Review RPG Codex Review: NEO Scavenger

[Marquess Cornwallis]

Good review of what was my favourite game of 2014. I agree with Felipe on that the way it's designed calls for more starting over than its semi-randomness can reasonably support (and it can support quite a bit before it gets kind of tedious); one way to do it would be to go easier on the meta-knowledge requirements (like in the CYOA sequences), but I'd actually opt for a couple of storyline-based checkpoints (two would be fine, or even just one in Detroit) to save the game. It certainly beats regular save-scumming ("save manager" is the top sticky thread on the official forums) or spoilers and I think it'd be a good fit for this type of roguelike hybrid.

 

[Ignatius Reilly]

Just abruptly ended my most recent and most satisfying play through, wherein I wandered the wastes with a cloth sack full of cured human meat in one hand, and a meat cleaver in the other. The highlight was killing a Bad Mutha where half the fight was him slowly crawling away as I hacked him to death. This game is fun.

 

[KickAss]

Awesome game and excellent review. Going to try the recommended mods.

Small nitpick: " The various bars on the left-hand side of the screen indicate your current condition, and you can bet that the body temperature bar will quickly drop if you waltz half-naked across the wastes half-naked during a rainstorm."

 

[Clockwork Knight]

The only problem I had with the game is that you spend hours preparing your basic survival kit only to have everything go down the drain as you make a bad move in one of the always very lethal fights. I wouldn't have a problem with those if the early game was faster and had more variety, but it's a bit soulcrushing to go back to looking for slippers everytime you feel like you are getting somewhere but stub your toe on a rock and get an infection and die.

This game is overrated as fack

Your mom is ov-

Location: Redlight Distric

Nevermind...

 

[felipepepe]

The worst offender by far on this is TOME4. I realy don't know how anyone could ever finish that game on roguelike mode... it has TONS of content, but it plays like a semi-linear campaign, and you'll have to replay almost all of is quests if you die.

 

[epeli]

Excellent review for an excellent game. It's a miracle what a single skilled and talented developer can create even on a shoddy platform like flash.

But I never felt the lack of explicit stat numbers and lack of transparency in game mechanics was a problem. Quite the contrary - the heavy abstraction combined with the detailed item system is NEO Scavenger's charm point. And that's coming from someone who usually enjoys digging deep into (MMO)RPG mechanics.

 

[thesheeep]

Excellent review for an excellent game. It's a miracle what a single skilled and talented developer can create even on a shoddy platform like flash.

Indeed.

Good thing that the next projects will use the much better Haxe (& OpenFL I guess) platform.

The worst offender by far on this is TOME4. I realy don't know how anyone could ever finish that game on roguelike mode... it has TONS of content, but it plays like a semi-linear campaign, and you'll have to replay almost all of is quests if you die.

The content makes up for that, IMO. While you will always visit the same locations, they are randomized fairly well.
And of course there are MANY classes/builds to pick from, all of which play very different. When I die in that game, I usually pick a different build and barely notice the same quests.
And don't forget that ToME4 may be the best looking (and sounding) roguelike out there, with great mouse controls and a good interface. It is just so much more comfortable to play than most other roguelikes.

But yes, I do prefer to play that game with the mode that gives you a few lives. I would probably do that in each roguelike if I could. You can always lose a life due to bad luck. But losing a number of them means you made mistakes.

 

[Burning Bridges]

Whatever it's using, it looks really clunky.

 

[felipepepe]

The content makes up for that, IMO. While you will always visit the same locations, they are randomized fairly well.

Things is, TOME has an absurd amount of unique quests & content. Like, really. Yet every time you restart is the same thing, you have to do that first world map again and again.

With the amount of content the game has, they could randomize the actual campaign, making it shorter but extremely replayable, instead of an extremely long campaign that very few ever reach the end cause they got tired of replaying the initial areas. That sandworm lair is one of the most unique environments in a game I ever saw, but I'm fucking tired of being forced to beat it every single time. Doesn't help that TOME really enjoys dungeons with dozens of levels, while I find short & unique areas - such as the graveyard - way more interesting.

