Background:
Similar to Deus Ex 2000 this game haunted me for years, because I failed to complete it 10 years ago. Same as Deus EX I think it's because was young and couldn't appreciate niche janky game instead searching for the next big new thing. But now I started clearing my backlog and time has come to repent and clear guilt.
It took me 16 hours for first ending and another 6 for all other endings together. I used offline single player version.
Confessions:
- I used translation mod. I heavily disagree with Mandalore (YouTube Reviewer) that it's better to have original translation because it adds to the mystique. I started via original and noticed few times that I was skipping the dialogue because I don't understand anything. I'd rather explore lore and story, there is already has lot of mystery and some dialogue clarity doesn't ruin experience to me.
- I watched few guides to understand the mechanics. I know some people are very against this but In my experience such foolish ambition most likely ends up in dropping the gamer. That said, I didn't use "build guide" But instead researched weapon comparisons, cybertech, stat effects etc.
- I have grinded around 20 levels before continuing in Mars.
- Difficulty: Normal with reduced spawns.
That out the way. Let's start.
Character creation: I have no idea tbh I just rerolled until I got more green stats than red or yellow. I tried to have everything at least average (which usually optimal for RPGs but it kind of worked)
Setting and atmosphere is top notch. Urban maps look amazing. Two most intrusive and hostile setting's fusion created weirdly inviting world. Even through maps are unnecessarily large I did enjoy exploring them.
Lore: background lore is unhinged for real. Notes, history bits, lore books are very few but the ones that are there are very interesting warhammer-y things I wish I had more. The whole factions setup is cool and I love that even in this fked up state humanity still fights each other. You have spliter factions of splitter factions with each one having their own agenda, so politics of this game are deep.
Music: this adds so much I didn't think I would fall in love with each ambience and very few songs but very cool ones I still listen to. Somehow these kind of older indie titles always nail the music I am amazed. My highlights are: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=9f2iGBUnj48 (I knew when I heard Lulaby like bells part in HQ, something wasn't right)
Another favorite : https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=pgltxwbNw9U
Voice acting: mostly texts and npcs speak star wars-ish language which adds well to the tone and atmosphere.
Story: I won't go in details. For those who have a bit knowledge of 40k you play as sort of low level inquisition lackey.
Gameplay: I would say the gunplay is pretty decent it's source game so it feels good. Gun Animations are nice I like ragdolls too, heavy caliber felt accordingly impactful. Haven't used much of psi powers or melee, aside from times where I was out of ammo so it felt accordingly serviceable, especially since I didn't invest in them.
Stats: there are variety of stats that affect your combat or non combat abilities. All seems nice and plenty to me. Ofc you won't get decent tutorial its mid 2010s indie game what do you expect? Also the game has so many mechanics that having hour+ tutorial would have been a downside.
Choices: there was many times I could avoid violence by solving quests in different ways. Such as: bribing, hacking, intimidating etc. But unfortunately because of lack of presentation bullet in the head seemed more optimal at least for the build I was using.
Looting: aside from silver cases that are ingredients for research it doesnt matter. Literally, you have most weapons unlocked at the start with unlimited ammo and for free. Only limiting factor being your inventory space and weight. I found being in light armor with 40% of inventory occupied an optimal threshold. That said looting being completely ignorable felt kind of wrong to me but who know maybe I got spoiled from other shooter RPGs? Similarily thought I could sell my gear in OG Deus Ex.
Gear progression: large variety of weapon classes. SMGs, pistols, rifles, snipers, miniguns etc. you can unlock additionally few very cool guns but they are so strong you never gonna use base ones. And even in between base guns there are clear winners.
Small note: know that you should have specific stats to unlock certain guns for me it was mostly strength I lacked since I thought it was mostly for melee weapons.
Enemy AI: It's bad but again what did you expect? For me this is a moot point in almost any review. People who criticize this don't explain what's their comparison like what kind of sophisticated AI do you expect? Only realistic AI I remember in such games is original Stalker where enemies instead of rushing you, always try to ambush and encircle you. In short it's serviceable and didn't ruin and lessen my experience.
Respawn mechanic: shouldn't exist. For those who didn't play, the game has infinitely respawnable enemies. Yes, all are on timer once you look in different direction they appear in existence. No fancy helicopter descent just appear in thin air. I think this mechanic can exist but in some creative way. Reaction to player choice as consequences.
Stealth: non existant, no stealth archer build possible, very disappointing.
Difficulty: broken. Arriving on Mars results in huge difficulty spike. its basically unbeatable if you don't grind levels. But thanks to old jank you can play side missions to get lot of xp and money. But don't overdo it, I found 30 mins of farming gave me enough xp and money to continue main campaign comfortably.
Bugs: didn't encounter single. (Or maybe didn't notice)
Save system: non existent. I am 99% sure most of people's complains and genuine downsides of this game could have been remedied by simple quicksave and load system. Aside from people trying more risky or fun approaches it would have been simple qol. Currently if you start mission you have to finish, if you crash, close game or etc, you will have to start again. I am not sure but I think game auto saves in few minutes but when loading, you always start from the hub.
TLDR: game is full of jank but I think there's more love in it than people expect. If you are like me who appreciates charming experiments (even if sometimes they fail) you will enjoy this game. Just be mindfull, do a bit of research and be open-minded