Horror games belong to very difficult genres. Probably because each of us has a fear of something else. This, however, does not prevent authors from trying different things on us. Most recently, we tried to frighten Sony in cooperation with Firesprite Games, who sent us into the universe in the horror of The Persistence. But there is no luxury holiday full of discovery and various beautiful sceneries. On the contrary. We get into the crisis situation in 2521 and imagine that the Earth still exists in this period. But it's 17,000 light-years away from us. The Scientific Ship of Persistence is on the brink of destruction. As it is already in the universe, the long-awaited experiment of the scientists did not work out of the way, and the consequences are classical - catastrophic.
The ship will start to spread a mutation that affects all crew members. Of course, you were lucky enough to have you. However, the Persistence, which is drawn by the gravity of the collapsing star, is also in danger. The on-board computer responds quickly to an awakening crew member from cryogenic sleep. But instead of saving the ship, they have a little different target. The mutation has changed them so much that you or your clones are their only concern. However, the whole situation needs to be resurfaced as soon as possible. You must survive and save Persistence from total perdition before it is too late.
This is the main plot story, and even if it could really pull out of it, in that direction nothing extra extra, unfortunately, do not expect. This mini story is just for the sake of keeping something cool and the tasks you fill make sense. The Persistence is primarily a procedurally generated roguelike title. This means that everything begins with your death, surely, odzova. There are no checkpoints or optional storage points. The layout of the ship, the enemies, the weapons and the various things around it, however, change the way the authors want to avoid the stereotype, because no game will be exactly the same. The design of the interior of the ship remains unchanged and changes only the layout of things, your body and, of course, the map.
If you die, you will wake up in the clone printer to transfer your personality and memories to another body. It is corrupted, and besides your clone, it also creates clones of mutated crew. The positive message is that the game, unlike other roguelike titles, does not contain a net permanent death that you have to start from the peak. Your credit, upgrades, and everything you've unlocked in the previous game will be kept with you. The procedure is, of course, also preserved in the tasks that gradually save the ship and fill yourself. It's about 5, and it's usually about finding a place where you make a specific action, so nothing fancy.
Boating on the boat freshens your teleport for short distances. From the beginning of the game, you can use less, but if you get used to it, it will be an effective tool that will also help in fighting. You will not get away with the game. Enemies are randomly generated and are different members of the mutated crew. Some of them are easy to overcome, others are tormented by you. Since it is a survival title, in the direction of the fights it is best to choose a stealth procedure.
When many enemies are thrown at you at once, you have no chance against them at all. Despite the different control settings (where everyone will find it), I have come across situations where I could be more than happy to play without the VR headset. For example, because of frequent dark streets or teleprotection, which was a bit heavy on the VR, I sometimes did not know where I am. I missed a greater movement of movement, the absence of which limited overall playability.
Survival options enhance the various enhancements and weapons you can find on the Peristance, or leave them to be made in the so-called Fabrikátors. These are the production stations that you find differently located along the corridors of the ship. Once you use the station, it has to be recharged so it does not give you an unlimited number of possibilities and uses. The gun arsenal in this case is made up of various guns, automatic weapons, grenades, close weapons, or interesting sci-fi experiments. However, the charge is slow, so you will have to save and think well when you shoot.
In addition to classic weapon upgrades that we know from other games, you can also improve your body. Statistics are available, such as better shield regeneration, more effective close attacks, maximizing health, and more. Your attributes are gradually improving, remaining after survival. In every other game you can see that the initial enemies who have tormented you before are no longer an obstacle even when they get up. You do not have to worry, however, that the game is not a challenge. Enemies are gradually changing and the deeper the Persistence you go, the more challenging the opponents are waiting for you.
What the The Persistance keeps you right from the start is the atmosphere. Spooky and disturbing moments will not be anxious on a ship full of mutated crew members. The corridors are quiet, dark and cool. The overall atmosphere reminds a bit of a famous science fiction horror film that has been successfully slaughtered by Electronic Arts. You guess right, it's Dead Space. However, The Persistance is finely grained, and the corridors of your ship will become stereotypical in a short time, even though their layout changes. Certainly, I would be pleased with some visual refreshment I was looking for in the bowels of the ship.
There are also minor mistakes associated with the visual, such as the ideal work with light, for example. Often I happened to have lit up some object that was still black. In any case, the experience enhances the well-crafted audio page. The ripping of the enemy is causing the colds, especially when you find out in a short time that they have the habit of leaping from nothing. To add to it, you can add random rumbles in the background, various buchnuts or long-distance shots, tingling or other disturbing sound elements that have worked very well for the dense atmosphere.
If you belong to those who are waiting for a so-called VR seller title, hoping it might be The Persistance, I'm going to disappoint you. This is not a breakthrough. Nevertheless, the game offers a great atmosphere that will definitely please fans of science fiction and horror. Roguelike's mechanics are trying to refresh with a variety of options that balance the difficulty of the title. Any potential candidate, however, must not interfere with the important fact that after the killing begins everything, yes, again, of course, with compromises. To do this, you have to overcome even smaller limitations in gameplay. The problem is also a very brief narrative story, a relatively short game time and not just the most attractive, after a time stereotyped visual. The Persistance is the result of a title that will delight fans of science fiction horror. From a game point of view, however, it is more or less about the average issue that you will surely forget for a while.