So much for that then!
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Anyone remember Republique? The last episode is out and boy does it sh*t the bed
- Thread starter AHA-Lambda
- Start date
Bobs Big Boy
Member
Thanks, will look into.
Feel this is a case of the talent overqualified for a concept.
How did they even finish making the game? Camoflaj got $500K from Kickstarter, which is nowhere near enough to pay a staff of 10-12 people to work on a project for 4 years.
Sales on Steam are demonstrably low -- 26,0000 units, and a good chunk of those are probably just people redeeming their keys from the Kickstarter. I can't imagine that they really fared any better on iOS or Android, where people are massively averse to spending money upfront on games.
I'm certainly glad that they finished the project and delivered a completed game to anyone, but I have no idea how they actually funded the last couple years of development. I kinda figured they would just call it quits after the first few episodes were released to middling reviews and low sales. Clearly they have some outside source of funding, but I don't understand who would keep pumping money into the project after EP1 and EP2 failed to make much of an impact.
Sales on Steam are demonstrably low -- 26,0000 units, and a good chunk of those are probably just people redeeming their keys from the Kickstarter. I can't imagine that they really fared any better on iOS or Android, where people are massively averse to spending money upfront on games.
I'm certainly glad that they finished the project and delivered a completed game to anyone, but I have no idea how they actually funded the last couple years of development. I kinda figured they would just call it quits after the first few episodes were released to middling reviews and low sales. Clearly they have some outside source of funding, but I don't understand who would keep pumping money into the project after EP1 and EP2 failed to make much of an impact.
Remembrance
Member
Now that I think about it some more, OP's point about point-and-click adventure gameplay was right on point.
This is not really a steath game, at its heart. It's an adventure game where you solve puzzles and unlock doors, where it just happens to be very inconvenient to move around.
This is not really a steath game, at its heart. It's an adventure game where you solve puzzles and unlock doors, where it just happens to be very inconvenient to move around.
AHA-Lambda
Member
I was wondering this earlier on in the thread. It's kind of amazing there's a PS4 version at all =/
I liked the controls and loved MGS IV, but what really struck me as funny is how the Collector's Edition Blu Ray turned into Ryan's story and family album at the end. That was quite hilarious but who knows what access Kojima gave him.
RedAssedApe
Banned
are you saying that as an example of a bad thing?
randomlee26
Member
At first I thought the game's story was over my head, then I read reactions on Steam and here and elsewhere and realized maybe the problem isn't me
randomlee26
Member
Ouch, I just bought the game on PS4, I liked the premise, played a bit of part1 on iOS then learned about the Remastered but it doesn't look good
Episodes 13 are good!
(Unless you're talking visuals, which yeah, aren't too special)
AHA-Lambda
Member
At first I thought the game's story was over my head, then I read reactions on Steam and here and elsewhere and realized maybe the problem isn't me
Reminds me what the hell was going on with Hope in ep 4? =/
GifGafIsTheBestGaf
Member
glad i skipped this game then, was gonna buy the disc version but i went with my gut feeling
AHA-Lambda
Member
Probably the most popular thread the game has gotten. I'm shocked I didn't think anyone would post
And for anyone who has played it to the end (all 5 of us) wanting to see more on the plot, my spoiler filled rant is here:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/317100/discussions/0/392184491303636720/
eyeball_kid
Member
Half Life 2: Episode 3 would like a word with you, but it is still gagged and tied in a storage room at Valve HQ.
AHA-Lambda
Member
randomlee26
Member
AHA-Lambda
Member
I think that was a"copy" of Hope. Maybe?
I think so as well. Seems most people "think" so. Again like many aspects of the plot horribly handled.
doodledude
Neo Member
My thoughts exactly, except I also backed mighty no.9 at over $100!
Played the iOS version when the 1st episode came out and was bored after 30 minutes.
I tried the steam version that I got with my Kickstarter backing but my Mac played it at about 5fps so gave up on that also.
Oh god I hated this. If there was a thread for worst collector's edition feature, this would win top spot for me. It was like watching reality TV.
But back to the game though, I backed it because of the MGS-ness of it all (Hayter, Hale, and the like). When the first episode came out, I thought it was kinda cool, but it didn't hold my interest. Fast forward to now... Well... I guess I'll skip this game.
Bobs Big Boy
Member
It gets weird round the middle, eh? Would love to hear what has happened here and where the team will go after.
There's a lot of people throwing money around the mobile space without really knowing what they're doing. My best guess is that they just found somebody willing to put a lot of money into the project without much guarantee of a return.
creid
Member
I listened to the podcast early on, and you could tell they were really struggling. IIRC much of the team had never shipped a game before, which doesn't help. Payton kept making it a point to say that they had a flat team structure like Valve, but he didn't seem to understand why it works well for Valve and why you can't make that work with just any old group of people. He did a postmortem after episode 1 was released that was pretty interesting, including stuff like:
The whole thing is worth reading. I didn't really follow development past ~episode 2, so I'm not really sure how things shaped up after that. I did back it on Kickstarter and I thought the premise sounded interesting, so I'll get around to playing it someday.
