Beyond The Veil

[quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow our curator page: [b]IndieGems[/b] if you like and want to see more reviews like this one.[/url][/quote] [i]Beyond The Veil[/i] is a minimalist top-down shooter and RPG hybrid that focuses on story and gameplay. It's an indie project primarily written and created by a solo developer, and it fills the indie scene with another name worth mentioning. I have only scratched the surface of what the game has to offer so far, and I have to say, I am completely hooked. There's just something magical about this game that is so devoid of graphical details that makes my imagination run wild. Couple that with the eerie and mysterious world and story, you bet I am eager to dive back in to find out more. If life didn't becken, I can see myself sitting through this game from beginning to end, without pause. You play as the wanderer, and don't worry about being confused in the beginning, because like you, he/she is confused as well. Armed with a trusty sidearm and a background story that is dark in overtones, set your foot forward and face the unknowns. The game is broken up into small encounters with traveling, eatin…

This might be odd to say, but I'm recommending this game despite refunding it. That's predominantly because this game is just not my style. But I could definitely see it being someone else's jam. Pros: -Interesting storyline. Even from my brief look into the game the worldbuilding seems pretty deep. Not quite on the levels of Sunless Sea, but it's definitely got that same eldritch atmosphere to it. -Good visual style. Gives me that Darkwood vibe. -A potential for in depth customization. Guns, talents (Inscriptions) and gun accessories (Increased damage, fire rate etc.) Neutrals: -The character styles. Paired with the gloomy environment the strangely geometric appearances of the enemies (and yourself) kinda feels jarring. I didn't really love them, didn't hate them. It is a little tough to get immersed when you're some kind of spiky arrowhead though. -The travel. I like the exploration aspect to it, but it feels almost a little dragging having to wait for the travel timer, considering how quickly you clear the early zones. I felt like I was staring at the bar a little more than I was actually running around the map. -The Bugs. Nothing really jumped out as atrociously gamebre…

This is the kind of game where you really have to come for the atmosphere, I think. The gameplay's certainly not bad, by any means, but it's pretty average top down style shooting gameplay. The art, and the music, and the somber writing passages, though, are just what I was hoping for seeing the screenshots and trailer. If something about this art style appeals to you, know that the game's committed to it and will certainly deliver you that. I haven't finished it yet, and plan to, I just thought I'd get a positive review in cause I know how cruel steam is to games without a lot of reviews. Edit: I did finish the game now! The enemy health pool can be a little high sometimes if you're not keeping up with weapon upgrades, but other than that, by the end the gameplay was beginning to feel like an important part of the tone and kind of won me over. The story really comes together and is worth seeing through to the end.

Give me a minute here. I just finished the game and now I need to pour a stiff drink, sit with the lights off for a while and stare out the window at the falling rain, or something like that. Man, this thing is dark! About a third of the way in I figured out exactly what it reminded me of. There's an author named R Scott Bakker who wrote fantasy novels. I don't know, maybe he still does; but I quit reading them. His books always had this over-the-top combination of lurid prose with a world so supremely awful that no human being could possibly stand to live in it. Everyone was doomed, damned or both. The characters seemed to spend every moment of every day wracked with such excruciating mental and/or physical anguish that you simply couldn't believe that they all wouldn't just lie down in mute surrender and await the merciful embrace of death. You can see why I stopped reading these things. It's not called "The Great Ordeal" for nothing. Well, this is basically R Scott Bakker: The Game. The first thing that catches your attention here is the bold visual style. Come to think of it, that's pretty Bakker-esque too. For all his excesses, he had a real way with words when…

Genuinely great little game, stylised well, and glad I watched that splatt vid way back when.

Much like accidentally brushing up against roll of industrial-grade sandpaper after a walk through a syphilis ward, this game scratches an itch I didn't know I had. Perhaps it was my wholly unrealistic expectation that bullet-hell shumps should also contain their share of dark, post-apocalyptic melancholic musings that had turned me off the genre. Or perhaps it was just all the bullets. Beyond the Veil has bullets, yes, but it also has an intriguing enough story to want me to GET GUD (tm).