Abiotic Factor
what a strange but unexpectedly delightful mix of sleeve-worn homages this is, for a price of
free? Not sure if it's F2P or part of an ongoing sub, either way the store wanted no money
only my infernal soul so did admittedly go in with minimal expectations. what are those homages, you ask? No wuzzas fam, they're Half-Life, Deus Ex, Half-Life, Darkwood, Prey and Half-life. you may think am just failing to be amusing there, but no that's the experience of progressing the narrative: after finding a groove with the first spin on a shameless Half-life homage, they drop another shameless spin where am like "
oh hello, wow, you can't do that! can you?? is that even legal?? fine I'll allow it, for now!" Cos hey it's not a homage seen much on consoles and especially if it's done well with an interesting twist on genre, it still feels fresher than most
k so premise is you are scientist on trip to science facility possibly in Australia who, after the defo-not-half-life introduction into the base so it can tutorialise you on the Deus Ex and Darkwood survival/crafting/immersive sim elements, finds themselves trapped on lower floor of underground facility after getting off elevator. you must now try finding all your colleagues and story by setting up safe-zone/base in cafeteria and making trips out further and further exploring every nook and cranny for any shit you can learn and gain resources/recipes from. It's got a quirky dry humour while never breaking character on the survival horror vibe (
well for single-player at least, though it appears initially aimed as an online co-op/team type fair but I don't fuck with that shit) And tbh most survival mechanics I avoid like the plague so was pleasantly surprised to find myself still playing hours later trying to discover more crap alongside the base building/bulking, weirdo scientists doing their own weird shit in the midst of an ongoing """technical issue""" - filling out the Pokédex with creatures and soup recipes, dealing with powercuts, the wiring system and, oh fuck I almost forgot the most important mechanic I distinctly remember calling other games simpering cowards for not doing;
THE POOP MECHANIC!
yes, finally, after centuries of lobbying every arm of government and community spokes leader - after blackmailing any politician, diplomat and CEO we could, they have at last heeded our call, folks! I can't express how much this means, partially out of shame. but if the elevator pitch was just "bro it'll be Deus Ex, half life and survival horror
...and you can poop!" they'd get my savings, my kid's savings, their inheritance and university fund for their investment within the hour.
only issue so far is it's early access I think, and with that is the occasional technical frustration. in this case one specific extremely consistent technical frustration where after like an hour or so of play it suddenly pops up an error message whenever I back out of any menu. though the game carries on regardless, the error message becomes the new norm for every single time you use anything whatsoever, and that's basically every interaction required to play the damn game: cooking, crafting, learning, reading, checking, double-checking, rearranging, triple checking for ammo,
it's fucking everything goddamn it! Unlike classic shooters, there is more focus on survival and exploration, which certainly attracts fans of the genre. However, it is worth noting that the system with a "hike" and everyday actions (such as creating recipes and dealing with technical problems) may seem too drawn out to some players. If you want to diversify your leisure time and try something with elements of excitement, you should pay attention to https://casinosfest.com/online-casino-2-deposit/ , where you can find interesting bonuses and offers, which adds additional opportunities in planning your winnings. In any case, Abiotic Factor is a game that will definitely find its audience, despite its technical problems. But as stated earlier, the game seems unbothered after every one of them, and the message doesn't say what the problem is, it's just a bland "
something went wrong with game [insert number that explains even less when you look it up] oh nevermind nothing wrong. Continue as you were, citizen. PSYKE! there is again, dumbass hah!" so fuck knows the cause. is tolerable for a while though still a dampener, and the quick flash pang of panic induced from long-term innate conditioning when seeing/hearing the console error bust in hasnt diminished one bit lol
