A review of "Trouble" – a game that seems to be made on the principle of "So-so will do" / ITech content

Contents:

• Sad, sad...
• Everything is very bad

"Smuta" created many obstacles in my path. The game often froze, crashed, and corrupted saves. One time, I had to wait several days for a critical bug to be fixed, because of which I was stuck in the game. Spending even half an hour with "Time of Troubles" was extremely unpleasant, not to mention the 25 hours I spent on it.

It's reminiscent of the tale of Vovka in the Far Far Away Kingdom: "Oh well, this will do!" This game is no longer for players, but only for creating news about its release.

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Grief, grief...

I don't want to criticize, but it is important to note the failure. The game "Time of Troubles" ranks among the last projects I've encountered since the early 2000s. That was a time when fly-by-night studios were releasing low-quality games, often rushed to support films. A game based on "Wolfhound" is a prime example. Even a deep patriotism for Rus''s native land can't justify "Time of Troubles": it's an extremely unsuccessful and completely unplayable project. Apparently, at least a billion rubles were spent on its development.

During the Time of Troubles in Rus', Moscow is occupied by the Poles, and Minin and Pozharsky form a militia to fight the invaders. Our hero, boyar Yuri Miloslavsky, finds himself in this turbulent situation. He faces an internal conflict: he must choose between loyalty to the tsar appointed by Moscow, to please his uncle, and supporting Pozharsky, who is fighting for the country's liberation. This dilemma reflects not only Miloslavsky's personal interests, but also broader historical events shaping the future of Rus'.

Miloslavsky finds himself in a difficult situation: he simultaneously serves his uncle, who has sworn allegiance to the Polish tsar, and disguises himself as a German to assassinate a Smolensk nobleman. He also carries out tasks for a Polish lady and even steals from the Cossacks. The protagonist appears out of place and foolish, and his actions do not inspire respect. Instead of dealing with serious matters, it would be better for him to relax and enjoy the simple life.

He will soon undoubtedly decide to fight exclusively for Mother Rus', but before that, he will commit a number of unacceptable acts.

The game "Time of Troubles" appears dull and inexpressive. Poles and criminals suddenly emerge from the forest thickets, and in the Kremlin, starving Poles supposedly eat people. The princes and Cossacks show no interest in Pozharsky's leadership. As a result, the project does not convey the atmosphere of a historical drama and does not live up to its name.

In the trailers, Typically, carefully edited graphics are shown without any glitches. This is because such videos serve as a promotional tool aimed at attracting customers to the game.

Cyberia Nova immediately exposed its gameplay shortcomings. Even in the video, it was clear that the combat physics left much to be desired, and the graphics suffered from collision issues when one bear model penetrated another. This raises concerns about the overall quality of the game and its mechanics.

Action has become one of the main problems in Cyberia Nova, raising doubts about the professionalism of the developers. This may indicate a lack of qualifications on the team or that they simply did not show due diligence in creating a high-quality game product.

On Yuri Day, a group of people is traditionally thrown out, among whom may be those armed with firearms, as well as wild animals such as wolves and bears. This practice is associated with ancient customs, when ritualized sacrifices symbolized purification and protection. Throwing people and animals on Yuri Day reflects the cultural traditions associated with this date and emphasizes the importance of preserving historical customs.

There is an issue with the combat system in the game "Time of Troubles." Wolves, as enemies, have low hitboxes, and their colliders don't seem to be properly configured. This means Yuri sometimes can't hit them with his saber. The situation is slightly better with other weapons, as their hitboxes usually affect the wolves. However, this doesn't change the overall feel of battles: they are extremely frustrating. The lack of realistic combat physics, incorrect hitboxes, and an insufficient sense of weapon weight create a negative experience. Damage animations sometimes don't play, making it feel as if the weapon isn't actually hitting the enemy, but simply passing through. Optimizing the collider and animation system is essential to improve gameplay, making battles more dynamic and realistic.

Game balance often goes unnoticed. At one point, Yuri encounters a powerful doppelganger, and the player has the option to start with a minimum number of lives. This doppelganger attacks first and can destroy the character in just three hits. What to do in this situation? Perhaps lowering the difficulty level or quitting the game entirely is also an option.

