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Der "Nischen Titel die nicht zwingend einen eigenen Thread brauchen, doch dennoch eine kleine Aufmerksamkeit wert sind" - Thread
Der "Nischen Titel die nicht zwingend einen eigenen Thread brauchen, doch dennoch eine kleine Aufmerksamkeit wert sind" - Thread
Ich dachte mir so etwas in der Art fehlt hier noch im Konsolentreff, zumindest habe ich mit der Suchfunktion noch keinen derartigen Thread gefunden. Titel die hier trotz Nischen-Status eine etwas größere Fanbase generieren, können gerne im nachhinein aus diesem Thread ausgesondert werden und dann doch einen eigenen Thread spendiert bekommen. Da aber meistens nicht zu jedem kleinen Titel sich auch die mühe gemacht wird einen separaten Thread zu erstellen, dachte ich mir wäre es ganz gut, sie zumindest in einem Sammel Thread zu erwähnen oder sie kurz vorstellen zu können.
Anhang anzeigen 109423
Apsulov: End of Gods
Entwickler: Angry Demon Studio
Genre: Horror (Firstperson, narrative survival horror with stealth elements)
Release: 8. Aug. 2019
Plattformen: PC
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/960980/Apsulov_End_of_Gods/
GoG: https://www.gog.com/game/apsulov_end_of_gods
Inhalt: In diesem in der Zukunft spielenden Viking Horror Adventure erwachst du in einem Heiligtum aus Stahl und Zement, gebaut um die Götter zu würdigen und um ein Artefakt zu beherbergen, das vor Äonen in der Erde vergraben wurde. Enthülle die Geheimnisse der Mythologie, der Artefakte und der neun Welten von Yggdrasil in Apsulov: End of Gods.
Anhang anzeigen 109425
Anhang anzeigen 109426
Overview
Apsulov is a horror experience focused on narrative and stealth, created by Indie developer Angry Demon Studios. In this game, players will impersonate a woman that lost all memory of past events, suddenly waking up within the bowels of Borr Corporation's underground research facility, in Sweden. Soon it appears clear that unspeakable events have transpired in this place during her slumber, and players will need to find their way out of such madness, while also discovering the truth behind these happenings, and retrieve their lost memories.
At the core, Apsulov is a narrative survival horror, in which players will traverse dark, gritty environments often populated with dangerous enemies to either avoid, or fight when necessary. Being story and environment focused, the game does not feature complex survival or combat mechanics, nor character progression, but instead only some elements borrowed from the traditional survival horror genre, such as basic management over Energy Cells, used to recharge the only tool at disposal - and a basic upgrade system to have more energy capacity. As customary in this genre, avoiding enemies with stealth is always the best solution rather than wasting resources fighting. Four difficulties ensure accessibility for all players, scaling enemy numbers and damage.
This game really shines in atmosphere realization, audio, graphics and narrative: it does very well in the most important components of this particular game genre, with a frightening, dark, and tense experience as a result. The save system using fixed altars, quite far between each other in general, reverting progress to the last save in case of death, contributes tin adding tension to the gameplay. There are some gameplay twists especially in the later parts, including a proper final boss fight, and variety of situations is generally good enough to not get stale. Apart from few graphical bugs and a handful glitchy areas, there are really no problems worth mentioning.
Overall, Apsulov is a quality narrative horror, that I do not hesitate to put on the same level of SOMA or Outlast as far as quality is concerned. For a single run the game can take around 6-8 hours depending on death number, difficulty and exploration ratio, eventually it can be replayed to get a different ending and also try the hardest difficulty, only unlocked after completion. For a price tag of 17€, delivering very good quality experience, I definitely can recommend getting this game at full price.
Rating:
Excellent
Pros & Cons
Pros
+ Very good graphics quality, united with masterful art direction, deliver some of the most impressive environments around.
+ Superb atmosphere, the result of good quality audio and graphical design, ensures a true horror feeling at all times.
+ Meaningful exploration thanks to useful items, lore entries, and secret collectibles to find.
+ Well polished, fair stealth and combat mechanics.
+ Good writing and voice acting quality, adding to the experience even more.
