Chromosome Evil
- March 19, 2022
- dovganovskiy
- 6h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Chromosome Evil" is a real-time strategy game that offers multiple possibilities in team building. Soldiers excel in combat, while engineers specialize in defense, constructing turrets, barricades, and utilizing specialized tools. Player choices in army composition, strategy, and resource management significantly impact gameplay outcomes, leading to a dynamic and customizable experience.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a unique blend of strategy, resource management, and horror elements, providing a challenging and engaging experience.
- The atmosphere and visuals are well-crafted, evoking a sense of tension and urgency during gameplay.
- The developers are responsive to community feedback and actively work on improving the game, which enhances the overall experience.
- The controls can be frustrating, with issues like poor pathfinding and unresponsive character actions, making gameplay feel clunky at times.
- The save system is punishing, requiring in-game resources to save progress, which can lead to significant setbacks if the game crashes or if players make mistakes.
- There are several bugs and translation errors that detract from the overall polish of the game, indicating it may have been released before being fully refined.
- story72 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally described as simple and somewhat generic, yet it features branching paths and multiple endings that enhance replayability. Players appreciate the engaging atmosphere and the risk-reward dynamics during missions, although some find the writing and narrative execution lacking. Overall, while the story may not be groundbreaking, it effectively supports the gameplay mechanics and offers enough variety to keep players invested.
“The atmosphere and depletion of resources work together to really sell the vibe of the story and setting.”
“The long awaited successor to Flesh Eaters has come and it brings more content than its predecessor with greatly improved player choice at the main story points, during missions, or what places you pick that can change each playthrough so you can spend lots of time playing this game.”
“The story is cool and I love the Lovecraftian aspect of the game; it would be too generic if it was only zombies.”
“The story-telling is decent, though there are certainly some scenarios in the beginning that feel pointless.”
“The static, main story is just not good enough to justify multiple playthroughs.”
“The story is passable, writing is not great, but I'm also pretty sure neither of these guys went to school for writing, so I'll give that a pass too.”
- gameplay60 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a blend of real-time strategy and RPG elements, featuring resource management and tactical squad-based mechanics. While it offers a fun and atmospheric experience with a satisfying core loop, players have noted issues such as limited weapon selection, repetitive gameplay, and some design flaws that can hinder enjoyment. Overall, the game is praised for its depth and challenge, though it may require patience to navigate its rough edges and mechanics.
“While the game style looks simple, the game itself isn't that easy. Other than the RTS gameplay as advertised, it has some RPG elements, resource management, and a little bit of that extraction mechanic like something from Escape from Tarkov or Zero Sievert. It's fun; the devs really created something that's enjoyable and atmospheric from all those ideas and components.”
“The gameplay loop is very fun and doesn't get boring as there is a lot of customization for each character, different maps, and a lot of choices to make.”
“Gameplay and atmosphere are amazing, and it's certainly something you need to try.”
“Both games have problems in their basic mechanics, like you cannot select weapons for your soldiers.”
“There is very little variety in the gameplay; all the maps and encounters are the same, and you will be going through 90% of the same gameplay loop every time you play.”
“I found the game to be slow, boring, and lacking any interesting features or mechanics that I wanted to explore.”
- atmosphere15 mentions
- 73 % positive mentions
- 7 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and oppressive qualities, effectively blending elements from various genres to create a tense, post-apocalyptic setting. Reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke nostalgia while maintaining a fun and engaging gameplay experience, despite some technical issues. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature that enhances the game's complexity and enjoyment.
“The atmosphere and depletion of resources work together to really sell the vibe of the story and setting.”
“Great post-apocalyptic atmosphere and gameplay!”
“Tense, atmospheric, tactical squad-based survival horror RPG.”
“Chromosome Evil offers a fine blend of the oppressive atmosphere of Darkwood, the intense difficulty of X-COM: TFTD, and just a dash of Jagged Alliance squad command and management.”
“For me, Chromosome Evil gets closer to the atmosphere of the original X-COM than some of the newer entries in the franchise did, and it does so by changing up its core mechanics.”
