Hold Your Own

About

"Hold Your Own" is a turn-based strategy game where players defend their district against rival gangs in 1970s New York. Recruit and manage crew members, navigate neighborhood rivalries, and plan strategic operations to maintain control and expand your territory. With a focus on story and choice, each decision affects your character's development and the district's future.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

72%

Audience ScoreBased on 728 reviews

story22 positive mentions

grinding54 negative mentions

The game has a lot of potential and shows great promise as an early access title.
The developer is very active in addressing bugs and implementing community feedback.
The crafting and building mechanics are enjoyable, providing a satisfying gameplay experience.

The game can feel grindy, especially in the early stages, requiring a lot of resource gathering.
AI behavior is often frustrating, with enemies being overly powerful and difficult to engage.
There are significant bugs and performance issues that can hinder gameplay, such as crashes and glitches.

story
132 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
76%
8%
The game's story is described as a mix of engaging quest-driven elements and tedious grinding, with many players noting that while the initial quests are enjoyable, they often devolve into repetitive fetch tasks that can become overwhelming. Some appreciate the crafting and survival aspects intertwined with the narrative, but others criticize the lack of depth and variety in the storyline, especially as the game progresses. Overall, the story serves as a framework for gameplay, but its execution leaves room for improvement, particularly in terms of pacing and quest design.
- “Great game with a quest-driven plot.”
- “An intriguing story line that is developing all the time as the game builds!”
- “It has crafting, survival, and a story line to drive you through the game.”
- “The last update broke the story mode and is full of bugs (on beta branch), the previous update is the only 'working' version of the game which was over a year ago (on main branch).”
- “If I had to put one critique of the game as it stands, it would be that the variety in the story mode is lacking.”
- “Fetch quests are the norm, and that can get downright tedious.”
gameplay
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
58%
6%
The gameplay of this survival game is characterized by a slow start that transitions into a grind-heavy experience, appealing to players who enjoy resource gathering and crafting mechanics. While the building and crafting systems are praised for their depth and execution, some players find the AI behavior lacking and the initial questing tedious. Overall, the game offers a solid experience with good graphics, though it suffers from bugs and a need for better pacing and story integration.
- “It gives me a lot of vibes like The Infected, but has its own unique spin on a survival game; seems to be very well done mechanically.”
- “Overall, I really like the building mechanics in the game as well as the crafting.”
- “The graphics are nice, mechanics and general gameplay are fun and addictive if you enjoy a good crafting/resource collecting game.”
- “Getting started in the game (the first few hours of gameplay) is very slow and quite boring. I think it needs some sort of a better storyline, and not just the starting quests.”
- “The actual gameplay is not much different from what is shown in the videos.”
- “Only complaint, and I'm sure it will be fixed soon, is mechanical parts. You need them to craft the forge and in the beginning it is pure RNG. You're either lucky and get it early, or your luck sucks and you get it later on. However, the forge is needed very early, and having to wander for 3-4 in-game days to find them can be a hassle. I personally don't think the forge should require mechanical parts at all.”
graphics
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
70%
25%
5%
Overall, the graphics of the game are generally praised for their quality and stability, with many users noting the realistic environments and appealing visuals. However, some players experience performance issues, particularly on lower-end computers, and there are mentions of bugs and optimization concerns typical of EA titles. While the graphics are considered above average, opinions vary on specific elements like shadow quality and UI design.
- “The graphics are above average and the environment is realistic and beautiful.”
- “Pros: 1) surprisingly pleasant graphics and scenery, along with very decent performance (for me anyway).”
- “The graphics are really nice and the gameplay is just as good.”
- “It is horrible for computers; I can run GTA V on ultra graphics but can barely run this game on low graphics.”
- “Yes, it has the aesthetic of a Cyber Monday sale at the Unreal Asset Store, but the assets are stitched together somewhat competently.”
- “The menu graphic style is a dead giveaway that something is not quite right.”
grinding
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
96%
