This review contains spoilers
This game had big shoes to fill being compared to F.E.A.R, even being coined as a spiritual successor or a "love letter" to the original since its reveal.
Does it live up to said potential?
Combat Wise? Its like F.E.A.R but on Cocaine mixed with crysis' cloak/throwing abilities, even being able to throw enemies with grenades strapped onto 'em. Got a decent roster of arsenal which of course wears its influence on its sleeve, Your standard pistol, Assault rifle which has a 2x zoom in scope that you can find and unlock, the spas 12, the vector smg, grenade launcher, a damn bolt launcher which can either be used as a 3 round burst sticky grenade launcher, or FEARs penetrator only using one at a time instead of a mag. and a LMG minigun hybrid akin to Extraction Point's Minigun that tears everyone into shreds. That goes for every gun btw. The pistol has a golden attachment that makes it full auto competing with the Vector, the Spas-12 got an incendiary attachment that shoots dragons breath rounds, and the Minigun has a bayonet attachment that does melee damage to nearby enemies while shooting up close. This game is super brutal with its gore (not to mention there's an "insane gore" cheat that I have yet to unlock, imagine what that looks like) and its physics which is a nice addition that many games don't really focus on much these days. Cant exactly tell if the AI is on the same intricate level of F.E.A.R., they're aware but sometimes with the absolute glue sniffing suicide molotov bombers, i genuinely think it isn't. Regardless, The combat succeeds with flying colors.
Movement is also fast as hell and would not let loose, tried g-sliding or bunny hopping and i had myself flying up against walls, cant really abuse it since it has a stamina meter so you'd have to think of when to run, jump, slide, etc. (unless you activate the cheat that allows infinite stamina), it also can be useful as a quasi-parkour mechanic on certain areas, i remember kickstomping enemies heads to propel myself to jump on this ledge. those moments is where this game shines. It isnt mirrors edge or dying light levels of parkour, or Black ops 3/Titanfall 2s style of parkour of running on walls and bhopping in the map but its definitely a neat addition to make some sick moves.
Story/Atmosphere wise? Unfortunately No. Now i wont give too much shit given the fact that this was a first ever project from this dev team of 4 people (which makes this game more impressive), but the Story is on a severely different direction than F.E.A.R., in fact its more campy in terms of its plot, You can probably guess what's gonna happen with the premise of being a super soldier fighting against a corporation that's messing around with genetic experimentation including having ties with a cult. Thing is, it gets bonkers FAST. As in, after say the first few missions, you wind up going from getting revenge on those who made you into this fucked up experiment and monsters, to straight up having digital ghosts (the ONE time i actually felt creeped out) to blowing up an Alien ship, to going into the fucking backrooms. Yes, the liminal space horror creepypasta turned into meme. THAT backrooms. Which had me dying laughing at that absurdity of it all. Come to think of it, this games like a gigantic SCP shitpost mixed with the lore of Killing Floor in that regard.
As for the atmosphere, its serviceable, Albeit dark as all hell to where i had to turn up the gamma a bit. But the aforementioned events were the highlights of the game alongside a final showdown which reminds me more of, oddly enough, Syndicate (2012)'s final level where you storm a company building and chaos ensues. But because of it not leaning too much into the horror aspect, it kinda lacks the eerie atmosphere of its inspiration, which is disappointing considering that was also one thing i was most curious about after playing the demo(s) on steam. and some levels just feel like they kinda ran out of budget and have to make do with small "horde" type levels, which if you don't like, you'll hate it here because they're basically 99% of this games side content. Personally, i don't hate it, but it is noticeable.
And the soundtrack actually goes hard, if you're a fan of doom eternals nu-metal or "djent metal" you'd feel right at home here when its playing during combat.
