Terror Lab
- March 16, 2016
- Nicolas Bernard
In "Terror Lab" , you wake up in an abandoned lab with no memory of how you got there, and must survive against unseen entities while maintaining the facility. Use whatever you find, from flashlights to grenades, to aid your survival and memory recovery. The game is constantly updated based on community input, with new content and improvements every two days. Generators are crucial for maintaining the lab's power, so make sure to keep them running for your own safety.
Reviews
- The game has a great atmosphere that creates a sense of panic and dread.
- Some players find it amusing and entertaining, especially when played with friends.
- The developer is actively updating the game, showing responsiveness to player feedback.
- The gameplay is repetitive and lacks meaningful content, often leading to boredom.
- There are significant technical issues, including poor graphics, lack of customization options, and bugs.
- The game is perceived as a cash grab with no real story or depth, making it feel incomplete.
- gameplay24 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been widely criticized for being repetitive and lacking depth, with players often wandering through mazes while avoiding enemies in a limited stealth mechanic. Despite a shift from an 'on the rails' style to a free-roam approach, many found the experience stale and devoid of engaging mechanics or narrative, leading to low ratings. While the graphics received some praise, the overall gameplay experience was deemed unsatisfactory, with a score averaging around 2/10.
“When it originally released, it had an unconventional 'on the rails' style of gameplay where you could only move backwards and forwards, whilst trying to fend off a rabid monkey with a flashbang grenade.”
“Playthrough ep#1 - *pre-update, old on the rails gameplay*:”
“Playthrough ep#2 - *post-update, new free roam gameplay*:”
“When we finally got the 'gameplay', it was very amusing just how terrible it was put together.”
“It seems to want to be a stealth game, but the stealth mechanics are limited to 'you see the enemy first and avoid their line of sight'.”
“Gameplay; 2/10 - it's very stale and gets boring very quickly.”
- graphics17 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received largely negative feedback, with many users noting a lack of customization options and low overall quality, rating it around 3/10. While some elements like lighting and smoke effects are appreciated, the overall visuals are considered subpar, failing to meet next-gen expectations. Additionally, the absence of resolution adjustments and graphical settings has frustrated players, detracting from the overall experience.
“The graphic quality of the game is good, but the overall gameplay is lacking.”
“- visuals (lighting, smoke, etc.) are nice.”
“Atmosphere: 6/10 - the graphics and sound do work well together.”
“There's no options to change the resolution for the game or customize the graphics settings.”
“There's no way for gamers to try to improve the low-quality graphics.”
“Graphics: 3/10 - it doesn't really look good, and the only things that light up are the specific 'computers' you can use or the monkey.”
- story10 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely criticized for being minimal and lacking depth, with many players noting that it consists of little more than a single sentence displayed on the main menu. While some effort was made in Cargo 3 to provide a basic background through artwork, overall, the narrative is described as generic and underdeveloped, overshadowed by repetitive tasks and jump scares.
“Cargo 3 at least tried to include a 'cutscene' by incorporating some artwork that tells you some basic background story, which makes you think the developers spent a decent amount of time on the development.”
“No real story.”
“The story is one sentence long and you read it off the main menu.”
“There's no story nor are there gameplay mechanics.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its intriguing atmosphere, effectively creating a tense environment that enhances the survival experience. However, some players note that the limited map size and lack of engaging activities detract from the overall experience, despite the strong atmospheric foundation.
“Now it is an atmospheric free roaming survival game, where you have to keep moving in order to not only avoid the rabid monkey and a zombie-looking doctor, but to refresh the generator and oxygen supply... because if either of them run out, you aren't going to survive for long at all.”
“- great atmosphere.”
“In short, it's a great idea for a game, and the atmosphere and premise are right.”
- music8 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as overly loud and irritating, with no option to adjust the volume, which detracts from the overall experience. Players find the inability to pause the game and the constant music on the menu screen frustrating, as it interferes with gameplay elements like sound cues. Overall, the music is seen as a significant drawback due to its intrusive nature.
“You are given a couple of minutes 'free roam' when there's a sudden music change indicating your dearest friends started coming to look for you.”
“Oh, and there's no pause - hitting esc brings you back to this screen which has constant, irritating music that you cannot turn down or off.”
“I don't like that you actually have to turn off the music in-game so that you can hear the monkey moving.”
“The sound and music is way too loud and there's no in-game option to adjust the volume.”
- monetization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of "Terror Lab" has been criticized as a cash grab, with a price point of around $4 deemed unrealistic given the game's defects and the availability of superior free alternatives on Steam. Additionally, the lack of credit to original artists and developers raises concerns about plagiarism, further detracting from its value.
“Terror Lab has the completely unrealistic cash grab price of around $4 USD. It's not worth it given the defects and shortcomings with the product, especially considering the sheer number of completely free, much higher quality games on Steam.”
“It's important to also note the 'developers' here didn't credit any of the artists and real, actual game developers who created the assets, so this is plagiarism, as well as cash grab shovelware.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users report significant issues with buggy textures, which detract from the overall immersion of the game.
“Some textures are seriously buggy, and it takes away from the immersion.”