OK, let me start by saying - this game is unforgiving sometimes. It gives often, but just as willingly takes away. It is not a "calming" roadtrip experience. Yet, driving along, listening to the radio, and scavenging parts is actually rather serene in a strange way to me.

Sometimes, everything works against you. Your car getting dragged off a cliff, into a rock or into other anomalies. Panels getting sheared off. Shield constantly being depleted.
But this world is not hunting you. You are as alien to it as it is to you. The various anomalies don't care about you, they just affect your vehicle and each other in their own reality defying ways.

It's not a horror game per se, but there are a lot of nerve-racking and panic-inducing moments, and even more relieved breaths when you finally hit the brake on your return to the garage. The horror aspect comes from times when you feel the world is working against you, which it really isn't. All the anomalies work in specific ways. Many are static and present an obstacle to brave or circumnavigate but they aren't actively seeking you.

When you return to a previously explored junction, it will have changed drastically. This variation and randomness work with the game's story, creating re-playable and interesting environments. You never know what to expect round the next corner, and the conditions mechanic can create anything from interesting or annoying to downright horrifying maps, and the panic and dread this causes is incredibly powerful. Up to four conditions can be present at a time.

An example of these could include constant battery drain / pitch-black map / hard-to-find anchors, making it integral to recharge your battery, pack extra headlights, or slowly and painfully traverse that area in the darkness, looking for what you need to escape.

I love the sense of humour in the game, most notably in its item descriptions, and the ways the anomalies are described once scanned makes it integral to either read between the lines, or find out what they do by directly interacting with them.

The car itself is so well designed, but that means it handles exactly like an old 70's/80's station wagon would. It's not always easy to drive, and requires a gentle touch often. But you go from a scrappy rust bucket whose door will implode if you sneeze on it, to something that will be your saving grace time and time again. You WILL find yourself dying or limping back to safety with no panels, shattered windows, and three wheels (one or more of which may be flat) but you will have the means to repair it, even if you just slap together a temporary panel or two or slap some putty on it.

My advice here? Take metal, glass, tape and plastic with you wherever you go. Remember, you can replace parts as well as repair them if there are no resources nearby. They'll keep you going and keep you safe.

The garage is a great safe house: it has a regenerating ruined car, computer and radio outside to scrap to get some basic materials, and a friendly dumpster that somehow always knows exactly what you need in any given time, and often kindly creates decor items for you as well. The garage is very functional and satisfying to use and upgrading your base of operations often vastly changes the gameplay experience; for example, the matter regenerator, which repairs anything you put in it while out exploring.

The quirks system effectively creates a parallel to owning an old crusty car in reality; weird squeaks, screeches, and noises, the car acting up with no real cause, or trying to diagnose a problem that you cannot for the life of you find. The diagnosing system is interesting (it takes the form of a 4-phrase puzzle), but there are SO many variables to select and given your 8 guesses to get it right, it is quite a difficult puzzle if you don't know EXACTLY what is causing the quirks. That said, upgrades to that system can help you along (if you have a little Anchor energy to spare, of course.) For a first time player I would recommend turning the infinite quirks guessing setting ON for a little while, to help you get to grips with the system.

Talking of settings - where should I start?
EVERY ASPECT of this game and how it works can be tweaked. Want a full repair when you return to the garage after a successful run? Want a streamer safe mode? Want dropped items to be even more apparent? There's a setting for almost every aspect of this game, and this makes it accessible to all players, no matter your skill level. I play it with most settings default, but I've played around with some of the settings before writing this review, and the forethought that has gone into the game and its options is unlike any other in my opinion.

The gameplay loop is quite simple, however, there are so many unforeseeable circumstances that force you to think on the fly, make emergency repairs, or use anomalies to your advantage. Most anomalies can be used to your advantage if the location and situation are right.

In a world where we're getting rushed, shoddy releases, this little survival game is a relieving, funny breath of fresh air, with so much to it that I won't list here. Go play it. That rusty old car is waiting for you to turn it into a fortress to tackle the Exclusion Zone with.

But before I get back to installing more equipment on my souped up automobile, final thoughts.

It's a survival game like no other. I've seen it compared in many regards to Subnautica, and while I share many of those thoughts, I'd put this in a league of its own. It's an incredible, nerve racking, hilarious game that should be enjoyed however you see fit, and its exhaustive options menu can create an experience fit for anyone. Don't expect the game to hold your hand, but do read between the lines and listen to the three main characters (who are very well written, by the way) as they will give important information. When you first start playing, there's a lot to take in, but as time goes on and you complete the gameplay loop, everything becomes almost seamless in the way you interact with the garage and the world.

9.5/10 would be dragged into [insert anomaly here] by an Abductor again.