 

[crawlkill]

I love the setting, the mood, the exposition, the sound design, the extreme variability...basically everything. but ultimately I had the same problem as with Sunless Sea: narrative permadeath games get frustrating because you end up taking the same beats on a lot of playthroughs, so the most interesting moments of the game become the parts you get most tired of. but I tried playing it with savescumming and that didn't feel satisfying, either. I played it a lot and would recommend it to anyone, but eventually I think I'm going to need to watch a let's play of someone who knows what they're doing crashing through the game. I did at one point cheat myself into a god and discovered some INTENSE SHIT going on in the world that I had zero context for, and it made me ache all the more to follow the game's thread. I think I still have it installed...maybe I'll try again today. damn it.

felipepepe posted like exactly the same thing right above me I guess

 

[snoek]

Many brofists to be had in this thread.

A fair and just review about a very good game.

I agree with everything mentioned.

I think I got about 11 hours in when I reached 'the glow'
I kind of lost interest having to move back into the wasteland, if there were a bit more stuff to do in the glow before that ...

I also agree on it being very frustrating sometimes.
However, since I restrained myself to only playing a bit each day it never really got tiresome and I got a kick out of advancing and learning bit by bit.
The game had (and still has) a really sick atmosphere and a brilliant setting, imho.


As also mentioned a bit higher up, I can enjoy a game where a player can fill in the details himself (this is why I'm also a sucker for books and IF, I guess)

 

[dcfedor]

I'd say one of the common threads among critical reviews to-date has been the conflict between plot and permadeath game elements, and I can understand that. I still believe it's a powerful combo, but critics are right that it is also a powerful pain in the ass I'll probably continue to experiment with this combo, though, to see if I can get the balance right.

The CYOA repetition in the early game is pretty rough, too. I have muscle memory from bypassing the cryo facility so many times, and typically ignore plot entirely when playing for my own enjoyment. (Though much of that is due to my having spent so much time writing or editing plot.)

And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I, too, have a wishlist of items I wanted to add. Fortunately, I think NEO Scavenger's doing well enough that I'll be able to take another crack at it in a sequel, using better tech, and lessons I've learned over the past four years.

Allowing for maybe a little diversion into a tablet edition, or a space game prototype in between, of course

 

[Jaesun]

Fortunately, I think NEO Scavenger's doing well enough that I'll be able to take another crack at it in a sequel, using better tech, and lessons I've learned over the past four years.

That is really good to hear! I am very much looking forward to a new game from you. NEO Scavenger was blast to play. <3

 

[Bubbles]

Good! It would have been a shame to get 113k copies on Steam and not make enough money for a sequel.

 

[Grotesque]

One of the best games I played in the last years.

Unfortunately I've dropped playing it because I died too many times for during "cutscenes" and starting it again and again was a chore because of all the micromanagement.
I love micromanagement but having the posibility to start a fire for example just by pressing a button with a preconfigured fire recipe would have been nice.



Edit: I want the tablet version!!!

 

[Awakened_Yeti]

And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I, too, have a wishlist of items I wanted to add. Fortunately, I think NEO Scavenger's doing well enough that I'll be able to take another crack at it in a sequel, using better tech, and lessons I've learned over the past four years.

Allowing for maybe a little diversion into a tablet edition, or a space game prototype in between, of course

Hey Dan, keep me in mind for the NEO 2 soundtrack!

 

[granit]

This game is overrated as fack

I haven't seen anyone raise it to the sky like its the second coming of Morrowind. Rated just and fairly.

 

[crawlkill]

sequel

tablet edition

I would buy either or both of these things instantly

 

[crawlkill]

In an insanely complex roguelike such as Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, I usually have many tools at my disposal, and feel that every death is always my fault. Restarting is a lot more interesting, since every new game has a new scenario, with probably a new character and loot that will greatly impact your game.

