After a particularly long 4-hour session (of multiple deaths) and many other playthroughs, I'm going to give a review of this game, and it's pretty harsh.

Neo Scavenger is a game that has possiblity emanating from its mechanics. The writing is beautiful and manages to capture most any scenario that you're put into. Generally, it prides itself on being a survival, inventory-managing (think Deus Ex) roguelike that is incredibly unforgiving. Maybe a little too unforgiving.

Generally, when I lose a roguelike or a game in general, it'd be nice to have some idea of what I was doing /wrong/. I don't have that sense while playing Neo Scavenger. Most every playthrough, I think I am playing at the top of my game, as best as possible. Enemies can randomly hit you in the head with their fist and instantly kill you, even if you're geared up to the max. Unless you get ridiculously lucky, the cold of the environment WILL kill you. Eating the wrong things WILL kill you. If you got unlucky and didn't find a town, the cold or wolves or zombies or bandits WILL kill you.

It has stopped being fun to play. The UI is there. The mechanics are all there. The combat is thrilling. The art is there, the writing is there, and dammit I want this game to be so much more than it actually is. If you really want a hyper-realistic survival game, especially one as complicated as this one, then I can recommend it wholeheartedly. But if you're looking for an enjoyable, frantic gaming experience (as so many other survival games hope to achieve), Neo Scavenger unfortunately is far, far too luck-based to give any sense of accomplishment.

In addition, over the 5 months I stopped playing, the "skill ceiling" or "endgame" has gotten no higher or larger as far as I can tell. A legendary melee weapon (the crowbar) is handed out basically for free, the warmest clothing can be found in nearly every building, and one corpse's food can sustain you forever, as can the numerous woods, rivers etc. If you don't start out with certain skills (botany comes to mind) then you'll be stuck relying on finding towns to survive. and you CAN'T get new skills aside from the implants that I've never seen.

Overall, I think that with a bit of patching Neo Scavenger could be a great, renowned game. It's not that it needs polish; it needs content, and it needs a difficulty that scales directly with how skilled you are, and skill should /matter/ more than it does.

After a particularly long 4-hour session (of multiple deaths) and many other playthroughs, I'm going to give a review of this game, and it's pretty harsh. Neo Scavenger is a game that has possiblity emanating from its mechanics. The writing is beautiful and manages to capture most any scenario that you're put into. Generally, it prides itself on being a survival, inventory-managing (think Deus Ex) roguelike that is incredibly unforgiving. Maybe a little too unforgiving. Generally, when I lose a roguelike or a game in general, it'd be nice to have some idea of what I was doing /wrong/. I don't have that sense while playing Neo Scavenger. Most every playthrough, I think I am playing at the top of my game, as best as possible. Enemies can randomly hit you in the head with their fist and instantly kill you, even if you're geared up to the max. Unless you get ridiculously lucky, the cold of the environment WILL kill you. Eating the wrong things WILL kill you. If you got unlucky and didn't find a town, the cold or wolves or zombies or bandits WILL kill you. It has stopped being fun to play. The UI is there. The mechanics are all there. The combat is thrilling. The art is there, the writing is there, and dammit I want this game to be so much more than it actually is. If you really want a hyper-realistic survival game, especially one as complicated as this one, then I can recommend it wholeheartedly. But if you're looking for an enjoyable, frantic gaming experience (as so many other survival games hope to achieve), Neo Scavenger unfortunately is far, far too luck-based to give any sense of accomplishment. In addition, over the 5 months I stopped playing, the "skill ceiling" or "endgame" has gotten no higher or larger as far as I can tell. A legendary melee weapon (the crowbar) is handed out basically for free, the warmest clothing can be found in nearly every building, and one corpse's food can sustain you forever, as can the numerous woods, rivers etc. If you don't start out with certain skills (botany comes to mind) then you'll be stuck relying on finding towns to survive. and you CAN'T get new skills aside from the implants that I've never seen. Overall, I think that with a bit of patching Neo Scavenger could be a great, renowned game. It's not that it needs polish; it needs content, and it needs a difficulty that scales directly with how skilled you are, and skill should /matter/ more than it does.