Recent reviews by Ray Vanhem

Good puzzle game. I highly recommend.

10 kisses out of 10

Хорошая игра на старте как же они все просрали.

Good game. Combination of everything what makes rpgs good. Of course there are things to improve. Love the game even in current state. Would love more content.

Well this is a first

Good game.

Please add bankai form to dinos. =D

Dont hurt your ombu

I. REALLY want to like this game. Sorry. Fix your game. The balance. Heavy character with no extra powers to make your self better. This game needs gadgets and classes. The mule robot needs to be an ability for particular class.

If there is a massive robot on the way why in the tunnels there are not way to go around it?

(Spoiler-Free)

Plenty of reviewers say this game feels like S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and honestly, it kind of does. It's clearly inspired by S.T.A.L.K.E.R., but it’s not trying to be a direct copy — and in many ways, it does things better. It puts a unique spin on the visuals and introduces a fresh take on anomaly mechanics.

That said, the current gameplay balance is a bit off — swinging between time-wasting and hardcore. Based on my own experience, too much time is lost running from your last sleep point to your last death, often with little to no reward. I don’t quite understand why the game punishes you so harshly for exploring or making mistakes, like stumbling into an unknown anomaly without warning. (Some NPCs also just kill you instantly)

Suggestion to tweak the difficulty settings to encourage deeper, more meaningful gameplay. I am not sure how exactly to make it more meaningful because for me currently game death feel pointless and waste of time. The only enjoyable mode was "Mercy", because it allowed enough trial and error to learn what hurts you... and what obliterates you.

Factions

As someone who's played a lot of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., I noticed this game tries to emulate the faction system — but something feels off. The factions exist, their goals are clear, but as the main protagonist (or antagonist?), you don’t get enough freedom to decide how to engage with them. For instance, the Bandit faction starts out aggressive, so losing reputation with them feels unearned.

I get it — this is a solo dev project, and it's already super impressive. But adding more nuance to faction behaviors and goals would really elevate the authenticity. Let me choose who I align with, or whether I interact with them at all.

Weapons

I love how the weapons feel overall — melee in particular is solid. Wielding the hammer and smashing mutant skulls? Very satisfying.
But most firearms need work. Sniper rifles feel underpowered in terms of sound design and feel and they are weirdly heavy. Realistically, a sniper rifle should be lighter than a full auto battle rifle and fire high-caliber rounds with minimal sway.

Auto rifles are another mess: magazine sizes, recoil, sway, and fire rate all feel mismatched. Honestly, about 80% of the guns are borderline useless. .45 caliber weapons especially — just not viable.

On the bright side, weapon ergonomics feel great — as they should.
But... no weapon mods? 😢

Lore & Atmosphere

This game nails the atmosphere. It's immersive, creepy, and deeply engaging. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys exploration-focused gameplay.

Some buildings — especially in the slums — feel completely empty. Not sure if that's intentional, or just early access. I hope those areas get some love in future updates.

Quests

I play Tarkov, so I get the whole "hardcore quests" thing. But some quests here send you way too far, with no tools to deal with what’s waiting for you. That just leads to frustration and unnecessary deaths. Again, this ties back into the issue of punishing death problem without rewarding it.

Difficulty Scaling

Here’s where the game stumbles hard. Early on, it’s brutal — even low-tier NPCs and monsters can crush you. That kind of challenge is fun at first, but once you find the "best" weapon for your chosen caliber, the game suddenly becomes too easy.

At that point, dying isn’t difficult — it’s just annoying. There’s no real difficulty curve, just a spike that drops off once you're properly equipped.

Summary

As of today, this game delivers a strong single-player survival experience with great combat and exploration mechanics. I highly recommend it to fans of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and anyone into military sims. It has its flaws — balance issues, limited weapon utility, and scaling problems — but the core experience is atmospheric, engaging, and full of potential.