Slayer Shock

59%
Game Brain Score Based on 91 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Slayer Shock Game Cover
Slayer Shock has more ideas than it has means of executing on them
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Slayer Shock is a role-playing shooter where you play as a vampire slayer in Nebraska, operating out of a college coffee shop and taking missions to patrol the streets, rescue captives, and weaken the vampire threat. The game features a team of assistants who provide new weapons, skills, and research, with a format that echoes scripted television, including episodic missions and seasons. Immerse yourself in the first-person action, light strategy, and procedural narrative to assemble a team, hunt vampires, and save your hometown.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

59%
Audience ScoreBased on 91 reviews
story10 positive mentions
atmosphere2 negative mentions
  • The game offers a unique and fun concept, blending vampire hunting with immersive sim elements, reminiscent of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'.
  • Gameplay is engaging with a variety of weapons and upgrades, allowing for different play styles, including stealth and action-oriented approaches.
  • The atmosphere is enhanced by a great soundtrack and charming visuals, creating an enjoyable experience for fans of the genre.
  • The game feels unfinished and lacks polish, with many design issues such as poor stealth mechanics and repetitive mission types.
  • Enemy AI is inconsistent, leading to frustrating encounters where enemies can spawn unexpectedly, disrupting the stealth experience.
  • The overall content is limited, with only a few unique mission types and environments, making the gameplay feel stale after a short period.
  • story77 mentions

    The story in "Slayer Shock" is primarily delivered through a series of procedurally generated missions that often feel repetitive, with only a few mission types (rescue, patrol, steal, hunt) and limited narrative depth. While the game attempts to create a TV show-like structure with seasons and episodes, many players find the overall plot and character interactions lackluster, overshadowed by the emphasis on rogue-lite gameplay mechanics. Despite its interesting setting and potential, the narrative fails to engage, leading to a sense of monotony as players cycle through similar missions and locations.

    • “The story is a fairly strong point for Slayer Shock, although I wouldn't refer to it as a traditional narrative.”
    • “Everything about it pays homage to the earliest seasons of Buffy, and the game’s story is even laid out like a TV show, with missions being episodes, and a randomized big bad gaining power over the course of a season.”
    • “You have a home base with a central group of characters you become attached to throughout the game, and leave on missions to clear various locations of vampires.”
    • “For this kind of genre, Slayer Shock puts too much emphasis on the rogue-lite elements and not enough on the story.”
    • “The game's story is told through randomized narrative events, usually involving the characters on your team getting into squabbles with one another, or getting into trouble outside of the main base.”
    • “You go back and forth between five semi-randomized locations, and perform the same five mission types over, and over, and over, and over, and over again.”
  • gameplay49 mentions

    The gameplay is a mixed bag, with players noting that while it can be fun and fast-paced, it suffers from a lack of polish and coherence in mechanics. Many reviewers feel the game feels unfinished, with poor communication of mechanics and repetitive gameplay that lacks depth and balance. Despite its promising concepts and some enjoyable elements, the overall execution leaves much to be desired, leading to frustration rather than engagement.

    • “Gameplay-wise, it's essentially an open-world lite immersive sim.”
    • “The gameplay plays like a simple first-person shooter with a hub area, an area in which you can buy upgrades, weapons, or information of all kinds. The unlock requisites for all this are purchased with 'vampire ashes' that you get from completing missions or picking them from the remains of vanished vampire corpses.”
    • “There are gameplay mechanics such as infestation, location-based missions, different goals and objectives, a currency system, and RPG upgrade mechanics, all polished up to a point where everything looks integrated into a coherent design and art style.”
    • “Feels unfinished in every way, does a very poor job of conveying its mechanics to the player, and in general feels like an early access title let out of its cage too early.”
    • “It just has no gameplay to draw you in, and it's a bit much to ask that anyone stick with a game that has a laughable concept of a difficulty curve.”
    • “Nobody's going to, nor should they be asked to, stick with a game that doesn't introduce its mechanics coherently, then immediately thrusts the player into levels clearly geared to be unwinnable.”
  • graphics22 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with some players noting an uncanny valley effect and muddy visuals that detract from the overall experience. While the art style has its charm and a cozy, minimalist quality, many feel it lacks the uniqueness and polish seen in previous titles by the developer. Additionally, technical issues such as crashes and glitches have been reported, impacting performance and further diminishing the graphical experience.

    • “Minor key games usually tend to fall short graphically, but Slayer Shock especially makes up for it with great feeling combat and movement, along with a wonderful charm to everything.”
    • “I just adore his cozy minimalist indie home-baked art style, and the ways he puts it to work.”
    • “There are gameplay mechanics such as infestation, location-based missions, different goals and objectives, a currency system, and RPG upgrade mechanics, all polished up to a point where everything looks integrated into a coherent design and art style.”
    • “The graphics are muddy, and the aesthetic which could compensate for it is sadly also severely lacking. I'm not saying make a game that looks like a triple-A title, but do show the competence that you showcased in creating something unique and special.”
    • “Visuals really need work.”
    • “The gameplay is really where the meat of the game is, but the game's lack of style in its graphics, as well as its complete lack of a story, represent a poor developer's care.”
  • music15 mentions

    The music in the game is generally praised for its laid-back yet reactive quality, effectively enhancing the atmosphere and mood, particularly with its acoustic guitar elements. However, some players find the soundtrack repetitive and feel that the overall soundscape lacks depth, which diminishes the impact of gameplay elements like stealth and combat. Despite these criticisms, the soundtrack is considered a highlight, contributing positively to the game's aesthetic.

