Shadows of Kurgansk

About

Shadows of Kurgansk is a single player open world role playing shooter game with a horror theme. It was developed by Yadon Studio and was released on December 15, 2016. It received neutral reviews from players.

"Shadows of Kurgansk" is a survival exploration game set in a mysterious open world, filled with dangerous creatures and remnants of an ancient civilization. Gameplay focuses on scavenging for resources, crafting tools, and uncovering the story behind the Kurgansk region's supernatural events. Players must balance exploration and survival, while evading or confronting the mysterious shadows that haunt the land.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

49%

Audience ScoreBased on 61 reviews

story5 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

The game has a unique atmosphere reminiscent of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, with decent graphics and a spooky vibe.
It offers multiple game modes, including story, adventure, and survival, providing a variety of gameplay experiences.
The crafting system is engaging, and the game features a range of enemies and challenges that keep the gameplay interesting.

The game has been abandoned by the developers, leading to numerous bugs, lack of updates, and unfinished content.
Gameplay can be frustrating due to unbalanced enemies, tedious crafting mechanics, and inventory management issues.
Many players report that the game feels incomplete and lacks depth, with repetitive tasks and a small map that limits exploration.

story
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
76%
9%
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its engaging narrative and multiple game modes, while others criticize it for being unfinished and cliche. Many noted that the story mode offers a decent amount of content, but it suffers from abrupt endings and gameplay issues, particularly in the second scenario. Overall, while the story has potential and can be enjoyable, it is marred by a lack of polish and completion, leaving players hoping for future updates.
- “Even though this is early access, the story mode has some good content.”
- “One thing I quite like is the addition of a story mode alongside the survival and adventure modes.”
- “The graphics are stylized and interesting, the plot feels pretty original, and the voice acting is pretty solid.”
- “The first story scenario, Deserted Shore, is complete, but the second more open-world scenario, A Way Home, ends abruptly after 2 maps with an outdated 'will continue after early access' message.”
- “It's also clearly unfinished and abandoned by the devs, but this only becomes apparent if you play the second story scenario.”
- “The story is a bit cliché and awkwardly bad, with an ending where you either die by your own hand to stop the military from getting a hold of the virus or die by their hand. Overall, the game is very unfinished and a bit of a disappointment.”
graphics
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
42%
16%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the semi-cartoony art style reminiscent of Borderlands and Telltale games, which allows for decent visuals without high performance demands. While some praise the beautiful animations and atmospheric design, others criticize the graphics as flawed or in need of improvement, citing issues like bugs and repetitive visuals. Overall, the game's stylized graphics are seen as a strong point, though opinions vary on their execution and impact on gameplay.
- “I like the semi-cartoony Borderlands/Telltale games art style as it allows for decent graphics at low performance cost.”
- “The graphics are really nicely done, love the ambient and colors.”
- “Atmosphere and crafting is very well done and the graphics are addictive.”
- “Cons: everything else, as basically everything is bugged, flawed, bad coding, crappy graphics, crappy mechanics, worse UI I've ever experienced, not to mention the failed AI, where having a folded origami paper swan will have more intelligence than the NPC in this game.”
- “The graphics are pretty bad and definitely need touch-ups and actually gave me a headache after a half hour of playing, but I would not hold anything against the game regarding the visuals.”
- “At first, graphics and atmosphere compensate for this, but after a while, the game gets boring, repetitive, and frustrating.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The gameplay in Shadows of Kurgansk is criticized for its numerous bugs, poor mechanics, and subpar AI, leading to a frustrating experience despite some enjoyment in melee combat. While players can learn the mechanics to manage enemies effectively, the overall execution is deemed flawed and unoriginal, lacking the depth expected from a survival horror game.
- “Learn the game mechanics and you can deal with every enemy without trouble.”
- “Gameplay-wise, you certainly have to think ahead when going long distances so you don't end up running out of food or anything else.”
- “Great gameplay, thoroughly enjoyed the melee combat.”
