EMPTY SHELL
- October 16, 2023
- CC ARTS
- 9h median play time
Get on SteamIn "Empty Shell," players enter a mysterious Japanese facility for a so-called "recovery operation." Armed with stealth and combat skills, they'll face unknown dangers and a labyrinthine environment. The game promises a suspenseful, atmospheric experience, with careful planning and strategy key to survival.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique and immersive art style that enhances the horror atmosphere, reminiscent of old surveillance footage.
- Gameplay is engaging with solid mechanics, allowing for strategic resource management and a satisfying combat experience.
- The game offers a compelling story with interesting lore, encouraging exploration and discovery through notes and environmental storytelling.
- The inventory management system can be frustrating due to limited slots, making it difficult to carry essential items.
- Some players find the difficulty spikes and enemy balance to be unfair, particularly in later levels where resource scarcity can lead to frustrating deaths.
- Visual effects like pixelation and scanlines can hinder gameplay clarity, making it hard to distinguish enemies and navigate environments.
- graphics72 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's graphics feature a unique black-and-white aesthetic enhanced by a CCTV scanline filter, which effectively contributes to its tense atmosphere. While many players appreciate the retro, minimalist art style for its immersive qualities, some find the visual effects, such as blurriness and clutter, can hinder gameplay and visibility. Overall, the visuals are polarizing; they are praised for their creativity and atmosphere but criticized for potentially causing discomfort and confusion during play.
“The aesthetic of black and white only + filter makes it seem like we're watching through a CCTV or a satellite.”
“The black and white aesthetic tied with the old CRT filter gives the game's atmosphere a great boost in the 'unnerving' department.”
“Absolutely adore the style and visuals, and the audio design is very well done and very well implemented; the environment groans and distant screams keep you guessing, anxious, and slow-moving with weapon raised.”
“Though visuals get old quite fast as you dedicate most of your mental resources trying to see what's around you (bridges blend with surrounding water and feel like a corridor of invisible walls more than anything), a flashlight would be not just a lifesaver but simply a logical thing inside the game's universe.”
“I actually like games with pixel graphics, but due to the monochromatic look of this game I have problems recognizing certain things at all.”
“My main gripe with it is its art direction/graphics: I think I understood what the dev tried to do with it, but I had to turn off most options, like the filter and shaking, and play the game at its most barebones, otherwise I risked getting a migraine.”
- story60 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as grim, atmospheric, and intriguing, with a mix of environmental storytelling and collectible notes that enhance the experience. While many players appreciate the depth and immersion of the narrative, some express frustration with the execution, particularly regarding the handling of death and mission resets, which can disrupt the flow of gameplay. Overall, the story is engaging but not the primary focus, as the gameplay mechanics and horror elements take center stage.
“It's a very atmospheric game with a good story.”
“The gameplay is fun, the environment and enemies are well designed, the story is intriguing and the notes that can be found only compliment it.”
“The story is well made and it feels worth it to go through each file when you're at a console.”
“Currently I don't really feel much pull to come back to the game having beaten it and largely experienced the story.”
“There's not a ton of emphasis on story but what's here in the in-game text documents is creepy and helps drive the gameplay.”
“The story, while not groundbreaking, is quite interesting, mainly in presentation alone.”
- atmosphere59 mentions
- 76 % positive mentions
- 19 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its eerie and oppressive qualities, effectively enhancing the horror experience through unique visual styles and sound design. Players appreciate the tension and uncertainty it creates, making each encounter feel nerve-racking and engaging. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's enjoyment and immersion.
“The atmosphere is perfect, and keeps you on your toes; any small mistake could lead to losing everything.”
“The unique visual style and crunchy audio design lend a lot to the game's creepy atmosphere.”
“This gritty, lo-fi, horror, roguelike top-down shooter has tense gameplay and a great atmosphere, with seemingly interesting lore.”
“I understand that the developer was going for atmosphere here, but certain visual effects might not work for certain players.”
“It isn't remarkable in many areas, but the atmosphere is definitely unsettling and creepy.”
“Hardcore level-based survival isometric shooter with inventory management and unique enemies and objectives, and a dreadful atmosphere.”
