Trepang2 - spiritual successor to F.E.A.R., "sequel we never got"

[orcinator]

the hell are 'backrooms'

The new five nights at freddy's but it came from a random /x/ thread instead of a game.

 

[Tweed]

the hell are 'backrooms'

 

[Darth Roxor]

the fuck

 

[lightbane]

My theory is that some basement dweller got lost in a mall and he started the whole thing, then Reddit happened and it got worse.

 

[toughasnails]

the hell are 'backrooms'

I haven't looked into it much but perhaps the whole backrooms thing can be read sympathetically. Being thrown into endless labyrinth of identical artificial spaces, all straight lines and smooth surfaces and synthetic materials, coming from nowhere, going nowhere, standing on nothing. It really is a crystallisation of contemporary experience, technologically-mediated nothingness unmasked.
You could even read the way it was apparently turned into something systematised, with a rule-set and "lore", as an attempt to pull the teeth outta that initial expression, to hide from the unpleasant experience behind it - a straightjacket forced over it, so it is now something controlled and predictable. Not that the people doing it need at all be conscious of that this is what they are doing, rather this is just our very human "mechanism" for dealing with such realities.

 

[Blutwurstritter]

Its definitely not a proper FEAR successor. The visuals and the first mission are misleading and give a wrong impression on a quick glance. The game is clearly designed for close combat, I spent a lot of time using the slide and moving around frantically. The sniper rifle, pistol and penetrator gun have good aim, but everything else is spray and pray at longer range. The auto rifle is the worst offender. But it is fun using dual shotguns gibbing enemies. Overall the game could have used more parts with traditional fps design, instead of sending in one mob of enemies after another, while progress is blocked until you clear them out. The core gameplay is not too bad but it is lacking in mission/level design.

 

[Tyranicon]

So is this worth the price or nah?

A few years ago, an overwhelming positive score on Steam meant the game was 99% guaranteed to be good shit.

But now with zoomers and their garbage meme reviews, it can mean anything.

 

[orcinator]

A few years ago, an overwhelming positive score on Steam meant the game was 99% guaranteed to be good shit.

Why lie on the internet?

 

[Sarathiour]

So is this worth the price or nah?

I can see people enjoying this, but it's far from being a instant classic. Haven't finished it yet, but I see at as a , maybe if you don't care about the range issue and the popamole horor element.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

A few years ago, an overwhelming positive score on Steam meant the game was 99% guaranteed to be good shit.

nope, never been, never happened, it's always been normieland.

 

[HumanTotemPole]

Finished it last week. Quite liked it in the end.

This game really isn't trying to be F.E.A.R mechanically. It became much easier to evaluate on its own merits once I accepted this.

• Combat is very binary which I think is deliberate. Engagement distance is best at either knife fight or (relative) long range. 85%/15% between the 2 over the course of the whole game by my reckoning. At mid range your options are limited especially given that the AR is shite and a trap even when you upgrade it. Neither fish nor fowl for close versus distance and a crap carried ammo pool given its mediocre performance. I mocked the stealth system before but it actually makes sense as a solution to the problem of accurate hitscanning enemies in context. You use it to break LoS in a cover-poor area or get close enough to get the drop on an enemy group without them chipping you down on the way in. Fighting the basic mooks is nearly always fun and they keep you on the move with grenades and flanking manoeuvres.
• Had to vary my approach to combat based on the level environment and enemies present which can change dramatically within each main campaign mission e.g. the 2nd level starts with a series of escalating fights against hitscan infantry in cover poor areas then switches over at the midpoint to a splashy monster mash. Kudos to the devs for having some level specific enemies. Unexpected with a small dev team and limited scope. Good chance you'll get something fresh in each main mission and even some side missions.
• I think the devs actually paid some attention to resource placement within the levels. Weapons are best specialised for what you think the next encounters might be like. If you see a new or interesting weapon between combat arenas chances are it'll be useful shortly. Alternately you'll often be given a selection of basic weapons and an upgrade crate to tailor your approach. The 2 weapon limit plays into this and forces you to make tradeoffs. Slightly over indulgent with health and armour but to be fair damage stacks up quick. Ammo for basics is plentiful but you could run out if playing badly. Ammo for more powerful weapons is restricted as it should be.
• Nice old-school touch with the cheat menu. Unlockables are blessedly tied purely to level completion and not some stupid XP or cheevo system.

Some issues/limitations:

• Text logs. Nice to get contextual information within the levels but there are too many of the damn things. Already on a treasure-hunt for weapon upgrades, I don't want another one. Especially when you shouldn't necessarily be incentivising close scrutiny of your art assets.
• The overarching story is goofy but who cares? Set dressing and an excuse for the action here as it should be.
• Limited art assets. The indie visual fidelity trap illustrated. When your core studio is 4 people the ambition to go relatively high fidelity is admirable and appreciated but it does mean the seams will be more obvious. It mechanically avoids the feeling of an asset flip but it struggles sometimes with the visuals. The midpoint hospital section in the second level is an obvious example (another obvious one will be discussed shortly). Those corridors of names on walls or copy-pasted anatomical plates are laughable and contrast poorly with the competently presented courtyard section prior to entering the building. Mostly forgivable given that they are a small core team. Effort went to the right places - combat mechanics, resource placement and visual presentation in combat.

So bad it gets its own section:

• What moron suggested the Backrooms? Ruins the atmosphere of that whole level. They already had a good thing going with an abandoned Soviet base filled with anomalies and ghosts. Just had to lean into it! Do some perspective flips or weird shit with level geometry or gravity settings or portals to make it unsettling. If you have to change it up mid level why not bring in another cheesy classic cryptid or conspiracy theory? I've already had fun fucking with Mothman, cultists and a UFO why not have Bigfoot or a Yeti turn up? The sections look awful and play awful as well. Zero tension, zero challenge, just wasted time like a lazy low rent asset flip. Really, really poor judgment on the part of the devs. Swear to god internet fandom fad dogshit like this should be banned from all other forms of entertainment.

Overall? I think that the metacritic audience aren't that far off. 7.4 is a bit high, more like 6.8-7.0. It's fun. Decent debut, hope the studio can progress in future as there's some raw potential r.e. mechanical understanding here.

 

[HumanTotemPole]

There's a steam guide with rough extrapolated stats for weapon damage and STK on enemies for the interested. If accurate the AR is indeed a worthless piece of shit. Shame there's no information on the fire DoT from firebombs or incendiary shotgun shells. Very effective against any non-boss enemy, wonder if it ignores armor or something like that.

 

[Van-d-all]

the hell are 'backrooms'

A subset of liminal spaces, it's the nostalgia of seemingly familiar places in uncanny layouts. Combined with VHS filters and handheld camera perspective akin to Blair Witch Project. Doesn't translate too well between countries, because despite having a few flavors, they all rely on a very specific theme of decor, that simply might've not been used where you grew up and thus having no nostalgic feel, like said yellow wallpapers typical for USA. For instance poolrooms translate better, as pools look pretty much the same all around the world. Overall, it's just a visual theme for creepy videos and walking simulators.

 

[lightbane]

I thought the idea was that a basement dweller got lost in a mall and made up all of these theories of "scary places where you do not belong".

 

[Don Peste]

This is currently available in Amazon Luna (without paying extra).