One thing that does almost neck and neck to F.E.A.R though is the voice acting, it is fucking hilarious hearing the enemy's banter and screams during combat, especially chucking them across the room with a grenade strapped. And like i've said before, the game has a more campy tone, so you got your Task force quartermaster talking to you before and after missions, the task force pilot Raven, whom id say is definitely a standout, and other members in the group that have some banter in and out of missions. I wish that with the addition of headquarters you could interact with them ala CoD Black Ops Cold War, just lil pieces of dialogue or NPCs walking around to make the place feel a lot more alive. Just to make the final mission and ultimate twist of the game hit that much harder.
SPOILER SECTION
The one thing id unfortunately have to give this game some shit for, is the boss fights. they range from "alright i see where you're going with this" to "jesus man", the bosses i liked was the patriarch (the cult leader), "subject 83" (wasn't really a "boss" you shoot at but rather a boss you have to wait to enemy ghosts to be "exorcised" and get out of the away like its that section of metro 2033, pull levers and shoot a laser at to kill) and maybe Anton lazar destroying all the brains before he transfers his consciousness into them, including a helicopter that carried a brain that you will have to shoot down.
but the bosses i did not like whatsoever was the "mothman", the first boss who latches onto you and spits acid at you, the "super soldier" which think a body horror abomination but jumps at you and ground pounds you, which are underwhelming and also a lil frustrating the first go around. 107 though.. Fuck 107. All my homies hate 107.
But no seriously, 107s fight was a cool concept, having to fight your replacement after the task force 22/syndicate betrays you and disposes you after you did your duty, and its implied you're not the first nor the last they'll do this to, and the game hints at this with the constant "break the cycle" message and the loading screens being a nuke. Some good foreshadowing. but after going on a rampage and trying to stop them, your arm gets cut off and you have to basically fight with one arm, severed steel style. No grenades, no akimbo guns, no grabbing and throwing enemies. just you with slow mo, cloak and a gun. so its all a fun challenge right? nope. as soon as you enter the "2nd" phase, you wind up having to face a little game of fucking peek-a-boo with 107 disappearing and reappearing to either slice your ass, or more bullshit, throw knives at you like they are shuriken. and he can block your shots so do not waste any bullets. I can see this boss being a mix of doom eternals "marauders" with the timing your shots while he lunges at you, mixed with ghostrunner's "hel" boss where the enemy dodges your attacks when you try to brute force it head on, on top of killing floors patriarch whom if you shoot enough at him, he'd retreat like a little bitch and heal up. Only thing is, those games have proper counters, with eternal its the quick dodge, with ghostrunner its the parrying, with KF, you can blow up the patriarch to kingdom come with all your squadmates or solo with a demolition class. With trepang2, you have nothing, as far as i can tell. They could've had it to where you can dodge it with the melee button, catching him off guard, then shoot at him for a brief period before he disappears again. or just anything than just frantically running around looking for medkits and armor, and have him be a disappearing bullet sponge. its easily the most frustrating part of the game bar none. Now i've played it on Hard difficulty, so imagine wtf that's like on extreme difficulty or worse.
So its truly a testament that i'd still recommend this game despite all of that. That, plus the game seemingly skewers your FOV when you put on the gasmask in certain missions which gets jarring when you have that cranked that up to its max. and Sometimes there's a delay between reloading and being able to shoot your weapon which fucked me over during numerous combat scenarios.
All Because you can tell the devs had fun making this as much as you play it and see the work being put on display with the gameplay. You can also unlock cheats throughout the game which is a definite bonus to fuck around with after beating the main campaign. Including Big head mode, infinite ammo/sprint, squeaky voices for the NPCs, replacing shooting bullets with throwing knifes, being able to ADS (which this game really wasnt built for), and biggest of all, a "Tmod" sandbox editor, which is exactly what you think it is if you are familiar with Garry's mod.
Its a good first go around with a small team and budget and can grow into what F.E.A.R. should've been after the 1st, an anthology action horror series dealing with different entities, corporations and task forces, and it does plant the seed after dealing with the likes of "Site 82" and Digital ghosts and as much as its a shitpost, "the backrooms". Hope they'll iron out all the kinks and problems Trepang2 (or TrepangSquared) has so Trepang3 (or TrepangCubed) can be a full on masterpiece.