“I just love how in tune it is with the whole atmosphere.”
- graphics9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game receive a positive reception, with many players appreciating the art style and atmosphere. However, some users have noted issues such as graphical bugs in certain areas and a need for improved visual clarity in specific elements like fire effects. While the nostalgic appeal is highlighted, there are calls for more variety in character designs and better visual feedback for gameplay elements.
“I also love the vibe and art style, pretty solid with replay value on top.”
“This game has a lot going for it, from the art style to the gameplay.”
“Great game, I really like the atmosphere and the graphics.”
“One of the marketplace maps in the residential area seems to have bugged graphics and displays black squares over the ground.”
“Some better visuals (some fire such as that from explosive barrels can be a bit difficult to see, for example) need to be improved.”
“While players who enjoyed flesh-eaters will enjoy this game, those who might have been hoping for more out of Chromosome Evil aside from aesthetic changes may end up feeling that not much has changed.”
- replayability7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability due to multiple choices, endings, and a challenging gameplay experience, encouraging players to engage in numerous playthroughs. However, some users noted a lack of character customization options, which could enhance variety and replay value further. Despite these criticisms, many players find the game enjoyable enough to warrant extensive replaying.
“The game is relatively cheap, highly replayable, gives a challenge to the player, and encourages multiple playthroughs due to many choices and endings.”
“This game has so much replayability that you could play for 50 hours and still not have the same playthrough once.”
“A bit low on customization and replayability, and definitely could use a bit more polish, but loved the game anyway.”
“You can't customize your starting character's equipment (only shotgun, pistol, and fist). It would be nice if you could customize your starting character's equipment through points (like the trait points from Project Zomboid, only for equipment). If the starting characters had different equipment, then every run would have more replayability and variety.”
“Multiple endings and moral choices also affect the replayability.”
- music7 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the ambient sounds and subtle soundtrack, others criticize the repetitive nature of the tracks and the lack of variety, especially for a Lovecraftian-themed game. Despite these shortcomings, there are positive mentions of the music enhancing the overall experience, though some feel it lacks originality.
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“The ambient noises work well with the game, as well as the subtle but nicely done soundtrack.”
“I also want to point out how great the music is in this game.”
“There's potential here for a fun rogue-like RTS, but it's held back by a horrendous UI, poor controls, and a grating soundtrack.”
“A great example of this game being done on the cheap is the main music from the game 'Hostage Negotiator' on the iOS App Store being used in this game!”
- grinding5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often feeling that the rush to level up undermines the overall experience. While some exploits can expedite the process, the repetitive nature of loot finding and farming contributes to a sense of monotony.
“It's tedious and frustrating.”
“That's fine... but the game undermines itself by making this 'rush rush rush' playstyle actually feel slow and tedious.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- humor4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is hit-or-miss, with some players finding certain elements amusing, such as the inclusion of cheats and trainers, while others feel that the challenges, like overwhelming enemy encounters, detract from the fun. Overall, the comedic aspects seem to be overshadowed by frustration in gameplay, leading to mixed reactions.
“And you can't close the door once you open them... huh... very funny.”
“Looking forward to any future content the dev brings and still laughing that they added a trainer/cheats themselves.”
“Oh come on, this is not funny!”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been criticized for its stability, with users reporting a buggy interface, frequent deselection of characters, and translation issues. However, the small development team is noted for their responsiveness and commitment to addressing these problems, suggesting improvements may be forthcoming.
“Misspelled instructions, bad interface, buggy mess...”
“The interface is a bit buggy, with characters frequently being deselected when you click to change weapons.”
“The game is fairly buggy and has some translation issues, but the devs (a team of two, I believe) are very responsive and seem to work very diligently to fix them, so I imagine that won't be an issue soon.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has been widely criticized, with many users likening its performance to that of an early access or alpha version, indicating that it feels unfinished and lacking polish.
“It feels like a really early access game in terms of performance, like early alpha, not a completed game.”
“The optimization is so poor that it makes the game nearly unplayable on mid-range systems.”
“Frequent frame drops and stuttering make it hard to enjoy the gameplay experience.”
