In ANEURISM IV, play as a Spirit in a decaying metropolis, where your actions and role, from Prole to Banker, determine the city's future. Engage with the Rot, a destructive force, either to contain or exploit it, shaping the urban landscape and its inhabitants' fates. With various paths and no set goals, the experience is entirely customizable.
Unique and immersive dystopian atmosphere that captures the essence of Gmod DarkRP without the power-tripping admins.
Engaging player-driven interactions and emergent storytelling that create memorable experiences.
Variety of roles (fates) to play, allowing for different gameplay styles and strategies.
Severe lag and netcode issues, especially on high-population servers, making the game nearly unplayable at times.
Imbalance between factions, with the Cortex often overpowering the Scumbags, leading to frustrating gameplay.
Lack of onboarding and guidance for new players, making it difficult to understand mechanics and navigate the world.
gameplay
154 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
74%
5%
The gameplay in this title combines engaging roleplay mechanics with a variety of roles, reminiscent of GMod's dark RP, but suffers from a steep learning curve and optimization issues. Players often find the initial gameplay loop confusing and lacking depth, particularly for common classes, which can lead to frustration; however, once familiar with the mechanics, many appreciate the emergent storytelling and social interactions. Despite its potential and active development, the game currently faces balance and netcode problems that detract from the overall experience.
“Game is absolutely amazing! You need to try this out if you want a diverse roleplaying gameplay. Each class can give you the opportunity to play however you want, and the game has a lot of potential with a very active developer that listens to its player base in terms of suggestions and balancing issues.”
“The gameplay loop is very fun once you learn it. Each role I've played has a decent variety, and even when I've seen all of their mechanics and tasks, I have yet to find myself bored because of the interactions with other players.”
“The aesthetics are on point, the gameplay is beautifully crafted, it's ever-expanding with bi-weekly updates, and is really worth a lot more than that £8 price tag.”
“You need to watch a guide on YouTube to figure out what the gameplay loop is.”
“The gameplay loop for proles (common class) at the moment is not very fleshed out; for proles, you just work until you get enough of the special credits to become either a cop or a scum.”
“Gameplay 5/10 - it's dark RP with more lag because everyone has to interact with complex entities in a game not optimized for their interaction; basic tasks are made harder to be in line with the rest of the game.”
graphics
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
61%
6%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a grungy, dystopian aesthetic that effectively immerses players in its oppressive world, drawing comparisons to classic titles like Half-Life 2 and Quake 3. While many praise the unique art style and atmospheric visuals, some critiques highlight issues with visibility due to the game's dark palette and occasional muddy textures. Overall, the visuals are a central focus, contributing significantly to the game's immersive experience, despite some technical shortcomings.
“This game has one of the most beautiful art styles I've ever seen.”
“Really good visuals and map design makes it feel like you are actually in the soul-sucking city of Aneurism IV.”
“Aneurism IV knows exactly the kind of industrial nightmare that it wants to immerse you in with its unapologetic aesthetic and mechanics, and executes amazingly on that vision.”
“Only negatives here is that it's too dark to see 80% of the time but that can be an aesthetic choice even though it sucks.”
“This game, if you can call it that, reminds me of Quake 3 in its level of graphics; we're talking early N64 level of 'detail' here, and that's being generous.”
“Confusing, muddy, dark graphics that make it difficult to know what's what, and where's where and what it's even possible to interact with.”
atmosphere
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
68%
26%
6%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and oppressive qualities, effectively capturing a dystopian world reminiscent of iconic settings like 1984 and City 17. Players appreciate the cohesive world-building, grungy graphics, and engaging soundtracks that enhance the overall experience, despite some criticisms regarding execution and community issues. Overall, the atmosphere is described as dark, gritty, and addictive, making it a standout feature of the game.
“The atmosphere is *incredible* and serves to aid in immersing you in the dystopian world of Aneurysm IV even when the RP itself isn't super hardcore.”
“Atmosphere is off the charts, and it's basically if you took the Half-Life 2 beta and put it into a standalone DarkRP game.”
“Its unforgiving and sometimes a slog to progress in and sometimes a bit of a sensory assault, but if you can set aside half a day or even just a weekend you can find yourself blitzing through the hours and getting lost in the absolutely oppressive atmosphere and cutthroat player interactions.”
“Despite the unique idea, realistically, your experience in a server is most likely going to be determined by the general atmosphere going on.”
“Oppressive atmosphere and environment, surreal experiences, constant hunger, disease, violence, suppression, endless toil, and strict schedules.”
humor
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is largely driven by player interactions and chaotic roleplay, creating a vibrant and funny community atmosphere. Players frequently share hilarious moments, often stemming from absurd scenarios and unexpected events, which contribute to the game's charm. Overall, the blend of dark themes with lighthearted chaos keeps the experience entertaining and engaging.
“The game is hilarious with a surprising amount of depth; you can just feel the passion.”
“The official servers have a perfect blend of serious roleplay and goofy GMod-type antics that have me both laughing my ass off and feeling genuinely enthralled with the world around me.”
“So far, this game has kept its word on what it is, and it's so much fun; the interactions I've had with fellow proles and the cortex are hilarious and chaotic.”
story
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
68%
11%
The game's story is characterized by its strong emergent storytelling potential, allowing players to create their own narratives through dynamic interactions and role-playing. Players have shared personal stories of transformation, such as a former alcohol dealer turned doctor, highlighting themes of redemption and moral complexity. Despite the lack of structured quests or guidance, the creativity of the player community fosters engaging and unique storytelling experiences.