Does it live up to said potential?
Combat Wise? Its like F.E.A.R but on Cocaine mixed with crysis' cloak/throwing abilities, even being able to throw enemies with grenades strapped onto 'em. Got a decent roster of arsenal which of course wears its influence on its sleeve, Your standard pistol, Assault rifle which has a 2x zoom in scope that you can find and unlock, the spas 12, the vector smg, grenade launcher, a damn bolt launcher which can either be used as a 3 round burst sticky grenade launcher, or FEARs penetrator only using one at a time instead of a mag. and a LMG minigun hybrid akin to Extraction Point's Minigun that tears everyone into shreds. That goes for every gun btw. The pistol has a golden attachment that makes it full auto competing with the Vector, the Spas-12 got an incendiary attachment that shoots dragons breath rounds, and the Minigun has a bayonet attachment that does melee damage to nearby enemies while shooting up close. This game is super brutal with its gore (not to mention there's an "insane gore" cheat that I have yet to unlock, imagine what that looks like) and its physics which is a nice addition that many games don't really focus on much these days. Cant exactly tell if the AI is on the same intricate level of F.E.A.R., they're aware but sometimes with the absolute glue sniffing suicide molotov bombers, i genuinely think it isn't. Regardless, The combat succeeds with flying colors.
Movement is also fast as hell and would not let loose, tried g-sliding or bunny hopping and i had myself flying up against walls, cant really abuse it since it has a stamina meter so you'd have to think of when to run, jump, slide, etc. (unless you activate the cheat that allows infinite stamina), it also can be useful as a quasi-parkour mechanic on certain areas, i remember kickstomping enemies heads to propel myself to jump on this ledge. those moments is where this game shines. It isnt mirrors edge or dying light levels of parkour, or Black ops 3/Titanfall 2s style of parkour of running on walls and bhopping in the map but its definitely a neat addition to make some sick moves.
Story/Atmosphere wise? Unfortunately No. Now i wont give too much shit given the fact that this was a first ever project from this dev team of 4 people (which makes this game more impressive), but the Story is on a severely different direction than F.E.A.R., in fact its more campy in terms of its plot, You can probably guess what's gonna happen with the premise of being a super soldier fighting against a corporation that's messing around with genetic experimentation including having ties with a cult. Thing is, it gets bonkers FAST. As in, after say the first few missions, you wind up going from getting revenge on those who made you into this fucked up experiment and monsters, to straight up having digital ghosts (the ONE time i actually felt creeped out) to blowing up an Alien ship, to going into the fucking backrooms. Yes, the liminal space horror creepypasta turned into meme. THAT backrooms. Which had me dying laughing at that absurdity of it all. Come to think of it, this games like a gigantic SCP shitpost mixed with the lore of Killing Floor in that regard.
As for the atmosphere, its serviceable, Albeit dark as all hell to where i had to turn up the gamma a bit. But the aforementioned events were the highlights of the game alongside a final showdown which reminds me more of, oddly enough, Syndicate (2012)'s final level where you storm a company building and chaos ensues. But because of it not leaning too much into the horror aspect, it kinda lacks the eerie atmosphere of its inspiration, which is disappointing considering that was also one thing i was most curious about after playing the demo(s) on steam. and some levels just feel like they kinda ran out of budget and have to make do with small "horde" type levels, which if you don't like, you'll hate it here because they're basically 99% of this games side content. Personally, i don't hate it, but it is noticeable.
And the soundtrack actually goes hard, if you're a fan of doom eternals nu-metal or "djent metal" you'd feel right at home here when its playing during combat.
One thing that does almost neck and neck to F.E.A.R though is the voice acting, it is fucking hilarious hearing the enemy's banter and screams during combat, especially chucking them across the room with a grenade strapped. And like i've said before, the game has a more campy tone, so you got your Task force quartermaster talking to you before and after missions, the task force pilot Raven, whom id say is definitely a standout, and other members in the group that have some banter in and out of missions. I wish that with the addition of headquarters you could interact with them ala CoD Black Ops Cold War, just lil pieces of dialogue or NPCs walking around to make the place feel a lot more alive. Just to make the final mission and ultimate twist of the game hit that much harder.
