GLOOMWOOD GAMEPLAY HOW TO

Latter half of the Early Access content feels linear, multiple playthroughs don't yet yield alternative paths. There were several occasions where I thought I'd stumbled across a clever way to solve objectives, only to be met with dead ends or invisible walls. Not many opportunities for 'emergent' gameplay. I also consider the current lack of use for loot as well as lack of enemy variety to be weaknesses, but I think they can be grouped in with this category because those issues will undoubtedly be solved. This will likely change, hence why I dislike the Yes/No dichotomy of Steam reviews. Unless you're a die-hard Thief fan or New Blood supporter, this simply isn't a great dollar value in comparison to some indies or older games. That's the biggest reason for why I don't recommend the game at present. + Opening area in particular, while not *really* complex, uses clever level design to make use of save points multiple times.

GLOOMWOOD GAMEPLAY HOW TO

+ Levels are generally well-constructed, & teach you how to play without becoming obtrusive or overbearing. + Minimalistic & diagetic UI creates strong sense of immersion. Enemies are a little over-the-top to be as creepy sounding as they look, but it's still good quality stuff. + Sound design is good - ambience always present, voice acting is entertaining. There's a lot of potential there, and gives Gloomwood an identity outside of 'Thief with guns'.

+ Interesting mix of survival-horror style resource management with immersive sim freedom of movement. + Checkpoint save system creates tension & a more intense feeling of consequence, forcing you to be considerate about how you play. Really inspired take on mid-2000s-PS2-style graphics, relatively unexplored territory for indies, and the grim Victorian motif matches up with it beautifully. I grappled with the idea of saying 'Yes' to the recommendation because I don't like hurting small developers, but settled on 'No' because it more accurately sums up how I feel about Gloomwood *right now*, and it seems like the developers have a lot of big fans that are willing to bring the game's general recommendation level up. I'll start out by saying the binary yes/no structure of a Steam Review leaves a lot to be desired in cases like Early Access games, because there's more nuance that goes into such a recommendation. I'll take the opportunity to preemptively shill my YouTube channel where you can check out a more in-depth video review where I provide visual examples for my points!

Gloomwood gameplay