“Some of the best emergent storytelling potential I've seen in a game in a long time.”
“The emergent storytelling in this game is perfection.”
“Never thought I'd be into roleplay, but I've had so much fun with the dynamic storytelling that naturally comes up.”
“The story starts as I was an alcohol dealer and ruined so many lives by giving them crippling alcohol addictions. I felt remorse, so I became a doctor. I helped people by healing them, but then this cop came along and shot me dead for no reason.”
“I think the moral of the story is, if you start out bad, then be good, but it doesn't work; be bad again but be worse.”
“No map, no quest markers, no reminders in-game of the keys unless you want to open another window and go through three tabs to see the keybinds.”
grinding
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
85%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and frustrating, often feeling like they must grind just to begin grinding effectively. The looting system is criticized for being cumbersome, requiring players to scavenge for materials in a harsh environment, which can lead to a sense of futility when progress is lost. However, some players appreciate that grinding eventually unlocks better roles and features, adding depth to the gameplay experience.
“It's also a pain to even start in new servers as you have absolutely nothing; not even a pipe in a locker, and the looting system in this game is atrocious; searching random dumpsters and trash cans for material junk (wood, plastic), junk that needs a lot of other things to make good use of (dented food cans needing kitchens which can suck to access and other materials for food recipes, soil bags that weigh 4kg and are only useful as crafting certain meds as a corpsman or filling pots to grow crops in), or the rare and useful pipe. You also can't even trade because you have no money, most likely you'll either miss or score really low on the first payment cycle you receive, and will either have to rely on grinding laundry and getting lucky for wartime factory to start in a big server as to get a good grade to get a lot of money.”
“Most of your gameplay will be spent grinding for credits or materials in a nightmare cityscape, saving up to get a higher or lower role in society.”
“Getting into it is way, way too grindy.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
39%
17%
The music in the game has received positive feedback for its ability to enhance immersion and complement the dystopian atmosphere, with many praising the ambient sounds and high-intensity tracks that fit the setting well. While some users noted that the soundtrack can be a bit repetitive, the overall consensus is that the music is thoughtfully integrated and contributes significantly to the game's engaging experience. Overall, players find the sound design to be a strong aspect of the game, adding depth to its immersive world.
“The soundtrack and ambient sounds fit the setting in a perfect way and honestly make for insanely good immersion.”
“The graphics, music, and sound design all contribute to this feeling of a warped reality; I haven't played many games that suck you into their world like this one does.”
“The soundtrack is solid but a tiny bit repetitive.”
“Little did I know, that would blast high-intensity music through my ears as I was warned about 'being targeted' by whatever enforcement there was on the streets.”
“What music there is is placed with intent and is very ambient.”
optimization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
14%
57%
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while the core game is well-made and optimized, players report significant issues with network performance and server optimization, leading to lag and frustrating gameplay experiences. Many users note that the interaction with complex entities exacerbates these problems, making basic tasks more challenging. Despite these concerns, there are indications that server issues are being addressed.
“This game is really well made; there are server optimization issues on the official servers as of the time of this review, but they're being fixed.”
“The game itself is well optimized.”
“This game is really well made; there are server optimization issues on the official servers as of the time of this review, but they're being fixed.”
“Gameplay 5/10 - it's dark RP with more lag because everyone has to interact with complex entities in a game not optimized for their interaction; basic tasks are made harder to be in line with the rest of the game.”
“Network performance is potentially some of the worst (consistently) that I've seen in a long time, which can completely ruin the otherwise fun combat.”
“Bad performance, low server density, not many garbage cans to loot from, and they respawn so slowly that in a near full server you'll never find anything.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game deeply emotional, particularly due to the high stakes of fighting against evil forces that threaten to erase the world. The narrative evokes strong feelings as characters connect on a personal level, leading to poignant moments that resonate with players, often resulting in tears and a sense of empathy for the struggles faced by the citizens.
“I cried and begged for a liquidator not to burn me to ash.”
“Along comes a controller, he tried to shoo them away, but they got talking and found out they had a lot in common; it was pretty touching.”
“The biggest thing that makes this game depressing is that if the bad guys win, the world gets erased. It gets very emotional fighting against the scum to make sure the citizens of Aneurism IV get another day to live their lives, grow their funds, and become scum themselves.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players generally find the game highly replayable, with some expressing enthusiasm about the potential for extensive playtime. However, a common concern is the lack of meaningful progression, which could enhance the overall enjoyment and replay value.
“Trust me, if I have 6,000 hours on GMod, I can't imagine the hours I'll sink into this game with its insane replayability.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that while Garry's Mod offers extensive customization, it suffers from significant stability issues, particularly with buggy mechanics like melee hit registration, which can detract from the overall experience.
“GMod lets you customize your experience, but being a buggy mess does not really provide the best experiences all the time.”
“Melee hit registration can be very buggy at times.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization in this game is viewed positively by users who appreciate its return to the essence of GMod DarkRP, contrasting sharply with the negative experiences associated with its previous monetization practices and community content. Overall, it seems to strike a balance that resonates well with fans of the original.