SenS

Some early access impressions. (v0.0008) I love [i]Naissance[/i], and for years, I've wanted to see more from the dev who made it. I adore the abstract geometry, the introspection, the isolation, the mood it creates, the [i]BLAME![/i]-like vistas of an apparently self-constructing city, your smallness compared to the machine's vastness. I wasn't sure what to expect based on Steam reviews from 2022. It sounds like an earlier build went text-heavy and alluded to present-day political happenings. (I never played this build. I have no sense of what it really was, but it sounds like a mess.) This updated build doesn't seem that way. After two long hallways, I seemed to come to a hub area that branched out in different directions. I found the room with purple arms. I found the light balls that you can carry. I reached the bottom of the courtyard. I don't know how much there is or how far I've gotten, or where to go, or if there's anywhere else to go right now. But I like what I've seen. I look forward to the developer's progress.

To be perfectly clear: From the little I have played I have not the slightest idea what this game will be in the end. The premise hooked me right away, but that's all for now. What I know for sure is that this developer created one of the strongest arguments for the statement, that games can not only be more than mindless distraction from reality, whereof I still hope many people can agree on, but also pure art, made real by masters of their craft, and as such at eye level with all the other arts, and therefore not distracting from reality (that too, of course), but being an important part of it, as something that makes it more worth living in. The game I'm talking about is NaissanceE. It's free on steam, and everyone should give it a chance. It's not for everyone, though, so be warned. :D SenS is something else. It isn't finished and it will probably take a long time to be. But it's a bet for something great, and like every bet it could went out in ways not desired or foreseen. And I think everyone who can relate to my drivel in the slightest should make this bet.

Can't find the checkout button for NaissanceE, so this'll do.

While the game is still VERY early access, it looks beautiful and, for fans of NaissanceE (or those familiar with it) thankfully does away with difficult parkour. My only complaints are this: 1) The game really struggles to achieve lighting like that shown on its store page. Given that a not-insignificant portion of the game has static architecture, it would probably benefit from baked lighting, as right now I can only run the game on the lowest graphics setting available. I've worked with Unreal a couple of times before, and Nanite and Lumen tend to pull the rug out from under performance. 2) As a rule of thumb, I don't like to compare games. However, I will say that I vastly prefer the breathing mechanic from NaissanceE to the stamina mechanic from SenS. When faced with a long corridor or set of blocks I could jump up, jumping or running depletes the stamina bar incredibly fast and slows you down to below the walking speed, meaning it would be faster to either walk the incredibly long corridor, or search around for a set of blocks close enough together that you don't have to jump. I feel like the game actively discourages you from using its mechanics. I really like the game, an…

im glad i waited until it was furthur to buy, but Limasse has another winner in the works. theres some performance issues so far but its still early. reminded me why i loved Naissance so much, but with crucial differences.

has potential...want to see it in a more full project tho.