Cyber Manhunt
- February 2, 2021
- Aluba Studio
- 5h median play time
"Cyber Manhunt," developed by Aluba Studio, is a cyber-puzzle game that explores social issues like network violence, big data, and privacy loss. The game's plots are based on real-world events, offering a Deja-vu experience as you delve into its themes of internet importance, differing opinions, and emergencies caused by a selective few. Please note, the demo process is not applicable in this game. For inquiries or feedback, email [email protected], and follow them on Facebook and Twitter .
Reviews
- Engaging and immersive storyline with many twists and turns.
- Unique gameplay mechanics that involve social engineering and information gathering.
- Good character development and interconnected stories across chapters.
- Poor English translation with numerous grammatical errors that disrupt immersion.
- Frustrating gameplay due to pixel-hunting for clues and unskippable dialogue.
- Some puzzles are overly difficult or illogical, leading to confusion and reliance on guides.
- story386 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally praised for its engaging and immersive narrative, filled with intriguing plot twists and character development, although some players noted issues with translation and dialogue quality that detracted from the experience. While many found the themes and interconnected cases compelling, others criticized certain story elements as predictable or cliched. Overall, the narrative is seen as a strong point of the game, effectively blending gameplay mechanics with a rich storyline that explores dark and mature themes.
“Amazing game! I am so hooked by this; the story is very good and very real. I really enjoyed it and read every text, email, etc. Not to find clues, but really enjoyed snooping into others. It's a real criminal story that can or already happens with many manipulative strings. I love it; the story is personal and emotional to me, and I sympathize with the characters.”
“The story is absolutely fantastic and sucked me in. The characters grow and develop as the story progresses, and the way I see it, my personal dislike of particular features or plot points doesn't necessarily add up to a bad game for someone else.”
“The game lures you in with cybersecurity, but leaves you with an immersive story that's surprisingly interconnected, with twists after twists. The storytelling is great, and I'm really enjoying slowly unraveling the truth of each story!”
“The story could be decent enough, I guess, but it's certainly not enough of a payoff for the awful, awful gameplay.”
“Predictable storyline, boring narrative, abysmal voice acting.”
“The entire plot of this plot-heavy game is conveyed through an extremely poor English translation.”
- gameplay132 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its unique investigative mechanics and engaging story, while others criticize it for being repetitive and tedious, particularly due to the reliance on scanning text for clues. Some players found the puzzles to be inventive but noted that the gameplay can feel limited and lacks diversity, leading to frustration. Overall, while the core mechanics and story are praised, the gameplay design has significant shortcomings that may detract from the overall experience for some players.
“Overall: this game has amazing gameplay that forcibly ties itself in with a well-written and interconnected story.”
“What keeps the game fun is the very well written plot as well as the gameplay mechanics.”
“The gameplay is unique and easy to follow, and has quite a few hacking tools you can use.”
“The gameplay suffers a bit for its loop, in which the majority of your time is spent looking through in-game social media logs of your subjects.”
“The story could be decent enough, I guess, but it's certainly not enough of a payoff for the awful, awful gameplay.”
“The actual gameplay is extremely repetitive, consisting of scanning text for information that you can put into your magic hacking tools so that you can get more information to put into your magic hacking tools until your boss decides you've done enough and it's time for a Q&A session to see if you were awake and paying attention to all the text you copied and pasted.”
- graphics36 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their aesthetic appeal and clean user interface, with many reviewers noting the unique and visually pleasing presentation, especially in the context of a hacking simulation. However, some users experienced issues with text rendering on certain graphic settings, and while the visuals are considered decent, they are not groundbreaking. Overall, the artwork and design contribute positively to the game's atmosphere, complementing its intriguing storyline.
“The graphics are super beautiful, and I love the concept of the game.”
“The game has a nice design and art style with an intuitive user interface making it easy to get into.”
“In terms of visuals, the game looks great.”
“For some reason, on certain graphic settings, text would not render properly—either not showing at all or only being partially there.”
“It will just bring up a little graphic saying that you can't use it.”
“Being a cyber/hacking simulation title, there is little to comment on in terms of graphics, but the simple interface is clean and very straightforward.”
- music36 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its ability to set the mood and enhance the atmosphere, particularly noting its fitting themes and nostalgic qualities reminiscent of investigative crime shows. However, some players found the soundtrack repetitive and lacking variety, leading them to mute it in favor of their own music. Overall, while the music is generally well-regarded, there are calls for more diverse tracks to maintain engagement throughout longer play sessions.
“The music fits the cool vibe, but the sounds will keep you on your toes.”
“The music is great, from the actual lyrical songs to the general background music.”
“Music, like voice acting, was a bit redundant; I quickly muted it and put my own in the background.”
“At least there could be new music for each level.”
