Ah, where to begin. I believe it was around two years ago where I last played the demo for the game jams and I definitely noticed the new stuff. Repairing, the class system, starting gear, so I noticed some recommendations being heard and implemented which is always cool to see. The game is still tough, but it felt even more so this time around. However this time it didn't feel so in a good way, maybe it's been too long so I don't quite remember, but the zombies felt bulky, way way too bulky for the resources you can get. Having a way to change card U.I size or I believe what was mentioned before is a way to compress them would help for cards up top and equipped cards as they do get a lil big (Maybe there is an I just missed it). The Almanac, while I did figure out in this streams as I didn't do the tutorial cause I'm a masochist, was def a great feature I was very glad to see as I continued playin off stream.
Some of these zombies even at the start of the zones have upwards of 14+ hp, a swing from an improvised axe and a wooden club will still NOT kill that zombie leaving it with 2 hp. Making you either waste precious resources to reduce waste on weapon durability or just use the swing and waste a dura.
You can avoid these zombies of course, but in doing so you are wasting potential loot and with how the rng is in this game you really need those resources, you will get tired really quickly, so you need to rest, resting tanks hunger and water, which requires you to gather resources which kill your energy which then requires you to rest and repeat the cycle all over again, it's super easy to get into that death loop of very tight resource management. And even if you avoid the zombies, there are still mandatory zombie fights, so if you didn't get lucky to get weapons, good luck fighting them, especially if they are in a group and you fail a lure. And once you start a fight, you better pray you can actually kill them or face a slow death. Homes too, as desperately as you need loot and sleep, are almost constantly infested with rats, and nothing burns resources faster then fighting horde enemies. You either use your stronger weapons to kill them faster but waste a hit that could have potentially chunked a zombie harder or use smaller resources to kill them but because there are so many of them your waste a lot. Houses rarely if at all feel worth it to even attempt, as loot afterwards also has to be in your favor.
Repairs while a great idea, do not work. 3-4 Durability is just not enough, especially when you need to use stuff like axes on doors if you want to loot more since nearly every house seems to be locked and searching has yet to result in actually finding a key of sorts. Not to mention it seems to only repair the weapon by 1 hit, that is beyond useless even as the craftsman as you would need to have a multitude of upgrades on the weapon to even warrant trying to keep it up when you can use a stick and rock to make a fully new item with 3 durability instead.
The game incentivizes keeping items in order to craft and do other things with them, but if you do that you risk the most dangerous thing, weapon draw. Weapons are the only reliable way of inflicting reasonable damage, and if you don't get that weapon, you risk eating lots of hits. The horde encounter at the end I nearly lost, despite me spawning in both an axe and improv axe and adding in upgrades to them just because of that luck of the draw, having equipped items actually be in your hands to fight with at the start is needed if the difficulty is to be maintained alongside the rng. Perhaps a more casual difficulty is required?
Sometimes it does just feel like you either get exactly what you need or get stuck in the constant struggle of needing more, I like the tinge showing you are growing weaker, but sometimes it is a lil hard to see.
I am very much happy to see this game back on the feedback quest and I was really excited to re-play it, needs tweaks here and there but I was for sure just as invested with it as much as I was the first time around. I cannot wait to see what else you have in store for the game as it progresses as the concept and art are both wonderful. I have high hopes for this game. Thank you for submitting once more, hope to see you next year as well.
Section from 01:56:00-3:32:00 on Vod
