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The Persistence

The Persistence is worth playing overall, but the game is unfortunately plagued with artificial difficulty solely to pad out the length.
71%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
story, optimization
83% User Score Based on 3,377 reviews
Critic Score 75%Based on 13 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchPCPlaystation 4Playstation 5Virtual RealityWindowsXbox OneXbox Series X|SPlayStationPlayStation VRXbox

About

"The Persistence" is a survival horror game set in a degrading spaceship overrun by mutated crew members. Players must sneak, fight, or strategically avoid enemies while trying to repair the ship and uncover the mystery of what happened to the crew. With permadeath and procedurally generated levels, each playthrough offers a unique and intense experience.

The Persistence screenshot
The Persistence screenshot
The Persistence screenshot
The Persistence screenshot
The Persistence screenshot
The Persistence screenshot
The Persistence screenshot
The Persistence screenshot
The Persistence screenshot
The Persistence screenshot
The Persistence screenshot
+13

83%
Audience ScoreBased on 87 reviews
gameplay6 positive mentions
replayability3 negative mentions

  • The game offers a unique blend of stealth, horror, and rogue-like elements, providing a tense and immersive experience.
  • Visually, the game can look quite good with RTX enabled, enhancing the atmosphere and lighting effects.
  • The gameplay is engaging with a solid progression system, allowing players to upgrade their character and weapons after each run.
  • The VR implementation is poorly executed, lacking motion controls and having a fixed HUD that detracts from immersion.
  • The game suffers from performance issues and bugs, particularly in VR mode, leading to crashes and unplayable experiences for some users.
  • Many players find the game repetitive and lacking polish, with some design choices feeling outdated or frustrating.
  • gameplay
    27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some praising its unique mechanics and stealth-focused approach, while others criticize the fixed controls and repetitive resource gathering. The game offers a blend of first-person roguelike elements and survival horror, but the VR experience is seen as superior, with some players finding the non-VR controls awkward. Overall, while there are interesting ideas and tense moments, the execution varies, leading to a somewhat average experience for many players.

    • “Overall, a solid game with some cool ideas and satisfying gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay uses a first-person view and a similar slow pace like Alien Isolation, but here you have some weapons to have good shooting parts mixed with melee combat + shield that covers brief instants and you have to time correctly.”
    • “While definitely firmly in the stealth horror camp, it feels more arcadey (in a good way) than other titles in that genre, so I find it quite a fun 'one more go' kind of gameplay.”
    • “The fixed hands with controller/seated only VR gameplay is such a bummer.”
    • “Sorry, but looting and hunting only for (boring) resources is getting old after 30 minutes of gameplay.”
    • “The persistence shows its PSVR roots and the lack of motion controller and room scale support plus the design around seated gameplay might make this a pass for PCVR players.”
  • graphics
    21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the visuals as impressive and atmospheric, particularly in VR, while others criticize them for being dated or suffering from issues like blurriness and lack of customization options. Players appreciate the clean visuals and immersive environments, but many express a desire for better graphical settings and performance improvements, especially on platforms like PS4 and Steam Deck. Overall, while the graphics are generally well-received, there are notable concerns regarding performance and visual fidelity in certain contexts.

    • “And the graphics are second to none.”
    • “This is Cosmodread done right with about 50 times better graphics ;-)”
    • “The graphics are pretty good, but the atmosphere, enemies, environments, combat, stealth, and sound design are all perfect.”
    • “Crashes every time you load into the game right after the intro that also has graphical glitches in VR.”
    • “The visuals are terrible and so is the gameplay, especially in VR.”
    • “Graphics options in-game are entirely missing - no way to increase textures, supersampling isn't making a noticeable difference and there's a heavy level of antialiasing which muddies the visuals, giving it that PSVR look.”
  • atmosphere
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its tension and immersive qualities, drawing comparisons to Doom 3 with its effective use of RTX for enhanced visuals, despite some optimization issues. Players appreciate the combination of stunning sound design, a compelling soundtrack, and well-crafted environments that contribute to a creepy and challenging experience, although some mechanics may feel less effective outside of VR. Overall, the atmosphere is described as intense, engaging, and integral to the gameplay experience.

    • “Be prepared to die a lot because you need to collect stem cells to strengthen your health, shields, etc. There's plenty of jump scares and the atmosphere is quite tense.”
    • “The visuals are nice and clean and the audio adds a lot of atmosphere; the voice actor for your companion/guide isn't annoying, which is a relief as she talks to you quite a bit with objectives, tips after deaths, etc.”
    • “The atmosphere is creepy and the sounds and music make it truly tense.”
    • “The Persistence is a first-person roguelike with some survival horror elements mixed in. Originally released as a PSVR title, the VR game design shows throughout the game. Some aspects translate well outside of VR, but unfortunately, some of the control and interaction mechanics feel a little out of place, and more importantly, the horror atmosphere doesn't adapt that well to non-VR mode.”
    • “The atmosphere is creepy, and the sounds and music make it truly tense.”
    • “Be prepared to die a lot because you need to collect stem cells to strengthen your health, shields, etc. There's plenty of jump scares, and the atmosphere is quite tense.”
  • story
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is praised for its engaging sci-fi horror concept, reminiscent of films like "Event Horizon" and "Pandorum," providing a compelling narrative that drives the gameplay. Players appreciate the blend of narrative goals with rogue-like elements, allowing for character progression and varied pathways, although some find the overall execution and graphics to be average. While the story serves as a solid foundation, the control mechanics and gameplay experience could benefit from updates to enhance appeal.