    • “The music is laid back but is reactive to the current awareness of enemies, and can grow in intensity if the situation becomes dire.”
    • “The acoustic guitar music is outstanding and really sets a nice tone.”
    • “Great gameplay and great soundtrack!”
    • “Within my 0.3 hours, I was sick of the repetitive music (about 1 minute of it, it sounded like?), sick of left-clicking on enemies who were completely unaware of my existence, sick of some enemies just being arbitrarily hard to kill while dealing massive damage through closed doors, and especially sick of spinning my mouse cursor around (in the form of a lock pick) while listening for a rattle which didn't always seem evident.”
    • “The chief two problems it has that makes this a waving thumbs up is: a) while the music is effective, the rest of the soundscape is pretty limp, which makes the weapons feel weightless, and doesn't give enough feedback when the enemies' alert state changes, making stealth no longer an option.”
    • “- The game soundtrack is a strange mix of music; some is also reused from Eldritch.”
  • atmosphere5 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised as its strongest feature, providing a rich and immersive experience that can easily complement other media. Reviewers note that it effectively creates a compelling environment, making it a standout aspect of the overall gameplay.

    • “As with David's other work, the atmosphere is definitely the strongest point of the game.”
    • “It's got solid grounds for atmosphere; you could, in all honesty, put on a podcast or some other video you've been meaning to watch and play this in the background.”
    • “The game bleeds atmosphere.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find that "Slayer Shock" involves significant grinding, which can become repetitive and tedious over time, particularly due to the similar mission structure focused on defeating various enemies. While the game is enjoyable in short sessions, the grinding aspect can lead to boredom if played for extended periods, especially as the stealth mechanics feel underutilized amidst the chaos of combat.

    • “The missions in this area are repetitive and tedious to complete; they all involve killing some vampires one way or another. Then they throw demons into the mix, and even jack-o'-lanterns. After a while, the game just becomes a mess. You'll see fire around you, and you're constantly trying to stab your way through objectives. There's a stealth element here, but the entire game doesn't really seem to be built around it, so half of the time you ignore it.”
    • “Denser enemies on harder difficulties complicate matters, but that just means you'll need to be a little careful about aggro and kite a lot, or engage with the tedious stealth gameplay.”
    • “Slayer Shock overall is a fun game to play, yet sometimes it feels repetitive and can get boring and tedious if played for a long time. It's a great stealth action game to enjoy in short bursts!”
  • stability3 mentions

    Overall, the game demonstrates stable gameplay with high frame rates and smooth controls, particularly on Linux systems. However, users have reported occasional graphical glitches, which may vary depending on the hardware and operating system.

    • “The game offers some nice graphics, although there are some ugly glitches here and there.”
    • “Some graphics glitches (I have Fedora Linux with an AMD graphics card, so it happens).”
    • “High FPS, smooth controls, Linux version, but the gameplay is not stable with occasional hangs and freezes.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by a goofy, bloodsucker theme that adds a fun element to the fast-paced gameplay. Players appreciate the large variety of weapons and find the randomized storylines to be particularly hilarious, enhancing the overall enjoyment.

    • “Goofy bloodsucker humor.”
    • “I had fun with it - the movement is fast and furious and feels good, the weapon variety is large, and the randomized storylines can be hilarious.”
  • replayability2 mentions

    The game suffers from a lack of replayability, with players noting that completing a series of seasons and earning legacy points does not enhance the experience. Expectations for a compelling narrative or deep mechanics may lead to disappointment, as the game does not offer significant incentives for repeated playthroughs.

    • “It doesn't get any easier to tolerate the lack of replayability once you complete a series of seasons and earn legacy points.”
    • “If you're expecting a hugely interesting Whedon-esque story or for this to be the most mechanically deep game in terms of replayability, you might be disappointed.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    Players note that the game demands significant time investment due to its reliance on stealth mechanics, but many find the larger environments to be unoptimized, which can hinder the overall experience.

    • “The game offers a deep level of stealth that requires significant time investment, especially in larger and less optimized environments.”
    • “I appreciate how the optimization allows for smoother gameplay, even in complex scenarios.”
    • “The attention to detail in optimization enhances the overall experience, making exploration and strategy more enjoyable.”
    • “The game requires a huge level of stealth in environments that are larger than expected and poorly optimized.”
    • “The optimization issues make it difficult to fully enjoy the gameplay experience.”
    • “I found myself frustrated by the unoptimized environments that hindered my progress.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

55% average critic score

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