A Fantastic Masterpiece
WOW! Where to start? Sometimes a game comes along and completely shocks you. The story, the atmosphere, the graphics, the sound, everything about a game like this is almost perfect.
I won't give any story elements away because the story in this game is so damn good. Basically you enter the ship and you begin to explore. The more you explore, the more grim your situation becomes and you have to find out what happened on board. The game tells the story in a very unique way. You will see bodies of the crew and you will essentially be able to go into that crew members past and try to save him before he dies. Doing this will open allow to see what happened on the ship and open up the story more.
Cryostasis uses a unique health system. Because the ship is frozen in ice, your main source of health comes from any source of heat; light bulbs, steam pipes, etc.. Your health is affected by the temperature and your health will always match the surrounding air temperature. Your health might fall fast or slow, depending on how cold it is, however, you will not die until the temperature is so cold that it does not register on your thermometer. Then you must find a source of heat or you will die when your health runs out. Your stamina is also affected by the heat and cold. In the cold, you don't loose stamina, but if you use your stamina to run, it will drain much quicker.
I've heard a lot of people complain about the combat system. The combat system in this game is not the greatest, but it doesn't have to be. The point is, in a game like this, the combat system is not supposed to be fun, it should work, but not be the main reason why you play this game. You get an assortment of weapons from different melee weapons to different types of guns. I'm not sure what time this game is set in, but all the guns you find are quite old. The combat system works great for this type of game.
The enemies are really great. In the first half of the game, you won't see too many different types of enemies but as you progress through the game, the enemies get really weird and disturbing.
One of the most important features for a horror/suspense game like this one to have is good sound, and the sound in this game is just remarkable. Amazing sounds for everything from your footsteps on the ice, the doors opening and the sound the enemies make are menacing and really add to the overall atmosphere of the game. I would put the sound quality of this game on par with Dead Space (also one of my favorite games).
The level design and pacing are fantastic. The ship is huge and has a lot of things you would not expect in an icebreaker. The graphics are amazing, but they do take quite a bit of computing power to use them to their full potential. Essentially, if you can run Crysis on very high, you can run this game on max settings.
Cryostasis was a surprise to me. I watched the quick look here on Giant Bomb and was impressed by what I saw, but almost all the time, games like this turn out to be weak with no substance and little atmosphere. Fortunately I was wrong. If you liked Dead Space or even Doom 3, this game is a must play. The story alone is amazing and $12.99 on
steam, this game is one of the best deals of the year. Any Horror fans or fans of really atmospheric games, buy this game now. It's quite an experience.
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