COMPOUND
- July 19, 2022
- Bevan McKechnie
- 14h median play time
Get on Steam"COMPOUND is a challenging, rogue-lite single-player shooter for Virtual Reality with tough enemies and retro vibes. Its masterful gameplay, intriguing story, stellar graphics, and excellent atmosphere keep you hooked, despite the grinding and high difficulty. With room for player feedback, this passion project allows for a rich, replayable experience that will put your VR skills to the test."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Highly addictive rogue-like shooter with immersive gameplay.
- Satisfying gunplay and unique reloading mechanics for each weapon.
- Retro aesthetic and vibrant visuals create a nostalgic experience.
- Enemy AI can be simplistic and predictable.
- Limited variety in runs and environments can lead to repetitiveness.
- Some players may find the difficulty curve steep, especially on higher settings.
- graphics324 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a vibrant, retro pixel art style that evokes nostalgia for classic 90s shooters like Doom and Wolfenstein. Reviewers appreciate the game's ability to deliver an immersive experience without demanding high-end hardware, making it accessible for budget VR users. Overall, the visuals are praised for their charm, clarity, and effective use of color, contributing to a fun and engaging gameplay experience.
“The aesthetic is absolutely beautiful; it manages to look like I'm running around in a SNES beat-em-up while still feeling immersive, which is truly impressive.”
“The graphics have a pixel-art charm that gives nods to the 16-bit era of gaming.”
“The retro graphics look amazing; the enemies and the guns are all really fun, and you can just keep coming back to it.”
“The graphics are not amazing but the gameplay is super fun and has a lot of replayability.”
“As cool as the graphics are to look at, it just gets boring after a while, and I haven't even really beaten the game yet, none of the modifiers really do it for me either.”
“The retro style graphics limit the game to a very specific customer base.”
- gameplay320 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this VR title is widely praised for its satisfying mechanics, engaging core loop, and retro aesthetic, reminiscent of classic shooters like Doom and Quake. Players appreciate the variety of weapons and unique reloading mechanics, which enhance the overall experience, while the inclusion of mutators adds replayability and keeps the gameplay fresh. However, some critiques mention that the gameplay can become repetitive over time, and a desire for more depth and variety in levels and mechanics is noted.
“The gameplay is super smooth and consistent, making it one of those titles you just don't want to put down.”
“The shooting mechanics are one of the many elements that make this game enjoyable.”
“The gameplay is simple, but really quite fun.”
“Shitty music, repetitive and boring gameplay.”
“The gameplay is disappointingly shallow and repetitive: walk into a room, shoot the enemies, repeat.”
“My biggest complaint is something subjective, and might not bother a lot of people who'd buy this game, but the weapon mechanics are sorely lacking in quality of life and depth.”
- music145 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its nostalgic retro and synthwave vibes, effectively complementing the gameplay and enhancing the overall atmosphere. While many players appreciate the catchy and immersive soundtrack, some note that it can become repetitive and could benefit from more intensity. Overall, the sound design, including the music and sound effects, is considered a strong aspect of the game, contributing to a satisfying and engaging experience.
“The sounds are pleasing and the music sets just the right atmosphere.”
“Each song perfectly fits each area of the game, and they sound good enough to listen to on their own.”
“The music fits the game and the sound design is superb.”
“Shitty music, repetitive and boring gameplay.”
“My only complaints would be that the current soundtrack is a bit too tame and a few of the levels feel sparsely populated.”
“Also wish the music was a tad more intense; it's kind of chill synthwave for a game that isn't very chill, but that's easy enough to mute and play my own stuff.”
- replayability108 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The game is widely praised for its high replayability, attributed to features like mutators, random weapon spawns, and procedural level generation, which keep gameplay fresh and engaging. Players appreciate the variety in difficulty modes and the challenge presented by unique enemy placements, making each playthrough feel distinct. Overall, it is considered one of the most replayable VR titles available, offering a satisfying and addictive experience that encourages repeated play.
“It has high replayability because of the random guns, new level layouts, and enemy placement.”
“The multiple 'mutations' the game offers to change the gameplay allows for great replayability.”
“The random nature of the levels makes replayability fairly high, and the difficulty levels are no joke.”
“The game is a fairly easy 20-minute loop; it's got little replay value. It's just the kind of game you play once or twice a week and get bored of it for a couple of months.”
“Currently without items, you always end up with the exact same build since there is no incentive to pick up guns that you wouldn't normally use, so you will always just use your favorites, which takes most of the replayability out.”
“Only downside is for a RNG replayable game, there isn't much variety and content.”
- story67 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is minimal and primarily serves as a backdrop for the action, focusing on a character's ascent through a corporate tower while battling enemies. Environmental storytelling is praised for its cleverness, with humor and world-building elements enhancing the experience, though many players note that the narrative lacks depth and character development. Overall, while the story is not the main draw, it adds a unique flavor to the gameplay, which is fast-paced and engaging.
“The clever worldbuilding delivered exclusively through environmental storytelling.”
“The story, although taking a back seat during the main game, is interesting and unique, being revealed through the environments rather than direct storytelling (except for the endings).”
“The aesthetic of this game is also really well done, the music is good, the silent storytelling from looking at the world around you is clever, the signs on the walls are pretty funny, and the British cleaning robots are great.”
“A story does exist here, but the main concept is just to roam around and kill every enemy and clear every room until you reach the end boss, unless you die in the process and have to restart from the beginning.”
“I always feel like, while the devs created great assets and gameplay mechanics, they drew a massive blank when it comes to creating a storyline/campaign or any meaningful character progression.”
