DESOLATE
- January 17, 2019
- Nearga
- 8h median play time
Get on Steam"Desolate" is a horror open-world game that offers both single-player and multiplayer/co-op modes. As a "Volunteer" exploring Granichny Island, players will encounter various threats and supernatural anomalies while uncovering the island's dark past. Despite some bugs and grinding, the game boasts impressive visuals, music, and a unique, emotional atmosphere.
Reviews
- Great atmosphere and sound design that creates a tense and immersive experience.
- Interesting story and character progression with a variety of quests and crafting options.
- Fun to play with friends, enhancing the overall experience.
- Combat mechanics are clunky and unresponsive, making fights frustrating.
- Frequent bugs and performance issues, including crashes and poor AI behavior.
- Repetitive quests and excessive running between locations can make gameplay feel tedious.
- story843 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its intriguing premise and atmosphere, but criticizing its execution and pacing. While some find the narrative engaging and filled with potential, others describe it as convoluted, repetitive, and often overshadowed by tedious fetch quests. Overall, the game offers a decent storyline that can be enjoyable, especially in co-op play, but it suffers from pacing issues and a lack of depth in character development and quest variety.
“Best part is the story, so if you like good story games with horror elements and can get past the glitches, give it a try.”
“The atmosphere and initial story hook are intriguing.”
“The story is interesting and the game is filled with comprehensive crafting and customized skill trees to create your own unique experience.”
“The story is mediocre.”
“The story wasn't all that great; it was more of an illusion of a story.”
“The story is confusing and short.”
- gameplay340 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its clunky mechanics, repetitive tasks, and numerous bugs that detract from the overall experience. While some appreciate the atmosphere and story elements, others criticize the combat system as unrefined and frustrating, often leading to a sense of boredom or dissatisfaction. Overall, the game shows potential with interesting mechanics and a compelling setting, but significant improvements are needed to enhance the gameplay experience.
“The gameplay is really fun, and the map is a lot bigger than it seems initially.”
“Great atmosphere, lovely gameplay.”
“The combat mechanics are fantastic, the survival aspect was very well done, the story is pretty okay so far and the scenery is beautiful.”
“The gameplay is existential crisis inducing and so boring I literally experienced just about all the game has to offer within the first hour.”
“The fighting mechanics in this game are terrible (spam left click because blocking does nothing) and if you take damage it's near impossible to regenerate it using crafted materials, especially in the early game.”
“The gameplay is repetitive from the beginning: walk to a certain location, fight some creatures, find an item and repeat.”
- atmosphere266 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and eerie qualities, drawing comparisons to titles like "Stalker" and "Bioshock." Players appreciate the combination of stunning visuals, effective sound design, and a haunting ambiance that enhances the overall experience, despite some criticisms regarding combat mechanics and repetitive elements. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered its strongest aspect, creating a captivating and tense environment that keeps players engaged.
“The atmosphere and tone is what sold me.”
“The atmosphere is amazing; it's very creepy and beautiful, the sweet ambient noises make exploring that much more creepy.”
“Desolate is a beautiful survival/horror experience, with great atmosphere, beautiful graphics and memorable world.”
“The running around to fetch stuff, repetitive combat, and poor AI detract from the atmosphere of the game, which is its main attraction.”
“Despite this game's shortcomings, I would honestly still recommend giving this game a good chance, to any survivalists or people who like creepy atmospheres and jump scares.”
“The atmosphere actually keeps you on edge, and the game looks great!”
- graphics242 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising the atmospheric visuals and unique art style, often comparing them to titles like Bioshock and Fallout. However, some users criticize the character models and animations as outdated or lacking polish, while others note performance issues and bugs that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the graphics are generally considered decent to good, especially for an early access title, but there is room for improvement in optimization and character design.
“The game features a unique art style and atmosphere, which is further enhanced by its captivating soundtrack.”
“The world map is of perfect size to traverse by foot and the stunning visuals make running quests' errands a pleasant trip instead of a chore.”
“Desolate is a beautiful survival/horror experience, with great atmosphere, beautiful graphics and memorable world.”
“No amount of graphical fidelity or presentation can fix this clearly unfinished abandonware.”
“Graphics look pretty dated, but don't necessarily distract from the game; they are okay, but make the game feel older than it is.”
“The graphics are still pretty terrible, especially with regard to character models and textures.”
- optimization96 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including frame drops, stuttering, and bugs. While some users have experienced smooth gameplay on high-end systems, others with more modest setups struggle to achieve playable frame rates, indicating that the game is not well-optimized overall. Despite some improvements noted in recent updates, many players still feel that further optimization is necessary for a better gaming experience.
“Technically everything runs smoothly, no game-breaking bugs or such.”
“Performance is good with me hitting triple-digit figures with all the settings turned up at 1440p using a Core i5 and a 1080 Ti; it does drop and spike but not that often, for the most part, it's very smooth while looking great!”
“So after 2 hours of continuous play of single player, I have to say I really, really like this game; for an early access game, it's very well optimized, it could use some improvement in some areas though, but the same can be said about a lot of games.”
“I would say the graphics are wonderful but the game is poorly optimized and the lack of FPS cap is frustrating.”
“The performance of this game is awful; the FPS goes up and down constantly, making it near impossible to play.”
“On top of all this, there's incredibly poor optimization all around, with massive frame drops and short bursts of freezing at seemingly random moments and a very noticeable texture pop-in from around 10 in-game meters away.”
- stability82 mentions
- 2 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 98 % negative mentions
The game is widely criticized for its numerous bugs and glitches, leading to frequent freezes and crashes that significantly hinder gameplay. While some players appreciate the story and potential of the game, the overall stability issues make it frustrating to play, especially in its current early access state. Many reviews suggest that despite the fun elements, the game's stability remains a major concern that needs urgent attention from developers.