I was prepared for the tough fights mentioned in the promo videos. However, as it turns out, that's only the beginning of the problem. The quality of the game leaves much to be desired in all aspects.

The environment can be praised: white stone houses, churches and The winding paths along the picket fence create atmosphere. However, it's completely non-interactive, like being in a museum. Even a slight detour off the path risks getting stuck in geometry, forcing you to load a previous save.

The game developers sometimes place checkpoints inconsistently, which can be frustrating for players. In some cases, saves occur several times within a short period of time, for example, within five minutes, while in others, they only occur after completing several quests. This makes the gameplay unpredictable and can make it difficult to complete, as players cannot always count on saving their progress at the right moment.

Game optimization is questionable. On a computer capable of running Alan Wake 2 at high quality and 60 FPS, Time of Troubles exhibits poor performance and often devolves into a slideshow. This highlights the need for improved optimization to ensure a smooth gameplay experience.

Nizhny Novgorod currently has no performance issues, as the main and city locations are loaded separately. However, Yaroslavl has experienced a drop in frame rate. This is likely because Yaroslavl is part of the main location and is loaded into memory along with all its buildings and residents. This explains the sharp drop in productivity in this city.

The game's technical shortcomings are clearly illustrated by the horse's behavior.

Remember the tricky mechanic from The Witcher 3, when Roach would appear and disappear without the player noticing? In Time of Troubles, the horse simply vanishes before your eyes, without any explanation. Why make it complicated when you can just do it this way? This approach, of course, raises questions about the quality of the game and attention to detail.

Everything is really bad

"Time of Troubles" could be seen as a source of uplifting emotions, but it fails due to its dull and inexpressive structure. The writing is uninteresting and fails to amuse.

In the game, most quests boil down to simple tasks, such as "reach point B from point A" or "defeat a wave of enemies." Often, one character sends Yuri to another, as if he is too lazy to make the journey himself. Sometimes the journey takes only two minutes, while the hero performs minor tasks, such as delivering spices to the Cossacks for a feast, finding a merchant, or handing over documents. These simple errands create the illusion of activity, but can ultimately seem insignificant to the overall gameplay.

In the Moscow region, I spent three hours running from camp to camp like a messenger. This is true. Unfortunately, the game's movement system leaves much to be desired. Numerous invisible walls appear along the way, impeding free movement. In some cases, even going around a tree becomes impossible due to these obstacles. Such restrictions significantly reduce the enjoyment of the gameplay and create additional difficulties for players.

Stealth missions are extremely rare in the game, and they often look so ridiculous that it becomes difficult to take them seriously. Enemies don't notice Yuri even when he's in plain sight. For example, he calmly eliminates one enemy right in front of another, then waits until the other turns away to do the same to them. This is puzzling and calls into question the realism of the gameplay.

Battles in the game usually involve attacks by a group of 3-5 enemies. The game doesn't offer much variety in combat mechanics, limited to waves of enemies attacking the player. If there's a significant plot event looming, don't expect anything out of the ordinary. You'll see a cutscene, followed by just a few waves of enemies, and then another cutscene. If you encounter an enemy in a standalone battle, be aware that they'll be fighting behind an invisible barrier, as there's no AI for allies.

The Kazan militia mission begins with a Cherkasy camp nearby. Yuri and his Kazan fighters decide to launch an attack. First, they must stealthily reach the gunpowder barrels, killing two guards along the way. This is followed by a battle with a group of three enemies. At the end of the mission, Yuri teleports to the Kazan camp to accept a new assignment. There is no major battle in this scene; all the action remains off-screen, which is typical of many moments in "Time of Troubles."

Wolves are attacking the village, preventing the delivery of provisions to the militia. This mission is to eliminate the threat. Three wolves are located at a certain point around the village. Destroy them to complete the mission.

If you're expecting an epic battle near Moscow, you'll be disappointed. Instead, you'll face multiple waves of enemies that appear from around the corner when triggered, or groups of soldiers waiting in predetermined locations. Time of Troubles offers nothing new in this regard. The level of execution leaves much to be desired, creating the impression that the developers are working with a game engine for the first time.

