Chromosome Evil
- March 24, 2022
- S.C. 16 BIT NIGHTS S.R.L.
- 6h median play time
Get on Steam"Chromosome Evil" is a Real-Time Strategy Horror game with tactical squad-based controls and TBS management elements. Build and customize your team with soldiers, engineers, and medics to survive in a Lovecraft-inspired world overrun by nightmarish creatures and the undead. Make strategic decisions on quests, equipment, and skills to ensure your team's survival.
Reviews
- The game offers a unique blend of RTS, RPG, and horror elements, providing a challenging and engaging experience.
- The atmosphere and visuals are well-crafted, evoking nostalgia for classic top-down zombie survival games.
- The developers are responsive to community feedback and actively work on improving the game, which enhances the overall experience.
- The game suffers from a frustrating save system that requires resources to save, leading to potential loss of progress due to crashes or mistakes.
- The user interface can be clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult to manage characters and resources effectively.
- There are several bugs and design flaws, such as poor pathfinding and limited customization options for characters, which can detract from the gameplay experience.
- story70 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 79 % 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 mechanics, although some find the writing and early missions lacking in depth. Overall, while the narrative may not be groundbreaking, it effectively supports the tactical gameplay and resource management elements.
“The atmosphere and depletion of resources work together to really sell the vibe of the story and setting.”
“Also, multiple endings, various things you think on your 2nd/3rd time through to try differently, 3 different storylines with the branch starting early so you do get a multitude of unique mission variety later in the 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 is passable; the 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.”
“The static, main story is just not good enough to justify multiple playthroughs.”
“While fun, it would be nice if it had a story that didn't rush you like FTL or maybe a free play mode to see how long you can last and possibly build bases.”
- gameplay58 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the games reviewed features a mix of real-time strategy, RPG elements, and resource management, creating a fun yet challenging experience. However, players have noted significant issues with basic mechanics, such as weapon selection limitations and repetitive gameplay loops across similar maps. While the atmosphere and tactical depth are praised, some players find the gameplay can become tedious due to a lack of variety and certain design flaws that hinder enjoyment.
“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 tactical and survival aspects of the game.
“Great post-apocalyptic atmosphere and gameplay!”
“A very interesting concept, with a quite scary atmosphere and the gameplay is pretty fun if you like to think tactical.”
“Chromosome Evil is a fine blend of the oppressive atmosphere of Darkwood, the pants-shitting 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.”
“The atmosphere and depletion of resources work together to really sell the vibe of the story and setting.”
- graphics8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed feedback; while some players appreciate the art style and atmosphere, others report issues such as graphical bugs and a lack of visual clarity in certain elements. Nostalgia for simpler graphics reminiscent of flash games is noted positively, but there are calls for improvements in item visibility and character variety. Overall, the graphics are generally well-received, though there are areas that need enhancement.
“This game has a lot going for it, from the art style to the gameplay.”
“Graphics great as well!”
“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 things that I feel need improvement are better descriptions of items and upgrades, some better visuals (some fire, such as that from explosive barrels, can be a bit difficult to see, for example), better PC pathfinding (PCs will actively walk through hazards even if there's a safe path they can take), and some variety in character portraits since most are just the same guy but with different hair/helmet and facial expressions.”
“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.”
- 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 game with a Lovecraftian theme. Despite these criticisms, 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!”
- replayability6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability due to multiple choices, endings, and challenges, allowing for varied experiences across playthroughs. However, some players feel that the lack of character customization limits replay value, suggesting that more equipment options could enhance variety. Despite these critiques, many find the game enjoyable enough to warrant multiple playthroughs.
“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.”
- 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 slowness and 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, 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 suffers from various stability issues, including a buggy interface and translation errors, which can disrupt gameplay. 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.”