The whole thing is worth reading. I didn't really follow development past ~episode 2, so I'm not really sure how things shaped up after that. I did back it on Kickstarter and I thought the premise sounded interesting, so I'll get around to playing it someday.
Dynamite Shikoku
Congratulations, you really deserve it!
I remember the kickstarter seemed really underwhelming but then all these game journalists came out to support it for some reason. Still don't understand what happened.
Rinãã¨ã
Banned
I bought the season pass on my ipad when it came out. that sure was a bad decision lol. took them long enough
i might playthrough it all on steam now though finally
i might playthrough it all on steam now though finally
Bobs Big Boy
Member
Thanks for the read.
May play through just to come out with my own perspective and answers that I'm not finding.
It's not awful, just super boring in my opinion. It's point-and-click stealth. Not having direct control over the main character makes everything feel disconnected and simplistic in a way games like MGS or Hitman aren't.
So does the PS4 version have direct control of the player character? How about on PC?
state_vector_collapse
Member
I was just thinking the same. Think Canata jumped in with his ten pennies worth as well. Both pimping up a game because it was their mate, rather than whether it might actually be any good. Gross is the right word.
I've played the first 3 episodes on my Nexus 9 and it's beautiful (Especially with the Unity 5 update) and fairly interesting. As far as mobile games go I was quite impressed.
I wouldn't buy it on a console or PC though, it's clearly designed for mobile as that was the launch platform.
I wouldn't buy it on a console or PC though, it's clearly designed for mobile as that was the launch platform.
AHA-Lambda
Member
Point and click interface on PC
jesusraz
Member
Episode 1 was a good base, then it improved considerably for Episode 2 in every regard. Episode 3 was a low point for me, since it ditched some of the gameplay improvements and tried to sort out the story instead... The Episode 4 came along and changed everything up, almost making all the work done on the player's part during 1-3 a waste of time. Hope's character seemed to completely change as well, not fitting in with how the story had developed so far...and then the ending of that...seemed to be completely ignored this last part.
But okay, lack of continuity between the final scene of God's Acre and the start of Terminus was overlooked slightly because I was overjoyed at the return to the Metamorphosis facility and the additions made to make dodging guards harder than ever. But then the way it all ended. Wtf? I was so angry when it all finished because it has to be one of the worst endings I've ever encountered. It gave no resolution at all and struck me as a case of the writers simply not knowing how to end things. There were more questions thrown up at the end than threads tied up.
I've just started a second play through using the other choice at the start of the ep, but already seeing that the actual story doesn't change - just the way that you reach the same unfulfilling ending.
After being drawn in by the intrigue of the whole setup, I feel thoroughly cheated by Terminus...
But okay, lack of continuity between the final scene of God's Acre and the start of Terminus was overlooked slightly because I was overjoyed at the return to the Metamorphosis facility and the additions made to make dodging guards harder than ever. But then the way it all ended. Wtf? I was so angry when it all finished because it has to be one of the worst endings I've ever encountered. It gave no resolution at all and struck me as a case of the writers simply not knowing how to end things. There were more questions thrown up at the end than threads tied up.
I've just started a second play through using the other choice at the start of the ep, but already seeing that the actual story doesn't change - just the way that you reach the same unfulfilling ending.
After being drawn in by the intrigue of the whole setup, I feel thoroughly cheated by Terminus...
I have been playing the first few rooms of Episode 1 one so far and I really like it.
I'm playing on PC and the controls and interface are fun, really like switching cameras to check out everything and straightly run into Priskals to eventually pepper spray the holy sh!t out of them. When you are spotted you are sent back to the cell but fortunately I know how to sneak around effectively and get away, 15% chance at a time.
There's a lot of collectibles and scanables to pick up on the way so one should get a good grasp of the story when examined thoroughly.
Hope mugshot
Posters
Game disks
I expect to find quite a few of these.
Architecture
Everything scanned can be exchanged for money, it allows you to disable security features to obtain information or distract guards.
I'm playing on PC and the controls and interface are fun, really like switching cameras to check out everything and straightly run into Priskals to eventually pepper spray the holy sh!t out of them. When you are spotted you are sent back to the cell but fortunately I know how to sneak around effectively and get away, 15% chance at a time.
There's a lot of collectibles and scanables to pick up on the way so one should get a good grasp of the story when examined thoroughly.
Hope mugshot
Posters
Game disks
I expect to find quite a few of these.
Architecture
Everything scanned can be exchanged for money, it allows you to disable security features to obtain information or distract guards.
AHA-Lambda
Member
there seems to be some unspoken consensus amongst people who've played it that in Ep 4 we weren't playing Hope but some other clone.
This isn't substantiated outright in game though as far as I can tell.
Yes, it's dumb.
jesusraz
Member
Ahhhh that would make some sense...but still...totally random and an example of the writers not quite knowing how best to explain things :/
I finished Episode 1 yesterday and I had a blast! The game is kind of like Metal Gear Solid 2 with a female lead character.
wow, such praise
Yeah, it was on my to buy list (physical), because the first episodes had good reviews from GAF users. But playing a game knowing that the end will ruin it... I don't know.