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Lone Survivor has made its way to Steam and I had a chance to take a look.Billed as a 2d Survival Horror, while it may look simple from theoutside, there is a lot under the hood to make it stand out. The story is that you play as ... well, you. A disease has hit thecity you live in turning everyone into horrific monsters; you'vetaken shelter inside your apartment. But with no food left you haveno choice but to leave your little safety nest to find food andperhaps a way out. Gameplay is pretty straight forward, to get around you'll need toeither fight or sneak your way past the strange monsters in yourway. Using maps that are found on each floor, will give you cluesas to where you have to go. Light puzzle solving comes into playwith getting around certain obstacles, but the puzzles are prettysimple. That is actually pretty much the whole game-play and if it was justthat to the game, Lone Survivor wouldn't get much praise. But wherethe game lacks complicated gameplay, it makes up for it withatmosphere. First is that this is the only game I've played thatdeals with the "survival" aspect of survival horror. Every day youneed to eat and sleep to keep your strength up, and the entirereason the game starts is that you"re just trying to findsome food. Unlike other games where food just matters as a way to raise ahunger stat, here food comes in different qualities. Cheesecrackers aren't going to taste as good as a cooked ham. Yourcharacter prefers to have a full belly before going to bed, whichalso acts as the save function. This also forces the player tolimit how much they eat over the course of a day, as their foodsupplies may be dwindling. The act of dealing with a limited quality of items is a constanttheme of the game. Batteries for your flashlight and ammo for yourgun are not infinite. There are ways of getting more items, but theplayer will have to weight those costs. The path and ending of the game are determined by the player'sactions. From whom they talk to, to what items they use, how manytimes they eat and many more. Everything gets factored in and afterthe ending; the game pulls back the curtain to show you exactlywhat you did to get that ending. The way the player influences the story is a great touch and adds alot to the game and atmosphere. Designer: Jasper Byrne shows hisunderstanding of atmosphere and tone and how Lone Survivor goesback to the basic concept of survival horror. This isn't a gameabout saving the world, or being a hero, it's just you, completelyalone trying to survive in an unimaginable situation. Somethingthat Resident Evil has moved further and further away from witheach new game. I like how the simple fact of having a good meal,lifts the spirits of the character. I would love to give moreexamples of how the game changes, but that would ruin the game. While I did enjoy the game, I do have a few complaints andnitpicks. First is the map system, while the game is entirely 2D,the map is shown from a top down view. This makes it very hard toget your bearings going in and coming out of each room, as goingleft could mean going south on the map. There's one section nearthe end of the game where the player is being chased that thisbecomes very annoying. Second, while I can understand his design decision around limiteduse mechanics, I'm not a big fan of them. The reason is that itusually renders the first and sometime second play-throughimpossible for the player as they are trying to figure out where togo and when to use their items. To be fair, the game does makespecial concessions regarding the items. But there are some partsthat are harder just because the player may not know how manyflares to bring or bullets to have. Lastly, as I mentioned near the top, the game features light puzzlesolving. However it also uses adventure game design in itemplacement. That one door you missed in that corner tucked away,will usually have an item that is needed to progress. Once again,not so bad on repeat plays, but can be a pain your first timethrough. Overall Lone Survivor is an interesting experiment at getting backto the basics of survival horror. It will no doubt be a polarizingexperience for some, as the hands off exploration system can rubsome people the wrong way. For fans of storytelling who rememberthe old days of the survival horror genre, Lone Survivor is a gameto check out. Josh Bycer. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China E Cigarette Refill Liquid , Healthy Electronic Cigarette Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Variable Voltage E Cigarette today!
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