Fragmented
- August 15, 2017
- Above and Beyond Technologies
- 7h median play time
Get on Steam"Fragmented" is a Sci-Fi Shooter game with exceptional visuals, featuring single-player, multi-player, and co-op options. After a failed colonization mission, you must survive on an alien planet, harvest resources, craft weapons, and regain lost skills to ensure humanity's survival. Players can host their own servers, adjust settings, and choose between easy or harsh gameplay modes, with a focus on survival and skill progression.
Reviews
- The game has beautiful graphics and a captivating alien world.
- The crafting and leveling system is engaging, allowing for a variety of playstyles.
- The developers are responsive and actively working on updates and improvements.
- The game feels unfinished and is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches.
- The user interface is clunky and difficult to navigate, making inventory management frustrating.
- Combat mechanics are poor, with unresponsive controls and lackluster animations.
- graphics79 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the beautiful alien environments and unique critters, while others criticize the overall quality and optimization, describing them as subpar or inconsistent. Many users note that while the visuals can be appealing, they often do not match the expectations set by promotional materials, leading to disappointment. Overall, the graphics are seen as decent for an early access title, but significant improvements are needed for a more polished experience.
“I was immediately captured by the graphics; the alien world is beautiful and crisp.”
“The graphics are amazing and the critters are unique.”
“Good graphics and a beautiful alien world to behold.”
“The graphics are worse than a game released from 2005.”
“On loading up, I noticed the graphics weren't anything like what they were showing in the screenshots; everything from the ground textures to the trees and alien creatures looked very rudimentary in their design.”
“I know this game is in early alpha, but please, the graphics are terrible, and the game is completely boring.”
- gameplay55 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting significant issues such as clunky controls, buggy mechanics, and a lack of diversity in environments. While some appreciate the foundational survival and crafting elements, they feel the game falls short compared to established titles like Ark, often describing it as a derivative experience with frustrating mechanics. Despite its flaws, a few players find potential in the game, suggesting that with further development and polish, it could evolve into a more enjoyable experience.
“After playing Conan and Ark Survival, both games which I hated, I tried Fragmented with no expectations at all, but was very surprised by the gameplay quality and rapidly got hooked.”
“Honestly, out of all the survival games I've played so far, this game, as early access as it is, has great graphics, easy-to-pick-up gameplay, and the option to not have your entire inventory drop on death... outstanding survival game I've played in a long time.”
“The underlying mechanics and stylizations in both level progression and settlement management bring this game into a new area.”
“Some of the mechanics just don't really make much sense; menus glitch out and make it nearly impossible to get items. You randomly toss items without realizing it.”
“Bad graphics and even worse gameplay. The game crashes frequently, and you just keep dying and having to respawn. In other words, this game is not worth your money.”
“Game mechanics suck; tools vanish, sounds happen before you even hit anything, and monsters attack from inside trees. The list goes on and on.”
- stability32 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with many users reporting numerous bugs and glitches that significantly detract from the experience. While some players noted that early access games often have issues, the extent of the problems here—ranging from freezing and desyncs to buggy mechanics—suggests a lack of polish that may frustrate potential players. Overall, the game feels incomplete and fragmented, leading to a consensus that it is not yet ready for a full release.
“This game is easily one of the most buggy, glitchy games I have ever played.”
“It's buggy and has many issues that make you wonder why this ever got out of beta.”
“Unless you are willing to deal with losing your stuff randomly, desyncs, graphical glitches, poor video optimization with framerates all over the place, and wonky mechanics, you should wait before throwing any money at the title.”
- optimization19 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
Overall, the optimization of the game has received mixed reviews. While some players note improvements in graphics and performance, many others report significant technical issues, including poor frame rates, bugs, and unoptimized assets that hinder gameplay. The game is seen as needing further optimization, especially for lower-end systems, and many users suggest that it feels unfinished in its current state.
“Graphics optimization has improved.”
“It's good, well optimized and getting better and better with every patch.”
“The game is also very well optimized for early access.”
“Very poorly optimized.”
“As it stands, the base building and crafting are pretty limited, there isn't much variety of enemies or gear, the AI is dumb, the optimization is below poor and there are a ton of technical issues and bugs.”
“Unless you are willing to deal with losing your stuff randomly, desyncs, graphical glitches (when you crouch holding anything the animation is of you holding a gun), poor video optimization with framerates all over the place even on a very high-end gaming rig and wonky mechanics (you glitch like a madman and spin/warp all over the place if you step onto a dropped loot package for example), you should wait before throwing any money at the title.”
