KickStarter Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones - a Lovecraftian Computer RPG

[Blaine]

Developers with Codex accounts who abandon their unfinished games after taking people's money (via Kickstarter, Early Access, or whatever) should receive a special tag.

 

[Alienman]

Developers with Codex accounts who abandon their unfinished games after taking people's money (via Kickstarter, Early Access, or whatever) should receive a special tag.

After success too. I feel used every time

 

[Tyranicon]

Developers with Codex accounts who abandon their unfinished games after taking people's money (via Kickstarter, Early Access, or whatever) should receive a special tag.

After success too. I feel used every time

I just make porn, man.

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

Developers with Codex accounts who abandon their unfinished games after taking people's money (via Kickstarter, Early Access, or whatever) should receive a special tag.

They should get all the tags

 

[MRY]

Developers with Codex accounts who abandon their unfinished games after taking people's money (via Kickstarter, Early Access, or whatever) should receive a special tag.

At least we only abandon games before taking people's money!

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Developers with Codex accounts who abandon their unfinished games after taking people's money (via Kickstarter, Early Access, or whatever) should receive a special tag.

At least we only abandon games before taking people's money!

1) Abandon the game before revealing it to public.
2) Take money anyway.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

So I started playing this game and I noticed a few things -

- It is very jank. Like, super jank. If you don't have V-sync on your GPU heats up to 70 degrees, which for a 2d game is just ridiculous.
- For some reason, spells use feminin pronouns. Which is really odd. English doesn't work like that, I don't care about your woke politics.
- Combat is pretty clunky.
- You cannot sequence break. It is not like fallout, where you can skip some parts of a quest through exploration. You HAVE to speak to some NPCs in order to trigger a prompt at times, even when its obvious what you have to do.
- I can't tell what's junk and what isn't. What's Ghoul Tissue for?
- 3 character limit is crap, especially when you can't do what you can in Wasteland 2 and use other character skills. If you play explorer you basically can only have 1 companion, because I don't think you can get rid of the dog. The dog should really have been a Henchmen, which don't take up companion slots.
- Good writing and atmosphere though. It does feel Lovecraft, at least.
- I feel Permadeath would work for a game like this. The fact I can save scum removes a bit of the tension.
- Guns feel very weak. I was expecting guns to be like in Dark Corners of the Earth, where ammo can be rare but it packs a punch. Here they don't feel very strong.
- Spells are also kind of disappointing. The only spell I found useful so far is Evil Eye.


Apparently the game isn't finished? What, does it just end mid quest?
Also, is there storage? Letters and books take up inventory space, and I can't seem to sell them.

 

[Roguey]

- It is very jank. Like, super jank. If you don't have V-sync on your GPU heats up to 70 degrees, which for a 2d game is just ridiculous.

Unity.

- For some reason, spells use feminin pronouns. Which is really odd. English doesn't work like that, I don't care about your woke politics.

They're Turks, it's an ESL thing.

I can't tell what's junk and what isn't. What's Ghoul Tissue for?

Something to sell, maybe craft/research?

Guns feel very weak. I was expecting guns to be like in Dark Corners of the Earth, where ammo can be rare but it packs a punch. Here they don't feel very strong.

Use different guns. Some are not worth it, some are quite strong (though iirc, nothing beats flanking an enemy for the hit/crit bonuses)

Apparently the game isn't finished? What, does it just end mid quest?

It ends on a cliffhanger.

Also, is there storage? Letters and books take up inventory space, and I can't seem to sell them.

You can buy backpacks to increase your inventory space. I don't recall having any space issues.

 

[Wunderbar]

Ghoul Tissue is a spell upgrade material, but spell upgrading was cut so now it's just a junk item.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Unity.

Oh, like Hard West then? That would explain it. I had the same issue with that game.

They're Turks, it's an ESL thing.

Fair enough. Do they use feminine pronouns as neutral in Turkish?

Something to sell, maybe craft/research?

Maybe, but I don't want to sell it and then find out I need it for a quest. The Mirror shard is listed as junk and that's a possible quest solution

Use different guns. Some are not worth it, some are quite strong (though iirc, nothing beats flanking an enemy for the hit/crit bonuses)

Fair enough. I was just expecting fire arms to be stronger in a Cthulhu game.

It ends on a cliffhanger.

Ah, so like KCD? Great

You can buy backpacks to increase your inventory space. I don't recall having any space issues.

Yeah I guess discovered them at Bill's.
Can you use the trunk at the Old Eel for storage?