    • “I thought it was a good story, with a great concept.”
    • “Really creepy sci-fi vibes reminded me of films like Event Horizon or Pandorum where everything has gone wrong and the story unfolds.”
    • “The game has a main story where the player is embodied on clones that can evolve in stats, and the player can unlock blueprints of new weapons and features.”
    • “Nothing special, graphics and environment are adequate, gameplay and story are average, control mechanics are woeful but can be used with a bit of luck in non-VR mode.”
    • “The game has a main story where the player is embodied in clones that can evolve in stats, and the player can unlock blueprints of new weapons and features.”
    • “You have a decent level of narrative in the form of a story to give you a goal to strive for, but the overall execution feels lacking.”
  • optimization
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it offers impressive visuals with RTX enabled, many players report significant performance drops, particularly on high-end systems. Additionally, VR performance is notably poor, especially on specific headsets like the HP Reverb G2 and Valve Index, indicating a lack of optimization for these platforms. However, some users have experienced smooth gameplay under certain conditions.

    • “Performance-wise, my game ran smoothly for the 4 or so hours played so far.”
    • “Great game, but poor VR performance with HP Reverb G2 on a beefy system (RTX 3080, 8700K).”
    • “Playing with RTX, it can look quite good, and I'd say it adds a lot to the atmosphere. The shadows are really good looking with the option on, but I believe the game is poorly optimized for RTX; I have a fairly decent rig, and the performance takes a huge hit with it - more than usual, at least.”
    • “Playing with RTX, it can look quite good, and I'd say it adds a lot to the atmosphere. The shadows are really good looking with the option on, but I believe the game is poorly optimized for RTX. I have a fairly decent rig, and the performance takes a huge hit with it - more than usual, at least.”
    • “Great game but poor VR performance with HP Reverb G2 on a beefy system (RTX 3080, 8700K).”
    • “The game looks horrible on the Index and clearly was not optimized.”
  • replayability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers a mix of tension and strategic gameplay that enhances its replayability, featuring different modes, unlocks, and procedurally generated maps. However, some players feel that despite these elements, the overall desire to replay the game diminishes after the initial campaign experience. The inclusion of minimal roguelike mechanics adds variety, but may not be enough to sustain long-term engagement for all players.

    • “Lots of tension, sneaking around, and highly replayable.”
    • “Sprinkle the tiniest bit of roguelike (and I do mean the tiniest as, apart from weapons, you keep everything after you die), some randomly generated decks, and you've got a ton of replayability.”
    • “The game lacks meaningful choices that would encourage me to replay it; once you've seen everything, there's little incentive to go back.”
    • “While there are some random elements, the overall experience feels too linear, making replayability a chore rather than a joy.”
    • “After completing the game once, I found that the lack of significant changes in subsequent playthroughs made it feel repetitive and dull.”
  • grinding
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game is considered somewhat tedious, yet rewarding for fans of stealth genres, as it allows players to level up and enhance their character's stats. The narrative provides a clear goal, and the rogue-based level design offers varied pathways to objectives, making the grind feel purposeful.

    • “A bit grindy, but very good if you're into stealth games.”
    • “The game has a decent level of narrative that provides a story to give you a goal to strive for, but the grinding and leveling up to build stats and attributes can feel excessive.”
    • “The improvements you gain from grinding stay with you even when you die, which can make the process feel less rewarding.”
  • music
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music and sound design are praised for creating a stunning and atmospheric experience, enhancing the game's tension and complementing its rogue-lite mechanics effectively.

    • “Stunning soundtrack and atmospheric sound design, along with great rogue-lite mechanics.”
    • “The atmosphere is creepy, and the sounds and music make it truly tense.”
    • “The music is repetitive and lacks variety, making it feel monotonous.”
    • “The soundtrack feels out of place and doesn't match the game's theme.”
  • humor
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by its dark and absurd premise, where players engage in spine theft for personal gain, adding a quirky and comedic twist to the space adventure theme.

    • “A hilarious space adventure where you steal people's spines for your own personal gain.”
    • “The humor in this game is top-notch, with witty dialogue and absurd scenarios that keep you laughing.”
    • “I love the quirky characters and their ridiculous antics; it adds a delightful layer of comedy to the gameplay.”
  • stability
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users reporting frequent crashes upon loading and graphical glitches, particularly in VR mode.

    • “Crashes every time you load into the game right after the intro, which also has graphical glitches in VR.”
    • “The game is incredibly unstable, with frequent crashes and performance issues that ruin the experience.”
    • “I can't even get past the loading screen without the game crashing, making it unplayable.”

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