Let's get the negatives out of the way:
- game is incredibly poor at explaining objectives, and flat out doesn't tell you what to do. I think I might've thrown my first few family games because I didn't understand the car batteries. Even as someone who enjoys learning these types of games as I play and finding techs out for myself, it's a little too much imo....especially in a world where google is completely shit up with seo slurry articles lol
- the skill/progression system is horrid. You collect skill points that are shared between all characters, but levelling up slows down hard after you reach level 10. This means you'll initially start levelling up a character really fast and soon hit a wall, meaning if you need to play another character, they'll probably be underlevelled. This is also a pain because only one person can pick each character, so players leave lobbies a lot. That being said, respeccing is free which is nice but also means this choice of system is even more bizarre lol
- You can't do inventory/skill management while finding a match, but you can during the pre-game lobby, which has a maximum timer of five minutes. Because people can't do their skills while finding a match, they're going to do it now, meaning it's pretty slow to get into the game
- Victims are really overwhelming and there's no three hook state system like DBD. You can die REAL fast if you encouter the family so if you're playing with friends and struggling, you can spend most of the evening spectating instead of actually playing. Spectating in this game can still be pretty fun and tense but the novelty can wear off
Now, all that being said, push past an ungodly amount of liveservice horseshit and the core gameplay is honestly really fun - family especially - with a decent amount of depth and skill expression on both sides. The vibes are also great as well, with the game being geninuely kinda scary as a victim.
- game is incredibly poor at explaining objectives, and flat out doesn't tell you what to do. I think I might've thrown my first few family games because I didn't understand the car batteries. Even as someone who enjoys learning these types of games as I play and finding techs out for myself, it's a little too much imo....especially in a world where google is completely shit up with seo slurry articles lol
- the skill/progression system is horrid. You collect skill points that are shared between all characters, but levelling up slows down hard after you reach level 10. This means you'll initially start levelling up a character really fast and soon hit a wall, meaning if you need to play another character, they'll probably be underlevelled. This is also a pain because only one person can pick each character, so players leave lobbies a lot. That being said, respeccing is free which is nice but also means this choice of system is even more bizarre lol
- You can't do inventory/skill management while finding a match, but you can during the pre-game lobby, which has a maximum timer of five minutes. Because people can't do their skills while finding a match, they're going to do it now, meaning it's pretty slow to get into the game
- Victims are really overwhelming and there's no three hook state system like DBD. You can die REAL fast if you encouter the family so if you're playing with friends and struggling, you can spend most of the evening spectating instead of actually playing. Spectating in this game can still be pretty fun and tense but the novelty can wear off
Now, all that being said, push past an ungodly amount of liveservice horseshit and the core gameplay is honestly really fun - family especially - with a decent amount of depth and skill expression on both sides. The vibes are also great as well, with the game being geninuely kinda scary as a victim.