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Ghoul Tissue is a spell upgrade material, but spell upgrading was cut so now it's just a junk item.

Really? I read that Essences / spell upgrades were in still in the game. Then again I have yet to find anything that can upgrade spells, and I'm up to Blasted Street.

 

[Wunderbar]

Ghoul Tissue is a spell upgrade material, but spell upgrading was cut so now it's just a junk item.

Really? I read that Essences / spell upgrades were in still in the game. Then again I have yet to find anything that can upgrade spells.

there used to be a [+] button in your grimoire, try it to see whether you can upgrade your spells. For the most part your character should be an experienced Occultist to even find essences.

Ah, so like KCD? Great

it's worse than in KCD. At least in KCD there was some sort of conclusion (the badguy was driven back and his plans were ruined).
In Stygian you just get to some weird place, Dismal man laughs at you and then it's over.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

Ah, that might be why. My character is an Explorer. The designated party Occultist is the Outsider.

 

[V_K]

You could still upgrade Outsider's spells in the original version of the game. From what I understand, the essence items are still in, but they can't be used to upgrade spells, just sold for a decent amount of cigs.
As for cliffhanger, just stop playing when you reach the Asylum. It has more of a sense of ending than the actual ending, and the final areas are pretty bad anyway.

 

[Jinn]

The unfinished feeling has less to do with the narrative - which was indeed extremely poorly done and clearly a rush job - but more so with the pacing of character development and the surrounding mechanics. It very much so feels like you finish the game mid-level, mid-equipment progression, etc. Also a sense of half-baked and not fully implemented mechanics beyond that.

It's not that it's an unfinished story that is frustrating. It's an unfinished game that stops short on all fronts. Worse than that, it's almost a relief when it does regardless of that sense of incompleteness. Probably one of my biggest kick-started dissapointments, particularly with how promisingly it begins.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

So I beat the Sleeper Below, but then I immediately died from the cloud even though I had Night Walk up. I don't know why. Its fucking bullshit.

 

[Roguey]

So I beat the Sleeper Below, but then I immediately died from the cloud even though I had Night Walk up. I don't know why. Its fucking bullshit.

Buggy spell, as https://steamcommunity.com/app/779290/discussions/0/1629665087670070480/ notes the safest thing to do is to make the damn suit.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

So I beat the Sleeper Below, but then I immediately died from the cloud even though I had Night Walk up. I don't know why. Its fucking bullshit.

Buggy spell, as https://steamcommunity.com/app/779290/discussions/0/1629665087670070480/ notes the safest thing to do is to make the damn suit.

There's a suit? There's nothing in the notes about a damn suit. The only thing you're told about is the spell.
That's just bad design.
The game has a lot going for it. Mechanics and game design aren't among them.
Atmosphere and art design is. Theatre of Bones was pretty freaky and Blasted Street, whilst a horrible level, does have some good art direction.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Roguey]

There's a suit? There's nothing in the notes about a damn suit. The only thing you're told about is the spell.

There are large gaps in my memory now, but you're told how to craft a suit that will allow you to navigate the street unharmed, then it's up to you to gather what you need. I recall all the backtracking annoyed me.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[V_K]

There's a suit? There's nothing in the notes about a damn suit. The only thing you're told about is the spell.

There are large gaps in my memory now, but you're told how to craft a suit that will allow you to navigate the street unharmed, then it's up to you to gather what you need. I recall all the backtracking annoyed me.

my memory tells me that you are told about spell, suit is more hidden option. You learn about it yourself, got to find it nad have proper skills to put it back together. I think Once you learn about it it was quite clear that you can use it to survive

My memory isn't great either, but I'm pretty sure you read about it in a note found on a dead guy conveniently lying just at the entrance to the street.

 

[CthuluIsSpy]

So I beat it.
Turns out The Sleeper Below is basically the last boss of the game.
After that its a rushed clusterfuck that ends on a cliff hanger, as forewarned.

Are there any plans to actually finish it? And polish it so its not jank? I've had drugs run out soon after taking them.

 

[Roguey]

Are there any plans to actually finish it? And polish it so its not jank?

Didn't sell enough, that's it.

 

[luj1]

- It is very jank. Like, super jank. If you don't have V-sync on your GPU heats up to 70 degrees, which for a 2d game is just ridiculous.

Unity.

Eh I dislike unity but lets be real here, the presentation is just shit

Awkward perspective, clipart characters and dogshit animation give Stygian that early-2000 flash game feel. The game just feels and looks like absolute shit regardless of engine