A Missed Opportunity
I must disclose that I didn't purchase the game but got it as part of an EVGA card upgrade program. A review of a game which you didn't have to pay anything for it can be obviously biased to the positive side, so bear with me and consider this while you go through what I have to say
For those of you that have played Dead Space, Cryostasis will seem like a failed effort to replicate the asphyxiating environment and overly tense gameplay of that game. Even if the settings are different in principle –space vs. frozen tundra- in reality they are not much different: both are cold and empty, your survival is always threatened and you have to fight monstrosities all by yourself through the story. The most relevant difference between the two games is that in Cryostasis the environment plays a much bigger role in your survival that what your enemies play, and this is a risky proposition to implement well. This emphasis on the environment as your main enemy creates a sense of desperation alright, but one that it becomes increasingly repetitive. Fighting a non-tactical enemy is good for some time, but when it becomes central to the game you can see why it's so hard to stick to this game. I have to take a bow to the developers for trying something different, but I must say they were not much successful. Also, the environment design was well implemented but it's not as good as those seen on Dead Space, Bioshock and other horror-survival games which in my opinion did a much better job. Cryostasis environments make a good job recreating what they want you to experience, but being that they are so important to the game, they should have been way better
Adding to the slow gameplay are the oversimplified game controls, predictable enemies and limited weaponry. I have no problem when a developer tries to make the controls as easy as possible but when it comes at the expense of you character's ability and mobility is not a good think. A few more allowed movements would have made the game more interesting and your character more enjoyable, even if feeling a bit less realistic. The enemies are way too simple and even after you've finished the game you will have a hard time understanding exactly what happened, who they were and what they were doing or heading. Maybe the problem is the story, which while it's good and creative, is not told with the necessary pace and is not well organized and tied together. As your advance through the game is very slow, it's easy to forget parts of the story told early in the game, being forced to remember them constantly. Maybe the problem is not the story but the game that is like a book that fails you to catch on you: you read it so slow that it's easy to forget meaningful content at the beginning of it. As per the weapons, there are only 6 or 7 of them available, 3 of which are melee used basically the same way and the others have about the same degree of effectiveness and way to use them. Granted, you're in a place when you're not supposed to have many weapons choices, but a bit more of imagination could have been good for the gameplay
I didn't experience any issues with the graphics but my PC is way overqualified to play the game so it can't be a good indicator. But a game that plays well where is supposed to play well, contrary to a game that plays bad where is supposed to play well –there are many of those around lately- it's definitively a good thing. The game looks great, graphics were sharp and the multiple reflections being this an environment full of ice and metal were pretty well done. Still, I sense they could have done a better job. As said, it had potential to be a very good game, a classic, but developers failed to capitalize on it. For that I give them les than eight stars
Better luck on your next effort