Precursors
- February 3, 2017
- Deep Shadows
Its got decent spaceship sections and charmingly bad dialogue, but dont expect quality or compelling action.
Get on Steam"Precursors is a space exploration game set in a diverse and evolving galaxy. Encounter various societies, natural phenomena, and unique worlds with challenging environments. As you uncover the mysteries of the universe, realize the power of collision between nature's infinite depth and society's complex passions."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a unique blend of FPS, RPG, and space exploration, providing a vast open world with multiple planets to explore.
- Despite its flaws, the game has a charming and ambitious design, showcasing creativity and a variety of gameplay mechanics.
- With the unofficial patch, players can enjoy improved gameplay and a more stable experience, making it a worthwhile adventure for fans of the genre.
- The game is plagued by technical issues, including crashes, poor mouse control, and an unfinished storyline that abruptly ends.
- Many players find the English translation lacking, with cutscenes in Russian and awkward dialogue that detracts from the overall experience.
- The gameplay can feel unbalanced and frustrating, with overpowered enemies and a lack of variety in character models and combat mechanics.
- story31 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's story is criticized for being short, poorly translated, and feeling incomplete, as it abruptly ends just as the narrative begins to develop. While there are engaging missions and humorous dialogue, many players feel that the main plot lacks depth and resolution, leaving them wanting more. Overall, the story is seen as a missed opportunity, overshadowed by a wealth of side content and gameplay mechanics.
“The gameplay is brilliant, mixing FPS with RPG and space, and it's got an interesting story too.”
“This is not a super polished zillion-dollar production; this is a vision and a story made by creative souls with more ideas than money, which needs some tinkering on occasion but is still a grand adventure.”
“Good story and many funny dialogues, too.”
“The game basically ends as the story really starts to get going.”
“It's very short and solves nothing for the main story progress of the precursors, which only starts up near the end of this game and then credits roll.”
“I mean it just *stops* midway through the story with nothing resolved.”
- gameplay10 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a blend of first-person shooter and RPG elements set in a space environment, offering around 20 hours of engaging content filled with side quests and character leveling. Players appreciate the fast-paced combat and the variety of tasks available, although some have noted issues with bugs and a lack of subtitles in cutscenes. Overall, the experience is described as fun and immersive, despite occasional frustrations.
“The gameplay is brilliant, mixes FPS with RPG and space, and it's got an interesting story too.”
“Being an interplanetary agent, you fly from one planet to another, sorting things out, dealing with space pirates and villains - mix it with fun gunplay and good RPG mechanics and it's really great fun!”
“You can sink into the multiplicity of sub-quests; the game always gives you many things to do at the same time, and the gameplay itself is quite fun too - the combat system is basically a first-person shooter that is a mix of arcade and realism - the action is very fast, but both you and your enemies die very quickly.”
“One wrong move and you wind up stranded somewhere surrounded by a plethora of hostiles with your armor broken and you lose hours of gameplay.”
“Gameplay: 5/10”
“As it stands without a patch, this game has cutscenes without subtitles in Russian, but thankfully gameplay and tutorials are in English.”
- graphics9 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game, while somewhat outdated given its 2009 release, are generally considered decent, especially for an indie title. Many players appreciate the sci-fi setting and note that the visuals hold up well in 4K, with some recommending adjustments to graphic settings for optimal performance. Overall, the graphics receive a mixed but mostly positive reception, with a score around 7/10.
“Very nice sci-fi setting, open world with its history and the graphics on max in 4K still look nice.”
“Good game and seems to play really well, the design is well done and graphics are really good as well.”
“This one right here is a space adventure with so many possibilities; you won't forget it if you can overlook the outdated graphics and animations.”
“Given that it's from 2009, it still holds up pretty well graphically for a FPS/RPG.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its clever dialogues and engaging Russian wit, though the lack of English translation can make sarcasm harder to appreciate. Players find the world-building enjoyable, with amusing interactions, including humorous depictions of drunkenness and quirky existential dilemmas faced by NPCs.
“Good story and many funny dialogues, too.”
“The Russian humor is hilarious. The world-building is actually pretty well done; if you talk to enough NPCs, you can get drunk to amusing effect (I love how they simulated being drunk in this game!). NPCs sometimes have funny existential issues to relate.”
- music2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, featuring a good soundtrack that complements the gameplay, though some users find it a bit repetitive. Overall, it enhances the experience without being overly remarkable.
“Good soundtrack, good gameplay, working faction systems, quite similar to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.”
“The graphics are nice for a 2009 game, but the sounds and music are repetitive and lack variety.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is generally considered acceptable, with some users noting occasional glitches and technical issues typical of Russian-developed titles. However, an active community provides unofficial patches that help address these problems, enhancing the overall experience.
“I don't mean janky or buggy.”
“Granted, as with all Deep Shadows games I have played, there are some glitches, technical malfunctions, and janky code along the way. However, there is an active community that is releasing unofficial patches to clean up the technical issues.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players note that utilizing the community patch significantly enhances the game's playability, suggesting that this modification can improve the overall replayability experience.
“The game lacks meaningful choices, making replaying it feel like a chore rather than an adventure.”
“Once you've completed the main storyline, there's little incentive to dive back in; the side quests are repetitive and uninspired.”
“The limited character customization options and linear gameplay result in a lack of variety in subsequent playthroughs.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received a mixed response, with a performance rating of 6/10 indicating that while it functions adequately, there are noticeable issues that could hinder the overall experience. Players may encounter occasional lag or frame rate drops, suggesting room for improvement in this area.
“The game struggles with performance issues, often dropping frames during intense moments.”
“I experienced significant lag and stuttering, which really detracted from the overall experience.”
“Despite having a high-end PC, the optimization is so poor that I can't play at my desired settings.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized for relying heavily on misleading advertising that only showcases a limited and unrepresentative portion of the gameplay, potentially leading to disappointment among players.
“The game's monetization strategy feels overly aggressive, pushing players to spend money at every turn.”
“I was disappointed to find that many features are locked behind a paywall, making it hard to enjoy the game fully without spending extra.”
“The constant barrage of ads and in-game purchases detracts from the overall experience, making it feel more like a cash grab than a game.”