“The foreboding soundtrack is on a loop and felt nostalgic of investigative crime TV shows, almost putting pressure on players to uncover clues faster.”
- grinding13 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is frequently described as tedious and repetitive, with many players expressing frustration over the need to backtrack and the lack of intuitive clues. While some find the payoff rewarding, the overall sentiment leans towards a gameplay experience that can feel laborious and frustrating, particularly in puzzle-solving and data gathering tasks.
“My main issue here is that it's tedious.”
“The game is very tedious and managed to be repetitive within the first chapter.”
“Screwing up means going through tedious steps or unskippable cut scenes.”
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely derived from its poor English translation, resulting in unintentionally funny character names and awkward dialogue that can be amusing despite detracting from the overall seriousness of the narrative. While some players find the cheesy tech-speak and grammatical errors entertaining, others feel that the lack of freedom and scripted interactions diminish the experience, leading to a mix of hilarity and frustration. Overall, the humor is hit-or-miss, with moments of genuine laughter overshadowed by the game's dullness.
“Additionally, the quality of the English is extremely poor (although it's kind of funny to see characters named 'James Joyce', 'Jim Jones', and 'Eric Carle').”
“The characters don't talk, write, or act like normal people at all, which does make the game kind of hilarious at times, but also makes it extremely hard to take the cases and characters seriously.”
“You can tell that the creators are not native English speakers, which also results in some facepalming, but funny, mistakes at times.”
- emotional7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is a mixed bag; while many players find the story engaging and relatable, with a strong connection to the characters, others criticize the clunky translation and inconsistent voice acting that detracts from the emotional impact. Some players report feeling deeply affected by certain chapters, highlighting the game's ability to evoke strong feelings, though it may also present challenging themes that could be distressing for sensitive individuals. Overall, the emotional experience varies significantly among players, influenced by both narrative depth and presentation quality.
“Amazing game! I am so hooked by this; the story is very good and very real. I really enjoyed it and read every text, email, etc., not to find clues but because I genuinely enjoyed snooping into others. It is a real criminal story that can or already happens with many manipulative strings. I love it! The story is personal and emotional to me, and I sympathize with the characters.”
“Chapter 5 made me feel violated, and that I had not consented to what it put me through.”
“Yes, I do, but I warn that it may not have subject matter that easily emotional people can just walk away from.”
- replayability7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is considered low, with many players noting that while the initial experience is engaging and offers a decent playtime, there is little incentive to replay it once completed. Despite the unique and captivating chapters, the lack of additional content or varied experiences diminishes its long-term replay value.
“Decent playtime and replayability.”
“It doesn't have a lot of replayability once you finish it, but the content that is here is very, very good. None of the chapters in the story felt the same, and all had engaging plotlines and a web of secrets to uncover.”
“Infinitely replayable (or almost).”
“Good amount of time to be spent but little replayability.”
“It doesn't have a lot of replayability once you finish it, but the content that is here is very very good; none of the chapters in the story felt the same and all had engaging plotlines and a web of secrets to uncover.”
“- finally: replayability at this point is low.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized for frequent glitches that can disrupt gameplay, particularly in chapter 5, where players reported needing to reload multiple times due to critical bugs. While some issues are minor and easily resolved, the overall experience can be frustrating, though ongoing updates from the developers aim to address these problems.
“While I have never been softlocked in this game, I have run into glitches that force me to fail time-sensitive tasks.”
“Without going into details, chapter 5 was so buggy that it forced me to quit and reload the game three times, and I finally reached a point where I really couldn't progress because a specific tool I needed to finish a puzzle wouldn't load.”
“Buggy game that does not allow you to complete, super frustrating honestly.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in games like "Orwell" and "Song of Farca" is praised for its strong writing and immersive qualities, even in the absence of voice acting. Players appreciate how each chapter builds a sense of "suspicion" through varied storytelling and character interactions, although some express frustration with the lack of options to manage sound settings effectively.
“Each chapter has a different focus in mind, with each story giving players the chance to investigate a number of different people who reappear throughout the story in order to create the atmosphere of 'suspicion'.”
“Each chapter has a different focus in mind, with each story giving players the chance to investigate a number of different people who reappear throughout the story in order to create an atmosphere of suspicion.”
- character development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is notable for its ongoing progression, as certain characters reappear across multiple missions, allowing for a deeper exploration of their stories and growth. Each mission serves as a self-contained narrative, yet the interconnectedness of characters enhances the overall experience.
“Unlike Orwell, each mission is a self-contained story, but some of the characters pop up in multiple missions and have ongoing character development throughout the game.”
“The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the protagonists.”
“I was disappointed by how little the characters evolved over the course of the game; their arcs felt predictable and uninspired.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users express frustration with the monetization aspect, noting difficulties in locating advertisement photos and hidden content, which may hinder their overall experience.