Is this any good gaf? Steep learning curve or just go and play ?
I wouldn't say there's exactly a steep learning curve. Of course, it takes a little bit to figure out the strategies involved, but you can figure those out with enough practice.
As for general impressions, I put about 10 or so hours into the beta and 4 hours into launch version so far.
Pros:
+ Playing as the killer is great. Each killer type feels unique in their playstyle in how to effectively hunt down the survivors. For me personally, I feel I'm best at the trapper (likely because of the hours I put into beta), then hillbilly and then wraith.
+ Survivors are fun to play, but obviously is much more dependent on the people you're with.
+ Procedural maps certainly make each map feel fairly fresh. Over time you're going to start seeing how the set pieces fit together of course but it does help make each playthrough feel a bit more unique.
+ Great atmosphere to the game. Having the killer be in first person is a great move. You have less situational awareness than the survivors (which are in third person) which in turn makes the survivors more tense as they hide somewhere with the killer 3 feet away from them on the other side of a rock.
+ Huge props for them doing a good job on the environmental assets. Survivors can actually hide in the grass (and have the killer be like 1 foot away and not notice), you can lose the killer in corn fields and the fog is thick and does a good job hiding crouched survivors.
+ The offerings/perks can change the game in interesting ways. For example, in beta I had a perk which had the crows give a visual signal 25% of the time when a survivor walked nearby them.
Neutral:
= I wish each survivor was balanced differently slightly (movement speed, repair, heal times, skill check ranges, etc). As far as I can the only difference is cosmetic.
= Killers should have more options to do to the survivors than always hanging on a hook. I'd also like to see more variation in the primary weapons of the killers. Maybe a whip, throwing axe, etc.
= Survivors need more items to play with. Noise makers, flare guns, etc.
Cons:
- Video settings are crap. You need to use an INI file to unlock framerate from 30fps and disable vsync (necessary since I have a gsync monitor).
- P2P connections, so sometimes you end up with jerky movement/animations depending on connection quality between everyone.
- No party queue support (you can do private matches if you have 5 friends). They've said this is one of their top items to fix.
- Ranking system is overly harsh right now (as compared to overly easy in beta IMO). I'd imagine they are going to tweak this in one of the first updates.
- Matchmaking is iffy. Can take a while to get into a match as there are a lot of lobby hoppers (generally trying to get into a match with a friend). As the killer, it also takes 1-2 minutes before anyone joins your lobby (seems like there's some sort of lobby queue you go through because as soon as one survivor joins, you get tons of people joining and then leaving due to the lobby hoppers, etc).
Overall, I think the game itself is really fun. There's a certain psychological aspect to the game as you try to outsmart each other which I enjoy. There's lots of tension and decent amount of variation. However, it needs more polish. Video settings and party system are my top priority items for them to fix. Ranking needs to get a bit more attainable, or less harsh (you shouldn't be able to escape as a survivor and derank!). If you're looking for a fun horror-style competitive game, this is a great one as long as you're willing to put up with the issues I called out. I think it's perfectly fine for some people which may want to wait until the beginning of July when the discount ends to see how much the game has changed, and if they've been making changes based on community feedback. They have a strong foundation of a game, so it's going to be exciting where they take it!
Now, for some pro-tips:
- Use headphones! Do not listen to music while you're playing this game. Audio is easily the most important aspect when trying to hunt down survivors. When a survivor sprints, they do heavy breathing which is pretty noticeable if they're nearby. Also crows going off, grass/corn getting bent, walking on metal, vaulting and starting generators all make sounds. If you can pick up those sounds, it's pretty easy to triangulate them to investigate.
- As a survivor, don't always sprint! This ties into my previous tip. Not only do you leave a visible trail to the killer to follow, you also breathe heavily which is very noticeable. I've gotten so many survivors which sprinted away, I lost them, but could hear them breathing nearby. Always fun to pull a survivor out of a closet when they think they're being sneaky.
- As the trapper, be sure to use your traps obviously. Best places are inside/outside windows of buildings as survivors try to use those as juke spots frequently, as well as finding choke spots near generators. I personally think those who waste their time placing traps at the bottom of hooks are silly and not worth the time or the use of a trap.
- As the survivors, use the chance when a survivor gets captured to get generators. Ideally, if 1 survivor gets captured, there's going to be 1 nearby who can wait for an opportunity to get him off the hook. The other 2 should be going after a generator and if you fail skill checks on purpose, sometimes you can lure camping killers away so you can try to rescue the other. If you have an only camping killer, then just generators asap and you'll likely escape since the timer for a survivor dying from the hook is fairly long.
- With that said, don't be a lame camping killer. Sometimes it may be necessary when it's 2v1 and you know they're trying to attempt to rescue their buddy, but overall I hate the killers who just stay at a survivor until they die. If the survivors in the match are smart, they'll get generators during this time and you'll probably lose. Plus, it's more fun for everyone, and if they rescue a survivor, you now know roughly where half the team is.
- As the hillbilly, it's not always necessary to try to be stealthy! If you're in a more open map, do chainsaw sprints to patrol generators! When you do long distance sprints to a generator, survivors typically won't have a long time to react since they'll likely be waiting for the proximity heartbeat instead of the chainsaw sound if you're using the chainsaw constantly. The farm maps are so much better for the hillbilly than the forest maps.
- As the wraith, remember that even when cloaked, you are not completely invisible. Astute survivors will still see you since you refract light a bit. My recommendation would be to avoid lights and have wider patrols going along more of the edges so it's less likely survivors see you.
- In terms of spending bloodpoints, remember that bloodpoints are a common pool which can be spent on anyone. If you played a few rounds of a survivor, but want to rank up a killer, go for it.
- As the survivor, if you find the item box on the map, it's almost always worth a search since you can bring those items back to the campfire.
- If your buddy is injured, HEAL THEM! Injured players make a lot of noises.