INFERNO CLIMBER
- July 7, 2016
- Arc System Works
- 30h median play time
Get on Steam"Inferno Climber is a challenging dungeon-crawler RPG set in a procedurally generated fiery underworld. Fight monsters, collect loot, and level up your character to survive as you descend deeper into the inferno. With permadeath and persistent difficulty, each playthrough is a unique test of strategy and endurance."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a strong and fresh gameplay loop that keeps players engaged, combining elements from various beloved game series.
- The art style and environments are charming, providing a nostalgic feel reminiscent of older games.
- The combat mechanics, while simple, are enjoyable and allow for strategic gameplay with the ability to switch between multiple characters.
- The game suffers from technical issues, including frame drops and a lack of optimization for modern PCs, making it unplayable for some users.
- The grinding mechanics are tedious, requiring excessive farming for equipment and upgrades, which can lead to frustration.
- The control scheme is clunky and unintuitive, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience, especially with controller support.
- gameplay36 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay combines elements from various genres, notably drawing inspiration from Dark Souls and survival RPGs, featuring mechanics like food management and a punishing death system reminiscent of a "blood stain" mechanic. While some players find the mechanics clunky and frustrating, others appreciate the challenge and depth they add to the experience. Overall, the game offers a mix of engaging skills and oppressive atmosphere, appealing primarily to fans of challenging gameplay.
“The real flavor here is in the wild survival sim mechanics that, by the end of the game, have you eating garlic chicken to boost your attack power and farming fruit from trees and eggs from your chickens to make that food, as well as an atmosphere that only becomes more and more oppressive as the game proceeds.”
“This game combines Demon's Souls, the linearity and progression of Dark Souls 2 & 3, Legend of Zelda's combat mechanics, and survival RPGs with a dash of roguelike elements.”
“In short, if you love Dark Souls, Mario, and Zelda and don't mind some Monster Hunter style hunger and equipment management mechanics, buy this game; it's fantastic.”
“It's not stellar or innovative in its execution, but it serves its purpose of adding different pressures as well as a variety of mechanical skills necessary to the game.”
“Choosing an improper upgrade path is nigh irrecoverable; the reason why is due to the game's 'lives' mechanics.”
“Additionally, any items that the character was carrying with him are lost until the character is resuscitated at the spot of his death with said 'death contract', in essence a 'blood stain' mechanic similar to Dark Souls but much more punishing.”
- grinding26 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessive and tedious, often feeling like a never-ending cycle of farming for equipment, levels, and resources. The game's mechanics, including the punishing death system and weapon degradation, contribute to a grind that detracts from the enjoyment of exploration and combat. While some appreciate the survival elements, many feel that the grinding is not rewarding and lacks the benefits typically associated with MMORPGs.
“Then starts the slog, the never-ending farming for levels, for the dark rapier, for the silver sword, good armor, upgrading everything in the blacksmith… farm for potions, farm for food… everything in this game is a never-ending grind.”
“Grinding; this game wants you to grind, not only due to enforced grinding from the death mechanism, but also due to weapons breaking.”
“Granted, you can get money fairly easily by grinding, but grinding is not very fun.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The game's graphics feature a charming chibi art style and well-crafted environments that many players find appealing, though opinions vary on their overall quality. While some appreciate the aesthetic and heart put into the visuals, others criticize the optimization issues and performance, noting that even on high settings, frame rates can drop significantly. Overall, the graphics are considered decent but not outstanding, with gameplay mechanics often overshadowing visual shortcomings.
“From the gorgeous (and in my opinion adorable) art style to the lovingly crafted environments, it's easy to tell this game has a lot of heart in it.”
“It's a soulslike game with a chibi art style - even has the thing where the first boss fight will wreck your everything.”
“Summary: this game is cool, mixes elements from a few different beloved game series, has a charming art style, you should get it.”
