Recent reviews by BASH!

On call medical simulator. This game perfectly captures the feeling of being 10 hours in on your third day of clinic with bad sleep.

Use drugs and dialectical behavioral therapy to manage your severe stress and sleep deprivation.
Use proper bedside manner and try not to be racist. Or get into character and be SUPER racist.

Or be racist because you ran out of drugs and who are these people I AM DANIL AND I HATE THIS TOWN.

Collect differential diagnoses and help save the town- or use that one bullet in your inventory for a permanent nap.

I can't wait for the full version of this game.


Pro Tip:
Game runs janky, be sure to turn down the blur and graphics settings for a better experience.

here is a breakdown for how this game plays and whether or not you should pick it up now.

Gameplay:

This is not a shooter.

This is not a shooter.

This is not a shooter.

It is a looter with shooting mechanics. If you are looking for a shooter -do not get this game-. This is not Helldivers 2, this is not Deep Rock Galactic, this is not Call of Duty.

The gameplay loop is that you are a dirty little rat man/woman/gun head and you are picking through an active war zone to collect resources for your dirty little sad rat society. The only reason you should be shooting anything is: 1. You are cornered and the only way out is through, 2. Your quest is to shoot something 3. You are shooting to bait one group of enemies into attacking a nearby pod. 4. You have a sniper rifle.

This game is about using situational awareness to pick through an active war zone and exit with a bag of loot. It's like Tarkov and Death Stranding had a weird, upsetting baby with a little Neo Scavenger thrown in. I dig it, you might too. It's one of the most unique games I've ever played.
The issue is that any game that comes out with unconventional game play is going to risk being off putting and The Forever Winter has that problem.

The Jank:

This game is in what I would argue is "too early access". This game is the jankiest early access title I've ever put my hands on.

- The movement is messy. I get what they're going for with the movement. You are carrying a massive weight on your back and need to limit sprinting to emergency situations or when running across open terrain. Sprinting everywhere is not recommended, and the characters have slow acceleration that may be difficult to get used to. I feel like part of this is a developer decision but the movement is not dialed in yet and it just feels "off". Also, jumping is physics based and it's not great. I got used to the movement eventually but it's not there yet.

- The graphics are not optimized. This game is a big almost 90 gig fatty. I have 64gb RAM, SSD, and a 30 series NVIDIA card and on max settings the game was incredibly choppy.

TO FIX THIS: Reduce the settings to "high" or lower, and increase the FPS to 60. The game is default 30 fps for some reason and it looks/feels terrible at that setting. This kind of jank is going to be resolved over time, so if this bothers you I'd just wait it out for a more stable early access or version 1.0.

IF YOU WANT TO PLAY ON LINUX: I'm using Manjaro and I have no problems with it. In order to run it go to settings ----> compitability ----> switch to the latest stable version of Proton. Avoid experimental, it will not work (Yet)

The Graphics: This game is stunning. The mood? Masterful. The people making this game really care about it and it shows through the art design. There are moments in this game that took my breath away- and then a tank shoots a wall by mistake and sends itself flying backwards at mach speed.

One of the cool features this game has is that each level has different set of scenarios that it cycles through. There is also one "rare" scenario on each level that is a survival horror nightmare. These levels are fantastic, and imagine my surprise when I was plunged into a level I thought I was familiar with but now it was foggy and I had to use a flashlight to get around. (I died)

THE WATER THING:

You have to collect water or else you will lose all of your loot. Plenty of people have talked about this. I don't want to get into it. It doesn't bother me that much because when a game is this early access there are going to be periodic loot wipes and none of the loot is that interesting right now. As it stands, this feature has gotten so much backlash I don't think it's going to last- so I wouldn't worry about it.

My advice to the devs: Don't add a feature that takes away something from the player if they don't participate in it. Instead, give people a bonus for participation. Maybe extra water related quests (gotta protect that water), an experience bonus, special water items that you can only get with excess water etc.

Verdict: This is a special game that is a labor of love and it's not done yet. This game has good bones, and I've had many special moments in it so far- I've also been frustrated with it and have slapped my desk a few times too. Yet this game crawls into my brain and I think "HMM, I WILL PLAY MORE OF (the) FOREVER WINTER." and I got two of my friends to buy it.

If you want to support the devs (and possibly get early backer bonuses later) then pick it up now- but be aware that you are playing an unfinished product. The studio is new but it's made up of industry veterans who were sick of working in the AAA gaming mines. I bought this game to support their vision and I'm glad I did.

If you're looking for something that you can play reliably now- just put it on your wish list and come back later.

*EDIT*

To the GAMERS who keep trying to add me on steam in an attempt to argue with me about my review: Please go outside and touch grass to help alleviate the massive amount of disapair you are feeling in your day to day life, thank you.

