Abermore
- March 22, 2022
- Four Circle Interactive
Even Abermore's cult of beetle worshippers would draw the line at this many bugs.
Get on Steam"Abermore" is a first-person stealth RPG set in the unique, neo-Edwardian city of Abermore. As "The Unhanged Man," players have 18 days to prepare for a daring heist by undertaking countless unique heists, meeting strange characters, and assembling a ragtag crew with special abilities. Each campaign is different, offering new stories, spoils, and paths to the ultimate score, "The Feast of the Lucky Few."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Abermore has a unique and charming art style, with interesting environments and a quirky world that showcases the developers' vision.
- The game features creative gameplay mechanics, such as procedural generation and a variety of stealth options, which can lead to engaging and personal experiences.
- The writing and worldbuilding are generally well-received, with some players appreciating the humor and depth of the characters and story.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs and technical issues, including crashes, softlocks, and broken level geometry, making it frustrating and often unplayable.
- Many players report that the game feels unfinished and lacks polish, with poor UI design and missing features that hinder the overall experience.
- Despite its potential, Abermore has been criticized for its lack of proper testing and quality assurance, leading to a release that feels more like an early access title than a completed game.
- story41 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 85 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story of the game is set in a magic realist world, featuring a thief aiming to build a legendary reputation, but it suffers from significant narrative and gameplay issues. Players report a lack of coherence in the plot, with many experiencing game-breaking bugs that hinder mission progression and immersion. While the atmosphere and worldbuilding are appreciated, the overall execution of the story is criticized for being poorly written and lacking depth, leaving players frustrated with the experience.
“The small nuggets of story and worldbuilding paint a picture of a magic realist place.”
“I really like the art style, atmosphere, story, and characters.”
“[abermore] is the story of a thief, dreaming of building up his reputation to the status of legend in a world that is not without reminding you of Dishonored.”
“The aesthetic of the world and the general ideas are great, but the details of the story are absolute garbage and I cannot deal with that when all I want is some tense immersive sim thieving in a magitech setting.”
“You can soft-lock the game at several points, some mechanics straight up don't work, the game is generally lacking in content and the story... well it could almost create a new term: 'aberlore'.”
“But when you need to restart the tutorial multiple times and the first mission too, both due to game-breaking bugs, you can’t help but feel that either nobody actually worked on the game or tested it or that sometimes, someone, somewhere did something absolutely horrible with it.”
- gameplay16 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The gameplay features a mix of enjoyable movement and innovative mechanics, such as stealth elements and unique abilities, which contribute to a satisfying experience. However, players have reported significant issues, including bugs, poor AI recognition, and a convoluted tutorial that detracts from the overall enjoyment. While the game offers a solid gameplay loop and interesting systems, it suffers from technical problems and a lack of content that may hinder the experience.
“The movement feels pretty good and the stealth mechanics work well.”
“There are a lot of mechanics that I haven't seen in other games in the same genre, and I have already worked out a few interesting ways of solving the tasks and problems that you get set.”
“The gameplay integrates some interesting elements like tarot cards that give your character special abilities, crafting from the items you loot in-game, and food to eat to replenish your stamina.”
“I attempted to record the gameplay through Shadowplay too, to show a few handfuls of bugs, stealth not being properly recognized by the AI, and a lot of clipping issues, but it didn't even manage to record it.”
“I quit when I had to go through two completely empty 'corridor' areas, each with their own loading screen before entering them, before I could start getting to any sort of gameplay after dealing with a ten-page prologue with maybe a minute's worth of gameplay that should have been a skippable tutorial.”
“You can soft-lock the game at several points, some mechanics straight up don't work, the game is generally lacking in content and the story... well it could almost create a new term: 'aberlore'.”
- graphics7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the unique art style and atmospheric design reminiscent of the Dishonored series, while others criticize the inconsistency and lack of detail, likening it to an asset flip. Overall, the visuals seem to fall short of modern standards, leaving players wanting more immersive and polished graphics.
“I really like the art style, atmosphere, story, and characters.”
“Graphically speaking, while it is certainly its own, the level design and the main city are definitely inspired by the Dishonored series.”
“The aesthetic of the world and the general ideas are great.”
“The graphics and art direction are all over the place.”
