Basement

68%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,594 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Basement Game Cover
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Basement is a single-player strategy game where you run an illegal drug business to fund your dream video game development. Experience the unpredictable world of crime, from dealing with gangs to solving production issues, all while trying to make a profit. Despite some bugs, the game boasts fantastic gameplay, phenomenal graphics, excellent music, and plenty of humor.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

68%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,594 reviews
story31 positive mentions
stability32 negative mentions
  • The game has a unique and humorous premise, allowing players to build a drug empire while managing various challenges.
  • The pixel art style and soundtrack are well-executed, creating an engaging atmosphere.
  • The gameplay offers a mix of strategy and management, keeping players entertained as they navigate through the challenges.
  • The difficulty spikes significantly, especially in later levels, making it frustrating for players to progress.
  • There are numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including issues with saving and AI behavior.
  • The writing and dialogue often feel juvenile and poorly translated, detracting from the overall experience.
  • story219 mentions

    The game's story revolves around a protagonist who dreams of creating a video game but resorts to drug dealing to fund it, leading to a chaotic narrative filled with turf wars and police encounters. While some players find humor and engaging elements in the story, many criticize it for being overly linear, frustratingly difficult, and poorly written, often feeling like a series of tedious tutorials rather than a cohesive narrative. Overall, the story is seen as lacking depth and coherence, with many players preferring the sandbox mode for its flexibility and fun.

    • “The game is the story of someone who has an idea for a video game, however, he's unable to impress any investors and he has no money to make that dream possible, so he just goes out to get high and once he does he has the idea from his friend to get into the dealing trade!”
    • “The story behind it is funny too.”
    • “This game is a nice little game for a couple of hours and has a nice but unfinished story but the developer continues to update the game slowly.”
    • “The story was pretty boring though and I found a lot of the dialogue in between levels pretty cringe...”
    • “The story isn't all that compelling, the English translation is fairly shoddy, and the dialogue is trying too hard to be edgy and frequently manages to be cringey instead.”
    • “The story mode is often unclear in certain points, and most of the changes make it harder than I enjoy.”
  • gameplay213 mentions

    The gameplay is a blend of strategy and management, offering a mix of engaging mechanics and chaotic challenges, though many players find it lacks depth and clarity, often leading to confusion. While some enjoy the core gameplay loop and its potential for fun, others criticize it for being repetitive, poorly explained, and riddled with bugs that hinder the experience. Overall, the game shows promise but requires significant improvements in mechanics and user guidance to enhance player satisfaction.

    • “The gameplay is a perfect mix of strategy, management, and chaos, with each decision bringing new challenges and opportunities.”
    • “The gameplay was pretty fun and engaging with some decent progression throughout the story.”
    • “The gameplay is solid and the mechanics work; I cannot wait for what is in store later down the road of development.”
    • “There's very little explanation on how in-depth mechanics work, which leaves you confused about where or what you're doing wrong until you have to watch a YouTube video.”
    • “The game went through so many phases, and I always liked the basic gameplay loop, but the final iteration is just irritating.”
    • “The gameplay is too slow and unintuitive; yes, I've only played a few minutes, but it really didn't grab me.”
  • graphics70 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the charming pixel art and distinctive art style, while others criticize the retro graphics as outdated or poorly executed, particularly in cutscenes. Many users find the visuals fitting for the game's theme, though technical issues and simplistic designs detract from the overall experience for some. Overall, the aesthetic is generally well-received, but opinions vary on its execution and relevance in comparison to contemporary titles.

    • “Graphics – it's got a great graphics style I really like it, it’s simple yet distinctive.”
    • “Absolutely love the aesthetic of the game.”
    • “The artwork is exceptional.”
    • “The tiny pixel graphics are neither here nor there.”
    • “They chose to use obsolete retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
    • “The graphics are atrocious, but I've got no complaint about that.”
  • humor59 mentions

    The humor in "Basement" is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its dark, absurd, and quirky elements, while others criticize it for relying on outdated, juvenile, and often offensive jokes. While the game features moments of genuine hilarity and clever references, many reviewers found the humor to be one-dimensional or poorly executed, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, it appeals to those who enjoy a blend of dark comedy and strategy, but may not resonate with everyone due to its controversial themes and execution.

    • “The quirky characters and absurd situations add a lot of humor, making it more fun than your average strategy game.”
    • “It's not perfect, but Basement is a quirky gem for those who enjoy crafting, laughing in the face of doom, and questioning their life choices.”
    • “Small but passionate developer team created a very funny management game with missions and a sandbox mode, AI enemies, and game updates are also included.”
    • “My second complaint: the dialogue and jokes are aggressively unfunny, and the writing shows little grasp of the English language.”
    • “One-dimensional, unfunny, and insanely difficult after just a couple of levels.”
  • music49 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players praising the soundtrack as a standout feature that enhances the overall atmosphere and gameplay experience. While some describe it as amazing and fitting, others find it repetitive or lacking in variety, suggesting that more diverse tracks would improve the experience. Overall, the music is generally appreciated for its ability to complement the game's themes, though opinions vary on its quality and memorability.

