I finally finished this son of a bitch, and it is a much better designed game than I thought it was but was definitely not worth the 100 hours it took. If you want some advice, check the end of this original review from when I dropped the game. This is from when I hit my first wall, but I still overcame it and prevailed. While it's easy to say it's not for you, don't give up and you may succeed. Even if you need a little help.
I'm gonna be honest, I'm surprised the game is rated this high. I think there's a habit on this site to value a game's story and presentation first and foremost (this is where the game excels at, but getting to the next story bit can be a nightmare). It's got a unique style and a wide range of AI characters who "deal with the nature of the place they work at" but they're also stated to be programmed to simulate emotion and who knows so there's a lot to dig in with this setting...
...and then you have to play the game and that intrigue is replaced with frustration. See, I was smart and did the tutorial first. Where this thing training rabbit got out, I was told to send my dudes to suppress it, and we do. So my second Abnormality (beings based on mostly SCP but can be other things, but I'll call 'em SCP from here on out.) was a Little Bird. That later became Punishment Bird. It escaped soon after. So naturally I'm like "oh, go suppress it." and someone immediately died, which sucked. I tried again and it didn't escape, so I got to buy its tips: "yeah by the way don't attack it if it escapes." Right after I was taught to suppress an escaping SCP I got punished for doing what the game told me to do.
There are a type of SCP that will automatically kill anyone below a certain stat threshold. Of course, you'll have no way of knowing this when you just get the SCP, so oftentimes you'll send one in and they die. You won't know what stat it is until you send in someone that lives, and in the case of the Crumbling Armor if you chose the attachment type, they're also automatically dead. Should have bought the tips you had no way of buying since you couldn't actually spend time with the SCP!
Most of them have some degree of fun to them, in admittedly creative ways. Some are simple like a soda machine that can kill your employee if the session ends bad. Others go way out there like one that was escaping instantly and I had no idea why, but I looked it up and just the act of having the SCP visible on the screen when an employee is there makes it get out. One is a button that you won't know what it does until you touch it! It kills everybody and lets all the SCP out! The definition of trial and error. Then there's really annoying ones like the Wall clinger that won't stop screaming and sending everyone into a panic at once, or Nameless Fetus that makes Baby Mario from Yoshi's Island feel merciful. These SCP are very creative, but each time you get a new one it feels like you have to learn everything from scratch and remember them all perfectly. That aspect is a positive, and to the game's credit you can restart a day at any time and if you really don't want the SCP clearly out of your league that gets out and dashes toxic bubbles across the hall killing everyone instantly, you can rewind a few days (you don't get to choose that part) and if you REALLY messed up, you can start from the beginning with all your data and supplies (but not employees that'd be too convenient I guess ) in tow. So the game does offer you ways out as you remember the results of your trial and error gameplay, but tedious trial and error gameplay is still tedious trial and error gameplay. God knows the SCPs I DIDN'T get to and the horror stories about them.
There's also Ordeals, which come at certain points of the day and are fun. You can get something easy like the Cheer of Beginnings or the Fruit of Understanding, or you can just get Machine of Understanding or Grant Us Love just spawn where your units are, giving them slim chances of living. These are re-randomized on day reset so you can just shuffle until you get all the easy ones. RNG is likely essential to management sims, but this constant RNG resetting is not my cup of tea.
It's a shame, the world is interesting and the story too. But the gameplay is beyond frustrating and while I can see it having its appeal to those who want to take up a second job playing a video game, that is simply not for me. An Easy Mode of sorts may defeat the purpose of the intensity of the situation but provide a better experience for those who aren't already experts on Management Sims. I think the narrative would be weakened by the presence of such a mode though (it's supposed to feel miserable, not boring, but the real issue is more often than not it's just frustrating.), which is more important to me than just accepting this isn't my kind of thing. This game as a work of art is perfect the way it is because this steaming pile of bullshit gave me plenty of memorable experiences, but that doesn't make it not a steaming pile a bullshit. I think someone said it's Stockholm Syndrome the video game? Maybe I was wrong at the start and this explains all the 5 stars. I like the idea of it a lot and it has intrigue it's just not fun in the way where you're smiling it's a stress and frustration simulator.
