Shadows of Kurgansk

About

"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 Play through the game's story or campaign solo

47%

Audience ScoreBased on 53 reviews

graphics5 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

The game has a unique atmosphere reminiscent of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, providing a creepy and engaging experience.
It features multiple game modes, including story, adventure, and survival, offering a variety of gameplay options.
The crafting system is intuitive and adds depth to the survival mechanics, allowing players to gather resources and create items.

The game is largely abandoned and unfinished, with many bugs and a lack of updates since its release.
Gameplay can be frustrating due to poor enemy AI, random monster spawns, and a tedious inventory management system.
The overall design feels incomplete, with limited enemy variety and a small game world that can lead to repetitive gameplay.

story
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
78%
11%
The story mode of the game has received mixed reviews, with players noting that it feels unfinished and often ends abruptly, particularly in the second scenario. While some appreciate the engaging graphics and multiple gameplay modes, others criticize the story for being cliché and awkward, with gameplay mechanics that can lead to frustration due to rapid stat deterioration. Overall, the potential for a compelling narrative exists, but many feel it is currently hindered by a lack of content and polish.
- “Even though this is early access, the story mode has some good content.”
- “Hopefully we will see more in the story mode in the future.”
- “Story is enough to keep your attention.”
- “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Deserted Shore, is complete, but the second more open-world scenario, A Way Home, ends abruptly after 2 maps with an outdated 'will continue after early access' message.”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
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
47%
20%
The game's graphics 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. However, some users criticize the graphics as lacking polish and suffering from bugs, suggesting that while the atmosphere is engaging initially, it can become repetitive and frustrating over time. Overall, the graphics are seen as a strong point for some, but others feel they need significant improvement.
- “I like the semi-cartoony Borderlands/Telltale games art style as it allows for decent graphics at low performance cost.”
- “Atmosphere and crafting is very well done and the graphics are addictive.”
- “Graphics are nice, they have a Borderlands cell shading effect.”
- “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
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The gameplay in Shadows of Kurgansk is widely criticized for its numerous bugs, poor mechanics, and lack of originality, making it feel unpolished and frustrating. While some players enjoyed specific elements like melee combat, the overall experience is marred by flawed AI and a lack of engaging content, leading to a disappointing survival horror experience.
- “Learn the game mechanics and you can deal with every enemy without trouble.”
- “Great gameplay, thoroughly enjoyed the melee combat.”
- “Shadows of Kurgansk is a survival horror in cell shading that offers nothing original about the usual mechanics that we are already used to in other games of the genre, but:”
- “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
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its sinister and immersive qualities, reminiscent of the Stalker series, with compelling graphics and sound design that enhance the experience. However, some players note that while the atmosphere initially captivates, it can lead to feelings of boredom and repetition over time. Overall, it effectively combines suspenseful elements with a strong crafting system, appealing particularly to fans of atmospheric survival 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 Stalker series.”
- “Definitely buy if you miss the Stalker games, or more specifically, their dense foreboding atmosphere.”
- “It offers a sinister and disturbing environment, with an atmosphere reminiscent of the Stalker series.”
- “At first, the graphics and atmosphere compensate for this, but after a while, the game gets boring, repetitive, and frustrating.”
- “Definitely buy if you miss the Stalker games, or more specifically, their dense, foreboding atmosphere.”
grinding
3 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. The accelerated time in the game world aims for realism but can lead to a frustrating experience due to the repetitive nature of the tasks involved.
- “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.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
50%
The game's optimization is generally viewed as decent, benefiting from a semi-cartoony art style that allows for good graphics without heavy performance demands. However, players express disappointment over the game's unfinished state and lack of updates, which detracts from its potential. Despite these issues, it remains stable enough for casual enjoyment, especially at a lower price point.
- “I like the semi-cartoony Borderlands/Telltale games art style as it allows for decent graphics at a low performance cost.”
- “The game is stable enough for you to at least have some fun with it.”
- “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. It even seems Gaijin doesn't want to recognize this game. 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.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The monetization strategy is criticized as a deceptive cash grab, with users noting that the game was largely 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 suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent glitches and crashes that detract from the overall experience. Additionally, players have noted a lack of enemy variety and awkward attack animations, which further contribute 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.
- “The music creates a captivating atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.”
- “The sound design and music are perfectly integrated, making every moment feel immersive.”
- “The soundtrack is not only enjoyable but also complements the gameplay beautifully.”