{"id":12482,"date":"2019-03-30T17:51:44","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T00:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/desolate-review-a-carefully-crafted-unique-horror-gem\/"},"modified":"2024-01-24T17:31:09","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T01:31:09","slug":"desolate-review-a-carefully-crafted-unique-horror-gem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/desolate-review-a-carefully-crafted-unique-horror-gem\/","title":{"rendered":"Desolate Review \u2013 A Carefully Crafted &amp; Unique Horror Gem"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/0-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Desolate\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Nearga\/HyTrain Digital<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yeah, we all know that survival games are a dime-a-dozen these days. Survival (and survival horror) fans are pretty much being spoiled right now with all of the options on the video gaming market. We\u2019ve got everything from straight survival titles, such as <em>The Long Dark<\/em>, to more PvP-oriented fare like the infamous <em>Rust<\/em> and <em>Ark: Survival Evolved.<\/em> And then there\u2019s the immensely popular survival horror subgenre, which features all kinds of creepy goodness such as <em>Remothered: Tormented Fathers, Visage,<\/em> and many, many others.<\/p>\n<p>Indie game developers Nearga has recently thrown their project, titled <em>Desolate,<\/em> into the midst of this cavalcade of offerings. The backstory is an intriguing one, and revolves around a mysterious island called Granichny.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15589\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/1-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Something bad\u2026no, very bad, happened on Granichny Island. A murky corporation has been carrying out all kinds of diabolical experiments on the shadowy isle, and now they want so-called \u201cVolunteers,\u201d many who have never held weapons in their lives, to investigate what went wrong.<\/p>\n<p>Up to four players can take the role of these Volunteers and are tasked with gathering clues on Granichny Island in order to piece together why the place suddenly went dark. Dark is the operative word here because when you start off, you\u2019ll find yourself on the edge of the island surrounded by almost total darkness. From there, like many survival games, you\u2019ll have to scrounge around for resources such as food, water, weapons, and various crafting materials.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15591\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/2-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" \/><\/p>\n<p>My first play-through involved spawning in on a beach, creeping around in the darkness through some woods (utilizing the game\u2019s excellent stealth mechanics), and slowly moving into a warehouse district. Suddenly, I heard some snarling noises and spied a large, many-toothed wolf-like creature pacing around nearby.<\/p>\n<p>I swiftly ducked into a warehouse in order to hide, but that\u2019s when I heard someone gibbering to themselves and made out the silhouette of a man within the warehouse\u2019s darkness. He spotted me and began running straight at me, which in turn caused me to bolt out of the warehouse and back into the forest. After losing the possessed chap from my tail, I came across a two-story cabin amongst the dimness of the trees.<\/p>\n<p>I thought to myself: \u201cGreat, I\u2019ll just cool my heels in this joint for a bit, and figure out my next move.\u201d Just as I approached the front door of the place, I heard a little girl\u2019s giggles, and the dark shape of a child hovering above the door flashed in front of me. Within seconds I had turned <em>Desolate<\/em> off.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15592\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/3-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" \/><\/p>\n<p>What I am trying to explain here is that there is something that makes <em>Desolate<\/em> much different from other survival horror fare that I\u2019ve played. In other games of this sort, I\u2019m used to encountering a bunch of zombies, which are by now pretty tired and hackneyed. If not that, then some Hills Have Eyes-type of weirdo-family, a devil-worshiping cult, or a not-too-abandoned insane asylum.<\/p>\n<p><em>Desolate<\/em> differentiates itself by having a decidedly Lovecraftian vibe combined with elements of psychological and supernatural horror. Therefore, you\u2019ll encounter ghostly orbs which crackle with energy, deformed monstrosities with multitudes of tentacles, evil spirits, and beastly creatures that have been experimented on and somehow escaped their captivity. Simply put: <em>Desolate <\/em>features a real cornucopia of horror.<\/p>\n<p>Another thing that sets <em>Desolate<\/em> apart is its phenomenal sound design. If you\u2019re wearing a pair of good headphones (recommended), you can hear all sorts of creaks and groans coming from your surroundings. When you begin to veer a little too close to one of the island\u2019s denizens, you\u2019ll not only hear what direction they\u2019re in but also little details about what to expect.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-15593\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/4-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For instance, when I heard heavy footfalls I could usually expect to turn and see some sort of lumbering beast nearby. However, if there were some low mutterings that sounded like they were coming from something demonic, I\u2019d expect a possessed human or evil spirit. It\u2019s the little things like these that can cause a chill to run up and down your spine with anticipation and fear.<\/p>\n<p>In all, <em>Desolate<\/em> is a fantastically horrific addition to the survival horror genre. It combines great pacing, interesting and unique foes, stellar sound design, and some seriously creepy environments. Any fan of horror should definitely pick this title up. Just make sure you go to the bathroom before you do.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>SCORE: 83%<\/p>\n<p><em>Desolate <\/em>features pretty great graphics that make its survival horror gameplay truly shine. However, you want to have a pretty beefy gaming PC or gaming laptop in order to play it at a decent framerate. So, you may just want to invest in a decent gaming rig:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowerpc.com\/system\/Tracer-III-15R-Slim-VR-700\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/w\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/combo_400.png\" alt=\"case image\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowerpc.com\/system\/Tracer-III-15R-Slim-VR-700\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TRACER III 15R SLIM VR 700 <\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cyberpowerpc.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CyberpowerPC\u2019s website<\/a> to check out all of the other great deals as well!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Desolate\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nearga\/HyTrain Digital Yeah, we all know that survival games are a dime-a-dozen these days. Survival (and survival horror) fans are pretty much being spoiled right now with all of the options on the video gaming market. We\u2019ve got everything from straight survival titles, such as The Long Dark, to more PvP-oriented fare like the&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/desolate-review-a-carefully-crafted-unique-horror-gem\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Desolate Review \u2013 A Carefully Crafted &amp; Unique Horror Gem<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":7024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2724],"tags":[2520,741,2624,2488,2527,1225,67,2486,2570],"class_list":["post-12482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-4k-gaming","tag-cyberpower-pc","tag-first-person-games","tag-game-review","tag-game-reviews-2","tag-gaming-laptop","tag-gaming-pc","tag-ian-kane","tag-survival-horror-games"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12482"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16966,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12482\/revisions\/16966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberpowergaming.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}