Nemesis: Distress

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Nemesis: Distress is a single player and multiplayer survival shooter game with horror and science fiction themes. It was developed by Ovid Works and was released on June 15, 2022. It received neutral reviews from players.

Nemesis: Distress, a multiplayer game with a hidden traitor mechanic, as well as shooter and survival elements, puts you on a ship lost in space, where evolving Intruders rampage down corridors and rip through everything that stands in their way. Will you save the ship? Will you stay loyal to your crew? Or will you take the easy way out and board an escape pod at any cost? The possibilities are al…

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53%

Audience ScoreBased on 355 reviews

gameplay18 positive mentions

optimization10 negative mentions

The game has a great horror atmosphere with engaging gameplay that captures the essence of the board game.
Exploring the ship and completing objectives with friends can be a fun and tense experience.
The game shows potential for improvement and could become a solid title with further development and updates.

The game has been abandoned by the developers, with no updates or communication for an extended period, making it unplayable.
Many players experience server issues, crashes, and bugs that hinder gameplay, leading to frustration.
The game feels incomplete and lacks polish, with confusing mechanics and a steep learning curve that may deter casual players.

gameplay
90 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
76%
4%
The gameplay is a mix of stealth and survival mechanics, drawing inspiration from titles like "Alien: Isolation" and "Among Us," with a focus on noise management and equipment utilization. While many players find it engaging and fun, there are criticisms regarding the balance of difficulty, shallow character roles, and some janky mechanics that need refinement. Overall, the foundation is solid, but further development is necessary to enhance the gameplay experience.
- “Learning the noise mechanics, how to utilize equipment you found while constantly trying to not get eaten by the aliens was fun in my last game.”
- “The gameplay is fun and scared the living daylights out of me many times; as of right now, I have not won a game, but I have come close to winning; my friends just got the game as well because they think they can win without dying or running out of time.”
- “This is a naturally unforgiving game that really forces the player to take advantage of the game's stellar noise mechanics, which I feel really captures the importance of noise tokens from the board game.”
- “Gameplay is janky.”
- “First, the current gameplay seems too easy in some parts, yet too difficult in others.”
- “Unfortunately they don't; the medic can do what the mechanic does, the scout can do what the security officer does, everyone can do whatever the others can with the only limitation being the starting equipment you spawn with.”
story
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
90%
3%
The game's story is minimal and lacks a clear narrative, with players primarily engaging in fetch quests and secret missions that often feel disjointed and confusing. While the cooperative gameplay and the thrill of being hunted by alien creatures provide some entertaining moments, the absence of a cohesive backstory and the reliance on random mission objectives detract from the overall storytelling experience. Players express hope for future content that could enhance the lore and mission variety.
- “Exploring a derelict ship with friends while being hunted by some deadly xenomorph-adjacent aliens leads to a lot of fun and storytelling.”
- “The story is believable with a probably growing lore, and the different enemy classes and missions keep you on your toes the entire game.”
- “I do think it's one of those types of games where it's hard to master, but once you understand how to play it, you'll realize it's a game where you're sneakily moving about and hiding to survive while you complete your mission goals to be allowed to escape.”
- “There's also no real backstory that I can see as to what we're doing and why.”
- “Right now they seem more like random fetch quests or 'go here and boop the camera/computer.' My favorite one is the shield generator one where you need a code from the PC.”
- “However, after spending all night on it, I failed to get anywhere close to completing a mission, nor got any of the satisfaction from things going wrong/dying as you do in the board game.”
optimization
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
62%
24%
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many players reporting severe performance issues, including frame drops and crashes, even on high-end systems. While some users found the gameplay enjoyable, they emphasized that the game requires major optimization and bug fixes to enhance the overall experience. Overall, the consensus is that the game is not yet ready for a full release due to its current optimization state.
- “I'm sure most of us here are hoping for optimizations so we can run the game at 100+ fps consistently at some point, as the current graphics options do little to alter framerate.”
- “However, there are definitely quite a few things that could better be optimized for much better gameplay.”
- “Game is fun, it just needs to be optimized a lot better.”
- “Promising concept, pretty engaging experience, had some fun with friends, but the performance tried its very best to ruin it for me.”
- “As of January 2023, this game still isn't ready yet; it needs major performance optimization as well as bug fixes.”
- “Confusing menus, confusing mission design, confusing objectives, extremely badly optimized (24 core Threadripper + 128GB system RAM + 1070+ and still dropping frames like crazy).”
graphics
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
50%
8%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the visuals as beautiful and enjoyable, especially for an indie title, while others criticize them for feeling outdated and unstable, reminiscent of older mods. Many users express a desire for optimization to improve performance and frame rates, as current settings do not significantly enhance gameplay experience. Overall, while there are moments of graphical excellence, persistent issues and inconsistencies detract from the overall impression.
- “Graphically, it's beautiful and enjoyable to look at (especially for an EA indie game of this asking price).”
