Reviews - Robert_Nemet

Paranoia 2: Savior definitely shows promise as a sequel, however, there are certain things that don't really fall in line with it.

Paranoia was one of those mods that I really liked for what it was, and I didn't know of Paranoia 2 up until a few days ago (at this time of writing). It still caught me off guard, but on a slightly negative note as well.

1 - My biggest complaint here is the option of "compressed textures" in the opengl.cfg file. Not only was that lagging the game, but it crashed it occasionally while loading maps (which also took longer). Unless there was a reason for that, why was that option enabled by default after installation?

2 - Zombie Gunners - In my opinion, they just don't fit. A virus that's meant to cause extreme mutations (as the first Paranoia "showcased"), using guns is just a big no to them. Not to mention the deadeye accuracy they have (which got me stuck several times). Which moves me to 3.

3 - Ironsights. For a start, many weps don't seem to have recoil while ironsighted (except the AK), but even with that, your accuracy still seems to be hindered (as if you're still hipfiring). And connects to 4 with...

4 - Depth of Field during Ironsights. It only changes when you stop moving and no animations play on your weapon. Nice touch and all, but sometimes gets in the way.

5 - Different zombies. This may seem strange if you played the original Paranoia before starting Paranoia 2. I was expecting the same mutated freaks to show up, along some different ones. The latter part is true, though, as there are many variations, however, not as "grotesque" as I'd expect. Then again, I guess there's a reason for it (assuming from KROT-3 labs)

6 - Character animations, such as pressing a button, breaking down a door/vent is a little stale, but chances are you won't notice right away unless you pay direct attention.

Now, these 6 notes are things that I didn't like too much, although it didn't really get in the way of my enjoyment. I like the Paranoia games for some reason.

What I did like about it is the fact that it still remained mutual to the Paranoia universe, including some callbacks to areas you've already seen before. Not to mention being back in KROT-3. Those moments I really liked, giving me quite the chills.

Not to mention all the backstory waiting to be read. Although I do feel like certain things need to remain unknown. I dunno, it just feels like they've suddenly revealed a lot more than they should've in one go.

I'll give this an 8/10, mainly because I like these Paranoia games, but if not for that, original rating would be around 6. If you're a fan of the series, I recommend it, but please, if you do, disable that compressed texture ********, or chances are that you'll get random lag spikes as you explore the areas. Potentially can crash the game as far as I learned.

Good, but it could be a little better with some improvements here and there. Then again, I still like it as is, except for #2.

Well, this game is pretty well made comparative to some indie games I've seen. Graphics are rather nice, but not too demanding, gameplay mechanics are fitting and easy to handle as long as you do it delicately (rushing can easily mess up what you were trying to do).

The music and sound are very fitting, all relying on proper quality to deliver.

The creepy factor at first starts at a minimal range but slowly escalates, sending few but minor jumpscares your way to keep the tension flowing. By the end, the tension may or may not wear you down (it takes quite some time to get from start to end in this game, about 25 minutes or close)

Now the physics system works pretty smoothly, but can get odd at random times. I've had cases where I couldn't open some drawers sometimes, but nothing is in them even if you pull them open somehow. Some objects (like barrels) seemingly roll on the ground like in a weightless condition, unless that's just me.

There were also periodic lag spikes that started off at 1AM and usually went off till 2AM. While at first I thought it was my rig that kept freaking out on me, I noted that Raedwulfgamer (whose PC is powerful, mind you) also had these lag spikes. At this point I believe there may be an optimization issue or a bug in the coding. The lag spikes temporarily stop whenever the candle is lit after being blown out.

Aside from the occasional physics bug and the periodic lag spikes, the rest of the game performs rather well. The game may be hard, but here's 2 tricks: Always stay on the move, and find as many matches as possible. If you find around 30 matches, then you will survive, no doubt. But the case is a "lucky draw", so you may not even come close to finding so many matches, hence the replayability.

As for the ending, well it confused me slightly but I still liked it. I'm not fully sure what's going on there, but I definitely caught a couple details in there.

I have to say that this game is pretty damn well done. Graphics, sounds, ambience, music, it's all nicely done, incomparable to the "Fear of the Darkness" game, which, I have to say, wasn't good. The game has quite some inspiration from Scratches, that I noted multiple times too, which indeed gave me the creeps.

Attention to detail is also pretty high, which is something I usually like, especially in spooky places such as that.

And then the story... speechless right there. That plot twist... I'm sure I wasn't the only one who hit that right there. But it gives an in-depth explanation as to how "that" happened too.

Game is generally well-done, the engine might be a limitation here and there, but you worked with it to the best of your abilities, of course. Only had one CTD, but got back into it. Aside from the wonky monster AI, the game is good. It got stuck multiple times on my side, which lead to more scares eventually.

Well done here!

~Robby