SPOILER SECTION
The one thing id unfortunately have to give this game some shit for, is the boss fights. they range from "alright i see where you're going with this" to "jesus man", the bosses i liked was the patriarch (the cult leader), "subject 83" (wasn't really a "boss" you shoot at but rather a boss you have to wait to enemy ghosts to be "exorcised" and get out of the away like its that section of metro 2033, pull levers and shoot a laser at to kill) and maybe Anton lazar destroying all the brains before he transfers his consciousness into them, including a helicopter that carried a brain that you will have to shoot down.
but the bosses i did not like whatsoever was the "mothman", the first boss who latches onto you and spits acid at you, the "super soldier" which think a body horror abomination but jumps at you and ground pounds you, which are underwhelming and also a lil frustrating the first go around. 107 though.. Fuck 107. All my homies hate 107.
But no seriously, 107s fight was a cool concept, having to fight your replacement after the task force 22/syndicate betrays you and disposes you after you did your duty, and its implied you're not the first nor the last they'll do this to, and the game hints at this with the constant "break the cycle" message and the loading screens being a nuke. Some good foreshadowing. but after going on a rampage and trying to stop them, your arm gets cut off and you have to basically fight with one arm, severed steel style. No grenades, no akimbo guns, no grabbing and throwing enemies. just you with slow mo, cloak and a gun. so its all a fun challenge right? nope. as soon as you enter the "2nd" phase, you wind up having to face a little game of fucking peek-a-boo with 107 disappearing and reappearing to either slice your ass, or more bullshit, throw knives at you like they are shuriken. and he can block your shots so do not waste any bullets. I can see this boss being a mix of doom eternals "marauders" with the timing your shots while he lunges at you, mixed with ghostrunner's "hel" boss where the enemy dodges your attacks when you try to brute force it head on, on top of killing floors patriarch whom if you shoot enough at him, he'd retreat like a little bitch and heal up. Only thing is, those games have proper counters, with eternal its the quick dodge, with ghostrunner its the parrying, with KF, you can blow up the patriarch to kingdom come with all your squadmates or solo with a demolition class. With trepang2, you have nothing, as far as i can tell. They could've had it to where you can dodge it with the melee button, catching him off guard, then shoot at him for a brief period before he disappears again. or just anything than just frantically running around looking for medkits and armor, and have him be a disappearing bullet sponge. its easily the most frustrating part of the game bar none. Now i've played it on Hard difficulty, so imagine wtf that's like on extreme difficulty or worse.
So its truly a testament that i'd still recommend this game despite all of that. That, plus the game seemingly skewers your FOV when you put on the gasmask in certain missions which gets jarring when you have that cranked that up to its max. and Sometimes there's a delay between reloading and being able to shoot your weapon which fucked me over during numerous combat scenarios.
All Because you can tell the devs had fun making this as much as you play it and see the work being put on display with the gameplay. You can also unlock cheats throughout the game which is a definite bonus to fuck around with after beating the main campaign. Including Big head mode, infinite ammo/sprint, squeaky voices for the NPCs, replacing shooting bullets with throwing knifes, being able to ADS (which this game really wasnt built for), and biggest of all, a "Tmod" sandbox editor, which is exactly what you think it is if you are familiar with Garry's mod.
Its a good first go around with a small team and budget and can grow into what F.E.A.R. should've been after the 1st, an anthology action horror series dealing with different entities, corporations and task forces, and it does plant the seed after dealing with the likes of "Site 82" and Digital ghosts and as much as its a shitpost, "the backrooms". Hope they'll iron out all the kinks and problems Trepang2 (or TrepangSquared) has so Trepang3 (or TrepangCubed) can be a full on masterpiece.