Stygian: Outer Gods
Preview
Good old-fashioned survival horror with a Lovecraftian spin...
EA SCOUT the last line of defense for buying on Steam's Early Access
by Dan Lenois
previewed on PC
Welcome to the village...
Stygian: Outer Gods is not an inherently complicated game. Once you wrap your head around some of the more esoteric Lovecraftian elements, (supernatural deities with chaotic personalities, rural towns featuring citizens with cultish tendencies, a healthy dose of existentialism, etc.) you find yourself in your standard Resident Evil-esque survival-horror situation.
Alternate your time between stealthing your way past dangerous situations, solving rudimentary puzzles, and fighting off any enemy unfortunate enough to spot you, all the while pursuing an overall damsel in distress story objective. It's nothing that hasn't been seen many times over, but that doesn't mean it isn't still fun to replay in a new form.
Look and ye will find...
The game is surprisingly old-fashioned in its design, encouraging players to openly explore the world, giving just enough context clues to indicate to the player what they have to do, but simultaneously never explicitly instructing them in how to go about getting it done. This gameplay philosophy will certainly have both its fans and detractors, but for what this game is setting out to do, this directional choice feels appropriate.
While the village itself is fairly small, every building within it is highly detailed and varied both visually and in their layout, and often contain a wide assortment of both resources and collectables for those willing to do some exploring. While the game is currently very limited in what you can craft using your resources, what is present is decent enough for an initial early access release.
Refinements coming soon...
One of the biggest hurdles facing the game at present is its current lack of optimization. Quite frequently, the game would struggle to maintain even 60 fps without frame drops and the occasional stutter. Fortunately, the developer is aware of these ongoing concerns, and is currently working on the game's first optimization patch, which is expected to release within the coming weeks.
What is less certain is the fate of the game's future content releases. Currently, Stygian: Outer Gods has perhaps 2-3 hours of content, which while more than acceptable for a new early access game, should be greatly expanded upon in future content updates, as what is currently here does not entirely warrant enough replay value to warrant the game's $19.99 Early Access price tag.
Final Verdict:
Stygian: Outer Gods is very much your typical small-scale Early Access game. It's a compelling proof-of-concept, rough and incomplete, but still maintaining that spark of potential which its players hopefully one day will see bloom into a final product worth the wait.
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Recommend
There are no guarantees - but we'd bet our own money on this one. If you're going to take a chance with yours, odds are good this one will deliver.