Gonna put on a dumbfuck suit here, but where do you find roguelikes like this? Or at least the badass quality ones? Really enjoying Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, but I only found because you mentioned it.

I wasn't the one who brought it up here, but I can't even remember where I found Stone Soup. there's a giant wiki indexing every roguelike ever and sort of categorizing them based on their characteristics here: http://www.roguebasin.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

But you generally just encounter these things through cultural osmosis or word of mouth. You might consider trying Caves of Qud, which is ASCII, but actually readable--yes, I know, that sounds like a myth, and I'd normally not play an ASCII game, but it's great. Maybe wait, though, as an ASCII-esque-but-actually-tiled version is coming to Steam Some Time. There's also Rogue Survivor, which is an interesting graphical zombie survival roguelike. Those are the three non-commercial roguelikes I've found most accessible.

 

[Dreaad]

Kinda interesting that so many people are saying it was annoying doing the start over and over again. If I remember correctly the storyline was actually quite short and you could make it go even faster with meta encounter knowledge.

My favorite playthrough was just exploring the wasteland and marsh trying to find as many laptops and cellphones as I could, stashing them away in a base I had made for myself in an apartment building relatively close to the glow.... going to town occasionally and buying up all the high tech stuff I could. Seeing how long I could survive and how much of the map I could discover (3 fifths or so)

I think one of the problems people had with this game in general is trying to play it for 2+ hours in a row or something, it really isn't meant for that kind of patience testing. Like others have said it can get dull making a campfire over and over and over again. If you play only a little a day it is no where near as much of an issue, exploring becomes more interesting too, a sort of "let's see what I find today" kinda vibe.

Overall a great game, kudos to the maker.

 

[Grotesque]

I think one of the problems people had with this game in general is trying to play it for 2+ hours in a row .

 

[crawlkill]

Kinda interesting that so many people are saying it was annoying doing the start over and over again. If I remember correctly the storyline was actually quite short and you could make it go even faster with meta encounter knowledge.

maybe my problem was always heading for the city first? also always stacking "conversational" skills like hacking, lockpicking, electronics, etc, things that would seem to get me "extra options" later. I honestly have no idea how long the story is, because I never got far past the extended CYOA bit in the city.

it's sooo compelling, and I freely admit that I probably just suck. it says something when I stopped playing a game (not once, but several times down the years! I bought in very early access, and then actually bought it again on Steam because my code was too hard to find) because it defeated me, rather than because I truly got tired of it, and I can still say "well, maybe the permadeath-vs-narrative structure was rough, but man if I don't wanna try again."

 

[sser]

The story is interesting, but the game is ultimately at its best as a procedural-content creator. I mean, those are really the best sort of stories when it comes to games. I still remember my little dwarf on DF fighting a monster in the stairwell, losing an arm before killing it with a pickaxe through the skull after a long, gruesome battle. That still sticks with me and that must have been at least four or five years ago. There are some events like that in NeoScav which will definitely stick with me in the same way because both the survival and combat sections are completely engrossing.

 

[Borelli]

Truly a gem, i remember in my first game my first encounter with another human being. I was prepared for combat but then i noticed the talk option, curiously i clicked on it because 99% of rpgs are about killing people and taking their stuff. Turns out it was a friendly woman who told me about a native american something village up north. I went there and they gave me food,basic equipment,information and access to their store. I go there in all my games (right after the bar/fighting arena whatever because you also get free stuff there). I died some time later and in my second game i went with the talk option again. This time it was a hostile person who killed my just left the lab in patient gowns.
From then on i bash every person i see with a rock. What an authentic game.

 

[Chemicals Are OK]

Nice review.
I haven't played this game yet, but it sounds really compelling. I rarely get a chance to sit down at my computer to play a game these days, so I would snap up a copy of a tablet edition with the greatest enthusiasm.I don't know if you have a price point in mind, but I'd pay at least $20 for something this intriguing.