The granddaddy of stealth. This game rules and it still holds up. Buy it for less than a dollar menu special for hours of fun. There is a massive modding community for this game as well. If you enjoy stealth immersive sims it's a must play and can run on a literal potato.

Fun little game! It's like Viscera Clean Up Detail but more refined, less fiddly. I appreciate that you can select multiple pieces of garbage to pick up at once, and it's more difficult to spill water everywhere. The game has a really nice UI and it doesn't feel "cheap" like a lot of cleaning sims I've seen.

I'm looking forward to the full version, and I'm wondering if the completed game will have more of a time pressure.

I'll definitely be picking this up when it comes out.

Detectives notes:

21:30: Approached the suspects apartment and knocked on the door. Suspect was not available, but their husband was. Said husband informed me to "piss off".

Proceeded to wait outside apartment on nearby bench.

23:21: Thirsty. Left to go on break.

23:37: Drank synth milk until I became riddled with nausea. Proceeded to puke.

Slipped in vomit.

00:21: Returned to stake out.

06:32: Husband has left apartment. He informed me that he could do my job better.

This game is really cool!

How the gameplay works:

The game takes place on a fake UI (cool) where you remote control a "Deadnaut" a pilot inside a specialized suit. Thing the ping sensor from the movie "Alien" but as a game.

Because you are working from this sensor, you can't see what's going on in the ship. You move one step at a time, and enemies move when you move. Think the game Mystery Dungeon. Really old school, but it fits with the aesthetic of being an AI that's making split second decisions.

If you make good decisions, you build trust with your Deadnaut. If you don't, they lose trust in you and may need to be bribed before going on a mission. I'm unsure, but I think they behave worse as they lose trust in you as well.
If you completely lose their trust, the deadnaut will need to be "puppeted" by having their brain hijacked. This limits their abilities and survivability. Neat!

At the beginning of the game you have a choice of suit to use. Each suit changes up gameplay pretty dramatically.

There is a soldier suit for balanced gameplay and better defenses. An EMP suit that has a tool that pushes enemies away, or provides a shield. The tech suit (my favorite) that can hack into the ships AI and lay down turrets. The stealth suit that relies on traps and subterfuge. Then the labor suit, a difficult suit that's melee focused.

On each mission you need to reach an objective and then return to your drop point in a set number of turns. This isn't too big of a deal as long as you plot out your exit in advance. Your turns go down when encountering enemies, and that's when things can get bad.

The best way to play this game is slowly and thoughtfully, because every turn can count.

TLDR: mystery dungeon style roguelike hard sci-fi with Alien influences.

Graphics:

The graphics are simple but effective. I looooove games that utilize fake UI. I just think it's neat to have a simulated control panel, and the developers must think it's neat too cuz they play a lot with the concept. Different suit choices change the UI, the UI can be damaged by EMP attacks (and make me jump out of my seat constantly) and the limited information provided by the graphics is used in a really intriguing and cool way.

Sound Design:

Stellar.

This game is spooky.

The sounds fit in with the theme and are effective and informative. Sounds of monsters come in muffled and distant, and the sounds of turrets firing inside another room and killing things are super satisfying. The AI defense system will make a PING noise when it has gotten to the center of the room. The alarm system when your character is low on health is deeply upsetting (it can be turned off immediately, don't worry)

The click, click, click sound of the step dial going down when you are exiting the ship.

Delightful.

Criticisms:

The only criticisms I have about this game are nitpicks, really. I also haven't finished the game yet, so what I have to say may be addressed in later game.

Here are a few concerns/suggestions I have:

1. The exploration factor. Do I get more explanation points for exploring squares on the ship? Or is finding items/corpses the only way to get points in exploration?

If it's for exploring squares, I'd like that to be more readable. Sometimes it's hard to tell if I've fully explored the room based on map info, because a dark room is "less grey" once it's been explored.

2. Sometimes I have trouble telling which floor I'm on. It can be checked on the map screen, but I think it would be cool to have a UI element that says F1, F2, etc.

3. It's a little annoying to get mission bonuses for things that can't be utilized. I don't want to get "prevent benefactor" bonuses in T1, because benefactors don't show up until later.

4. Again, this is another nitpick and something that might require too much work- But I'm finding that the gameplay is lacking something, and for me that's more interaction with the ships themselves. It would be cool for the Deadnaut to have to get on an actual computer to download information, or to have them press a switch/find a key to open certain rooms.

Having a deadnaut solve a puzzle (or upload a puzzle to your screen) while working under the clock would be really slick.

I understand that this is a BIG ask and might not fit into the developers vision. I still love the game, but it's like a tasty meal that needs a little more salt.

