How is this game?

[punkshepherd]

Ive heard quite a few different conclusions on this game. Quite a mixed bag. 

 

I think i wanna play it though. Before i dive in though, does anyone have any strong opinions on it?

 

Oh and is it still buggy? Thats a common complaint i hear. 

 

Cheers

[Whirled03]

I know I'm a few months late (not sure if you ended up buying it or not), but I recently bought Impact Winter and just barely got it finished for the first time.

 

If anyone's curious, here's my take on it:

 

Unfortunately it is a bit buggy, but I haven't found anything particularly game-breaking yet, although I've only played through to completion once. There is one technical problem you'll see right from the get go - The game lags at times during movement. Everything will just stop very briefly (for maybe half a second), which is difficult to get used to.

 

Most of the bugs I've seen are just mild annoyances, with the exception of one - Your character has a robot that follows you around and has a radar that helps you navigate the area. Your base is basically permanently marked on the mini-map when you're exploring (unless the robot runs out of batteries), which is extremely helpful. The bug I've encountered multiple times is that the radar loses all functions at random times (it seems to have something to do with Events while browsing the Character Menu), meaning all landmarks, and your home base, disappear from the radar completely.

 

It's not entirely game-breaking, because the radar can refresh itself if you enter an indoor area and come back outside. It can be a gigantic problem though, depending on how lost you currently are.

 

There are some issues interacting with certain things; there are no prompts for climbing up things for some reason, and often it'll take multiple button presses (and repositioning) to get it to work.

 

The major issue is just the design, as it's quite a mess. You're forced to micro-manage not only your items, but your team as well - If you don't ration off your food/water, the team will just eat through your entire supply.

 

What this mostly results in is taking frequent trips back to base, which is kind of a hindrance because it feels like the main goal of the game should be to "get out and explore". You have an extremely limited "carry space" at first (although it can be upgraded), and some items are incredibly large. Although they have this really nifty feature that allows you to have your robot send items back, the catch is you can only do it at campsites, and you have to rest in order for the robot to go back to base. Problem is you can't rest if your Energy is below 90, and Food items restore Energy, so it actually takes a little planning. Not only that but campsites are slightly hard to get the materials to build for.

 

There are a ton of things to craft, but it often doesn't really warn you about the kind of upkeep that the built item may require. The Water Filtration system is an example; it took me forever to build it, but then I find out that in order to use it, I need to have the Drill upgrade for my robot, and then drill in very specific places (which are kind of spread across the area) for Ice Cubes to fill up the "Water" meter. But that's not all! Then you need to find empty Plastic Bottles to fill, and at that point you can finally use the water. At the end of trying all of it, I barely used the damn thing.

 

All in all, it's really a game that takes some learning - Finding out where the good locations are for loot; placing campsites in optimal places; knowing which character's story line quests to follow (and for how long); knowing what the good home base upgrades are.

 

So first playthrough can get a little irritating, but I feel confident that it gets easier after multiple plays.