pretty damn good for 7 dollas
but tbh C.A.S.T is the worst possible name for a game, it's borderline impossible to find discussion or info on gameplay/wiki for this game

It's very much a Resident Evil mercenaries mode clone just with objectives and it's own unique style to keep it fresh. It also has an inventory system, crafting and battle pass style progression because those are the modern trends. That being said, they managed to keep the fast, fluid, skill-based gameplay that makes their inspirations so good. Where the game does stand out is its art style, with the developers choosing to lean into a more gritty style of horror that leads to a uniquely atmospheric experience. Also the music is great. If you like third person shooters and you like the maps in the original Killing Floor that look like the earth is rotting away, you'll like this.

For only $7, this game is an absolute banger to play with your friends and truly a hidden gem. The small community this game has garnered is really wholesome and helpful from my experience. There is definitely a little jank here and there, but it has really solid bones already. In the 20 hours I've played, there haven't been any game-breaking bugs. Given it's early access, I anticipate a lot of the jank and balancing issues will be ironed out as development continues. Looking forward to more updates, keep it up devs! A few suggestions from my time playing on lvl 10 difficulty:

- The easiest map to play by far is castle. Swamp is the worst with confusing corridors and lots of environment collisions to work around. Thunder wasteland is fun if you have a group, but the underground sequence can be frustrating.
- This game NEEDS some sort of vaulting system. It's especially apparent on the complex map. Many times I've found myself completely stuck on the railings and wondering why I can't just vault over to escape.
- There needs to be an obvious boundary to the maps. Many times I've found myself stuck in a corner between a rock and the "invisible wall" and dying because of it. I shouldn't be punished for not knowing where the invisible boundary is.
- Witches need to be better balanced. Their attack shouldn't be able to hit you instantly when they spawn, and the attack either needs to be slowed down (I can barely outrun it while sprinting and with a stamina backpack), or they shouldn't be able to attack you if they can't see you. I've found the mechanics of the witch to be more frustrating than fun. Sometimes I want to hold down a position, but I keep getting attacked by an enemy that can't even see me.
- Sometimes the hunter can spawn right on you after collecting the relic, and it seems a little cheese.
- Better collisions. A lot of the ramps are just frustrating to go up in the heat of the moment because I keep getting stuck on the edges. Again, some sort of vaulting system would mitigate this.
- Make it harder to drop rare weapons. I accidentally dropped a fully-upgraded shotgun (my fault) on a darkness map without even realizing it and was not able to find it. I think a pop-up menu to confirm dropping higher-tiered weapons/items or an item lock to prevent drops would be beneficial.
- I wish I could see my friends icons across the map or have access to some sort of minimap. I don't think this is necessary, but it would make it easier to group back up or get a revive.
- The revive timer feels too quick. Especially on higher difficulties, I found it hard to revive my teammate in time. Also, why is it instant death after two downs? I've never seen this mechanic in other games and feels needlessly punishing, especially at the expense of the extra survivor bonus upon completion of the round.
- The gun backpack is way too overpowered, even on lvl 10 difficulty.
- Powerleveling a new character is far too easy and removes all of the early-game grind. Maybe a start would be to lock new players behind their highest-completed difficulty and not allow them to jump straight into a lvl 10 match and get boosted.
- Make melee more viable.
- Obvious suggestion for more maps, objectives, characters, modifiers, backpacks, items, weapons, etc. but these are a given.