OK, let me start by saying - this game is unforgiving sometimes. It gives often, but just as willingly takes away. It is not a "calming" roadtrip experience. Yet, driving along, listening to the radio, and scavenging parts is actually rather serene in a strange way to me. Sometimes, everything works against you. Your car getting dragged off a cliff, into a rock or into other anomalies. Panels getting sheared off. Shield constantly being depleted. But this world is not hunting you. You are as alien to it as it is to you. The various anomalies don't care about you, they just affect your vehicle and each other in their own reality defying ways. It's not a horror game per se, but there are a lot of nerve-racking and panic-inducing moments, and even more relieved breaths when you finally hit the brake on your return to the garage. The horror aspect comes from times when you feel the world is working against you, which it really isn't. All the anomalies work in specific ways. Many are static and present an obstacle to brave or circumnavigate but they aren't actively seeking you. When you return to a previously explored junction, it will have changed drastically. This variation and randomness work with the game's story, creating re-playable and interesting environments. You never know what to expect round the next corner, and the conditions mechanic can create anything from interesting or annoying to downright horrifying maps, and the panic and dread this causes is incredibly powerful. Up to four conditions can be present at a time. An example of these could include [spoiler] constant battery drain / pitch-black map / hard-to-find anchors, making it integral to recharge your battery, pack extra headlights, or slowly and painfully traverse that area in the darkness, looking for what you need to escape. [/spoiler] I love the sense of humour in the game, most notably in its item descriptions, and the ways the anomalies are described once scanned makes it integral to either read between the lines, or find out what they do by directly interacting with them. The car itself is so well designed, but that means it handles exactly like an old 70's/80's station wagon would. It's not always easy to drive, and requires a gentle touch often. But you go from a scrappy rust bucket whose door will implode if you sneeze on it, to something that will be your saving grace time and time again. You WILL find yourself dying or limping back to safety with no panels, shattered windows, and three wheels (one or more of which may be flat) but you will have the means to repair it, even if you just slap together a temporary panel or two or slap some putty on it. My advice here? Take metal, glass, tape and plastic with you wherever you go. Remember, you can replace parts as well as repair them if there are no resources nearby. They'll keep you going and keep you safe. The garage is a great safe house: it has a regenerating ruined car, computer and radio outside to scrap to get some basic materials, and a friendly dumpster that somehow always knows exactly what you need in any given time, and often kindly creates decor items for you as well. The garage is very functional and satisfying to use and upgrading your base of operations often vastly changes the gameplay experience; for example, the [spoiler] matter regenerator, which repairs anything you put in it while out exploring. [/spoiler] The quirks system effectively creates a parallel to owning an old crusty car in reality; weird squeaks, screeches, and noises, the car acting up with no real cause, or trying to diagnose a problem that you cannot for the life of you find. The diagnosing system is interesting (it takes the form of a 4-phrase puzzle), but there are SO many variables to select and given your 8 guesses to get it right, it is quite a difficult puzzle if you don't know EXACTLY what is causing the quirks. That said, upgrades to that system can help you along (if you have a little Anchor energy to spare, of course.) For a first time player I would recommend turning the infinite quirks guessing setting ON for a little while, to help you get to grips with the system. Talking of settings - where should I start? EVERY ASPECT of this game and how it works can be tweaked. Want a full repair when you return to the garage after a successful run? Want a streamer safe mode? Want dropped items to be even more apparent? There's a setting for almost every aspect of this game, and this makes it accessible to all players, no matter your skill level. I play it with most settings default, but I've played around with some of the settings before writing this review, and the forethought that has gone into the game and its options is unlike any other in my opinion. The gameplay loop is quite simple, however, there are so many unforeseeable circumstances that force you to think on the fly, make emergency repairs, or use anomalies to your advantage. Most anomalies can be used to your advantage if the location and situation are right. In a world where we're getting rushed, shoddy releases, this little survival game is a relieving, funny breath of fresh air, with so much to it that I won't list here. Go play it. That rusty old car is waiting for you to turn it into a fortress to tackle the Exclusion Zone with. But before I get back to installing more equipment on my souped up automobile, final thoughts. It's a survival game like no other. I've seen it compared in many regards to Subnautica, and while I share many of those thoughts, I'd put this in a league of its own. It's an incredible, nerve racking, hilarious game that should be enjoyed however you see fit, and its exhaustive options menu can create an experience fit for anyone. Don't expect the game to hold your hand, but do read between the lines and listen to the three main characters (who are very well written, by the way) as they will give important information. When you first start playing, there's a lot to take in, but as time goes on and you complete the gameplay loop, everything becomes almost seamless in the way you interact with the garage and the world. 9.5/10 would be dragged into [insert anomaly here] by an Abductor again.