Nemesis: Lockdown
- May 31, 2022
- InterStudio
- 15h median play time
"Nemesis: Lockdown" is a digital adaptation of the award-winning board game series, presenting a cinematic, turn-based sci-fi horror experience. Players must navigate an alien-infested Martian base, fulfill objectives, and survive the lockdown through escaping or hiding. The game features a dark atmosphere, tense moments, and unforgiving RNG, offering a faithful tabletop Nemesis experience.
Reviews
- Faithful adaptation of the board game with great atmosphere and visuals.
- Offers a unique blend of cooperative and competitive gameplay, enhancing the experience.
- Fun and engaging, especially when played with friends, providing a thrilling challenge.
- Steep learning curve with a lack of comprehensive tutorials, making it difficult for new players.
- Frequent bugs and crashes, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- RNG can feel unfair, often resulting in players dying unexpectedly, which detracts from enjoyment.
- gameplay118 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a direct adaptation of the board game "Nemesis," featuring engaging mechanics and a strong atmosphere, though it suffers from a steep learning curve and various execution issues such as poor UI and sound design. Players appreciate the immersive experience and replayability, but many express frustration with the luck-based elements and bugs that can disrupt gameplay. Overall, while the core mechanics are well-received, the game's execution and clarity in presenting these mechanics leave room for improvement.
“Super enjoyable gameplay, differing objectives make for an extremely entertaining time with friends.”
“Outstanding mechanics and atmosphere, and faster to play than its board-playable variant.”
“It's hard to overstate how amazing the actual gameplay is, especially how replayable it is; also, the idea for a ranking mode is fantastic.”
“The thing is, every single round the gameplay was just the same over and over, no matter which character I picked, weapons or items I tried, or objectives I selected.”
“So many aspects of the mechanics are poorly explained or not explained at all (except maybe in the tutorial, but certainly not in the tooltips), and there are bugs and clunky interactions all over the place.”
“However, the learning curve is extremely steep, and unless you already played the board game, it can get extremely frustrating at first while you struggle to learn the systems and mechanics!”
- graphics78 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the art style, atmosphere, and overall visual presentation, particularly in creating a horror ambiance. However, several users report issues such as graphical glitches, crashes, and dated UI elements that detract from the experience. While some appreciate the faithful adaptation of the board game into 3D visuals, others feel that the focus on graphics has overshadowed gameplay quality.
“Excellent visuals, gameplay, UI, and graphics.”
“Great horror atmospherics, fantastic artwork.”
“The atmosphere, graphics, and sound are spot on.”
“After several disconnects due to soft locks, game crashes, and graphical glitches, I actually checked to see if the game was in early access without me realizing.”
“Even at second closest to recommended specs, the game still crashes and I have to lower the graphics settings to the lowest and at 30fps.”
“Bad - graphics and UI are way dated; looks like a 10-year-old PC game from 2010, they need to boost.”
- atmosphere50 mentions
- 76 % positive mentions
- 18 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and tense qualities, effectively capturing the essence of the original board game with excellent graphics, sound design, and horror elements. Players appreciate the sci-fi and survival themes, noting that the visuals and audio contribute significantly to the overall experience, making it feel both claustrophobic and engaging. Despite some critiques regarding gameplay mechanics, the atmospheric execution is consistently rated highly, with many reviewers giving it a perfect score for its ambiance.
“This game really nails the atmosphere and it does feel tense.”
“They immerse you into the atmosphere of Nemesis so well.”
“Play it with headphones; the sound effects and atmospheric soundtrack are very well done and immersive.”
“They've done an excellent job with the graphics and sound in creating a horrifying atmosphere; I just personally don't value that much and would have preferred a more direct, but automated, version of the board game.”
“This digital adaptation does well to represent the atmosphere.”
“I played the tabletop game before and this certainly captures the true nemesis atmosphere.”
- stability40 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous reports of frequent crashes, game freezes, and various graphical glitches, particularly in multiplayer modes. While some players have not encountered significant issues, the overall consensus indicates that the game is plagued by bugs that hinder the experience, leading many to question its readiness for full release. Despite these problems, a few users still appreciate the game's adaptation of the original board game.
