Shelf Life

About

Shelf Life is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by Bongwater Productions and was released on December 22, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Shelf Life is a first person shooter set in a world where certain multibillion dollar companies would much rather be living in. You are a human ballistics dummy who finds himself in the middle of a hostile takeover. The only way to escape with your life is to end the merger by tanking the company's stock, something your CEO seems to be already doing every other week now. Travel through level…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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72%

Audience ScoreBased on 18 reviews

humor3 positive mentions

music3 negative mentions

The game features well-designed levels with creativity, enjoyable gunplay, and effective humor and social commentary.
Despite being in early access, the game shows significant potential and has improved with recent patches, providing a fun experience.
The developers deserve praise for their effort, especially considering the small team size, and the game is seen as a charming homage to classic shooters.

The game suffers from several bugs, including a frustrating weapon switching issue and performance optimization problems, leading to lag even on decent hardware.
Many players feel the game is too short and lacks content, with some describing it as feeling like a demo rather than a complete experience.
The absence of keybindings and quality of life features, such as an objective tracker and improved controls, detracts from the overall gameplay experience.

humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is praised for its creativity and effective social commentary, contributing to an overall fun experience. However, some players feel that certain jokes detract from gameplay enjoyment, indicating a mixed reception regarding the balance of humor and playability.
- “The game is very fun, the levels are designed well with a fair amount of creativity, the humor and social commentary is done really well, the movement feels nice, and the price feels fair.”
- “Also, he is handsome, funny, and super smart.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive quality, with a lush soundtrack that enhances the experience of exploration and movement within the game.
- “The soundtrack and atmosphere are on point, making it feel lush to explore the environment.”
- “The immersive atmosphere draws you in, creating a captivating experience that keeps you engaged.”
- “Every detail contributes to the overall ambiance, making the world feel alive and vibrant.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The game's soundtrack and atmosphere are praised for their richness and immersive quality, enhancing the overall experience. However, some players noted performance issues, including lag even on medium settings, and a lack of completed music in the final level.
- “The soundtrack and atmosphere are on point and feel lush to move around.”
- “The only issue was that the game was rather laggy even with good specs on medium settings, as well as missing or unfinished music in the final level.”
- “The music felt repetitive and didn't add much to the overall experience.”
- “I found the soundtrack to be lackluster and not fitting for the game's atmosphere.”
gameplay
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have noted a significant enhancement in gameplay and overall experience following the recent patch, indicating a tenfold improvement.
- “The gameplay and overall vibe of the game have improved tenfold with the recent patch.”
- “The mechanics are smooth and intuitive, making it easy to jump right in and enjoy the experience.”
- “Each level offers unique challenges that keep the gameplay fresh and engaging.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The story aspect of the game is criticized for being difficult to follow, with players expressing a desire for clearer objectives and guidance, such as a mini-map or quest tracker. Additionally, some find the lengthy introduction and the high resilience of enemies to be tedious, detracting from the overall experience.
- “The story is incredibly immersive, drawing you in with rich character development and unexpected twists.”
- “I was captivated by the narrative, which seamlessly blends emotional depth with thrilling gameplay.”
- “The world-building is exceptional, making every quest feel meaningful and connected to the overarching plot.”
- “The story was confusing and hard to follow, making it difficult to stay engaged.”
- “I found the introduction to be overly long, which detracted from the overall experience.”
- “Without a quest tracker, I often felt lost and unsure of my objectives, making the story feel disjointed.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly noting that enemies can require an excessive number of headshots to defeat. Additionally, the lengthy introduction and lack of clear objectives contribute to a frustrating experience, suggesting that an objective overlay could enhance gameplay clarity.
- “I found some aspects a bit tedious, like enemies sometimes taking 5 or 6 headshots to die. The intro was maybe too long, and I wished it was easier to understand the story and objectives. An objective overlay would help, either on the screen while you're moving around or in the pause menu.”
- “The grinding in this game feels excessive, making progress feel slow and frustrating. It often feels like I'm just repeating the same tasks over and over without any real reward.”
- “I spent hours grinding for resources, but it felt like a chore rather than an enjoyable part of the game. The lack of variety in tasks made it hard to stay engaged.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game's optimization has been criticized, as it requires an excessive 6GB of VRAM for optimal quality, which many players feel is unnecessary for its performance.
- “The game could also do better in terms of optimization, as a game like this should not require 6GB of VRAM for the best quality.”
- “The game could also do better in terms of optimization, because a game such as this should not be demanding 6GB VRAM for the best quality.”