SKYHILL: Black Mist
- June 11, 2020
- Mandragora
- 23h median play time
Get on Steam"Skyhill: Black Mist" is a survival horror game set in a procedurally generated open world. Players must navigate through a mist-filled city, scavenging for resources and crafting items to survive against mutated creatures. The game features permadeath and a focus on stealth and strategy, with an emphasis on upgrading the player's skills and equipment.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
Xbox One
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game has a great atmosphere, combining elements of horror and stealth, which keeps players engaged.
- Crafting system allows for flexible playstyles, enabling players to adapt to different situations.
- The narrative is intriguing, with a deep story that unfolds gradually through collectibles and notes.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs, including game-breaking issues that can prevent progress.
- Enemies respawn constantly while resources like ammo are scarce, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- The controls and UI are poorly designed, making it difficult to navigate and manage gameplay effectively.
- gameplay36 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with players enjoying the core mechanics and atmosphere but expressing frustration over crashes, slow pacing, and design flaws that can lead to softlocks. While the stealth and crafting elements are appreciated, some find the puzzles obtuse and the overall gameplay experience marred by technical issues and a lack of polish. Despite its potential, many reviewers feel the gameplay mechanics are inconsistent and detract from the overall enjoyment.
“I've been enjoying my time with the game so far, but the English translation is a bit wonky, and I find that sometimes the puzzles can be a bit obtuse; other than that, I've been enjoying the gameplay loop.”
“Nice atmosphere and okay story, enjoyable music, hardcore rogue-like gameplay.”
“Gameplay-wise, it's easy to pick up and makes perfect sense.”
“Unfortunately, as an autosaver with slow gameplay, high difficulty, and limited resources, I can't recommend it if it's also sometimes just going to brick itself for no reason.”
“It could have been a great game, and is somewhat playable, but it has its problems and it's mostly gameplay.”
“5/10 the story, visuals, the concept is good but sadly the gameplay mechanics are a mess.”
- story34 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The story has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it intriguing and atmospheric, while others criticize it for being disjointed and difficult to follow. Many appreciate the depth and gradual revelation of the plot through notes, but some feel that gameplay mechanics and unclear quest directions detract from the overall experience. Overall, the narrative is seen as appealing but flawed, with potential for those who enjoy deep lore and atmospheric storytelling.
“Excellent atmosphere, superb sound design, and an intriguing story.”
“Very atmospheric game, nice soundtrack and catchy detective story.”
“The story is gradually revealed with the notes.”
“And the story itself doesn't really make a whole lot of sense.”
“But the timers in particular, and certain items being gated pretty heavily, plus the disjointed story (intentional or otherwise) just lost me eventually.”
“Your next quest destination is never articulated strongly enough (or is bugged?) Anyway, in Act 5 I didn't understand what I needed to do at all and just ran around an endless maze of locations with the same respawnable monsters.”
- atmosphere30 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 10 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive qualities, combining excellent sound design, evocative music, and a compelling art style that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers note a mix of creepy and tense elements, with a narrative that unfolds intriguingly as players progress, reminiscent of titles like Alien Isolation. Overall, the atmosphere is described as deep, atmospheric, and engaging, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
“The atmosphere makes a very good combination with the art style and the sound design.”
“The atmosphere is creepy and tense at times, the files you find are confusing and interesting, and the world slowly opens up for you as you progress.”
“Graphically, the game captures a brooding, occasionally claustrophobic atmosphere quite well.”
“The atmosphere is creepy and tense at times; the files you find are confusing and interesting, and the world slowly opens up for you as you progress.”
“The strong atmosphere of mystical horror and vibes of original Skyhill detected!”
“The atmosphere is creepy and tense at times; the files you find are confusing and interesting, and the world slowly opens up for you as you progress.”
- music12 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for enhancing the atmospheric experience, with many reviewers noting its ability to immerse players in the gameplay. The soundtrack is described as enjoyable and catchy, effectively complementing the graphics and overall narrative. Additionally, the music contributes significantly to the game's engaging atmosphere and storytelling.
“Music helps you 'sink into' the atmosphere.”
“Great soundtrack as well!”
“The music goes a long way to complement the graphics, and the English voice acting is competent.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are noted for effectively creating a brooding and claustrophobic atmosphere, enhanced by a strong art style and sound design. However, some users expressed disappointment over the lack of graphics options and criticized the gameplay mechanics, which detracted from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the visuals are generally appreciated for their concept and execution.
“The atmosphere makes a very good combination with the art style and the sound design.”
“The music goes a long way to complement the graphics, and the English voice acting is competent.”
“5/10: The story and visuals have a good concept, but sadly the gameplay mechanics are a mess.”
“Also, why are there no graphics options?”
“Graphically, the game captures a brooding, occasionally claustrophobic atmosphere quite well.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, users report mixed stability experiences, noting occasional character freezes and glitches. However, many have observed improvements following the day-one patch, leading to a smoother gameplay experience despite some lingering issues.
“Character freezes in one place, and it isn't full of bugs.”
“Although the patch before the 'day 1' patch didn't seem to work at first, this morning I tried playing, and apart from a few glitches, it went far more smoothly.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game often stems from the exaggerated effectiveness of stealth mechanics, leading to situations that players find amusing. This element adds a lighthearted touch to gameplay, enhancing the overall experience.
“Stealth is pretty powerful to the point of being kind of funny.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate significant optimization issues, with users reporting excessive GPU usage (up to 98% on an RTX 3080) even in high settings for scenes with minimal objects. This suggests inefficient resource management and performance concerns that detract from the overall experience.
“Improper performance/resource usage (RTX 3080 at 98% GPU consumption) in high settings for small spaces with few objects on screen.”
“Improper performance/resource usage (RTX 3080 at 98% GPU consumption) in high settings for small spaces with few objects on screen.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly when it involves rechecking the entire map multiple times.
“Rechecking the whole map was tedious.”