“After several disconnects due to soft locks, game crashes, and graphical glitches, I actually checked to see if the game was in early access without me realizing.”
“Game itself is fun, but it does a horrible job of actually explaining what is going on and is filled with game-breaking bugs and freezes.”
“Unfortunately buggy, and not a lot of features were added after launch.”
- story36 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as engaging and thematic, particularly in the context of a survival horror board game, with players enjoying the cinematic storytelling aspect. However, some users noted a lack of meaningful progression and a structured story mode, which detracts from the overall experience. Additionally, issues with quest item acquisition and tutorial clarity were highlighted as barriers to fully appreciating the narrative.
“Very fun to create cinematic storytelling via a board game mechanic video game.”
“Good - love the story and gameplay, pretty close to the board game.”
“Awesome horror story board game.”
“The game also lacks meaningful progression or any type of story mode.”
“The bugs that exist and the general stability of the game tell an embarrassing story.”
“This game is less of a turn-based story/RPG, and more like Among Us (2018); but with a much more in-depth and complex gameplay system.”
- replayability10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability due to its varied rules, randomized map layouts, character selections, and quests, ensuring a fresh experience with each playthrough. While beginners may find it challenging, this difficulty enhances the game's appeal, encouraging players to return for more. Overall, the engaging mechanics and potential for competitive ranking add to its replay value.
“Great replayability: randomized map layout, character selection, quests, etc. every time you play.”
“You'll die a lot, but the game mechanics are fun and offer a ton of replayability.”
“It's hard to overstate how amazing the actual gameplay is, especially how replayable it is. Also, the idea for a ranking mode is really exciting.”
“It's hard to win, especially for beginners, but it gives replayability to the game.”
“In the board game, you can play with different rules and different boards, so the replay value is higher.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, with many expressing frustration over the lack of meaningful rewards for their efforts, whether in casual or competitive play. This repetitiveness detracts from the overall enjoyment, making the experience feel more like a chore than a rewarding challenge.
“This becomes very tedious very quickly.”
“No rewards for grinding matches either casually or competitively.”
“Tediousness is complexity's imposter.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game requires optimization improvements, particularly to reduce VRAM and RAM usage, likely due to its use of the Unreal Engine. While some users noted the need for crash fixes and performance enhancements, these issues were not deemed distracting or game-breaking.
“This metric will just represent the class's overall performance; it's simply a subjective way to measure class power/player power.”
“Probably because of the Unreal Engine, this needs some crash fixes and optimization to lessen VRAM and RAM use.”
“It could probably benefit from some performance improvement, but it was not distracting or game-breaking.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as unexpectedly entertaining, often evoking feelings of betrayal that add to its comedic effect. While some players find it amusing, they note that the game is primarily intended to be a horror experience, leading to mixed feelings about the humor's appropriateness. Overall, the humor is seen as a notable aspect, even if it diverges from the game's main genre.
“You're just left with this feeling of utter betrayal and it's so darn funny.”
“It must be so funny.”
“It might give you a laugh, but this is supposed to be a horror game, not some funny tabletop simulator.”
- music6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music and sound design in the game are highly praised for their immersive quality and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, especially when experienced with headphones. However, some users noted that the audio sliders do not effectively manage all sound elements, leading to instances where intense music and in-game sounds can be overwhelming.
“The music, the sounds, the visual effects, the whole atmosphere is absolutely spot on.”
“Play it with headphones; the sound effects and atmospheric soundtrack are very well done and immersive.”
“The audio sliders don't control everything, so intense music and the intruders are still loud in-game.”
“The audio sliders don't control everything, so intense music and the intruders are still loud in the game.”
“The audio sliders don't control everything, so intense music and the intruders are still loud in the game.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is not clearly conveyed in the provided text, as it focuses on a specific gameplay scenario rather than expressing feelings or emotional impact. Further context is needed to assess the emotional depth of the game.
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy has been criticized as a rushed cash grab, with users expressing strong disapproval of such practices and suggesting that they should not be rewarded.
“Rushed out cash grabs should not be rewarded.”