“Runs great since the latest patch on my 2080 Ti at max settings!”
“You'll have to forgive a slight amount of jank, but all in all, the game is bug-free and reasonably polished for a Russian indie title.”
“Desolate is a buggy, a mess of a game with many animation and visual glitches.”
“The game stalls and freezes often.”
“It's cheap, buggy, and unfun.”
- music48 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for enhancing the atmosphere, with a captivating soundtrack that complements the unique art style and setting. However, many players find the combat music repetitive and annoying, detracting from the overall experience. While the ambient sounds and music contribute to a tense and eerie environment, some users noted that the limited variety in tracks can lead to boredom during gameplay.
“The game features a unique art style and atmosphere, which is further enhanced by its captivating soundtrack.”
“Most of that tension is thanks to the music and background noises.”
“Overall a very fun and interesting game, graphics are nice, gameplay is good, combat system is good, soundtrack is amazing.”
“There is combat music with every fight, which I do not like.”
“Then, a repetitive battle soundtrack consisting of like three measures of 'suspenseful' music that just loops over and over comes on.”
“I really didn't listen to the music at all because it kind of spoiled the mood by playing a battle score every time an enemy saw you.”
- grinding37 mentions
- 3 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 97 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is often described as tedious and repetitive, with many players finding the need to constantly gather resources and complete side quests to be a chore. While some appreciate the opportunity for exploration and cooperative play to alleviate the monotony, others feel that the survival mechanics and item management contribute to a frustrating experience. Overall, the game offers a mix of enjoyable moments and significant grinding, which may appeal to those who enjoy scavenging but can become tiresome for others.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Don't get me wrong though, I did have enjoyable times in the game, just a lot of it also was a bit boring and tedious.”
“For example, for each individual item that you want to scrap, you need to right-click it and click 'recycle' - sometimes you're doing this with like 10-20 items at a time, that's 20-40 clicks and it's just tedious.”
“The game was fun the entire time due to being with friends, would have been a bit tedious getting all traders to max level alone though.”
- humor31 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely derived from its janky mechanics, absurd character designs, and unintentionally funny voice acting, which can lead to hilarious moments, especially when played with friends. While some players appreciate the comedic value of jump scares and bizarre gameplay glitches, others find the humor wears thin over time, particularly due to repetitive elements. Overall, the game is best enjoyed in a multiplayer setting where shared experiences amplify the comedic aspects.
“Very fun if you have a good sense of humor and friends to play with.”
“Voice acting - just absolutely hilarious.”
“I find it hilariously awesome when you can see the ghost pop up in front of your friends then hear their scream over the mic.”
- replayability10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while there are side quests and customization options that enhance replay value, some players feel that familiarity with the game diminishes the experience, particularly due to predictable jump scares. However, ongoing development and improvements have been noted, suggesting potential for increased replayability in the future.
“After the story ends, there are side quests and dailies to keep the game replayable.”
“Customization of gameplay is pretty vast, which could lead to high replayability.”
“Tl;dr - fun to play through once with friends, but not much replay value because of the crappy non-ending.”
“It does have some replay value, but it diminishes with familiarity.”
“While the game is still under development, there have been massive improvements made to further enhance the replayability of the game.”
- emotional10 mentions
- 90 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
Players have noted that the game effectively evokes emotional responses through its plot and character development, making them feel connected to the main character and invested in the story. However, some critiques highlight that attempts to elicit emotions from NPC interactions can feel forced, and the ending left some feeling unsatisfied, suggesting a desire for additional story content. Overall, while the emotional engagement is present, it is marred by issues related to pacing and narrative depth.
“This game is focused on the plot and experience more than others that rely heavily on farming and grinding. It wants you to be able to craft and explore, but it has never made me feel like it is a burden.”
“However, at the end of the day, I really can't say that this game is bad. It made me feel for the main character, and overall I liked the story as well as the weapons that I ended up crafting.”
“The crafting system made me feel as if every piece of scrap I scavenged for mattered.”
- character development5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Overall, character development in the game shows promising potential, with a well-written story that evolves from a slow start to more engaging arcs. While some users find the character designs lacking, they appreciate the solid development mechanics and the depth added through crafting and gameplay interactions. Despite some criticisms, the character development is generally viewed as a strong aspect of the game.
“The story starts out slow and feels a bit like your character is brainwashed, but it doesn't take long for some character development to kick in, ultimately showing great potential.”
“Desolate is an excellent game with fantastic combat, a great looting system, impressive enemies and bosses, and even more outstanding character design.”
“The character development is solid, along with the crafting, despite a few minor exceptions.”
“The character designs and mechanics are kind of trash and absolutely hilarious.”
“The character development starts out slow and a little like your character is brainwashed, but it ends up showing some great potential.”
“The character development is solid, but there are a few exceptions that need improvement.”
- monetization4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players perceiving it as a cheap cash grab that lacks depth, while others appreciate the absence of microtransactions and express hope for continued support from the developers. Overall, there is a desire for the game to maintain its current monetization model and not follow the trend of exploitative practices.
“The monetization model is fair and doesn't pressure players to spend money.”
“I appreciate that the game offers plenty of content without requiring additional purchases.”
“Cheap cash grab that really had potential if the devs had followed through and fleshed out the main story and world.”
“I see they have a new game out and this one went on sale, so I just assumed it was a quick cash grab and that the game may be dead. That's just my opinion since I see this happen a lot with these games.”
“So far the game has no microtransactions... please let's keep it this way!”
