Roman Sands RE:Construct is among the strangest video games I’ve performed shortly, and that’s saying one thing, as a result of I’ve performed a lot of bizarre video games recently. On a floor stage, this first-person journey seems to be an eccentric expertise about performing menial duties for the entitled visitors of a wierd luxurious resort. It rapidly turns into obvious that there’s way more happening behind the scenes: time appears to be looping, and likewise, the apocalypse may be nigh – or did it already occur? Regardless of having demoed this recreation twice now, I’m nonetheless not solely certain what it’s about, however I can confidently say I’ve by no means performed something fairly prefer it.
My demo of Roman Sands RE:Construct was cut up into two acts. At first of Act 1, I woke up on the shore of a seashore; trying up, a large resort stood within the distance, heatwaves radiating from it. Solely moments after stumbling into the foyer, I’m “greeted” by a bunch of demanding boomers who all appear satisfied that I’m truly an worker right here. They’re all clearly sad; the elevator is damaged (which appears to be everybody’s principal concern) however on high of that, the A/C is off, a drunk man is wasted on the pool deck, and Sylvia wants a rattling margarita pronto. They’re principally whole jerks, and it appears my job is to repair all their issues. How enjoyable!
In fact, this being a online game, nothing is straightforward. Roman Sands RE:Construct doesn’t simply need the participant to finish everybody’s requests, it needs them to take action as rapidly and effectively as potential. Each time the participant leaves one room of the resort and enters one other, time advances; finally, the day will finish, and if the participant hasn’t mounted the elevator by that time, the day repeats. In different phrases, this a part of Roman Sands RE:Construct is run-based, with the driving thought being that the extra you play, the higher you’ll get at optimizing your path by means of the resort. For instance, my first run by means of, I had no concept that one of many visitor’s drugs had been situated in a suitcase outdoors. As soon as I knew that, I might decide them up for her on my subsequent run earlier than she even had the prospect to ask.
Not every little thing is regular on this place, in fact. In reality, as I roamed into the basement of the resort – or as one of many visitors put it, “the place they put issues I don’t take into consideration” – I discover a Cthulhu-esque tentacle monster locked behind a door. There’s additionally some type of unusual biomass seemingly rising on/within the elevator, which I cause most likely isn’t good! Then there’s the truth that everyone seems to be speaking concerning the solar on a regular basis, and the way it’s seemingly getting larger; perhaps the apocalypse is about to occur, and perhaps all these individuals are residing out their closing days at this unusual place. I didn’t get any agency solutions throughout my demo, however whatever the unusual situation, the sport knowledgeable me to “maintain your head down and ensure everybody will get what they need.”
It’s a really bizarre premise. It’s additionally considerably performed for comedy, as a result of Roman Sands RE:Construct gamifies each motion to a hilarious diploma. In the event you decide one thing up, there’s probability the sport will congratulate you for it. Even selecting up an apple is an occasion worthy of a textual content popup that dominates your entire display screen for a couple of seconds. In the event you work together with a door or speak with somebody, your rating will go up. Do all of it rapidly and you may maintain a combo going, with numbers popping up on-screen to remind you of your efficiency. A guiding arrow factors you to your goal, and in the event you comply with it, you get a pace increase, which I discovered fairly humorous.
The extra duties you full in a day, and the quicker you full them, the extra XP you get. Then, you should purchase persistent upgrades at in-universe “gacha machines” that can perhaps assist you to make extra progress in your subsequent run, like a Janitor’s Equipment that you should utilize to scrub up a person named Bunk after he vomits throughout himself. Doesn’t that sound enjoyable?! If not, that may simply be the purpose. The premise of you, taking part in a buyer service-focused worker who’s looking for methods to optimize their job efficiency in an arbitrarily gamified system, feels deliberately on-the-nose to me. Possibly you’re imagined to really feel a bit of trapped on this place. “The Solar approaches,” the sport knowledgeable me after failing to finish a day efficiently. “Work more durable.”
Whereas I’m personally not the largest fan of what I’ve seen of this recreation’s artwork course – it feels a bit everywhere for me and simply isn’t to my tastes – it’s actually artistic and different. The resort visitors seem like paper cutouts, standing round aimlessly in a sparsely lit, minimally designed 3D house. While you chat with a personality, they’ve a flashy animation of them dramatically turning in the direction of the digicam, after which a visible novel-style scene performs out. The world is eerie and empty, shaded in a wierd purple gentle. All of it feels synthetic and unsettling to exist in.
After the elevator was mounted, issues managed to get even stranger (I really feel I ought to point out this recreation is made by the identical workforce who developed the equally unusual horror title Paratopic). The demo features a transient glimpse into Act 2 of Roman Sands RE:Construct, which picks up oce the primary set of duties within the resort have been accomplished. Nonetheless in first-person, I awaken in a futuristic-looking facility that’s much more empty than the resort. Based on some information from the writer, it’s meant to be a “decrepit zoological analysis facility.” A voice speaks at me over the radio: “Get up. Your cow died. Suffocated in a single day.”
I look over and, certain sufficient, there’s a useless cow within the room with me. I’m tasked with rewiring some electronics to divert oxygen away from the cow’s holding tank, or one thing alongside these traces. The vibe of this part is way much less energetic than that of Act 1 – no large flashy numbers popping up on display screen, no funky music underscoring your customer support speedrun. One thing has undoubtedly gone incorrect right here. What’s my position on this thriller, I puzzled? Possibly the apocalypse has already occurred, and its too late. Meck, perhaps every little thing taking place on the resort isn’t even actual!
Frankly, I don’t know how all of the items match collectively but – if there’s one factor that Roman Sands RE:Construct does exceptionally nicely from what I’ve seen up to now, it’s that it’s going to actually maintain you guessing. It’s too early to say if this unusual recreation will truly be enjoyable to play in the long term, as a result of I do really feel its premise dangers buckling underneath the load of its personal ambitions, that its narrative may be a bit of too far on the market to hook some gamers. But it surely’s attention-grabbing and completely different, and that’s value one thing in my ebook. Roman Sands RE:Construct is deliberate to launch on Change someday in 2024.