Anyway, if this game sounds intriguing to you, pick it up. It's a neat game, and the dev's need more attention.

yeah it's pretty good

Gameplay:

Here is the game play loop for fear and hunger:

Explore > Search chests/crates > Use simple stealth to avoid enemies > Encounter enemy > Fight/Run

If fight= Possibly die/lose a limb(s) permanently/receive debuff that may or may not be curable. It's best to avoid fighting as much as possible and the game encourages this. You also have the option of continuing the game even if your character is completely disabled. Neat!

If run= Live to fight another day- Unless you get stuck between a corner and an enemy. Then oops, too bad.

If die= You learned something, try again.

The battle system is this: Strategically remove limbs from enemies and learn to guard to avoid devastating attacks. There is no XP and you cannot gain levels.

If you survive you are rewarded for your efforts with more of the games bizarre setting and lore. You get access to more items, shortcuts, and knowledge that will help you. I found the game to be genuinely creepy, which is difficult to do in an RPG maker game. There is a lot of really neat stuff going on here and several moments that surprised me with how clever they were. (The "summoning" scene comes to mind. Neat!)

The dungeon is randomly generated, sort of. Key tiles will look the same, but how they are arranged changes. This plus the selection of four characters adds to replayability. I'm about 10 hours into the game on the first character, and I could probably get 20 - 30 hours out of this if I wanted to explore everything. Not bad for a niche RPG maker game, and it's well worth the price if this game sounds like your jam.

A warning:

There is sexual violence in this game. It's not pornographic, the tone is similar to "Berserk" or "Goblin Slayer". It's there and people (including the player) are violated on screen. There are also more *ahem*, tasteful moments without the violence as well. Prepare yourself for many, many pixel genitals.

IMO: Most of it is fine and serves the setting, but some of it is so excessive it's off putting. The guards can violate you under certain circumstances, and give you a debuff that makes you fart blood. It was so excessive and stupid it made me bust out laughing. It just felt like "edgy-teen" choice, and it was moments like that which detracted from the experience.

There is also a character who is openly a pedophile, and is constantly playing "pocket pool" in his pants. When writing a script it's very difficult to walk the line between "discomforting disgust" and "tastless" and this game fails at several points. A pedo-shop owner you can (optionally) drag children to is one of them. Sexual violence and horror is not an easy thing to write respectfully, and this game is no Silent Hill 2 in that regard.

I can handle this kind of content and I shrugged most of it off, but I know that this is a deal breaker for a lot of people. It's a shame too, because I wanted to share this game with my friends. I wanted to stream it, I wanted to play it on the couch for my roomies to watch. I wanted to recommend people to review this game so it could be more seen, but as things are I can only reserve my recommendation to my closest, weirdest, friends.

Other nitpicks:

Some bugs cause the game to crash. The ones I've encountered always happen after I've just died so no major loss there. Other bugs include the bear trap not activating when stepped on, and certain items duplicating even after use (Not a big deal)

I also dislike the mechanic of having to flip a coin before saving. With one exception, there is no way to remove the mechanic. It starts getting really obnoxious when you've been exploring, IRL stuff comes up, and saving itself becomes a risk.

Conclusion:

If you enjoy bizarre, brooding, horror RPG's inspired by J-fantasy horror, and can handle less than savory content, then this is well worth the money. I've never played anything quite like this, and I found myself coming back to it even when it made me angry at points. I will be playing the second game and I'm looking forward to it.

I love this game.

First- this game isn't for everyone. This game is an adventure title, not a first person shooter or action game. If you start Pathologic expecting to play "hero" you will be disappointed. In Pathologic you're just a surgeon, doing his best to find a cure while keeping himself from dying.

Second- The language is flowery and symbolic thanks to its Russian origins. The game gives plenty of hints, most of which are obvious in hindsight. This is a game that benefits from multiple playthroughs, especially if you want to learn more lore.

If you find yourself having trouble getting through the game remember: Your goal is to find a cure for the plague. Other characters will show up and try to drag you into their problems or you might be tempted to learn more about your characters backstory- DON'T.

The only thing that matters is to cure the town, and that is what I love the most about this game. It throws obsticals and temptations at you to divert you from your goal in a way that I've never seen any other adventure title accomplish.

Example: One of my friends was being hunted down. I wanted to go warn him. I spent hours of in game time seeking him out. What did I accomplish? Well, I led the killers to his location, and I kept dying. Again and again. Then I realized- I didn't need to go find my friend at all. The situation was none of my business, and he was already in hiding.

Yes this game is difficult, but there are ideal "routes" to take on each day once you know what your doing. If you find yourself dying frequently- you might need to rethink your route. If you are on the correct path the game will reward you accordingly. Just remember your goals:

Cure the plague.
Protect the people on your list.

Everything else is secondary.

I shidded and farded out of my legless, armless, doo doo butt.

It's alright!