VERSUS: The Deathscapes

About

In "Versus: The Deathscapes," an interactive 200,000-word novel by Zachary Sergi, you wield stolen superpowers from gods to unlock galactic secrets. Imprisoned on planet Versus, you've gained the abilities of flight, energy beams, and mind control, but to find Dhan, your journey of rivaling gods and reshaping the galaxy's fate is just beginning. This thrilling text-based adventure lets your choices control the story, with no graphics or sound effects to distract from your imagination.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

33%

Audience ScoreBased on 27 reviews

story4 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

The game features interesting philosophical themes and character development that provoke deep emotional responses.
The choices are structured clearly, allowing players to understand how their decisions impact the story, with varied endings based on stats and alliances.
The author has created a detailed multiverse that encourages personal reflection and growth, making the experience meaningful for many players.

The conclusion feels rushed and unsatisfying, dropping many plot threads and failing to provide closure for character arcs developed in previous installments.
Key relationships and romances are underdeveloped, leaving players feeling disconnected from characters they invested in throughout the series.
The narrative suffers from excessive exposition and a lack of meaningful choices, making the gameplay feel linear and less engaging.

story
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
87%
6%
The story is criticized for being convoluted and lacking direction, often feeling like a tedious textbook rather than an engaging narrative. While it offers varied endings based on player choices and attempts to provide closure, many reviewers felt unsatisfied with the abrupt shifts in character focus and the loss of previously developed relationships. Despite some interesting plot elements and world-building, the overall execution left readers feeling detached and frustrated, particularly with the conclusion that seemed to disregard earlier storylines.
- “There were varied endings in terms of the stats you built and the alliances you made, making the story feel truly responsive.”
- “Book 2 enhanced my fulfillment of the series by turning it into a story of intrigue and politics, where it wasn't just about beating stuff up, but about simply surviving against something more massive than your puny mortal power or comprehension.”
- “Well, this last installment of the versus storyline truly sticks to its roots in both being immensely thought-provoking and with its ability to provoke intense emotions in those reading it.”
- “The story had a lot of information that just didn't lead anywhere, and half of it came across with the feeling of reading a textbook.”
- “As I got about halfway through this story, I had to just click through in an attempt to stay awake.”
- “Apart from this extremely unsatisfying finish and lack of heroes rise tie-ins, you spend two previous books building up relationships (and romances) with characters only to have most of them taken out of commission for the bulk of this story and you're lumped together with a bunch of people you hardly know.”
gameplay
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
60%
30%
The gameplay is described as engaging, with strong motivation and impactful final choices, although some players feel overwhelmed by the frequent introduction of new gameplay mechanics and character information that detracts from the story. While the core narrative involves aliens teaming up to save their galaxy, the experience can be enhanced by using the hint DLC for simpler decision-making. Overall, the gameplay is a mix of enjoyable elements and some frustrating plot mechanics.
- “Gameplay, the motivation and final choices are very good too.”
- “To say I felt cheated by that plot mechanic would be an understatement.”
- “World building aside, the core story is actually [spoiler] you an alien must work with other aliens of the same galaxy must find a galaxy savior to beat an alien from another galaxy and be new galaxy superheroes [/spoiler], too bad there is a lot of new gameplay and character info thrown in consistently to enjoy the story.”
- “Btw, only get the hint DLC for simpler choice making; others are irrelevant to the gameplay experience.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
Reviews indicate that while the character development in the series is well-written, particularly in earlier installments, the third book fails to maintain this momentum, leading to a loss of suspense and emotional investment in the characters.
- “A lot of character development is written nicely, but it feels too deep to truly care for.”
- “The character development throughout the series is engaging and adds significant depth to the story.”
- “The evolution of the characters is compelling and keeps you invested in their journeys.”
- “I feel like book 3 took all that suspense and character development and shoved it out the window.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Players find the grinding aspect tedious and repetitive, often feeling overwhelmed by unnecessary complexity and the need to replay previous content. This sentiment is echoed across various spin-off series, indicating a broader issue with the game's design.
- “Unfortunately, for me, it was a lot of gibberish mumbo-jumbo that was tedious to replay past games and refresh. This was an issue with other spin-off series as well.”
- “Grinding feels like an endless loop of repetitive tasks that drain the fun out of the game.”
- “The grind is so excessive that it overshadows the actual gameplay, making it feel more like a chore than an enjoyable experience.”