“Makes you think it's either an asset flip, or made by people who weren't actually paid to do any artwork.”
“Any graphics card out there, even that 1060 potato that Steam reports as being owned by 'everyone' can handle much higher details than this game has.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with performance issues leading to inconsistent frame rates, often capped at 60fps, and significant softlocks during gameplay. Despite the potential for improvement, players report that the current state is marred by poor optimization practices, such as disabling shadow casting and limiting draw distances, which detracts from the overall experience. While some users express hope for future patches, the current performance on high-end systems is disappointing.
“This game is definitely what I wanted; it's like getting a custom-made game for myself. I love it, but unfortunately, there are some downsides. The optimizations are all over the place; I get 50 frames, then 144, then capped at 60, and then 90. This is not on a low-end or mid-end PC; it's on a high-end PC with a 3080 and i9 9900k, 16GB RAM at 1080p resolution.”
“So I can definitely see the devs fixing optimizations and glitches. If any of the devs see this review, I can show screenshots of the glitches I faced.”
“I work with Unity, and because of games like this, I then have to deal with people constantly nagging 'why Unity when you could use x, y, z?' While in reality, Unity - in the right hands - is perfectly capable of handling a game like this and much more.”
“Performance is also abysmal and appears to be capped at 60fps.”
“After spending a few hours trying to figure out the performance issues this game has and identifying the source of the softlock in the tutorial level (which I have informed the developer about), I have decided otherwise regarding my enjoyment of the game.”
“The abysmal performance, even with the ridiculous hacks that developers have implemented (like disabling shadow casting for almost all surfaces and setting a far plane for the camera to a distance of less than 100m), is unacceptable. As a game developer myself, I know that Unity is capable of handling a game like this and much more when used correctly.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is reported to be highly unstable, with numerous bugs and glitches that significantly impact gameplay. Users have noted a lack of clear tutorials and functional systems, leading to a frustrating experience. While there is hope for future fixes from the developers, the current state is considered problematic.
“It's remarkably buggy, badly tutorialized, systems vary from nonsensical to nonfunctional, and you can't even see the controls in-game.”
“No description on what equipment actually does, buggy as all hell.”
“So I can definitely see the devs fixing optimizations and glitches; if any of the devs see this review, I can show screenshots of the glitches I faced.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is highly praised for its engaging art style and immersive storytelling, creating a tense and creepy environment that enhances the stress of missions, particularly in the context of thievery.
“I really like the art style, atmosphere, story, and characters.”
“When on a mission, the atmosphere is tense and creepy, making the stressful job of thievery even more nerve-wracking.”
“When on a mission, the atmosphere is tense and creepy - making the stressful job of thievery even more nerve-wracking.”
- music2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with praise for its quality; however, some users feel that the addition of ambient music could enhance the overall experience.
“Nice job on the sound and music!”
“The soundtrack really enhances the overall experience.”
“The music perfectly complements the gameplay and sets the right mood.”
“Wouldn't have hurt to have some ambient music, right?”
“The soundtrack feels repetitive and lacks variety.”
“The music doesn't match the game's atmosphere, making it feel disjointed.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability due to its beautiful random generation, allowing for varied experiences with each playthrough, particularly appealing for fans of the stealth genre. Additionally, the attention to detail enhances immersion, contributing to its overall replay value.
“This game is beautifully randomly generated, which means infinite replayability for me. Stealth is my favorite genre, and I also love the small details, like when you get close to walls and your character puts their hands on them.”
“Though I cannot speak to its state at launch, it is far more playable than most of these reviews would have you believe.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Abermore features a captivating world populated by intriguing and humorous characters, contributing to its overall charm and entertainment value.
“Abermore is a fascinating world with interesting and funny characters.”
“The humor in this game is cleverly woven into the storyline, making every quest a delightful experience.”
“I found myself laughing out loud at the witty dialogue and hilarious situations the characters find themselves in.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, with excessive and poorly crafted exposition detracting from the overall enjoyment of the gameplay.
“The little bit of gameplay felt nice, but the tedious and poorly written fantasy novel's worth of exposition is not worth it.”
“Grinding feels like a never-ending chore rather than an engaging part of the game.”
“The repetitive tasks required to progress make the experience feel more like a job than a game.”