“Graphics & engine & performance: 4/10 ~ the graphics even maxed aren't really good looking, which is fine with me. I don't mind much about graphics, but there are serious optimization issues with this game. I currently have 16GB RAM, a 4.4GHz i4670K, and GTX 970, and my frame rate dropped below 60 a few times, then went back to 240. Keep in mind this is early access, but don't expect to run it on max graphics if you don't have something similar to my rig. I currently play on high instead of maxed because I really hate it when my FPS hits 45 randomly; other settings are way better (100+ always). Still, serious optimization issues here.”
“Graphically speaking, the game is not really bad-looking, but it's not brilliant either.”
“What it doesn't have in graphics, it makes up for in mechanics.”
- music10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it simple and disappointing, rating it as low as 4/10. While the sound effects are generally praised for their quality and relevance to actions, the music is noted to be quiet and not particularly memorable, leading to a lack of overall impact. Despite these criticisms, some users acknowledge the potential for improvement, especially since the game is still in early access.
“The sound design is quite good too, with sound effects that stick with the corresponding actions, and the music, while I haven't heard it much so far, sounds good too.”
“The music and sound effects are nice to listen to, although there are some missing sound effects here and there, but I am closing a blind eye since Inferno Climber is still in early access.”
“Music: 4/10 ~ really disappointed here, very simple songs I don't like them; some people might though.”
“However, the music is pretty quiet compared to the 'level up' jingle when it comes up.”
“Music is decent.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, with players reporting inconsistent frame rates and performance that feels outdated, reminiscent of Xbox 360 titles. Even on high-end rigs, users experience frequent drops in frame rates below 60 FPS, indicating that the game's graphics and engine are poorly optimized. Overall, the optimization has been rated poorly, with many players unable to run the game at maximum settings without performance dips.
“The graphics, even maxed out, aren't really good looking. I don't mind much about graphics, but there are serious optimization issues with this game. I currently have 16GB RAM, a 4.4GHz i4670K, and a GTX 970, and my frame rate dropped below 60 a few times, then went back to 240. Keep in mind this is early access, but don't expect to run it on max graphics unless you have a rig similar to mine. I currently play on high instead of maxed because I really hate it when my FPS hits 45 randomly. Other settings are way better (100+ always), but still, serious optimization issues here.”
“The graphics, even maxed out, aren't really good looking. I don't mind much about graphics, but there are serious optimization issues with this game. I currently have 16GB RAM, a 4.4GHz i4670K, and a GTX 970, and my frame rate dropped below 60 a few times, then went back to 240. Keep in mind this is early access, but don't expect to run it on max graphics unless you have a rig similar to mine. I currently play on high instead of maxed because I really hate it when my FPS hits 45 randomly. Other settings are way better (100+ always), but still, serious optimization issues here.”
- story4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game features an extensive and challenging story-light narrative, set within large levels filled with tough enemies and bosses. While the RPG system is detailed and draws inspiration from various sources, the actual story content appears to be minimal or unclear.
“An extremely long and challenging story-light action RPG with expansive levels, tough enemies, and bosses, featuring a detailed RPG system that clearly draws inspiration from various classic games.”
“An extremely long and difficult story-light action RPG with large levels, difficult enemies, and bosses, and a detailed RPG system that was definitely heavily inspired by all the games mentioned above.”
“An extremely long and difficult story-light action RPG with large levels, difficult enemies, and bosses, and a detailed RPG system that was definitely heavily inspired by all the games mentioned above.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is described as increasingly oppressive, enhancing the wild survival simulation mechanics that involve resource gathering and food preparation, such as farming and cooking. This growing tension contributes significantly to the overall experience as players progress through the game.
“The real flavor here is in the wild survival sim mechanics that, by the end of the game, have you eating garlic chicken to boost your attack power and farming fruit from trees and eggs from your chickens to make that food, as well as an atmosphere that only becomes more and more oppressive as the game proceeds.”
“The atmosphere only becomes more and more oppressive as the game proceeds.”