Townspeople often repeat certain phrases that become part of everyday life. One such phrase, uttered with remarkable regularity by children, is: "Bear, bear, teach me how to fart. And if you don't teach me, you'll get a punch in the ear." With each repetition of these words, anxiety and even fear arise. This phenomenon highlights how simple phrases can influence the atmosphere in an urban environment and evoke a variety of emotions in adults. It's important to understand that such expressions can be not only funny, but also carry deeper social and cultural aspects.

Characters have a variety of dialogue animations, but their use is often inappropriate. Likewise, the lip-syncing feels outdated compared to modern standards. This detracts from the dialogue, as each take ends with a fade-out, resulting in a split-second black screen after each line.

Despite the shortcomings associated with the main character's voice acting, it's not that critical. The actor voicing the character gives the impression that he recorded his lines while intoxicated. His overly emotional delivery, filled with gasps and exclamations, combined with a lack of adequate facial expressions, inappropriate animation, and low-quality lip syncing, makes for an eerie experience.

Assignments often appear in the journal without any narrative basis. The time of day sometimes changes arbitrarily between cutscenes, which is confusing. German mercenaries speak with a comical accent, reminiscent of KVN or Comedy Club performances. The dialogue is excessively long and often lacks useful information. Quests sometimes require you to talk to one character, while another character is nearby in the same room, which creates confusion and reduces immersion in the game.

You can ask a lot of questions about the game, but there may not be any answers.

The game's texts are created without regard for gameplay, which creates a feeling of inconsistency. For example, in Minin's mission, the player must find incriminating evidence against a merchant who refuses to finance the war. His colleague points out that there are aggressive dogs in the merchant's yard and suggests throwing them some sausage. This element of the mission feels a bit out of place and doesn't always fit logically into the overall gameplay.

In one of the dialogues, Yuri mentions the need to explore the caves where bandits are hiding before nightfall. However, the story further requires waiting until darkness falls. Similar examples are numerous in the game, highlighting the importance of timing in quests. Players should take the day/night cycle into account to effectively complete tasks and avoid unwanted encounters.

Some events in the game are completely unrelated to the main quests. For example, the player may be tasked with delivering a letter to the estate, but as the task progresses, Yuri unexpectedly finds a box that was not in the plans. This element adds intrigue and surprise to the gameplay, allowing players to delve deeper into exploration and discover new secrets.

The cutscenes and story of the game effectively conceal the shortcomings of the artificial intelligence. Characters seem capable of only moving from point A to point B, without possessing more complex behavioral algorithms. Even this simple task is difficult to complete, which negatively impacts the overall experience.

During a single short dialogue, game time can pass noticeably faster than it seems. An example of this is when Yuri is talking to a priest. During the exchange, he hands over the necessary documents, after which the priest passes them on to other members of the clergy. As a result, after just two minutes of dialogue, they return with a response. This demonstrates that the developers did not strive to create a logical sequence of actions, which may cause confusion among players.

The game has a reputation system, but its use remains unclear. There is a numerical value for level, but this mechanic turns out to be insignificant: an enemy of any level can be defeated with a single blow. The difference between an enemy of level two and level ten is practically not noticeable. Throughout the game, the most difficult opponents remain ordinary wolves, which are able to dodge blows and attack in a pack. The game also has a "witcher sense", but its functionality is limited to highlighting chests, which reduces its usefulness and interest.

The text could go on forever, as questions arise about every mechanic and game event. Examples of a careless approach to development appear with every minute of gameplay. The game "Time of Turmoil" has serious flaws affecting all aspects. This creates a negative experience for players and detracts from the overall impression of the game. Improving the quality of mechanics and paying attention to detail are necessary steps to correct the situation.

At first glance, "Time of Troubles" may seem charming, but in reality, it is extremely boring and irritating. Spending even half an hour with it is unbearable, let alone 25 hours. This text reflects the negative emotions and dissatisfaction that arise when interacting with "Time of Troubles," emphasizing its failed attempt to entertain or engage the reader.

Why did this happen? There is a theory that "Time of Troubles" was initially an uncompetitive product. The game was released exclusively on the VK Play platform, for which VK likely paid well. An additional factor was receiving a grant from the Institute of Development of the Russian Empire, which allows for a confident sales environment. In this case, the question arises: why put in the effort to improve the product if you can get by with it?

The quality leaves much to be desired.