Cons
- Players can abuse a handful places to be completely safe from enemies in certain locations, when they are not meant to.
- A few minor graphical issues, such as occasional pop-in of distant objects and some glitched textures from time to time.
In-Depth Breakdown
Gameplay Analysis
The gameplay of Apsulov is divided into Exploration, Combat and Puzzles.
Exploration is the strong suit of the game and is performed exclusively on feet, either running or sneaking through the air ducts, corridors and utility rooms of the Borr Facility. Even if environments are quite detailed, interaction is limited to a few select objects, such as cabinets, strongboxes, doors and computer panels. Looking behind every nook and cranny is worth it, if not just for lore's sake, also for finding Power Cells, an essential upgrade component of a certain tool, meaning better chances to survive the more cells are acquired. Not all areas feature enemies, so there are breaks to explore at leisure from time to time, Collectibles for achievements and Audio Logs containing additional lore are also things worth finding. Using The Sight, another power at disposal, to see secret writings, enemies, and other info, is also very important in order to progress. Game saves are performed at fixed Altars, progress gets reverted to the last save in case of death, adding tension.
Combat is very basic, as expected, and consists in using a charged energy attack, if enough power cells have energy, to either instantly kill or disrupt enemies. Combat should be considered a last resort, as this attack is very expensive, and only in some situations, such as when an energy dispenser is near, players can afford killing without restrictions. Enemies in general are not too fast to react and give clear audio cues to their presence, giving players enough time to prepare their blast. Enemy will not always one-shot players, which can tank some damage, but at higher difficulties, the margin is small. In case of death, players will have a chance to revive by solving a special puzzle, or else restart from the last save.
Puzzles mainly consist in finding the right code for locked bulkheads, often by using the Sight and looking around accurately, or force-opening locked doors using the tool, in a mini-game of timing and skill. Another puzzle is about authorization levels, some mandatory to acquire and unlock story-related doors, but some others optional, leading to secondary rooms containing power cells, lore, collectibles. The occasional power relay, filled by the tool's energy, also is used as a puzzle of sorts because players need to make several trips to the nearest energy dispenser, often with enemies in the mix to make it more difficult. A special puzzle, performed upon death only, is about fleeing a unique enemy while positioning objects in several areas, to have a second chance at life if successful.
Performance Analysis
The game runs without any major issues to report at 60fps, 1440p, maximum settings. [GTX1080, 16GB RAM, i7 4820K]. There are occasional slowdowns on area transitions, when the game is loading another chunk of the map. Vsync also has a maximum of 60fps for some reason, so users using a 144hz monitor might not be too happy about it. For the graphics it delivers, Apsulov definitely is optimized decently enough, but still I recommend at least a decent spec system to run it properly.
Final Thoughts
Apsulov is definitely an excellent narrative horror, nailing the core components of this genre, and therefore delivering a top-shelf quality experience that any horror fan wouldn't want to miss.
This product was reviewed using a free key provided by the Developers.
Apsulov is a horror experience focused on narrative and stealth, created by Indie developer Angry Demon Studios. In this game, players will impersonate a woman that lost all memory of past events, suddenly waking up within the bowels of Borr Corporation's underground research facility, in Sweden. Soon it appears clear that unspeakable events have transpired in this place during her slumber, and players will need to find their way out of such madness, while also discovering the truth behind these happenings, and retrieve their lost memories.
At the core, Apsulov is a narrative survival horror, in which players will traverse dark, gritty environments often populated with dangerous enemies to either avoid, or fight when necessary. Being story and environment focused, the game does not feature complex survival or combat mechanics, nor character progression, but instead only some elements borrowed from the traditional survival horror genre, such as basic management over Energy Cells, used to recharge the only tool at disposal - and a basic upgrade system to have more energy capacity. As customary in this genre, avoiding enemies with stealth is always the best solution rather than wasting resources fighting. Four difficulties ensure accessibility for all players, scaling enemy numbers and damage.