In any case, thank you for listening to my venting, fuck Angela and fuck Nameless Fetus, but most of all fuck the ALEPHS.
Okay tips time
In-game stuff:
-Knight of Despair is the best abnormality in the game IMO. Buffs one unit and makes them a fighting machine and is sitll safe to work with afterwards. Get this when you can.
-Backwards Clock is also the best abnormality in the game wind it up at the start of the day then if shit really hits the fan you can send your last guy and you'll likely clear the day by doing it.
-Don't get the plague doctor oh god oh fuck
-Try to get the three birds not named Firebird in your facility for a fun bonus :) (it's actually fairly easy I did it second try and the rewards are fantastic)
MODS
These will affect the experience, so I'm going to divide these into tiers.
You should always have these
These mods are important quality of life that will vastly improve your time with this game while not affecting the core gameplay outside bugfixes.
Basemods, OPTIMIAZATION THIS ONE'S IMPORTANT, Shield Bar, HP Bar stacking, Crushed speed (allows for x5 speed), Chesed Research Fix, Free Customization, Gift Script Fix, Gift Fix, Employee Recustomization
Work Macros are in the middle here as they do affect the experience but also make the game infinitely less tedious even if they do provide some gameplay benefit (albeit light)
A little boost
If you're in a bit of a pickle but still want a challenge
Sane Central, Today's Ordeals, Suppress Leveling, More Detailed Info
A real boost
These will up your game an awful lot and mostly serve to reduce the grind, but will affect your experience. Anything beyond these I'd consider cheating.
Infinite Re-Extraction, Keep Agents on Reset OR Remove Permadeath (both is cheating), Gift Chance Boost.
Most importantly, not giving up and continuing to fight through the bullshit that comes your way is the core message of the game. Keep going strong, and you'll find that you'll eventually prevail!
I'm gonna be honest, I'm surprised the game is rated this high. I think there's a habit on this site to value a game's story and presentation first and foremost (this is where the game excels at, but getting to the next story bit can be a nightmare). It's got a unique style and a wide range of AI characters who "deal with the nature of the place they work at" but they're also stated to be programmed to simulate emotion and who knows so there's a lot to dig in with this setting...
...and then you have to play the game and that intrigue is replaced with frustration. See, I was smart and did the tutorial first. Where this thing training rabbit got out, I was told to send my dudes to suppress it, and we do. So my second Abnormality (beings based on mostly SCP but can be other things, but I'll call 'em SCP from here on out.) was a Little Bird. That later became Punishment Bird. It escaped soon after. So naturally I'm like "oh, go suppress it." and someone immediately died, which sucked. I tried again and it didn't escape, so I got to buy its tips: "yeah by the way don't attack it if it escapes." Right after I was taught to suppress an escaping SCP I got punished for doing what the game told me to do.
There are a type of SCP that will automatically kill anyone below a certain stat threshold. Of course, you'll have no way of knowing this when you just get the SCP, so oftentimes you'll send one in and they die. You won't know what stat it is until you send in someone that lives, and in the case of the Crumbling Armor if you chose the attachment type, they're also automatically dead. Should have bought the tips you had no way of buying since you couldn't actually spend time with the SCP!