- “The gameplay is excellent, the graphics are spectacular, and I haven't found any bugs visually, but there is a bug with the loot.”
- “The visuals and audio are simply put epic, the designs are really interesting and neatly done, the tutorial is as clear as water and nicely put into context.”
- “Graphically feels like a mod for Half-Life from 2008.”
- “When I first got this game it was pretty good, but after these updates it just seems so unstable, crashes left and right, super washed out visuals, and the game runs poorly no matter how hard you tweak it to maintain a steady frame rate. All in all, I do not recommend this game currently, but I have hopes for the future.”
- “I'm sure most of us here are hoping for optimizations so we can run the game at 100+ fps consistently at some point, as the current graphics options do little to alter framerate.”
stability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
88%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous players reporting significant bugs, glitches, and performance issues that render it nearly unplayable. Many users experience frequent crashes, lag, and frame rate drops, leading to a consensus that the game feels unfinished and poorly supported by the developers. While some players note that gameplay can be relatively stable once in-game, the overall experience is marred by these persistent technical problems.
- “Had a few crashes to desktop while loading into games, but actually in-game it's been relatively bug-free.”
- “The game was so buggy as to not be very seriously playable.”
- “Digging through the Discord server's history, it seems there are quite a few players with the same issue. The devs/mods don't seem to be addressing it. I've done a lot of troubleshooting and nothing has changed. I am close to the 2-hour mark now as a result of trying to figure out what is wrong, so I will be refunding this for now.”
- “Even with a fairly good computer, it freezes time and time again. The FPS drops to extremely low levels, and the settings menu does nothing to compensate for this.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
Overall, the game's replayability is criticized due to a lack of variety in maps and character abilities, with many players noting that the static elements lead to a repetitive experience. Suggestions for improvement include introducing asymmetrical character abilities and randomizing room layouts to enhance replay value. While the atmosphere is praised for its immersive qualities, the current limitations hinder long-term engagement.
- “It nails the atmosphere and vibes of 'Nemesis' and 'Alien', which makes for a tense, immersive, replayable experience.”
- “In addition to specialized computer rooms, maybe make room locations random across the ship, increasing replayability.”
- “All of these can be random before you begin, so replayability is a thing.”
- “It desperately needs more asymmetry between characters apart from just different starting items (I'm talking about special abilities, passive buffs...) and also new layouts to increase the replayability.”
- “The lack of replayability is evident; the codes don't change, the shuttle card location doesn't change. Easy fixes, but the map size and lack of variety will quickly result in a rather easy game of 'avoid the ayy lmao' rather than any real hardship.”
- “In addition to specialized computer rooms, maybe make room locations random across the ship to increase replayability.”
music
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
65%
21%
The game's music is well-composed and offers players the ability to customize their audio experience, including the option for copyright-free tracks. However, players are advised to turn off the music to enhance their situational awareness, as sound cues are crucial for gameplay, and the music may become repetitive over time.
- “You can decide which songs will play in-game.”
- “Full audio control (music, sound effects, HUD, etc.)”
- “Turn off your music to hear around the ship, or you will die in the game faster; listening is everything.”
- “Full audio control (music, sfx, HUD, etc.) is lacking, making it difficult to enjoy the game.”
- “You can only enable 'copyright free songs only', which limits the music experience.”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
16%
17%
The game excels in creating a tense and immersive horror atmosphere, reminiscent of classics like "Nemesis" and "Alien." Players appreciate the dark, claustrophobic environments filled with lurking creatures, which enhance the survival horror experience. While it captures the essence of the board game and emphasizes survival over combat, some feel it doesn't quite reach the atmospheric heights of "Alien: Isolation."
- “The horror atmosphere is pretty great with the dark rooms, little creatures scooting around and adults running in the vents as soon as they hear you.”
- “The game does truly feel like the spirit of the board game, being inside a ship with a spooky atmosphere and the emphasis on surviving rather than fighting is done well.”
- “It nails the atmosphere and vibes of 'Nemesis' and 'Alien', which makes for a tense, immersive, replayable experience.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its absurd situations, such as blind characters reacting to flashbangs and the irony of server issues preventing solo play. Players find amusement in the game's quirks and unexpected challenges, contributing to a lighthearted experience.
- “Though it's a bit funny that they are blind and yet you throw a flashbang grenade to have them run away.”
- “Hilariously enough, it still took me a couple of attempts to start a solo game, because apparently the 'servers were full'.”
- “Funny thing, blooming is turning itself on after some time.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by a unique mechanic where players can only perceive others when they are in motion or in close proximity, creating a sense of intimacy and urgency in interactions. This design choice enhances the emotional depth of the experience, emphasizing connection and presence in a dynamic environment.
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game is perceived as lacking, with users suggesting that improved advertising could enhance its visibility and appeal.
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players express that the grinding in the game is excessively time-consuming, suggesting that it requires an unrealistic amount of effort akin to having a second life to fully engage with it.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”