Brutalism22
- April 12, 2023
- Marginal act
Get on SteamThis is a retro horror game about the war in Ukraine and brutalist architecture in Eastern Europe.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a unique and interesting premise that captures the anxiety of living in a war-torn country.
- It offers a short experience with a great atmosphere, making it enjoyable for those looking for a quick playthrough.
- The developer is responsive to feedback, improving issues like camera sensitivity and controls.
- The game suffers from pacing issues and feels overly long due to forced padding, making it frustrating at times.
- Many players found the jumpscares to be cheap and irritating, detracting from the overall experience.
- The gameplay is linear and lacks meaningful interactions, leaving players wanting more depth and engagement.
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating its unsettling and trippy qualities, while others find it bland and colorless. The disorienting world, enhanced by crunchy snow and misty weather, contributes to a unique experience, despite the game's linearity. Overall, it offers a memorable, albeit crude, ambiance that some players enjoy.
“Great short experience with some great atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere is bland, colorless, and gritty, while somehow also being very trippy (this may sound like a bad thing, but I quite enjoyed it). The game is crude, but overall I am glad I bought it.”
“Atmosphere is unsettling, the world is disorienting, snow is crunchy, and the misty weather does well to hide the otherwise short and linear experience.”
“The atmosphere is bland, colorless, and gritty, while somehow also being very trippy. The game is crude, but overall I am glad I bought it.”
“The atmosphere is unsettling; the world is disorienting, the snow is crunchy, and the misty weather does well to hide the otherwise short and linear experience.”
- gameplay2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The gameplay is criticized for its poorly constructed map and ineffective random jumpscares, leading to a lack of engaging mechanics. Movement feels clunky, and while there are elements of exploration and narrative, they do not contribute to a satisfying gameplay experience.
“The game has random jumpscares all over that don't really work with the gameplay, the movement is really bad, and the map is poorly constructed.”
“You walk around a bit, there are some mild jumpscares and a bit of a narrative, but there's no real gameplay.”
- story2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The story attempts to convey a war narrative but suffers from a lack of urgency and coherence, often resorting to surreal elements that fail to deliver genuine shock. While it explores intriguing concepts, pacing issues detract from its overall impact.
“It's meant to be some kind of war story, but there's no sense of urgency whatsoever, and a bunch of surreal bullshit's thrown in for pure shock value, even though none of it is actually shocking.”
“The story has some pacing issues, but lots of interesting ideas are explored and presented.”
- graphics1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The graphics of brutalism22 are described as beautiful yet unsettling, featuring an archaic aesthetic that powerfully conveys feelings of paranoia, panic, and terror associated with living in a war-torn environment. This raw artistic expression enhances the game's emotional impact.
“Beautiful, yet unsettling in its archaic aesthetic, brutalism22 is the rawest artistic expression of the feelings of paranoia, panic, and terror present when living in a war-torn country I could possibly imagine.”
“Beautiful, yet unsettling in its archaic aesthetic, brutalism22 is the rawest artistic expression of the feeling of paranoia, panic, and terror present when living in a war-torn country I could possibly imagine.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with players reporting numerous bugs and a floaty player controller that affects gameplay.
“It's quite buggy and the player controls are extremely floaty.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
“I experienced constant lag and frame drops, which ruined the overall experience.”
- music1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The music in the game is often tied to jumpscares, but its frequent use can become irritating, as players report missing the accompanying visual effects due to the rapid pace of the scares.
“The music is repetitive and lacks variety, making it feel monotonous after just a short playtime.”
“The soundtrack doesn't match the game's atmosphere, which detracts from the overall experience.”
“The audio mixing is poor; sometimes the music drowns out important sound cues, making it hard to enjoy the game.”