- gameplay51 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally praised for its solid mechanics, engaging combat, and enjoyable loop, making it a fun experience despite some issues like confusing controls and inventory management. While the atmosphere and storytelling enhance the experience, some players noted balance problems and repetitive elements, particularly in higher difficulties. Overall, the game offers a challenging and rewarding roguelike shooter experience, though it may require some adjustment to fully appreciate its depth.
“The core gameplay is amazing; it is very enjoyable.”
“The gameplay is fun, the environment and enemies are well designed, the story is intriguing, and the notes that can be found only complement it.”
“It's a fast-paced, atmospheric, and overall very entertaining roguelike shooter with a solid combat system and rewarding mechanics.”
“The problems arise when you look at the actual mechanics at play around all of it.”
“Cluttered visuals, big balance problems, and repetitive gameplay even though it's marked as a roguelike.”
“On top of that, the gameplay feels extremely low when facing special enemies that are literal bullet sponges, forcing you to kite and cheese every dangerous encounter.”
- replayability14 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while procedural generation and varying difficulty levels offer some replay value, many players find the lack of unique content and minimal upgrade options limit long-term engagement. Some enjoy the challenge and atmospheric elements that encourage repeated play, but others feel that once certain strategies are mastered, the incentive to replay diminishes.
“Procedurally generated maps give enough replayability to warrant long-term value.”
“Punishingly tough, but therein lies the replayability; go in, gear up, and kill everything, feel like a pro then die as simply as to a single spider or get jumped by a scissor at 12 hp.”
“I bought this game on sale, but I feel I would have still felt like it was worth it even at full price; the game being replayable in at least a couple of different ways helps its case.”
“I'd say the difficulty is a little unbalanced on the higher settings, which hurts replayability a bit.”
“There's no need to finish the game in one run, very minimal and bland upgrade options, and not a ton of variety or replayability that the genre is known for.”
“Making a spin-off of the base game to make more money when the base game has barely any replay value or content at all.”
- music6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game effectively enhances the oppressive atmosphere, contributing to a sense of suspense and tension, particularly during combat and exploration. While some users find the soundtrack to be decent, others highlight its ability to evoke a creepy vibe and significantly impact the overall experience.
“The vibe of the game is great; the atmosphere and music lead the game into an overall oppressive feel that something has definitely gone wrong in this facility.”
“The overall combat and the way the weapons feel, combined with the utter lack of sound and a soundtrack, builds really nice tension.”
“Give me a creepy vibe, especially reading some of the notes, and the music adds a bit of suspense.”
“I remember finding my first radio, and the little bit of music really made a difference in perspective.”
- stability3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Overall, users report a generally stable experience with minimal bugs and glitches, though some minor issues remain that could benefit from further optimization.
“The game runs smoothly without any crashes or bugs.”
“I haven't encountered any stability issues; everything works as intended.”
“The performance is consistent, making for a seamless gaming experience.”
“I'd love to overlook a bunch of things; some of these are just glitches that need to be ironed out.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find that while the game is well-crafted, grinding becomes tedious and unnecessary on higher difficulty levels beyond medium.
“Nicely done; however, on difficulties higher than medium, it's senseless time grinding.”
“The grinding feels repetitive and tedious, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“I spent hours grinding for resources, but it felt like I was getting nowhere.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviewers express dissatisfaction with the game's monetization strategy, feeling that it misrepresents itself as a roguelite while relying heavily on advertisements, which detracts from the overall experience.
“The monetization model feels exploitative, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra money.”
“I was disappointed to find that many features are locked behind a paywall, which ruins the experience.”
“The constant push for in-game purchases detracts from the overall enjoyment and immersion of the game.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, users report a positive experience with optimization, noting the absence of glitches or significant performance issues.
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the humor in the game to be enjoyable, particularly highlighting amusing glitches like the enemy ragdoll bug, which adds a lighthearted touch to their experience. Overall, the humor seems to enhance the gameplay rather than detract from it.
“I don't know why there is a review saying that they keep crashing, because during two playthroughs, the only serious bug I found so far is an enemy ragdoll bug, which is actually quite funny, to be honest.”