    • “The music is the standout to this game.”
    • “The music is amazing; it adds to the overall ambience in my opinion.”
    • “The minimal soundtrack complements the atmosphere and immersion the chosen pixel art style affords, and I look forward to future updates that expand the content even further.”
    • “Also, the soundtrack sounds like someone wailing on the same synthesizer key repeatedly.”
    • “Lacks good music - what it has isn't bad or annoying but doesn't get you into the game.”
    • “The game only appears to have two music tracks, and they're not really notable.”
  • stability35 mentions

    The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous users reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder gameplay. Many players experience issues such as audio settings resetting, mission bugs, and overall instability, leading to a frustrating experience. While some acknowledge improvements over time, the consensus is that the game remains a "buggy mess," often feeling incomplete and in need of further development.

    • “Overall, I'd give it 5/10. It's not the worst; it is not buggy, but especially the defending a building needs a rework.”
    • “Mostly bug-free (I haven't encountered any, but I don't want to say it is completely bug-free).”
    • “Last time I played this game, it wasn't that buggy.”
    • “Game keeps resetting volume when I reload, blowing my ears out in the process, has continuous crashes whilst saving or loading, glitches in the campaign levels and just in general pretty bad campaign levels.”
    • “A buggy mess, impossible to complete the first tutorial.”
    • “Currently the game is badly broken and freezes after 5 minutes if you're lucky using ATI Radeon cards.”
  • replayability27 mentions

    Overall, the game currently suffers from a lack of replayability, with many players noting that it can be completed quickly and offers limited content beyond the initial playthrough. While some mention a sandbox mode and potential for future updates to enhance replay value, the consensus is that the game needs more substance and variety to encourage repeated play. As it stands, players can expect a fun experience, but with minimal incentive to return after finishing the game.

    • “There's a sandbox mode to add some replayability.”
    • “It provides enough depth for a few hours of play, not to mention it does have quite some replayability and different ways you can play.”
    • “Good mix of challenging play and fun replayability.”
    • “There's very little replay value, but I got about 30 hours out of it while 100%ing the game, and I expect most players would take longer than that.”
    • “Fun game, but be prepared to be disappointed with the lack of replayability value.”
    • “The game is lacking in content at the moment - my playtime represents a single game start to finish, with the only replay value being in the randomly generated maps.”
  • grinding19 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and frustrating, often feeling like an extended tutorial rather than engaging gameplay. Many reviews highlight the repetitive nature of grinding for resources and achievements, with some expressing that it detracts from the overall enjoyment and flow of the game. While there are moments of fun, the grind often leads to player fatigue and a sense of exasperation, particularly when progress can be easily lost.

    • “The gameplay is fine, minus the bugs and glitches, of course, if not very tedious.”
    • “Grinding for duct tape might make you question your life choices.”
    • “On a final note: I've got over 60 hours in this one, probably well over 40 of it were grinding achievements.”
    • “It's just not very good, grindy and unfun, and it flip-flops between being excruciatingly slow and requiring split-second reactions in order to not mess up the whole mission.”
  • atmosphere7 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is characterized by a unique blend of psychedelic and dark elements, enhanced by a fitting art style and minimal soundtrack that contribute to immersion. While some players appreciate the humor and quirky concept, others feel the gameplay falls short of fully realizing the potential of its intriguing setting. Overall, the atmosphere is well-received, with many looking forward to future updates to enrich the experience further.

    • “The game has a nice psychedelic atmosphere with a good dose of humor.”
    • “The minimal soundtrack complements the atmosphere and immersion the chosen pixel art style affords, and I look forward to future updates that expand the content even further.”
    • “I like the idea, seeing that I am a sucker for games with a darker atmosphere, and it is really unique.”
    • “It helps create the atmosphere of someone cooking up some drugs in a basement or warehouse.”
    • “The minimal soundtrack complements the atmosphere and immersion the chosen pixel art style affords.”
  • optimization2 mentions

    Reviews indicate that while there is a desire for improved optimization, particularly in performance and quality of life features, opinions vary on whether the issues stem from performance or content-related factors. Overall, players are seeking enhancements and tweaks to enhance their experience.

    • “I wish it was improved upon, with better performance, quality of life enhancements, and expanded features.”
    • “Performance and content may vary!”
    • “I wish it was improved in terms of performance, quality of life, and overall expansion and tweaks.”
    • “Performance and content may vary significantly!”
  • emotional2 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by a touching love story, though it is marred by cringe-inducing racial stereotypes that detract from the overall experience. While some players find it relatable, others struggle to connect due to these problematic elements.

    • “Can't relate, but it's a touching love story nonetheless.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The monetization model of [i]basement[/i] is praised for not being free-to-play, which eliminates forced energy mechanics and microtransactions. However, the game is criticized for feeling unfinished and being perceived as an early access cash grab.

    • “Despite lacking polish compared to Bethesda's games, there's one huge advantage to 'Basement': it isn't a free-to-play game, and thus has no forced energy mechanic to prod you into buying microtransactions to speed things up.”
    • “You guys had a chance here to make something awesome - but alas... another abandoned early access cash grab.”
    • “Despite lacking polish even compared to Bethesda's games, there's one huge advantage to Basement: it isn't a free-to-play game, and thus has no forced energy mechanic to prod you into buying microtransactions to speed things up.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

7hMedian play time
274hAverage play time
3-16hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 13 analyzed playthroughs

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