The game is widely criticized for its excessive grinding, with players noting that resource gathering, crafting times, and fetch quests can feel tedious and repetitive. While some find the grind rewarding and a core part of the survival experience, others feel it detracts from enjoyment, leading to frustration and a sense of imbalance. Overall, the grinding aspect is a significant factor that can either enhance or diminish the game's appeal, depending on player preferences.
- “The game is grindy, unbalanced and has little items to craft, and don't even get me started on stupid things like you can't kill a spider with an axe because it's only for chopping wood.”
- “Very grindy, craft times are far too long for a game that I would probably enjoy playing solo if the craft times weren't awful.”
- “This game was very grindy and slow; the AI was overpowered, there wasn't much to explore, and it felt like poor effort was put into the game.”
optimization
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
64%
14%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues, including stuttering and low frame rates, particularly after updates. However, others have noted that the game runs smoothly on their systems, praising its graphics and overall performance. Overall, while some users find it well-optimized, many others feel it urgently needs improvements to address the inconsistent performance.
- “The world is detailed, the game is incredibly well put together, it is optimized and runs like butter (so smooth), and it is so well crafted that AAA studios can really take some notes from this 2-man, indie dev team.”
- “If you're a survival fan, it's a great buy for $15 and on top of that, it is well optimized.”
- “Performance-wise, no crashes, lag, nor graphics glitches so far.”
- “The new update needs to be optimized badly; my game stutters really bad and I have a pretty good PC. If that wasn’t an issue, this game so far would be cool, but for some reason, the infected does the same thing.”
- “Especially when it is so under-optimized, I can't even hit 60 FPS when on its lowest settings.”
- “Each new update introduces performance issues, and while I can easily run World War Z, a relatively new game with lots more NPCs, at 90+ FPS, here I barely can get 30.”
stability
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
92%
The stability of "Hold Your Own" has received mixed reviews, with players noting a range of bugs and glitches, particularly while driving. While some users report that the game runs well overall without major crashes or performance issues, others have experienced significant frustration due to frequent glitches that can disrupt gameplay. As an early access title, it is acknowledged that the game still has stability issues, but some players find it manageable and entertaining despite these flaws.
- “The game looks good and runs great for me, even on a decent rig, but nothing phenomenal.”
- “It hadn't been worked on for quite some time, and someone somewhere in 2020 said 'well, we are hitting the pause button on this' and in its state then was just a buggy mess.”
- “Still too buggy to prevent rage quitting.”
- “Had to restart 4 times due to glitches and errors.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
The game's atmosphere is described as dream-like, though it currently lacks some depth and variety, particularly in weather patterns. Despite these shortcomings, reviewers see significant potential for improvement, especially considering its affordable price and recent updates.
- “The atmosphere of the game is somewhat dream-like.”
- “It's lacking in a few of the atmospheric elements, but for a $15 title that has already had a couple of updates, it has so much potential.”
- “A little variety in the weather patterns would add a lot to this game's atmosphere.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express strong dissatisfaction with the monetization practices of certain games, particularly criticizing them as "asset flips" and "lazy cash grabs." There are calls for a petition to allow players to filter out these titles from their game queues and advertisements on platforms like Steam.
- “The whole game is an asset flip, lazy cash grab.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
Players express mixed feelings about the game's replayability, with some uncertain about investing additional hours after completing crafting and quest lines. The repetitive nature of gameplay, particularly in tasks like swinging a pickaxe, detracts from the appeal of starting over. However, the game's early access status suggests potential for improvement in this area.
- “- Replayability... the jury is out, but I'm not sure I'd invest another 30 hours once I have to restart or have completed all the crafting and quest lines in the game. Swinging a pick another 10,000 times (not exaggerating) isn't appealing.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the humor in the game's juxtaposition of crafting items, particularly the absurdity of having to craft a basic forge alongside a helicopter, highlighting a playful and unexpected approach to game mechanics.
- “I find it funny that next to crafting a basic forge, there is 'craft the helicopter.'”