- “Cons: everything else, as basically everything is bugged, flawed, bad coding, crappy graphics, crappy mechanics, the worst UI I've ever experienced, not to mention the failed AI, where having a folded origami paper swan will have more intelligence than the NPCs in this game.”
- “But gameplay is a mess.”
- “You're supposed to play a copter pilot, but gameplay feels like you are a three-year-old suffering from wasting disease.”
atmosphere
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its sinister and immersive qualities, reminiscent of the Stalker series, with effective graphics and sound design that enhance the experience. While initially captivating, some players note that the atmosphere can become repetitive over time, leading to a decline in engagement. Overall, it successfully creates a spooky and foreboding environment that appeals to fans of atmospheric crafting games.
- “Simply love the game, the graphics, the atmosphere, the enemies, the suspense, and the slow progress with getting blueprints.”
- “It offers a sinister and disturbing environment with the atmosphere already seen in the series of Stalker.”
- “Definitely buy if you miss the Stalker games, or more specifically, their dense foreboding atmosphere.”
- “At first, the graphics and atmosphere compensate for this, but after a while, the game gets boring, repetitive, and frustrating.”
- “The overall atmosphere has been done fairly well; it's a bit spooky but nothing too over the top.”
- “Definitely buy if you miss the Stalker games, or more specifically, their dense, foreboding atmosphere.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat tedious, particularly when farming for blueprints and managing survival elements. While the accelerated time in the game aims for realism, it can lead to a frustrating experience, especially with the crafting menu. Despite these issues, many enjoy the freedom to set up camp and craft their own equipment.
- “However, the survival aspect seems a bit tedious at times and could probably be improved.”
- “Since time is sped up in the game world, it seems like they were going for realism, but in a sped-up environment, which is a little tedious.”
- “The crafting menu is also rather tedious at times, but I otherwise really enjoy having the ability to set up camp and build my own arms.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization is generally positive, with decent graphics that run well on lower-end systems, though enabling certain effects can significantly reduce frame rates. However, players note that the game feels unfinished and lacks substantial updates, leading to disappointment despite its stable performance. Overall, it is recommended for casual play, especially when on sale.
- “I like the semi-cartoony Borderlands/Telltale games art style as it allows for decent graphics at low performance cost.”
- “The game runs smoothly and offers a variety of things to do.”
- “There is only one military base that was a little false advertising, just like the build asylums mentioned. An armored tent is not an asylum, and the game seems mostly abandoned now. It appears that performance was the only focus in its last update, which is a shame because this game had a lot of potential. The story is a bit cliché and awkwardly bad, with an ending where you either die by your own hand to stop the military from getting a hold of the virus or die by their hand. Overall, the game is very unfinished and a bit of a disappointment, but I do recommend picking it up at $5 when it goes on sale; it's stable enough for you to at least have some fun with it.”
- “Performance-wise, it does well; however, enabling SSAO and 'effects' does drop the FPS quite a bit, around half for my system.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The monetization strategy is criticized as a sneaky cash grab, with users feeling that the game was abandoned shortly after its early access release.
- “Sneaky cash grab that was abandoned virtually the moment it was released to early access.”
- “The monetization model feels exploitative, pushing players to spend more than they should just to enjoy the game.”
- “It's frustrating to see so many features locked behind paywalls, making it hard to fully experience the game without spending extra money.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's stability is severely compromised by frequent glitches and crashes, which detract from the overall experience. Additionally, players note issues with enemy variety and attack animations, further contributing to a frustrating gameplay environment.
- “The game suffers from constant glitches and crashes, making it nearly unplayable.”
- “There is little to no enemy variety, and the attack animations are difficult to watch.”
- “Enemies have excessively large attack ranges despite only using melee, which adds to the frustration.”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The music and sound design in the game are praised for creating a good atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience for players.
- “The music creates a fantastic atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.”
- “The sound design and music are exceptional, adding depth to the gameplay.”
- “The soundtrack perfectly complements the game's mood, making every moment more immersive.”