Kohate
- October 15, 2020
- DarkStone Digital
- 5h median play time
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Get on itch.io Store"Kohate is a single-player Horror Stealth game that takes approximately 4 hours to complete. You play as a prisoner of BioMass Labs, tasked with surviving their mysterious tests at a remote facility. With multiple endings, secrets to discover, and a casual mode available, Kohate is designed for replayability and encourages players to uncover the dark truth behind the company's experiments."
PC
Windows
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features stunning visuals and great sound design, creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the horror experience.
- Kohate offers multiple endings and a decent level of puzzle challenge, encouraging replayability and exploration of its lore.
- The developer has shown commitment to improving the game based on community feedback, adding features like a quasi save function and a casual mode without the monster.
- The game can be frustratingly confusing due to its maze-like environment and lack of clear objectives, leading to frequent deaths and restarts.
- There is no traditional save function, which can make progress feel tedious and punishing, especially for players with limited time.
- The monster's design and mechanics can feel unfair, as it can easily spot players and there are limited hiding spots, leading to a lack of tension rather than fear.
- story32 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The story in Kohate is set in a compelling and terrifying universe, effectively integrated with the gameplay, though some players feel it lacks originality and depth after the initial backstory. The narrative unfolds through audio logs and text, revealing unsettling themes of corruption and prison experiments, which enhance the game's suspense. While the story captivates many, it transitions to a focus on gameplay mechanics, leaving some players wanting more narrative continuity.
“I also really enjoy the audio tapes that explain a lot of the backstory to how this all happened.”
“The information gathering is a fun side puzzle; I like the concept of slowly uncovering the lore, and I am excited to see how this story arc continues.”
“There's not much of a continuation of the story after that.”
“The narrator's voice sounds super bored in his job, which gives you a glimpse at how dystopian this story really is.”
“The story is told through text-to-speech logs that you find throughout the complex, and let me tell you, the story is terrifying to imagine becoming a reality. Although prison experiments are not unheard of, the depth of corruption unnerves you as you learn how many organizations are involved.”
- graphics28 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are highly praised for their stunning visuals and atmospheric design, reminiscent of 'the subject' due to its shared universe. Players appreciate the attention to detail and the cold aesthetic, noting that the visuals significantly enhance the overall experience, making the game well worth its $5 price tag. The combination of beautiful artwork and engaging puzzles allows players to immerse themselves in the story while enjoying the impressive graphics.
“Great atmosphere and graphics and definitely worth the $5.”
“For a $5 game, the visuals are stunning and have great ambience.”
“The details, the artwork, and the puzzles are well worth the $5.”
“The visuals are very reminiscent of 'the subject', and that's obvious because the game takes place in the same universe.”
“Aesthetically, this game is pretty and cold, and I love that.”
“Overall, I feel it was worth $4.99, just for visuals alone.”
- atmosphere14 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 21 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its effective blend of dark themes and humor, creating a uniquely engaging experience that enhances the horror elements without overwhelming them. Players appreciate the visual aesthetics and the suspenseful environment, which is complemented by well-designed puzzles and intriguing lore. Overall, the atmosphere is described as spot-on, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of atmospheric, futuristic games.
“The atmosphere was spot on, the humor was there, the puzzles were of a decent challenge level that you had to figure out to progress, and it didn't outstay its welcome.”
“Great atmosphere and graphics and definitely worth the $5.”
“This is a horror genre game that builds atmosphere and suspense rather than just using loud bangs or flashy noises to distract you.”
“There's also a continuous thread of humour which runs throughout and is honestly quite welcome in this; it lightens the mood without detracting from the atmosphere - it all feeds into how ridiculously horrific this future world is.”
“Visual aesthetics & atmosphere”
- gameplay14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The gameplay is praised for its engaging mechanics, rich lore, and the addition of a helpful continue system, enhancing exploration and immersion. However, some players criticize the game for its poorly tested and overly difficult mechanics, which can lead to frustrating game-ending situations, suggesting that the survival horror elements need more refinement. Overall, the game offers substantial content for its price, but balancing difficulty remains a concern.
“Really fun game with a lot of lore tied into it that doesn't disrupt the fear of the gameplay.”
“I sometimes use it if I want to just explore easter eggs, etc. Recently, he even added a continue system which can be pretty helpful for figuring out how mechanics work!”
“The models look crisp, and the mechanical parts feel like they are real and intentional.”
“I can, however, fault it on the poorly tested and overly difficult mechanics and game-ending situations.”
“I appreciate the effort, but if you want to make a survival horror, those mechanics need to come first.”
“This game has way more gameplay than the price.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music and ambient sound in the game are generally well-received, but some users feel that the sound levels, particularly for the monster music, could be adjusted as it tends to be overly loud.
“The music and ambience create an immersive experience.”
“The sound levels could be tweaked for a better balance.”
“The music enhances the overall atmosphere of the game.”
“Sound levels could be tweaked; the monster music was a tad loud in my opinion.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by a darkly comedic tone, with a few standout moments and Easter eggs that allow players to engage in lighthearted trolling of their captors. While the humor is limited due to the overall somber atmosphere, the premise and opening are noted as particularly amusing.
“The opening and premise of the game is hilariously conceivable if humans continue to behave as we do.”
“Humor is brief given the dark atmosphere, but I did find a couple of funny easter egg type situations, including where you can troll your captors a bit.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game offers moderate replayability, featuring four distinct endings and various achievements that cannot all be unlocked in a single playthrough. Players are encouraged to revisit the game to explore different narrative outcomes and complete their achievement collection.
“Some replayability through the achievements since you can't seem to unlock all the general ones in one sitting, and there are multiple, generally dark endings available to finish the game.”
“It has a little bit of replayability to it with 4 different endings!”
“Some replayability through the achievements since you can't seem to unlock all the general ones in one sitting/run, and there are multiple, generally dark, endings available to finish the game.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game enjoyable, particularly when it comes to achieving various accomplishments. The repetitive tasks are seen as rewarding and contribute positively to the overall experience.