This game really shines in atmosphere realization, audio, graphics and narrative: it does very well in the most important components of this particular game genre, with a frightening, dark, and tense experience as a result. The save system using fixed altars, quite far between each other in general, reverting progress to the last save in case of death, contributes tin adding tension to the gameplay. There are some gameplay twists especially in the later parts, including a proper final boss fight, and variety of situations is generally good enough to not get stale. Apart from few graphical bugs and a handful glitchy areas, there are really no problems worth mentioning.
Overall, Apsulov is a quality narrative horror, that I do not hesitate to put on the same level of SOMA or Outlast as far as quality is concerned. For a single run the game can take around 6-8 hours depending on death number, difficulty and exploration ratio, eventually it can be replayed to get a different ending and also try the hardest difficulty, only unlocked after completion. For a price tag of 17€, delivering very good quality experience, I definitely can recommend getting this game at full price.
Rating:
Excellent
Pros & Cons
Pros
+ Very good graphics quality, united with masterful art direction, deliver some of the most impressive environments around.
+ Superb atmosphere, the result of good quality audio and graphical design, ensures a true horror feeling at all times.
+ Meaningful exploration thanks to useful items, lore entries, and secret collectibles to find.
+ Well polished, fair stealth and combat mechanics.
+ Good writing and voice acting quality, adding to the experience even more.
Cons
- Players can abuse a handful places to be completely safe from enemies in certain locations, when they are not meant to.
- A few minor graphical issues, such as occasional pop-in of distant objects and some glitched textures from time to time.
In-Depth Breakdown
Gameplay Analysis
The gameplay of Apsulov is divided into Exploration, Combat and Puzzles.
Exploration is the strong suit of the game and is performed exclusively on feet, either running or sneaking through the air ducts, corridors and utility rooms of the Borr Facility. Even if environments are quite detailed, interaction is limited to a few select objects, such as cabinets, strongboxes, doors and computer panels. Looking behind every nook and cranny is worth it, if not just for lore's sake, also for finding Power Cells, an essential upgrade component of a certain tool, meaning better chances to survive the more cells are acquired. Not all areas feature enemies, so there are breaks to explore at leisure from time to time, Collectibles for achievements and Audio Logs containing additional lore are also things worth finding. Using The Sight, another power at disposal, to see secret writings, enemies, and other info, is also very important in order to progress. Game saves are performed at fixed Altars, progress gets reverted to the last save in case of death, adding tension.
Combat is very basic, as expected, and consists in using a charged energy attack, if enough power cells have energy, to either instantly kill or disrupt enemies. Combat should be considered a last resort, as this attack is very expensive, and only in some situations, such as when an energy dispenser is near, players can afford killing without restrictions. Enemies in general are not too fast to react and give clear audio cues to their presence, giving players enough time to prepare their blast. Enemy will not always one-shot players, which can tank some damage, but at higher difficulties, the margin is small. In case of death, players will have a chance to revive by solving a special puzzle, or else restart from the last save.
Puzzles mainly consist in finding the right code for locked bulkheads, often by using the Sight and looking around accurately, or force-opening locked doors using the tool, in a mini-game of timing and skill. Another puzzle is about authorization levels, some mandatory to acquire and unlock story-related doors, but some others optional, leading to secondary rooms containing power cells, lore, collectibles. The occasional power relay, filled by the tool's energy, also is used as a puzzle of sorts because players need to make several trips to the nearest energy dispenser, often with enemies in the mix to make it more difficult. A special puzzle, performed upon death only, is about fleeing a unique enemy while positioning objects in several areas, to have a second chance at life if successful.
Performance Analysis
The game runs without any major issues to report at 60fps, 1440p, maximum settings. [GTX1080, 16GB RAM, i7 4820K]. There are occasional slowdowns on area transitions, when the game is loading another chunk of the map. Vsync also has a maximum of 60fps for some reason, so users using a 144hz monitor might not be too happy about it. For the graphics it delivers, Apsulov definitely is optimized decently enough, but still I recommend at least a decent spec system to run it properly.
Final Thoughts
Apsulov is definitely an excellent narrative horror, nailing the core components of this genre, and therefore delivering a top-shelf quality experience that any horror fan wouldn't want to miss.
This product was reviewed using a free key provided by the Developers.
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