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Manako

Review: Neo Scavenger

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I first saw Neo Scavenger at PAX East, it was really up my alley, and even more surprising it is made in Flash! It is a roguelike adventure game that features a realistic inventory system and has players trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The game has the player scavenging the fallen rubble of buildings to try to subsist; it is easy to die due to hypothermia, infection, or thirst.



The game is, no surprise, very brutal. Because it’s brutal you quickly learn to flee from people who are equal or greater in strength (or else you die) and that you have to face dogs when they attack at first, because again… death. One feature I wish they had was some recommended builds because I found that very difficult to figure out when I began, was I failing because I’m doing something wrong in game, or should I have chosen my skills differently.



The game is visually very simple, there are some nice flourishes with how the items are created and your character’s clothing and what they hold in their hands is displayed on the minimap. The story is revealed through short narrative breaks, through newspaper clippings and CDs, the first time experiencing the game the player is as naïve as their protagonist. The game only allows you to have one save which occurs as you leave the game, which can be frustrating, but the spirit of the game is to play through as far as you can, and probably encourages you to be risky when all is lost. When you die a stat screen appears showing how you spent your final time on the earth.

I haven’t been able to beat the game in the 30+ hours I’ve sunk into it, I certainly will continue slowly progressing deeper into the wasteland.

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