“There's no real story to speak of. I personally don't need this game to tell me a story, but if you do, you should be aware that there essentially is none.”
- atmosphere25 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its nostalgic retro style, immersive sound design, and captivating soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the combination of pixelated graphics and synthwave music, which evokes fond memories of classic shooters while providing a fun and engaging environment. The game's atmosphere is described as both satisfying and immersive, contributing significantly to its replayability and enjoyment.
“The atmosphere is amazing, with perfect music to complement the setting.”
“Destroying enemies and elements of the environment with the available arsenal to the rhythm of splendid atmospheric music is just an awesome experience.”
“Art style, atmosphere, music, sound effects, and weapon feeling make the game very satisfying and immersive!”
“For example: the warehouse has disjointed truck engine sounds that sort of float around the level and it was difficult for me to determine if this was a tank enemy or just atmosphere.”
“I loved this game as a demo, and this EA version is even better - more enemies, weapons and levels, with the same atmosphere - I feel like I'm inside an early 90s shareware game like Wolfenstein 3D or Blake Stone.”
“A nostalgic feel with procedural levels and atmosphere.”
- optimization24 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is highly praised, with users noting that it runs smoothly on a wide range of hardware, including budget setups, and maintains a consistent frame rate. The low-resolution graphics contribute to its performance, allowing for enjoyable gameplay without significant lag, although some users experienced issues with the auto-resolution adjustment feature. Overall, the game is considered well-optimized for VR, providing a fun experience without the typical performance barriers found in more graphically demanding titles.
“Ultra-optimized, runs on virtually any CPU, GPU, and headset/controller combo.”
“Incredible optimization on the dev's part, ran on a GT 1030 at locked 90fps.”
“Performance is buttery smooth and the pixelated graphics do a wonderful job of eliminating the screen door effect I get from so many other games.”
“Most game developers are going for super realistic graphics nowadays and a lot of these games are not optimized for the average VR computer.”
“Only complaint is that the setting to auto adjust the resolution based on performance made it virtually unplayable; since the setting is toggle-able it's no issue, but that setting is on by default.”
“This isn't what's become the standard, poorly optimized and underperforming VR tech demo.”
- humor20 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and retro charm, with players enjoying the comically evil corporation setting, funny sound effects, and humorous environmental details like posters and signs. The game's playful interactions and attention to detail contribute to a lighthearted experience, making it both entertaining and engaging. Overall, the humor enhances the nostalgic feel while providing a fun backdrop to the gameplay.
“The responsiveness of the combat, the consciously retro style, the humor, the punchy sound design, the music, the overall level of polish… it literally feels like I’m stepping into a mid-90s computer game and it’s awesome.”
“Every mutator and gun is incredibly fun to play with, and the humor dotted around the maps is phenomenal.”
“The aesthetic of this game is also really well done, the music is good, the silent storytelling from looking at the world around you is clever, the signs on the walls are pretty funny, and the British cleaning robots are great.”
- stability10 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game exhibits excellent stability, with smooth performance and no significant glitches encountered. Players appreciate the seamless controls and immersive experience, contrasting it with other VR titles that often suffer from bugs. The game's reliable functionality enhances its replay value and enjoyment.
“Everything feels perfectly smooth, it looks great, runs great, the soundtrack is amazing, the handling/controls are amazing... could not recommend more.”
“The game runs great and really makes you feel like you are in the game, it tracks very well and fast; you can dodge bullets with your head and stretch your arms around corners and barrels to blind fire.”
“Has a very cool art style and everything runs great.”
“There are plenty of other VR shooters out there with more features and higher polygon counts, but pretty much all of them are a buggy mess.”
“Most VR games are a buggy mess.”
“Or maybe I've just experienced so many other smooth VR titles and notice the glitches much more.”
- emotional8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a deep emotional connection to the game, reminiscing about their early gaming experiences with titles like Wolfenstein 3D and Doom, which evoke feelings of nostalgia and warmth. However, some also mention frustration with gameplay mechanics that can lead to emotional setbacks, such as punishing reloads and challenging boss fights, which may detract from the overall experience. Despite these challenges, the game successfully immerses players in a way that makes them feel truly part of the gaming world.
“It really made me feel like I was playing Wolfenstein 3D for the first time again, and that was a feeling I didn't even know I wanted.”
“I first started gaming on a DOS machine playing Wolfenstein 3D, and this game made me feel so warm and homey.”
“Don't get me wrong, VR has achieved presence for me many times over, making me feel like I was in real places, but never has it made me feel like I was inside of a video game quite like this game has.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 88 % negative mentions
Players have mixed feelings about the grinding aspect of the game; while some find it tedious and excessive, particularly for unlocking new weapons, others appreciate the variety offered by mutators and difficulty modes that can alleviate the grind. Overall, grinding can feel unnecessary and frustrating, especially when combined with slow movement mechanics, but the game's fast-paced action and engaging combat help maintain enjoyment.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Most of the VR games are unnecessarily tedious at many points.”
“Now the game is very grindy to get new weapons.”
- monetization5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The monetization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users highlighting it as a potential cash grab due to the presence of microtransactions and in-game purchases. However, others emphasize the game's quality and fun factor, suggesting that it deserves more visibility and promotion. Overall, while the game is praised for its gameplay, concerns about its monetization strategy persist.
“Microtransactions are well-balanced and don't feel intrusive.”
“The in-game purchases enhance the experience without being necessary to enjoy the game.”
“I appreciate that the monetization model is fair and allows players to progress without spending money.”
“It's a cash grab situation right now.”
“[i] microtransactions - in-game purchases.”
“[i] microtransactions - in-game purchases.”
