Conglomerate 451
The cyberpunk music genre is very much in the cultural eye at the second , at least in the video game diligence . CD Projekt Red ’s upcomingCyberpunk 2077remains one of the most anticipated video games of the class , despite release delays . To go past the time , RuneHeads has get a unlike cyberpunk experience in the form ofConglomerate 451,a roguelike keep - crawler which illustrate the grim , dehumanizing nature of privatized technological progression but which fail to use that technological onward motion to make a memorable game .
Conglomerate 451puts the player in command of a paramilitary defence means that produce squadron of " battle clone , " spendable human simulacrums that venture into the crime - filledcity of Conglomerateto bring in down the corporations that have taken it over . The game ’s level mode take place over 75 weeks , with one workweek dedicated to each mission you direct a team to carry out . Conglomerate metropolis is divided into five distinct zones , each with their own unparalleled artistic style . Each mission will send you to one of them with a specific goal to dribble out , like finding an important MacGuffin or bolt down a sure enemy . A successful mission will step down one of the four corporations you ’re direct during your playthrough . These corporation are procedurally generated and very brusque on distinguish traits . A sidebar on the mission preparation screen informs you when they were set up , what their political boss ’s name is , and what their preferred crime is ( presented in one word , like " guns " or " slave " ) but this information has little to no impact on gameplay , and since the corporations ' names are procedurally generated as well , you ’ll generally be identifying them exclusively based on their Word .
Related : Wizardry : Labyrinth of Lost Souls Review - A turn Past its Prime
you’re able to create a goodish roster of clone , fourteen at the start of the game , and take three to participate in any give commission . You design clones in your own in - house cloning center , choose froma listing of " setting " ( classes)and outfitting them with four abilities from a list of seven or so . Each background has speciality that set out from clear and well-fixed to build around to corner and very particular . The bodyguard is a simple background , a short - scope storage tank who specialise in protect his allies . The Juicer is a bit more complicated ; this setting revolves around taking drugs and using them to augment his power . His specialties and tactics may disagree depending on what drug you have uncommitted for him to take . Each scope has a fixed gender and appearance ; every clone of any given screen background will look identical to every other one . The only level of customization you have aside from designing their outfit is distinguish them and designate them an accent colour that frames their image in your HUD .
The base gameplay is reminiscent of 3rd - individual dungeon crawlers likeLegend of Grimrock . Your police squad move as a exclusive unit , using WASD to move and Q and E to change the direction they ’re face . Combat is a turn - based function ; each building block is assign a place in initiative , and on their turn you choose a attainment and come home on the signify target . Attacks can be take at specific place on the object ’s body , and you have a chance of inflicting sure debuffs depending on where you snap . Each unit , friend or foe , has a wellness bar and a cuticle bar . The shield take in harm until it ’s gone , at which point the social unit will begin taking damage to their health directly . Conceptually , this is far from a unique idea , but in execution it make scrap a more or less tiresome social function . As presently as an foe ’s shell is become , they go down in one or two hit . Your unit ' shields , meanwhile , are almost impervious , and can be replenished during or out of fighting by spending some of the building block ’s battery resource . As long as you remember to keep your shields charged , most fights are going to offer little to no challenge to you . This also mean that healing abilities are all but useless unless things get very dire , and using one of your precious three roster touch for a healing clone just to prepare for the bad - lawsuit scenario is just a good musical theme when said healer will be largely without intent for most if not all of the dungeon .
pick out a good police squad is paramount to success , as there are certain ringer squad ups that can completely cripple you . That being said , there ’s little reasonableness to experiment ; once you ’ve found a squad that exercise , there ’s little incentive to judder things up . Units will rarely get afflictions that require them to take time off from adventures to recuperate . The most common form these affliction take is physical trauma , which will demand a clone to be institutionalise to the wellness center . But forcible trauma is only inflicted when the clon ’s Pain metre ( which fills when they take damage ) gets high-pitched enough , and , more importantly , when they take damage to their wellness bar . This means that even with a dangerously high Pain meter , a clon will likely still be utterly fine to hazard as many times as you want to . Overusing drug is another possible affliction author , as it can lead to mental upset that can impose debuffs in fighting . But because of this , there ’s not much motivation to use drugs , unless you have a Juicer ; if your squad is solid combat ’s easy enough without them .
In addition to recuperating and creating soldier , Conglomerate 451offers a wealth of options for how to spend your metre alfresco of missions . Your Research Center has five path of study to focus on , each with their own tree of perk that can further increase and refine your selection . In the quarter you could promote unit , promote their gearing , and even give them cybernetic implant to allot them extra force in fighting . You also have the archive , where you’re able to attempt to decode bits of lore you find in the study and learn more about the dystopian world in which you live . you may also find exceptional computer chips in the field which can be slotted into arm , gear , and cybernetic limbs and offer up further vantage ; the amount of thing you may do between commission is nothing myopic of staggering , and that ’s not always a good affair .
The secret plan has three forms of currency ; the sci - fi standstill - by credits , Tech , and an illegal , DNA - base substance called " Lifeine . " Credits are easy to derive by but tech and Lifeine are much rarer commodities . Lifeine is mostly used for buying illegal goodness from suspicious case you meet on the street , but technical school is used for basically everything , and always pass out quicker than you need it to . Given the sheer wealth of alternative and the sheer dearth of Tech to spend pursuing these alternative , the musician will usually be overwhelmed between missionary work in an attempt to determine the best grade of action . advance through the various upgrade option feels too tedious , since your pockets run out too tight .
If the secret plan excels at anything , it ’s the environments . Each of the six zones in Conglomerate find distinct , unequalled , and interesting . Exploring them is n’t always a blast , as fight is repetitive and easy and , unlikeLegend of Grimrock , there are n’t really any orphic treasures or puzzles to attract the tending . But they do attend great , and the background info you ’re present with is pretty interesting . Conglomerate 451is every turn a cyberpunk game , and the environments show this off to greatest effect .
Ultimately , Conglomerate 451is a hard game to urge . It ’s not a risky secret plan , it ’s just too average for its own goodness . Just about everything the game does is done well by someone else . If you want a first - person donjon crawler , there’sLegend of Grimrock . If you need an RPG with a large roster of characters and permadeath , you ’re well off withDarkestDungeonor something similar . Even the out of fight progression systems are substantially handled ingames likeX - COM.Conglomerate 451is play in a crowded space , and like the corporate drones in its own cyberpunk dystopia , it just ca n’t shew its own identity .
Next : The Suicide of Rachel Foster Review
Conglomerate 451is out now on PC . A digital download code was provided to Screen Rant for purposes of revaluation .
