Fear & Hunger

There’s not a whole lot of helpful reviews for this game on Steam, most of them either being people who misunderstand the dark themes as being “fetishistic” or “trashy shock value”, which yes, while it is shocking to get into your first combat encounter and see an enemy with a huge, exposed “stinger” as it is called, and the potential repercussions of losing said fight, at no point is it being made a joke or something meant to titillate the player. The whole premise of the dungeon itself is that it harbours some of the greatest evil mankind could possibly possess, and it proves that to you time and time again. Yes, the game is unforgiving and brutal. That’s part of the charm. The game will seem like complete RNG and like you just spent 8$ to hate yourself. However, this is 100% remedied by your own knowledge of the game, and trial and error. Every combat is a puzzle, nearly every enemy has an “optimal” order of operations for what limbs to sever, and for when they will do certain attacks. Simply understanding how each encounter works will take you so much further than you would most likely think from how most people talk about this game. Frankly, it’s almost “easy” to an extent once you actually know what you’re doing. I don’t know how many games I can think of that indirectly reward you for doing your homework and/or actually paying attention to what happens both in combat and out. There are some elements of the game that always rely on a bit of chance, such as your party members missing their attacks, status effects not successfully procc’ing, bad luck with your coin flips (because the game literally does make you call heads or tails before showing you what you get), and random loot from things like bookshelves or chests that can absolutely make or break a run, but that’s part of what keeps the game tense even when you are fully prepared. The game actually goes out of its way to make sure you understand that you do NOT have to take every single possible combat encounter available. Plenty of enemies do not drop good rewards, and there’s a whole level of skill alone in learning how to dodge patrolling enemies and preventing yourself from getting pinned between two trying to get you into separate encounters. If the content of the game is too much for you, then that’s okay, but it’s not a moral failing of the developer, nor of the players who do enjoy the game. The atmosphere is the darkest and grisliest of any game that I can think of in recent memory while still being respectful of the topics. It’s *supposed* to be a terrible thing that you avoid. There are some very light “roguelike” elements being many different areas of the map having multiple variations that are randomly chosen at the start of your save file, but with time, you should be able to get from the top to the bottom of the dungeon even if you have never seen the current layout that you’re playing. Any review saying the game is “pure RNG” genuinely either do not want to learn how the game works, or have an actual skill issue. There’s also many different endings to the game of varying levels of disparity for your party, giving you a reason to play multiple runs, try each character, and try building a team of four with different members each time. I myself still have several to do, if I could ever bring myself to leave the Girl in a cage on the first floor (which I can’t). All in all, this game is extremely unique, with a very heavy and dark atmosphere that can’t really be matched by anything else available right now. It’s an RPG with no power levelling that wants you to fail a few times so that you learn and you can survive the next run with the knowledge you gained from the last. It truly is only impossible if you are unwilling to change up what you’re doing and pay attention to the details it gives you.

this game inspired me deeply. I quit my job and started drinking and chain smoking. I now live outside of the co op park and become violently anxious whenever I am asked to flip a coin. I do not think I will ever be the same, thank you Miro.

Okay, i did it ! The atmosphere is unique and when you understand the mechanics it's really a joy to be raped by this awesome game !