Steelrising: Bastille Edition

The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with many players reporting severe performance issues, including constant stuttering, high VRAM usage, and crashes, even on high-end hardware. While some users have managed to achieve stable performance by adjusting settings, the overall consensus is that the game is poorly optimized and requires significant patches to improve its playability. Despite its engaging gameplay and visuals, the optimization problems detract from the overall experience, leading many to recommend waiting for updates before purchasing.

The gameplay of this French souls-like game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its fun mechanics, creative weapon variety, and engaging combat system that encourages aggressive play. However, criticisms include a lack of enemy variety, repetitive encounters, and some clunky mechanics that can detract from the overall experience. While it offers a more accessible entry point for newcomers to the genre, veterans may find it less challenging compared to other titles like Dark Souls or Bloodborne.

The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful art style and detailed environments, particularly the steampunk aesthetic. However, numerous players have reported significant optimization issues, leading to poor performance and high system requirements that do not seem justified by the graphical fidelity. While some find the visuals stunning, others note that the game suffers from glitches and inconsistent texture quality, detracting from the overall experience.

The music in the game has received a largely positive reception, with many reviewers praising its atmospheric and cinematic qualities, as well as its ability to enhance the overall experience. While some tracks are highlighted as particularly memorable, opinions vary on the consistency of the soundtrack, with a few finding it forgettable at times. Overall, the music is described as beautifully composed, fitting well with the game's setting and narrative, contributing significantly to the immersive experience.

The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its stunning visuals, detailed world design, and immersive soundtracks that effectively capture the essence of its historical setting, particularly during the French Revolution. Players appreciate the unique character and enemy designs, as well as the overall ambiance that enhances the gameplay experience, despite some criticisms regarding enemy difficulty and technical issues. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to its appeal and enjoyment.

The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting a significant number of glitches and bugs, particularly during cut scenes and item interactions. While some users experienced no major issues and found the game to run well overall, others noted frequent crashes and performance problems, especially on lower-end hardware. Patches have improved stability for some, but many still find the game to be quite buggy at launch.

Reviews indicate that while the game is not excessively grindy, it does have moments of tedium, particularly in combat and exploration. Players often find themselves backtracking and farming resources, which can detract from the overall enjoyment, making some encounters feel more tedious than challenging. The balance between difficulty and grind is noted, with some players appreciating the lack of pressure to grind while others feel that certain aspects of gameplay could benefit from a more rewarding experience.

Character development in the game is noted for its striking character designs and animations, particularly for the main character, which some players found visually appealing and reminiscent of high-quality fantasy art. However, the depth of character development is criticized as uninspired and lacking substance, with many feeling that the story and human character designs do not support the otherwise beautiful aesthetics. Overall, while the atmosphere and visual presentation are praised, the character development itself is seen as shallow and underwhelming.

The game's replayability is mixed, with some players finding it rewarding due to character classes and customization options, while others feel it lacks significant replay value due to balancing issues and a desire to move on after completing it. Overall, there is potential for replayability through build variety and gameplay mechanics, but not all players are motivated to engage in multiple playthroughs.

Reviews highlight a mix of humor in the game, noting that while combat can initially feel amusing, it quickly becomes frustrating due to performance issues. However, cutscenes and the overall story are praised for their humor, with some players finding the characters' expressions unintentionally funny. Overall, the humor is appreciated, but it is often overshadowed by gameplay frustrations.

Reviews highlight a mixed emotional experience in the game, with some players feeling let down by poor performance and uninspired gameplay that detracted from key emotional moments. However, others found the story compelling and impactful, leading to a powerful emotional climax that resonated deeply, despite technical issues. Overall, the emotional engagement varies significantly among players, with some moments striking a chord while others fall flat.