- grinding15 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players express significant frustration with the grinding mechanics in the game, describing it as tedious and overly complex. The limited inventory space exacerbates the issue, leading to excessive resource gathering that feels repetitive and unfulfilling. Many reviewers feel that the grinding detracts from the overall enjoyment, making the experience feel more like a chore than a rewarding gameplay element.
“This leads to a lot of unnecessary grinding of bushes and trees just so you can make stone tools or clothes or build a shelter.”
“Gathering materials to slowly develop your character and settlement feels tedious in this and quickly wore thin for me.”
“It's mostly grinding and, therefore, not much fun.”
- story14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's story is widely criticized for its lack of depth and coherence, often leaving players confused and disengaged. Many reviewers note that it relies on a clichéd amnesia trope and fails to provide meaningful NPC interactions or missions, resulting in a dull experience. While some see potential for improvement, the current narrative shortcomings significantly detract from the overall gameplay.
“I'm recommending this game because it's playable and has the potential and backing to be very decent, and it leads into the repopulation, which will share many of its features and backstory.”
“Since it is a game in the making, there is a plot so far, lots of bugs to be sorted out... but I do enjoy playing it (mostly offline).”
“If they could bring NPCs, more enemies, more biomes, and a storyline, they could easily sell the game for 30-40 euros.”
“However, the game seems to lose the plot along the way, leaving you wondering what happened to the rest of the game.”
“Another issue with the game is it lacks any depth of story; it is another 'I woke up and can't remember anything.' The game even throws in your face every time you load it, 'your memory is fragmented.' So dull, boring, and lame.”
“The story isn't there.”
- monetization5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, with players feeling that it detracts from the overall experience. However, some users note that the removal of these elements has led to a more enjoyable and playable game, particularly in offline and single-player modes. Overall, the game's initial monetization tactics have been seen as a failure, with players ultimately benefiting from the changes.
“This game was clearly designed to be a quick cash grab by the devs, but it obviously failed and the gamers are triumphant once again.”
“I hope the dev fixes this, but I think it might just be on Steam for a last-minute cash grab.”
“Those things get in the way of the all-important profits of the cash grab and bail mechanism that is his entire business model and therefore they must be silenced.”
- music5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised for its soothing and calming qualities, enhancing the beautiful and semi-dreamlike landscape. Players appreciate the harmonious sound design, which complements the overall atmosphere of the game.
“Seriously, the music, the natural yet semi-dreamlike landscape, the near-perfect harvesting sounds.”
“The world is beautiful and the music is soothing.”
“Once it finally loads, you'll notice the entire game has 4 online players... I don't know if that's specific, but 4 players. So I clicked join on a server with 1 person. It loaded the main menu this time with music. I quit after that, so I don't have many pros and cons to say.”
“The music is peaceful and calming.”
- character development3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Character development in the game has received mixed reviews; while the monster designs are praised for their creativity, the main character design is criticized for being plain and lacking customization options, leading to a sense of uniformity among players.
“Monster designs are great, character design is good; the individual assets of the game are fantastic.”
“The character design is very plain, boring, and quite ugly, with little to nearly no customization options available.”
“I don't understand why they even included a character design section in the game, as everyone will end up looking like clones in different sizes.”
“The lack of meaningful character development makes it hard to feel connected to the characters.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally considered decent, with satisfactory graphics and sound, but it suffers from awkward interactions with the environment and creatures. While the survival setting is appealing, players feel that additional features could enhance the overall experience.
“The game is set in a nice atmosphere for survival, but it would help if it had some more features.”
“The atmosphere is not very good due to many strange interactions with the environment and creatures.”
“The graphics are decent in this game, the atmosphere is decent as well and the sounds aren't bad.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is primarily derived from quirky character animations, particularly the odd bending of wrists that can elicit laughter. Players find these animations amusing, adding a lighthearted touch to the overall experience.
“Some of the character animations are quite funny.”
“Watching the characters' wrists bend like they do is amusing (hands are still tethered to the camera even though it's now behind your head, so they bend a bit oddly).”
“It's kind of funny, now that I think about it, that the one Star Wars element that J.C. ...”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is negatively impacted by frustrating gameplay mechanics, such as a lack of guidance on leveling and a cramped interface that strains the player's experience. This leads to feelings of confusion and discomfort, detracting from any potential emotional engagement with the game.
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users note that while the game is still in "pre-alpha" stage, its replayability is questioned, drawing comparisons to other early access titles like Empyrion and Rust, which offered more engaging gameplay.
“I understand this is 'pre-alpha', but so were Empyrion and Rust, and they were playable.”
“After completing the main storyline, there’s little incentive to dive back in; the side quests feel repetitive and uninspired.”
“The lack of meaningful choices and consequences makes replaying the game feel like a chore rather than an adventure.”
