［レビュー］呪いの地に抗う若者が叫ぶ言葉は「アイヘイト・ディス・プレイス」！ 長所と短所がパッキリ分かれる新作サバイバルクラフト

The setting of the story is Rutherford Ranch, which has been passed down as a “cursed place” since ancient times. Although it looks like a peaceful place at first glance, it is said that anyone who tried to escape from here was doomed.
The main character grew up in such a place.Elenaand my best friendLouhad been depressed for a long time.

One day, Lou“Man of the Horns”He performs a ritual to summon him and tries to obtain some kind of “guidance,” but the results are horrific.
While Elena was unconscious, Lou disappeared, and her surroundings were splattered with blood and flesh, as if an animal had been devoured.

If you follow the traces, you will find an underground laboratory. Inside was a crazy space infested with horrifying creatures that were a combination of humans and strange creatures.
Elena manages to escape from the lab, but the curse has spread throughout the ranch. Elena tries to help her best friend.The truth behind the curse that fills the farmI will be searching for it.

It appears that the bunker (shelter) that was forbidden to enter was actually an underground laboratory. It turns out that meat roots were spread out there, and that dangerous research was being carried out there.

When you return to the ranch from the laboratory, you will be able to freely explore a very large space. It is up to the player to decide where to check.

The basics of the game are top-down action. If using the keyboard, use WASD to move, and use the mouse to specify the direction of attack.
In the case of shooting weapons, if you stand still, the reticle will tighten and correct itself to a certain extent, so you don’t need to be that skilled at shooting.

However, many creatures are extremely strong and cannot be defeated by a few bullets. There are many situations where you can break through without fighting (detour, stealth, etc.), so it’s generally better to hide and act so as not to waste your limited bullets.

The appearance of the ranch changes during the day and night, and it seems to become more dangerous at night. Since the threat does not disappear during the day, it is better to prepare some weapons before moving.

One thing to keep in mind when hiding from creatures is the moving floor.
For example, if you step on a floor strewn with glass, you’ll hear a sound, and if you step on a floor covered in meat roots, you’ll slip and your speed will slow down. The elements that are sensed differ depending on the creature, so you need to be careful about that as well.

When moving, footsteps sound like onomatopoeia from American comics. Let’s figure out what each sound means while playing.

Characteristics of the creatures you encounter are noted in your sketchbook. Once you know the detection range, you can use strategies such as throwing trash and making noise to lure creatures blocking your path and sneak past them. Rather than fighting in vain, let’s understand its characteristics and deal with it.

Empty cans make a rather loud noise. If you throw it too close, people will notice you, so you need to adjust the distance and angle properly.

All the illustrations included in the sketchbook are very powerful. It’s fun to see what kind of illustrations will be added when you meet new enemies.

In situations where you are forced to fight, you need to pay attention to your stamina and hunger level. Stamina is required when performing actions such as attacks and dashes, so you cannot keep attacking or running away forever.

The satiety level decreases over time, and if you work while it is at zero, the upper limit of your stamina will decrease. The lowered upper limit of stamina does not return immediately even if you restore fullness, but gradually returns, so be sure to prepare food with plenty of time when exploring.

　Perhaps in order to create such a sense of tension, the save specifications are quite strict.
There is no auto-save, and if you die, the only option is to “load and try again,” and there are only a few save points. In fact, if you observe it carefully, it is designed to make it difficult to die instantly, so this distribution seems to be intentional.

Shooting does not consume stamina, but reloading takes some time. If your opponent can distance you with a dash, you can aim to defeat them with hit and away.

Although there are many limitations, the controls feel good, and the atmosphere of a horror work reminiscent of 1980s American comics is very well created.
It’s easy to get caught up in the excessive grotesqueness, butA device to frighten players with “direction” and “behavior”can be seen everywhere, and the quality is simply high as a horror work.

However, perhaps to create an atmosphere, there are many parts that are not explained well, and there are a few parts where the guidance is not very helpful.
I had to open and read the help from the menu to figure out how to crouch, and early on there were places that were impossible to pass without crouching, which was a bit of a problem at first.

On the other hand, there are also parts where you are guided in a kind and thorough manner, such as automatically memorizing the password you need to remember and detailed quest checks.
I think the stress at the beginning of the game will be greatly alleviated if the required operations are explained in-game, so I’m looking forward to updates in that area.

Operation instructions can be called up from the menu. I had a hard time getting used to it at first, including the fact that the key layout was a bit unique but couldn’t be changed freely.

The house where Elena lives is the only safe area on the ranch where the curse has been lifted. There is farmland in front of the house, and you can create various facilities using the materials you bring home.

Weapons and food can be crafted at workbenches, and scraps, wood, water, etc., which are the basis for various crafts, are produced from each facility over time. If you want to explore the area around the ranch, you’ll want to make sure you’re properly prepared before you move.

However, if you are carrying a large amount of items such as weapons, ammunition, or food, you will become “burdened” and unable to dash. There are many situations where you can obtain items on the go, so make sure to sort out the supplies you need and come back when you need them. By that time, resources will have been produced from each facility.

Facilities can be placed freely, but there are disturbing deposits and topography on the farmland. In order to build many facilities, you need to prepare the necessary items and remove them.

These elements themselves work well with the gameplay, which requires players to be careful and plan well.The stage settings for eliminating bottlenecks are too extreme.I was curious.

For example, at the beginning of the game, there is no reliable way to obtain food, so you must eat what you can find. This narrows the player’s range of action, allows them to set goals and act quickly – it functions as a mechanism that rewards planning. However, this will only work until the farm ban is lifted.

Immediately after the farm is opened, water can be produced without limit, and food can be grown without limit. There is no limit on the number of days, and the food stacks in one slot in the inventory, so the hunger system itself quickly stops functioning as a bottleneck.

Resource production facilities keep a considerable amount of finished products in stacks. If you line up a large quantity and reserve production in advance, there will basically be no shortage.

You can sleep for any amount of time and there is no penalty for doing so. Your satiety level will decrease, but you don’t have to worry about it because you can get more food.

Dilemmas such as “how much to use the precious resources you have” and “to what extent are you willing to take risks?” are the “big toro” of the survival craft genre, and this is a shame, since the mechanism itself is well prepared and easy to function.

As for the current play feel, there is a stronger sense of tension due to the loss of play time due to the lack of save points, and I feel that the game would be more complete without the “survival” part.

As mentioned earlier, the quality of the action and production itself is very high, and the impression of the game is a good match with the survival story of managing resources. I think if the numerical settings and constraints (must be achieved by day X, etc.) were sorted out, the game would instantly become more interesting.

Unique gimmicks are sometimes prepared during the strategy, and there are many interesting elements in terms of action and production.

Overall, this workExtreme evaluation points and problemsI felt that it was a great piece of work. The action parts are definitely well-done, and I can confidently say that the experience of assessing a creature’s abilities and carefully choosing an action is “fun.” The elaborate art surroundings has a charm that you will never get tired of no matter how many times you look at it.

However, there are clear problems with the numbers and rules that make up this experience. Fortunately, the foundation is well-built, so improvements should not be impossible. If the proper peripheral elements are redesigned, it has the potential to become a masterpiece. If there is a major update, I would definitely like to touch on it again.