Enemy Remains
- February 6, 2022
- Harri Jokinen
A horror-themed twin-stick shooter, with think atmosphere, layered with storytelling and survival horror elements.
Reviews
- Decent variety of enemy types and threats, providing some engaging combat encounters.
- Atmospheric music and visuals that enhance the overall experience.
- Gameplay offers a mix of strategy and action, with environmental traps adding an extra layer of challenge.
- Combat is poorly balanced, making the game too easy, especially with the infinite-ammo pistol.
- The story and lore are incoherent and lack depth, failing to engage players.
- Linear level design with limited exploration and forgettable boss fights detracts from replay value.
- gameplay15 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of experiences, with some players finding it slow-paced and overly reliant on a single weapon, diminishing the survival aspect. However, others appreciate the solid mechanics, decent pacing, and variety of enemies, which contribute to a fun and engaging experience. Overall, while there are criticisms regarding the pacing and weapon utility, many players enjoy the gameplay's challenge and smooth execution, especially with keyboard and mouse controls.
“Gameplay is tied to the story nicely, and you actually start to feel the lore coming to life.”
“Gameplay is solid and fun.”
“I think this one here is an interesting horror top-down shooter, the gameplay is rather challenging as you have to dodge monster attacks and traps; also there are a number of weapons that you can use so the choices for your taste of carnage aren't limited. There are more than 10 types of enemies in the game, so you don't feel bored killing familiar enemies all the time, and the difficulty is well balanced as well.”
“The game is slow-paced, which makes the twin-stick mechanic feel out of place. Almost the entire game can be easily played with the infinite-ammo pistol, making the 'survival' aspects feel moot and most of your arsenal irrelevant.”
“Right now, it's more lackadaisical gameplay unsupported by a story to make you want to get through it, or conversely, good enough gameplay to make you ignore the flaws in the story.”
“The mechanical machine you ride in could use some type of attack or two, but man, can it run stuff over!”
- story9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is largely criticized for its incoherence and lack of depth, with various disjointed elements failing to form a cohesive narrative. While some players appreciate the environmental storytelling and the potential for a more engaging plot, many feel that the current execution leaves much to be desired, resulting in a gameplay experience that lacks motivation to progress. Conversely, a few reviews highlight strong storytelling elements from the indie developers, suggesting that with more time and refinement, the narrative could significantly enhance the overall experience.
“Storytelling is by far the best that we have seen from this small indie group.”
“Gameplay is tied to the story nicely, and you actually start to feel the lore coming to life.”
“Good story and lots of different maps.”
“Don’t expect an involving or deep experience at any point, as far as story and lore are concerned.”
“The story is largely incoherent and feels made up of a bunch of different threads that never come together into a full plot: cultists, gene experiments, a power station, a living organic 'building', etc. You have zombies, but then you have snakemen, machine-gun wielding skeleton soldiers, and walking trees. The overall feeling was a stewpot full of 'this would be cool' concepts but not enough time to cook into one dish.”
“Right now it's more lackadaisical gameplay unsupported by a story to make you want to get through it, or conversely, good enough gameplay to make you ignore the flaws in the story.”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere effectively conveys a dark tone, enhanced by subtle and atmospheric music that complements the level design. However, the immersion is somewhat hindered by low-quality writing in environmental descriptions, which detracts from the overall worldbuilding experience. Despite this, the varied enemy strengths contribute positively to the survival horror feel.
“Music was subtle, atmospheric, and not too overwhelming.”
“Pros + great music that sets up the atmosphere nicely.”
“Music is atmospheric and enemies vary in strength.”
“While the environment 'does the job' at conveying a dark atmosphere, the low-quality writing of most files and descriptions found around the world degrades both immersion and worldbuilding.”
- music5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised for its subtlety and atmospheric quality, effectively enhancing the overall experience without being overwhelming. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a strong point, noting that it complements the classic arcade survival horror style and contributes positively to the game's atmosphere and level design.
“The music was subtle, atmospheric, and not too overwhelming.”
“Great music that sets up the atmosphere nicely.”
“The music is nice and enhances the atmosphere, complementing the decent level design.”
“Music was subtle, atmospheric, and not too overwhelming.”
“Music is atmospheric and enemies vary in strength.”
- graphics3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with users noting a visually appealing and immersive environment, particularly in the first level, which combines beautiful design with a dark atmosphere. Despite some concerns about resolution and settings not making a significant difference, the overall graphical quality contributes positively to the gameplay experience.
“Pros: decent gameplay with good pacing and good graphics 4/5.”
“It doesn't seem to matter what resolution I use (I didn't try them all to be fair, I shouldn't have to, to also be fair) or if I'm on medium, high, or ultra graphical settings.”
“It doesn't seem to matter what resolution I use (I didn't try them all to be fair; I shouldn't have to, to also be fair) or if I'm on medium, high, or ultra graphical settings.”
“Graphics: when starting off in the first level, you are greeted with a wonderful, yet gore-filled map with calm, yet unsettling tones.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game is criticized for lacking replay value and overall quality, making it not worth the investment of time despite its low price of 5€.
“Even if the budget price tag of €5 is adequate for this amount of content, the outlined issues, lack of replay value, and overall poor quality simply don’t make it a game worth investing your time into.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is generally effective, with keyboard and mouse controls functioning smoothly, while controller support may experience occasional issues.
“Playing with a controller can be off sometimes, but keyboard and mouse gameplay runs smoothly.”
“The optimization of the game allows for seamless performance across different hardware setups.”
“I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the game to ensure minimal lag and maximum responsiveness.”