DeadCore popped up on Steam a little over a week ago with neat trailers showing interesting, fast-paced gameplay. How well does DeadCore work in the practice? We are here to find out.
DeadCore from 5 Bits Games started out as a 7DFPS game called DeadLock. The idea of the game is simple: get from point A to point B to complete a level. To do this you must use your switch gun to activate doors and bridges and to disable various enemies that try to knock you off the level. You also have to activate gravity fields that change the gravity of certain areas to reach places you otherwise wouldn't be able to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEAebOFZpuQ
I was intrigued by the game when it came out as I already like puzzle platforming first person shooters like Portal and Inverto. The stunts in the game also looked really awesome. And I can say I've enjoyed it so far.
Most of the focus is DeadCore is in the interesting level design and in the speed running aspect. Speed running is not necessary and it's been separated into another game mode but the game seems to want you to do it. For example, your switch gun has a timer embedded right into it for you to keep track of your total time at all times. I guess it's also good for the non-speedrunners to see how much of their life they've wasted into the game.
Level design is one of the game's strong sides. The levels have some very tricky segments that you need to traverse carefully and the enemies placed around the levels can make even a simple task very difficult. There aren't that many of them though and most of the time you'll be dealing with environmental hazards, such as lasers and crushers. The segments get gradually more complex and more difficult and very soon you'll be dealing with very disorienting areas, especially when you have to deal with the gravity fields.
DeadCore also has a story that is being told by different logs you find scattered around the levels. However they are just that, text logs that you read in the level selection menu. I didn't really find the idea of reading the story bits between levels too entertaining, so I've mostly just ignored it and focused on the actual game. And with a game like this having a good story doesn't really matter either way. The graphics are sort of the same way. While the game isn't really ugly the levels are textured in a very simple and utilitarian way. Simply but, the graphics work with a game like this but you aren't going to win the pretties game of 2014 with them.
An important thing with puzzle platformers like this is the difficulty. Naturally you can't just go to the options to increase the difficulty as everything is based fully on your skills. I think DeadCore falls into the more challenging difficulty and some sections have been frustrating to play for me but not to the point of not wanting to play the game anymore. After a couple of tries I've been able to make it through to the next checkpoint. And that difficulty of reaching the next checkpoint makes finally walking over them very rewarding. The checkpoints are a fair distance away from each other and only once or twice I've wished them to be a shorter distance away.
Overall DeadCore is a nice game. It tries to do one thing and in my opinion it does it well. Keep this game in mind if you are interested in some FPS platforming and speed running.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
DeadCore from 5 Bits Games started out as a 7DFPS game called DeadLock. The idea of the game is simple: get from point A to point B to complete a level. To do this you must use your switch gun to activate doors and bridges and to disable various enemies that try to knock you off the level. You also have to activate gravity fields that change the gravity of certain areas to reach places you otherwise wouldn't be able to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEAebOFZpuQ
I was intrigued by the game when it came out as I already like puzzle platforming first person shooters like Portal and Inverto. The stunts in the game also looked really awesome. And I can say I've enjoyed it so far.
Most of the focus is DeadCore is in the interesting level design and in the speed running aspect. Speed running is not necessary and it's been separated into another game mode but the game seems to want you to do it. For example, your switch gun has a timer embedded right into it for you to keep track of your total time at all times. I guess it's also good for the non-speedrunners to see how much of their life they've wasted into the game.
Level design is one of the game's strong sides. The levels have some very tricky segments that you need to traverse carefully and the enemies placed around the levels can make even a simple task very difficult. There aren't that many of them though and most of the time you'll be dealing with environmental hazards, such as lasers and crushers. The segments get gradually more complex and more difficult and very soon you'll be dealing with very disorienting areas, especially when you have to deal with the gravity fields.
DeadCore also has a story that is being told by different logs you find scattered around the levels. However they are just that, text logs that you read in the level selection menu. I didn't really find the idea of reading the story bits between levels too entertaining, so I've mostly just ignored it and focused on the actual game. And with a game like this having a good story doesn't really matter either way. The graphics are sort of the same way. While the game isn't really ugly the levels are textured in a very simple and utilitarian way. Simply but, the graphics work with a game like this but you aren't going to win the pretties game of 2014 with them.
