Solarix - Sci-Fi Horror

I've never been one for horror style games, but it really is rather fun. It can feel a bit slow paced at times, but that's entirely down to your playstyle.

Since I'm a horrible scaredy cat, I prefer to mostly sneak everywhere and take my time. It pays off rather well, as the story expands through the normal playthrough and also through emails, and audio logs you come across. There's also a somewhat deranged woman trying to track me down with the promises of having "fun". The story might feel familiar at first, as there are only so many ways to write these; but it does so extremely well. I've always liked games with good lore, and a decent story and I rather enjoy it. Stealth games rarely appeal to me, especially suspenseful ones that keep you on your tiptoes, but Solarix is fun. You can't simply run and gun, you're horribly outmatched and need to outsmart opponents at every turn. Especially since ammo is scarce, and unless you've got aimbot skills you're going to have some issues. The audio is really what makes the game. It creates an atmosphere of slight dread, and fear, with copious amounts of suspense. So much so that any sudden loud noise in the game can give you a start. Hearing someone's heavy slogging footsteps come closer and closer as you sneak around the dark is fantastic, and unnerving. Now the graphics aren't anything special, nor do I feel they need to be. The game is well crafted, runs really well, and conveys the story and gameplay the way I feel does it justice. Sure everyone would want Crysis levels of detail, and I'm rather fussy with games always trying to max them out. Solarix though really doesn't need it. The Unreal 3 engine does them fine, runs well, and is stable. I should note that no matter what, the game framerate was always capped at 62 for me. The developers say there are no caps for it, but despite my monitor's refresh rate of 144Hz it refused to go higher. I also have two GTX 980Tis powering it. It's honestly not an issue, but I feel it worth mentioning. There are also some slight movement, and pathing issues here and there for enemies. Especially if you distracted them from their patrol or area by creating noise through throwing objects. Although these are rare. I've only seen one enemy get slightly stuck at a barrel. The areas are quite varied, going from a patchy forest, to foundries and even space ships. Although due to the nature of the game, it's always rather dark, and corridor like. I did get a bit of a Doom 3 vibe at parts, but thankfully the game doesn't rely on jump scares. Now, considering what's been said in in-game dialogue and messages there is plenty for the developers to expand on their game universe. I certainly hope they do. I would easily recommend the game for folks that like Sci-Fi and stealth.