Most of them have some degree of fun to them, in admittedly creative ways. Some are simple like a soda machine that can kill your employee if the session ends bad. Others go way out there like one that was escaping instantly and I had no idea why, but I looked it up and just the act of having the SCP visible on the screen when an employee is there makes it get out. One is a button that you won't know what it does until you touch it! It kills everybody and lets all the SCP out! The definition of trial and error. Then there's really annoying ones like the Wall clinger that won't stop screaming and sending everyone into a panic at once, or Nameless Fetus that makes Baby Mario from Yoshi's Island feel merciful. These SCP are very creative, but each time you get a new one it feels like you have to learn everything from scratch and remember them all perfectly. That aspect is a positive, and to the game's credit you can restart a day at any time and if you really don't want the SCP clearly out of your league that gets out and dashes toxic bubbles across the hall killing everyone instantly, you can rewind a few days (you don't get to choose that part) and if you REALLY messed up, you can start from the beginning with all your data and supplies (but not employees that'd be too convenient I guess ) in tow. So the game does offer you ways out as you remember the results of your trial and error gameplay, but tedious trial and error gameplay is still tedious trial and error gameplay. God knows the SCPs I DIDN'T get to and the horror stories about them.
There's also Ordeals, which come at certain points of the day and are fun. You can get something easy like the Cheer of Beginnings or the Fruit of Understanding, or you can just get Machine of Understanding or Grant Us Love just spawn where your units are, giving them slim chances of living. These are re-randomized on day reset so you can just shuffle until you get all the easy ones. RNG is likely essential to management sims, but this constant RNG resetting is not my cup of tea.
It's a shame, the world is interesting and the story too. But the gameplay is beyond frustrating and while I can see it having its appeal to those who want to take up a second job playing a video game, that is simply not for me. An Easy Mode of sorts may defeat the purpose of the intensity of the situation but provide a better experience for those who aren't already experts on Management Sims. I think the narrative would be weakened by the presence of such a mode though (it's supposed to feel miserable, not boring, but the real issue is more often than not it's just frustrating.), which is more important to me than just accepting this isn't my kind of thing. This game as a work of art is perfect the way it is because this steaming pile of bullshit gave me plenty of memorable experiences, but that doesn't make it not a steaming pile a bullshit. I think someone said it's Stockholm Syndrome the video game? Maybe I was wrong at the start and this explains all the 5 stars. I like the idea of it a lot and it has intrigue it's just not fun in the way where you're smiling it's a stress and frustration simulator.
In any case, thank you for listening to my venting, fuck Angela and fuck Nameless Fetus, but most of all fuck the ALEPHS.
Okay tips time
In-game stuff:
-Knight of Despair is the best abnormality in the game IMO. Buffs one unit and makes them a fighting machine and is sitll safe to work with afterwards. Get this when you can.
-Backwards Clock is also the best abnormality in the game wind it up at the start of the day then if shit really hits the fan you can send your last guy and you'll likely clear the day by doing it.
-Don't get the plague doctor oh god oh fuck
-Try to get the three birds not named Firebird in your facility for a fun bonus :) (it's actually fairly easy I did it second try and the rewards are fantastic)
MODS
These will affect the experience, so I'm going to divide these into tiers.
You should always have these
These mods are important quality of life that will vastly improve your time with this game while not affecting the core gameplay outside bugfixes.
Basemods, OPTIMIAZATION THIS ONE'S IMPORTANT, Shield Bar, HP Bar stacking, Crushed speed (allows for x5 speed), Chesed Research Fix, Free Customization, Gift Script Fix, Gift Fix, Employee Recustomization
Work Macros are in the middle here as they do affect the experience but also make the game infinitely less tedious even if they do provide some gameplay benefit (albeit light)
A little boost
If you're in a bit of a pickle but still want a challenge
Sane Central, Today's Ordeals, Suppress Leveling, More Detailed Info
A real boost
These will up your game an awful lot and mostly serve to reduce the grind, but will affect your experience. Anything beyond these I'd consider cheating.
Infinite Re-Extraction, Keep Agents on Reset OR Remove Permadeath (both is cheating), Gift Chance Boost.
Most importantly, not giving up and continuing to fight through the bullshit that comes your way is the core message of the game. Keep going strong, and you'll find that you'll eventually prevail!