An important thing with puzzle platformers like this is the difficulty. Naturally you can't just go to the options to increase the difficulty as everything is based fully on your skills. I think DeadCore falls into the more challenging difficulty and some sections have been frustrating to play for me but not to the point of not wanting to play the game anymore. After a couple of tries I've been able to make it through to the next checkpoint. And that difficulty of reaching the next checkpoint makes finally walking over them very rewarding. The checkpoints are a fair distance away from each other and only once or twice I've wished them to be a shorter distance away.
Overall DeadCore is a nice game. It tries to do one thing and in my opinion it does it well. Keep this game in mind if you are interested in some FPS platforming and speed running.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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6 comments
Keep in mind that it is also available DRM-free from Desura:
http://www.desura.com/games/deadlock
http://www.desura.com/games/deadlock
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Segata Sanshiro Oct 29, 2014
Very nice looking game :)
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Quoting: 5-Bits GamesAs promised, the people that chose to support us during the development / alpha stage, will receive both Desura and Steam keys ... That is something we have dealt with our publisher Bandai Namco from the beginning and we will give our supporters their Steam key. BUT please note that we WON'T provide Steam keys anymore now that the game has been released on both Stores: people will have to choose which of the DRM-free or Steam version they want to buy.http://www.desura.com/games/deadlock/news/important-about-steam-keys
Not that it affects me of course, but don't you just love publishers? :S:
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I fired up an "extended demo" of the win version in wine(plays fine like most unity games). I played it for about an hour and enjoyed what I did play of it. My findings pretty much line up with Samsai's. This just reminded me I meant to buy it and I just picked it up from DLGamer for $8.99
*DISCLAIMER* DLGamer has some good prices sometimes, but they DO NOT exclusively sell Steam keys so you MUST make sure that it says DRM: Steam on the product page. I made this mistake for Tropico 5, they did refund me no problems though once I realized the mistake (they were selling retail keys). Deadcore is a Steam key for sure this time though.
*DISCLAIMER* DLGamer has some good prices sometimes, but they DO NOT exclusively sell Steam keys so you MUST make sure that it says DRM: Steam on the product page. I made this mistake for Tropico 5, they did refund me no problems though once I realized the mistake (they were selling retail keys). Deadcore is a Steam key for sure this time though.
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Man, I'm kind of surprised this article has not received more attention in the comments. I played for about 2 hours last night (natively this time) after purchasing it. I didn't really get far into it when I tried it before but I find the game pretty damn addicting now that I am in the groove of it. I'm actually itching to get off work to go home and play.
I'm going to use Portal as a reference since I put this in the same category (sort of). With Portal which I am a big fan of, there is not really much sense of urgency and you can kind of stand back and plan in your head what you are going to do.
With this game I find myself moving much quicker and taking more chances. Like Samsai said, restarting after death is quick, and there is always the reset button. I suppose you could take your time with this game, but I don't feel like you are meant to. It makes you want to see just how fast you can go. It's about quick reflexes and staying on your toes. For me the balance of "GRRRR!!!! DAMNIT!!!" and "FINALLY!! WHOOHOO!!!" is really on point. I only put it down for 15 minutes once to kind of "whoossahhh" and then when I went back and tried it again I made it the first time. Seems no matter how aggravated I get that moment of reaching the next green check point feels really good. It keeps you chasing that high.
I think it's worth $9-10, It runs extremely well and I can't think of any complaints so far.
I'm going to use Portal as a reference since I put this in the same category (sort of). With Portal which I am a big fan of, there is not really much sense of urgency and you can kind of stand back and plan in your head what you are going to do.
With this game I find myself moving much quicker and taking more chances. Like Samsai said, restarting after death is quick, and there is always the reset button. I suppose you could take your time with this game, but I don't feel like you are meant to. It makes you want to see just how fast you can go. It's about quick reflexes and staying on your toes. For me the balance of "GRRRR!!!! DAMNIT!!!" and "FINALLY!! WHOOHOO!!!" is really on point. I only put it down for 15 minutes once to kind of "whoossahhh" and then when I went back and tried it again I made it the first time. Seems no matter how aggravated I get that moment of reaching the next green check point feels really good. It keeps you chasing that high.
I think it's worth $9-10, It runs extremely well and I can't think of any complaints so far.
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