Das Geisterschiff / The Ghost Ship

Laser-focused, ultra-minimalistic dungeon crawler. Think id's mid-to-late 00s mobile RPGs (Orcs & Elves, Doom RPG, Wolfenstein RPG) their slim frame further stripped down of tissue so that the mere bone of combat, resource management and exploration remains. There are no crutches here, nothing placed at one's disposal is superfluous or optional - one really must master what mechanics there are. Tutorial mustn't be skipped. The presentation is just as spartan yet equally put to just the desired use, minimal wireframe visuals supported by excellent soundtrack conveying this desolate, claustrophobic feeling. The game is, perhaps, on the short side by its genre's standards. I'd argue that the length is just right given the game's self-imposed limitations, just the lenght it can support without sliding into repetition.

I've followed this games development from its early stages and have to say that this is a brilliant debut. Das Geisterschiff is a brutal tile-based dungeon crawler with no handholding and features unique wireframe visuals, outstanding ambient sound design along with a great soundtrack.

Short version: You can die in the tutorial. Hardcore! 10/10!!! Long version: This game is the long lost cousin of King’s Field, if it was a sci-fi title made for the Virtual Boy. As such, those looking for shiny graphics and twitchy gameplay should stay away: the game’s unique art style looks blocky (although in exchange it works with a toaster, if you can read this you can play it), it’s a turn-based dungeon-crawled that demands patience to be played. The sound effects are okay, nothing special in my opinion, but they do their job. The music though, it’s something else: It perfectly conveys the nightmarish, claustrophobic survival horror scenario that the author wanted to convey. Story-wise I won’t tell much to avoid spoilers: You’re the newest recruit of a corporation in a dystopic future (with all that conveys), you’re given a mook-tier mecha with limited ammo and no melee options besides ramming, then told to go out and do whatever it takes to accomplish the cu...

The soundtrack is good. The game, unfortunately, isn't. See those cool spartan wireframe graphics? That ethos extends to all aspects of the game's design, even to things it really shouldn't extend to, like basic interface and combat feedback. First, set your mouse aside, you won't be needing it. This is keyboard-only. I decided to write it off as "immersion or something" and sort of went with it. Second, by god, everything is so *slow.* Turning is slow. Moving is slow. Scanning objects (inspecting) is slow. Which, hey, that must be immersion, since you're in a stories-tall mech, right? Well, no. You're in a "mecha," which I guess is closer to a powered exoskeleton, unless we're supposed to believe humans are busy skittering around like ants building house-sized landmines for you to step on. In other words, you're person-sized. Taller, I guess (?) stronger, and encased in armor, but person-sized. Which, to me, begs even more questions: - If I'm person-sized, why am I so slow? An una...

This game is more of an art project then a game. Seriously, its not that good. The mechanics are thin, and navigating is tedious. I double dog dare you to find me someone with 10 hours on this game.

Zat's gonna be a NAH for me dawg. Game really hard on old-school dungeon crawlers era but today is 2019 already, make it optional but where is map? Even some old-school ones had maps that auto-fill after your travels. Also Tutorial... biggest Jebait in gaming history: at least 3 doors with same "find exit" and same layout but different closed doors... Where is guns tutorial? Item pickup tutorial? Upgrade tutorial??? Music and intro story is nice, but game by itself is kinda meh. Good luck with next thing.

DAS GEISTERSCHIFF is an engrossing distillation of early first person games, inspired by 1987 Japanese PC game CARMINE. Killer ambiance. Tightly wound exploration and combat system load your every action with RPG-lite context.

Das Geisterschiff skips out on the usual crap you have to deal with in dungeon crawling like xp, loot, and so on so that you can focus more on pure survival as you try to finish each dungeon. All of your resources from health, ammo, and even saves are limited forcing you to plan carefully. Or in the least barge in recklessly and then replay it carefully. However, even with care sometimes you'll lose the dice roll and be forced to reload, or restart, but that's just the nature of the game. A simplistic yet highly tactical dungeon crawler with a great aesthetic that well test your resource management skills and occasionally your patience as well. A welcome change for anyone looking for a different kind of dungeon crawler.

No automap in a game that relies so heavily on large labyrinths of identical tunnels is inexcusable.

I saw in another review this is the devs' first game. I really look forward to what they do in the future; this game goes outside the box in a great way. Think Legends of Grimrock meets Terminator 1.