it drastically changes if you're playing in coop. The game really plays into a team dynamic and having more basecentric characters and more offensive characters working together to a goal, someone might be better as a crafter and keeps the base all tidy and maintains everything, filtering water, cooking food and planting crops that other players can take advantage of. You can ultimately play your character as a jack of all trades. You'll inevitably have to spec into a weapon of choice for sure if you want to stay alive.

It's also much much more challenging a game in solo. You just will not have the manpower to do basecentric stuff if you want to progress at a steady and not glacial pace. This might intrigue you if you're looking for a challenge or turn you off if you're not willing to deal with having to do the work of multiple people but you can change multiple gameplay mechanics with a custom setting as you start up your game. I played with default and i do not recommend it for people who want a lax time solo. It's early days so who knows what will change?

I've tried very hard to avoid spoiling anything on this game for a reason, i truly believe that there are many many surprises here that are best discovered yourself, including the inspirations that it wears proudly and all the charm this game has.

I recommend it, yes of course but there are a few problems that will likely be weaned out of early access. (As of 07/05/2024) Mostly to do with a few mechanical annoyances,weapon balance, some sections to do with the main story questline and very rarely a bug. It feels like a game that still has quite a road ahead and it'll be frustrating if you hit a certain point with a dead stop that you wouldn't get if the game was finished. If you don't like that and can't forgive that, then i'd wait until later in the year. This game will be released by the end of the year and you'll have a much more complete experience but if you can't wait, i understand. The game is excellent.

Sorry if you see a few typos, i'm writing out this review in a fairly tired state after completing the main content solo.

This review is spoiler free. Abiotic Factor is a game chimera of sorts. Immersive Sim, FPS, Survival Horror and of course Sandbox Survival. Enhanced by coop. It wears it's influences on it's sleeves but tries something very fresh. I'd argue it's a very strange beast indeed but in a very good way. It's early days but it's an incredibly promising game and most importantly grippingly fun. You're probably thinking "Well, then which is it most of all?", i'd probably lean towards Sandbox Survival but so critical is your ability to assess a situation and determine your own path with your current playstyle. It's very immersive simlike. And while it's ways of skinning a metaphorical cat aren't as expansive as a traditional immersive sim, it lets your gameplay expression be reflected through your character itself. Are you a defence analyst? Primarily focused on combat but willing to take a few downsides in xp gain to gain an edge in a fight? Maybe you're focused more on survival? Stealth is a pretty solid option, especially when you're opting to enter a new unknown area. Or perhaps you're playing with friends? You want to be the team player, healing your friends or keeping them fed? You too can be just as much a chimera as abiotic factor is, your playstyle might evolve as your tools expand, you might find one weapon class better than another for you. It also defines how you can handle any given situation, environment or enemy. It's in this that i truly believe this game functions as a cooperative immersive sim experience. The worldbuilding and story of Abiotic Factor is frankly the best part of it, it's up to you to navigate the maze of corridors. The secrets lying behind a keypad or a hidden vent. The game function primarily around a scientific facility amid complete anarchy and containment breach but it's also not afraid to step outside. The portal worlds as they are dubbed are smaller shorter adventures outside of your standard world progression, usually linear they are a welcome and pleasant trip even when short because of how sweet they are. Each setting is striking or unexpected and takes you by surprise, each presenting unique challenges to overcome. At first it doesn't come across as a Survival Horroresque experience until it's other inspirations start to reveal themselves. To which it will drive you into a unique form of paranoia that happens rarely in games like these. "Is this safe to mess with?" "Should i take a lower profile so i don't risk a death?" It's all mixed with a mystique when you find something strange and alien that you can potentially turn into a tool. "Woah what's this?" It makes you actively want to participate in the game and make you want to learn more about it's world, it's enemies, allies for any sort of advantage you can get to survive. "Wait? This log talked about a weird creature that i might come up against! Which one was that again?" You see what i mean? It's very well thought out. The environments of Abiotic Factor are characters in of themselves, each with their own unique layouts to figure out intertwined with it's secrets and items to discover and research. It can be so very rich when you get into that loop, it keeps you on the search constantly for that next new item to take advantage of. Keeps you exploring. The sandbox survival elements are a bit of a mixed bag at least to me and it drastically changes if you're playing in coop. The game really plays into a team dynamic and having more basecentric characters and more offensive characters working together to a goal, someone might be better as a crafter and keeps the base all tidy and maintains everything, filtering water, cooking food and planting crops that other players can take advantage of. You can ultimately play your character as a jack of all trades. You'll inevitably have to spec into a weapon of choice for sure if you want to stay alive. It's also much much more challenging a game in solo. You just will not have the manpower to do basecentric stuff if you want to progress at a steady and not glacial pace. This might intrigue you if you're looking for a challenge or turn you off if you're not willing to deal with having to do the work of multiple people but you can change multiple gameplay mechanics with a custom setting as you start up your game. I played with default and i do not recommend it for people who want a lax time solo. It's early days so who knows what will change? I've tried very hard to avoid spoiling anything on this game for a reason, i truly believe that there are many many surprises here that are best discovered yourself, including the inspirations that it wears proudly and all the charm this game has. I recommend it, yes of course but there are a few problems that will likely be weaned out of early access. (As of 07/05/2024) Mostly to do with a few mechanical annoyances,weapon balance, some sections to do with the main story questline and very rarely a bug. It feels like a game that still has quite a road ahead and it'll be frustrating if you hit a certain point with a dead stop that you wouldn't get if the game was finished. If you don't like that and can't forgive that, then i'd wait until later in the year. This game will be released by the end of the year and you'll have a much more complete experience but if you can't wait, i understand. The game is excellent. Sorry if you see a few typos, i'm writing out this review in a fairly tired state after completing the main content solo.