Vortex: The Gateway
- March 21, 2016
- StormCube Games
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam"Vortex: The Gateway" is an open-world survival horror game set on an alien planet, where you must explore, adapt, and fight to survive. In story mode, you'll uncover the changing state of Earth while dealing with dangerous local species, while survival mode tasks you with keeping your injured friend Mike alive. Gather resources, build shelter, and fend off alien attacks to ensure your survival.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a fun survival experience with enjoyable crafting and camp building mechanics.
- The atmosphere and exploration elements are highlights, providing an immersive environment.
- Despite its rough edges, the game has potential and can be enjoyable for fans of the genre.
- The game feels unfinished, with noticeable bugs, glitches, and a lack of polish.
- Combat mechanics are basic and can be frustrating, with issues like aiming and inventory management.
- Many players feel the game is a poor imitation of 'The Forest' and lacks sufficient content and depth.
- graphics66 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many noting that while they are decent and atmospheric, they fall short of modern standards and can feel outdated or inconsistent. Some players appreciate the immersive visuals and variety of alien creatures, while others criticize technical issues and a lack of polish. Overall, the graphics are considered satisfactory for a budget title, but there is a clear desire for improvements in future updates.
“Really fun game, graphics are awesome and the gameplay is fun.”
“Visuals - game looks fantastic and very atmospheric (great work on the skybox as well).”
“The graphics are well done and the island does indeed look alien.”
“As well as the game being made on a smaller budget, some animations and graphics feel out of place.”
“The graphics were lacking, and at points made no sense (why does it look like I'm throwing arrows?), the mechanics were rough, and the voice acting made the plot even thinner.”
“Graphics are 10 years behind modern standards - as is animation and world design.”
- story66 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it weak and underdeveloped, often describing it as basic and lacking depth. While some appreciate the motivation it provides for gameplay, others criticize its disjointed elements and the overall execution, suggesting that it feels more like a placeholder for a multiplayer experience rather than a fully realized narrative. Overall, the consensus leans towards a need for improvement in storytelling and world-building.
“I won the main story mode in 16 hours, exploring the majority of the map and getting 42 of the 53 achievements.”
“The story mode takes about 48 hours to complete, discovering almost all corners of the map and getting 80% of achievements; the survival mode, a sort of tower defense game, adds more playtime.”
“One thing that sets this game apart from the other EA Unity releases is the story.”
“The story mode is undeveloped and does nothing to explore the cool concept.”
“My feeling is that this game originally intended to be released as a multiplayer game; however, it was instead released as a single-player game with a weak storyline.”
“Basically no story to the game whatsoever.”
- gameplay36 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 81 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its rough mechanics, lackluster graphics, and a limited variety of craftable items. While some appreciate the challenge of exploring and learning within the game, others criticize it for being generic and reminiscent of other titles, particularly "The Forest." Overall, players feel the game has potential but requires significant improvements in mechanics, graphics, and content to enhance the experience.
“The gameplay is really challenging due to the scarcity of information and answers; players must explore and learn quite important things by themselves, which is an oddity in the video game industry.”
“This game is very good in the aspect of what it is supposed to be, but I wanted more of the gameplay to focus on defending my base. With all the traps in the game, there could also be an update adding a gun, more building options, and a co-op mode. The game is awesome in my opinion, but I felt like it was just missing an aspect, like waves of aliens coming at my base.”
“Something I will say is that while there are a few hours of gameplay here and some nice areas to explore, it would be so much more fun with a friend. But watch this space because 2-player co-op is planned!”
“The graphics were lacking, and at points made no sense (why does it look like I'm throwing arrows?), the mechanics were rough, and the voice acting made the plot even thinner.”
“It looks awful, the mechanics are janky and it just isn't any fun.”
“The first, I don't know, 10 minutes of gameplay you can see and find many flaws and annoying aspects to the game.”
- optimization30 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received largely negative feedback, with many users reporting poor performance, bugs, and a lack of content, despite some improvements noted in recent patches. While a few players have experienced stable frame rates without lag, the overall consensus is that significant optimization work is still needed, especially given its current alpha-early access status. Users express frustration over the optimization issues, particularly for an impulse buy, but some remain hopeful for future enhancements.
“Haven't had any performance issues yet.”
“Performance could be better, getting around 25-30 fps, but there are no lags and although the creatures can look a bit strange and not as attractive as some games, the atmosphere combined with these is spot on.”
“I didn't notice any lag issues or other performance problems.”
“It's light on content, buggy, and poorly optimized.”
“I won't tolerate fiddling with optimization issues on an impulse buy.”
“The overall performance of the game on my system was not great.”
- stability22 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many players reporting numerous bugs and glitches, particularly with controls, which can hinder gameplay. While some users have experienced minimal issues and found the game immersive and promising, others feel it is still in an early access state, citing poor optimization and frequent crashes. Overall, it appears that while the game runs well for some, it remains inconsistent and requires further polish.
“Claimed it was out of early access while still glitchy and buggy.”
“The game has glitches and bugs beyond number.”
“It looks like it could be a potentially good game, but the first hour of play counts and the fact that it freezes Windows while loading (it even warns of this) makes this feel like it's still an alpha... a very early alpha.”
- atmosphere16 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is highly praised, with reviewers noting its immersive, scary, and visually stunning qualities that evoke a sense of tension and exploration reminiscent of classic titles like Half-Life. Despite some performance issues and minor bugs, the combination of heart-pounding sounds, engaging survival elements, and impressive graphics creates a captivating experience that keeps players coming back for more. Overall, the atmosphere is a standout feature, earning an 8/10 rating.
“With the atmosphere and exploration being the highlight of my time spent in Vortex.”
“This game has the potential to make you jump with some heart-pounding sounds and an atmosphere that a lot of people will feel on edge in.”
“Add to this the non-stop threats of hunger, thirst, getting lost, and more, and you have a very fun and addictive survival game that beckons you to come back long after you log out with its gorgeous graphics and glow-in-the-dark atmosphere.”
- music6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed feedback, with users noting that it is loud and lacks a functional volume control, making it challenging for those who create content, such as YouTube videos. Despite these issues, the overall rating remains decent at 8/10.
“Music 8/10”
“The FPS was shocking, and the fact you can't turn down the music as it's tied with the environment was a killer for someone who records for YouTube.”
“The sounds and music in the game were very loud and do not yet have a volume control that functions.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is well-received, with players finding it genuinely funny, particularly through the likable character of Mike and his unexpected exit, which elicited laughter. Overall, the comedic elements align with typical video game expectations, enhancing the enjoyment.
“Mike is a likable dude; for all the introduction we get to him, his immediate exit had me chuckling in my seat.”
“Which is a funny thing because that's what you expect in a video game, right?”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be unbalanced, with a wealth of crafting and building options but a limited selection of weapons and armor. The disparity in size and resource requirements for building upgrades leads to excessive farming time, often taking 1-2 days to gather materials for significant advancements. Overall, while the mechanics are solid, the grinding experience can feel tedious and disproportionate.
“The mechanics are fine and there are a lot of crafting and farming items, but the balance is off: there are many buildings, defenses, containers, and traps, but only 4 basic hand weapons, 4 throwing weapons, and 1 piece of armor.”
“In survival games, you often start small and gradually expand, but this game doesn't provide that experience. Sure, the buildings are larger, but the size difference is extreme—it's like going from a tent to a dumpster—and the materials needed to upgrade can take 1-2 days of farming.”
