Pine Harbor
- December 13, 2023
- Vision Forge Team
- 5h median play time
Get on SteamIn "Pine Harbor" , explore a misty town and its wilderness, gathering resources to craft survival equipment. Assist the city's survivors, revealing their secrets and stories, while investigating the dark forests to understand the results of a harrowing catastrophe. This immersive game offers an atmospheric, open-world experience.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The graphics are stunning and create a captivating atmosphere reminiscent of Silent Hill.
- The game has great potential with interesting story elements and immersive sound design.
- The crafting system and action pacing are enjoyable, providing a solid foundation for future updates.
- The game is currently plagued by numerous bugs, crashes, and performance issues, making it frustrating to play.
- Combat mechanics are poorly executed, with inconsistent hit detection and unresponsive enemy AI.
- The lack of direction and clarity in objectives leaves players feeling lost and confused about how to progress.
- story92 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The story in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it lackluster and filled with plot holes, often describing it as "meh" or "not there." While some appreciate the atmospheric setting and potential for future development, others criticize the bland missions and poorly written dialogue, suggesting that the narrative fails to engage players effectively. Overall, there is a consensus that the game needs significant improvements in storytelling and mission design to enhance player immersion.
“A very good story, keep up with your work. Looking forward to see the next update.”
“End of part one: I really like the idea that the first part ended with, the lore dump and change of the plot was actually really good and makes me excited to see where the story goes.”
“The map and atmosphere are great, and there are plans to open up a lot more of the buildings, add climbing, and additional areas and story.”
“The script/story is pretty bad with not a whole lot of organic feeling dialogue; sometimes it feels like it was written by AI.”
“The story is very 'meh' and does not do much to help pull you in; there's really not much to say in that regard.”
“I'll just list the problems here: no story, no background, no nothing because there 'isn't' one.”
- atmosphere80 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere has received largely positive feedback, with many players noting its strong "Silent Hill" vibes, creepy visuals, and effective sound design that contribute to a tense and immersive experience. However, some reviewers expressed concerns about the lack of detail and polish, suggesting that while the atmosphere is captivating, it could benefit from additional ambient elements and improvements to gameplay mechanics. Overall, the atmosphere is seen as a strong foundation that could evolve into a compelling experience with further development.
“The atmosphere is top-notch.”
“Oh yeah for a survival horror game, its atmosphere definitely hit the spot, and the monster designs and the sound they make are creepy as heck.”
“That atmosphere is captivating, the game has a foundation that can really be built upon and if the devs stick with it, this can be a solid experience worth getting into for fans of survival horror.”
“Do you want to play a first-person version of Silent Hill with diminished atmosphere and terrible combat?”
“There was not much in place to help create and drive any tension or atmosphere, and it's noticed almost immediately.”
“Lack of polishing, poor performance, bad atmosphere, questionable gameplay, but it all comes together when you can imagine how this will look given future updates.”
- graphics56 mentions
- 79 % positive mentions
- 16 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their stunning visuals and atmospheric design, often compared to classic titles like Silent Hill and Resident Evil 7. While many players appreciate the overall aesthetic and detail, some have noted issues with rendering and frame drops, suggesting that further optimization is needed. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong point of the game, showcasing significant potential, especially for a small development team.
“The graphics are a marvel to look at, it feels like I am traveling through a town lost in time and is haunted by total evil.”
“Graphics are amazing for a 5 person team from what I know.”
“Atmosphere, tension, and graphics are on point (think Silent Hill).”
“Graphical/rendering issues mixed with random frame drops.”
“Graphics is...meh, compared to the demo.”
“It's a first person darkwood set in a Silent Hill kind of town and with the aesthetics of Resident Evil 7.”
- gameplay56 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of improvements and frustrations. While combat mechanics have been enhanced, players criticize the lack of tutorials, repetitive gameplay loops, and insufficient enemy variety, leading to a sense of aimlessness. The game shows potential, especially in its early access state, but many feel it needs significant polishing and more engaging mechanics to fully realize its vision.
“The aiming mechanics are interesting as rather than letting you use the relatively well-modeled iron sights, you are forced to use a reticle to aim that will tighten if you hold right-click and stop moving.”
“At the moment, the gameplay loop consists of doing story missions, gathering resources for crafting, fighting creepy monsters, and hiding in your house when night comes. The story isn't complete though, only one chapter.”
“For my time, I've spent about 7 hours in the game with two separate playthroughs of the main story, and I think the gameplay is pretty solid for the early state the game is in.”
“Wow, not a good game at all. There's no tutorial to teach any of the mechanics, no information on how to actually survive. The game seems fun during the day, but then night hits and it never ends. Enemies keep coming non-stop, and you die over and over again. There is no point in killing enemies as you gain nothing from it, and all you have is a bat and a flashlight.”
“Spend the 17 CAD if you want to support the game, but don't expect much gameplay. I had pretty much completed the game in under 2 hours.”
“Actual gameplay is severely lacking here.”
- optimization34 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 24 % neutral mentions
- 65 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is widely criticized, with many players reporting significant performance issues such as stuttering, frame rate instability, and rendering problems. While some users note that it runs adequately on high-end hardware, the general consensus is that the game requires substantial improvements, especially given its early access status. Despite these shortcomings, there is a sense of hope for future updates to enhance performance and polish.
“The graphics and optimization are great.”
“On an end note, as far as optimization goes, the game runs great on a 3080 on 'epic' while streaming at the same time.”
“Performance-wise, there are stutters here and there, but it's not all that bad.”
“The game itself is very poorly optimized with overall frame rate stability.”
“I know this is early access, so I'm being easy on it for now, but oh my god the optimization is so bad in this game.”
“There are also performance issues, such as rendering issues, weird stutters (the film grain effect seemed to amplify this), and clipping of objects.”
- music18 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 83 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been criticized for its minimal presence, with many reviewers suggesting that more ambient sounds and background music would enhance the overall atmosphere and tension, particularly during exploration and key moments like boss fights. While some appreciate the sound design's potential to create horror through subtle effects, there is a consensus that the addition of more varied and impactful music could significantly improve the experience. Overall, the current sound design is seen as generic and lacking detail, indicating room for improvement.
“There should also be more music in the game, especially when exploring the town.”
“The introduction was well done, and though it lacked music to set the mood, I am sure that is on the to-do list.”
“This game gives me strong Silent Hill vibes, which is a plus. I do think the atmosphere could be set better if it had some ambiance or subtle background music.”
- stability12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- -8 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
The game suffers from numerous glitches, particularly with NPC behavior and the main character model, leading to inconsistent AI reactions. While optimization is commendable, allowing smooth performance on high-end hardware, the overall stability is marred by these persistent bugs.
“The game runs great on a 3080 on 'epic' while streaming at the same time.”
“The optimization is impressive, allowing for smooth gameplay even on high settings.”
“I experienced no crashes or major bugs during my playthrough, which speaks volumes about its stability.”
“The only issue I have is how many glitches there are.”
“The NPCs are very buggy.”
“Perhaps the AI is buggy, but at times when I am pretty sure I was in its vision cone, they would not react to me and just shamble past me, while at other times when I'm hiding behind a wall, they would aggro and charge at me.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, characterized by slow and uneventful journeys across a vast map. This repetitive nature detracts from the overall enjoyment and engagement with the game.
“A series of extremely tedious and non-eventful treks across the expansive map at a snail's pace.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviews highlight that the game features strong character design and a well-crafted environment, contributing positively to the overall character development experience.
