5 people found this review helpful
Recommended
10.8 hrs last two weeks / 10.8 hrs on record
Posted: Nov 8 @ 3:11am
Product received for free

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Kvark:
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Here is a memo from the directors' board to all new Kvark employees. Dear Sir/Madam, we welcome you to your new 9 to 5 job at Kvark. This state-of-the-art underground mining and nuclear power plant is the envy of the entire world and has the best technology available of the era. You should be proud to work at such a facility, and we recommend reading our security protocol manual to avoid being featured as part of the weekly death summary! Yes, this position is dangerous, but we want to reassure you that we are determined to make your employment as safe as possible at Kvark!

Kvark is an old-school first-person shooter developed and self-published by Perun Creative on the 3rd of October 2024 on the Steam platform.

The game starts with an introduction of screenshots with a Slavic narration, translated into English with captions on the images. It's fun! Then, you'll wake up in a cell by the sound of the alarm and a loud voice coming through speakers on the walls. The cell is locked, and in front of the grid door lies a wrench, your first weapon. The action will start straightaway after you leave your cell as you'll be attacked by guys dressed in radioactive protecting suits armed with batons as weapons. A few corridors after, you'll find a gun with a couple of bullets. At that point, I thought the original Doom game's feel was noticeable, with better graphics, and I was excited, anticipating what was about to come next. I also felt at ease with the movements, which were fast and fluid. However, the jump input is not the greatest.

The first few levels were probably the best for me as you had to manage your ammunition carefully, but from then on, ammunition was abundant in all the levels, considerably decreasing the difficulty level. Also, there are a limited number of different enemies throughout the game, which is a bit of a shame. Yes, all new enemies are slightly harder to kill as you progress throughout the game, not necessarily due to their strength but by the sheer number of them coming at you. That said, you'll probably figure out their patterns in a flash. Regarding the bosses, I must say that I was pretty disappointed with them. Only three of them, and all three fights were not challenging as they were done and dusted immediately. As you might know, I always play my games as the developers intend to get played, on the normal level of difficulty, and it was far too easy for my liking!

That brings me to the levels themselves. They were the game's highlights, as all the levels are well-designed and relatively large. There are a few different types of environments, such as the caves, offices, outside and, of course, the underground facility where you start the game. Each level has several secret rooms to discover, but I didn't find all of them in my first playthrough. As you progress through the game, you'll find new firearms of the 1950s era, except for the electric rifle, which stunts enemies for several seconds, giving you enough time to swap guns and kill them. As I mentioned above, you can pick up plenty of ammunition on the floors, tables and lockers. There are also medic bags, water bottles, and cans of energy drinks that can regenerate your health. There are syringes with a green fluid called anethium, a mixture of uranium and dill, which you need to unlock perks in the skill tree.

The puzzle element comes in two aspects. The first is by turning valves so you can progress through the next area, and it pretty much comes along the way. The other one is the lock doors, which need codes to open. Make sure to read everything and look around your surroundings for clues.

The graphics are fun, and the game runs well. I prefer and recommend playing this game with the mouse and keyboard, and I believe it has partial controller support! The interface and subtitles have been translated into seven languages. Kvark is a fun game, and if you enjoy the looks of these old-school first-person shooter genre of games, you probably like Kvark! Unfortunately, the challenge element is rather dull for a hardcore player.

Positives:
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+ Nice graphics
+ Great level designed with secret areas to find
+ Nice selection of weapons
+ Good perks tree to unlock (don't forget the dill and uranium)
+ Reasonably priced
+ Achievements

Negatives:
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- Lack of enemy variation
- Disappointing bosses fights
- Far too generous with ammunition and health packs throughout the game
- No trading cards as yet

There is no doubt that Kvark is fun to play, but its lack of enemy variations and easy boss fights decrease its appeal!

6/10

Key provided by the developer/publisher for review purposes. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own!

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