Maroc - 3RD-STRIKE.COM - A La Une - Hier 02:26

MISERY – Review

Co-op survival games have seen a boom in popularity again recently, with titles such as Palworld or Enshrouded, where players have to work together to create impressive settlements or tackle loads of enemies. It’s a genre that often follows the same formula, where you have humble beginnings and eventually become a powerhouse, afraid of nothing or no one. MISERY is the latest addition to that genre, albeit one that stays true to its name. You’ll actually go through a lot of misery in the game, as scavenging is no walk in the park, and survival is very much not guaranteed. We quite enjoyed this multiplayer experience that felt like a lovechild of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Fallout, even though it still had quite a few rough edges. Story You’ll find no real story in MISERY, as it’s just all about surviving the harsh environments you’re thrown in. You can conclude that the world has been somewhat destroyed due to a nuclear disaster, but that’s pretty much it. You’ll have to make the best of it in the different wastelands that are randomly generated. While it would have perhaps been nice to have an actual storyline, we also didn’t really miss it here. Graphics MISERY isn’t exactly the prettiest title, but the muted low-poly visuals do convey the grim atmosphere of the world you find yourself in. There is quite a bit of variety when it comes to terrains, and the further you progress in the game, the more impressive structures and enemies you’ll come across. We personally appreciated the somewhat dated visuals, as they made the world also feel a bit dirtier and bleaker, which certainly set the right tone. Performance was decent when we finally got around to hosting or joining our friends’ servers. Sound Even though the sound design of MISERY isn’t bad, it’s also fairly barebones. You’ll have to make do with environmental noises for the most part, which do elevate the atmosphere of running around in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. There is proper audio feedback for interactions with the environment. Other than that, there’s not much more to tell. The sound will probably also play less of a role when playing the game with friends anyway, as you’ll probably be communicating via voice chat anyway. Gameplay MISERY is a survival game with procedurally generated maps with a heavy focus on cooperative play for up to five players. You’ll start the game with a minute to gather supplies before a nuclear disaster occurs, and after that, you’ll have to go out in the wilderness to scavenge and survive. You can always return to your bunker to drop off supplies and expand your base of operations. If you decide to tackle the game solo, you’ll have a hard time when it comes to actual base building, but you might survive a bit longer with some of the food supplies you come across. Outside of hunger and thirst, you’ll also have to be careful of radiation, wild beasts, and other survivors. If you opt for a public game, other players can also kill you and steal your stuff. The core gameplay loop consists of trying to scavenge as much as you can before the alarms start blaring again, which indicates your map will be changed to another one, restarting the scavenge cycle. What you get to your bunker, you’ll be able to keep for the upcoming map(s). We only experienced three issues when playing MISERY with friends, namely the lack of a clear goal, inventory management, and a whole lot of network issues. We understand that the game is all about scavenging, surviving threats, and expanding your base, but at times, we missed a bit of structure and some goals to work towards. The game also doesn’t give you that much of an explanation of how everything works, and things can feel a bit clunky, which brings us to the inventory management feeling very clumsy. The inventory isn’t intuitive, and you’ll constantly have to drag and drop items in the correct slots or bags, which becomes a bit tedious after a while. Last but not least, network issues prevented us from joining friends’ servers a lot or even making our own. This also grew a bit annoying, as the code feature often didn’t even work, or when we altered the game code, we couldn’t do a single thing in the game anymore. We hope these issues get fixed soon, as there’s nothing more frustrating than having to spend half an hour just to be able to play with your friends. Conclusion MISERY is a fun experience to play with friends, as random players or solo play don’t quite cut it. The overall gameplay loop is quite enjoyable, even if you do end up running around aimlessly most of the time, hoping that you’ll find some good loot to actually progress. MISERY has all the right elements when it comes to overall presentation, atmosphere, and gameplay loop, but could use a few improvements when it comes to mechanics and network issues. Hardcore survival fans will certainly enjoy themselves with this one, but casual fans might find it a bit too hard to get into.