Unto the End | Review in 3 Minutes

[@2TonStudios_Games]

Unto dev here... just wanted to say thanks for the thoughtful review. Very appreciated! If anyone has questions about Unto please drop them below. re Checkpoints: Unto has a checkpoint model very similar to INSIDE, with the exception of when you are bleeding to death. There is a help popup shown the first time you are bleeding. It explains that progress is not saved when you are bleeding. It sucks you missed it. We took extra care with the bleeding popup as it is a novel mechanic. It's the only popup that really sticks around and has the longest "walk away until close distance" of any popup. There are also two discoverable items (in addition to herbs and your tonic) that help with healing and bleeding -- added specifically to dampen the impact of not saving while bleeding. Often players discover the bleeding mechanic early on (and therefore miss very little), it seems your skill with the game combined with some bad luck, had you bleed out in a location that is designed very much to be a maze and protracted challenge :).

[@peterrayson4397]

Thanks, this kind of human effort by two people over 4 years' work is a rarity; I look forward to purchasing my version on Switch tomorrow, at full price.

[@theonlycatonice]

What is the pristine stone and meditation bead for? Does looking at your wife's hair or bead give you a hidden buff?

[@2TonStudios_Games]

@@theonlycatonice Sorry for the late reply, been working on some bug fixes and tuning a few gameplay bits. ** SPOILERS ** The pristine shard is half of the amulet, under the covers you get the "other half" from the other monk and then he makes the amulet for you. We thought about having the father collect both halves and then "combine" them... but it felt like too much... sorry for the confusion there :|. The meditation bead fully heals you, but you have to meditate with it, it takes 3-5 to play a "chime" sound, when you hear the sound you will be fully healed. It works once per rest fire stop. The hair has two uses, both story and setting/mood related. There is another item, which is lootable that kinda sort works like the meditation bead.

[@absentrocket8619]

Know im a bit late but just wanna say the combat system is my favourite for a long time and requires a high level of skill to master.

[@2TonStudios_Games]

@@absentrocket8619 Thanks a lot for dropping in to say, very cool of you... really great to hear it landed for you!

[@togu_mak245]

No dark souls mention, good job!

[@FlameLOGNET]

They got the REAL journalists...

[@grantlattery3188]

aaaaaaaand you ruined it :/

[@buzznugget]

Difficult games existed long before Dark Souls, child.

[@rvgd8932]

IT'S JUST LIKE DARK SOULS

[@recless8667]

@Ꮲ10-ᏒᎾᏁI BaCk iN MaH DAy, we called them Roguelites or Roguelikes (lite = some progress saved each death, like = fucking start over from the beginning, scrub)

[@Jesse__H]

Looks interesting. Kinda wish it was $15 not $25 tho, so I'll probably wait for a sale.

[@mitkonikolov1439]

It's on sale now for 16,79€ if that's good for you

[@irishvirus2009]

Its on gamepass

[@MrRotch61]

Yah, I miss the days of having indie games be $20 or under lol. Some of them are worth a little bit more, but most aren't imo.

[@theonlycatonice]

Agreed. I think it's too much to ask for a short experience as well.

[@Addy29plus5]

Xbox gamepass

[@BigPapaSpeedwagon]

I love how this game explicitly tells you that it isn’t easy and yet people in the comments saying the game isn’t good because it’s hard. How do people think with their brains?

[@NattyNuke]

To clarify, the enemies' ai is not fair. The AI quite literally cheats, making faints, shoulder slams, and many other techniques useless. The game isn't "bad" it's just mind-bogglingly unfair which prompts people to complain, quite a lot.

[@Ilyas-ty6cy]

@@NattyNuke Well, I mean in the game it's already warned. The player is just your average normal human warrior who nothing special and basically the weakest character in the game. Also, all your enemy is basically a "7 feet tall humanoid intelligent Stone Age Beast" who also armed just like the player, and basically much superior being in every physical attribute. It quite obvious some of your techniques sometimes is not always work for them, since they all much faster, and stronger than you. Basically like, what is it like if a realistic human try deal with a monster. So you need to be tricky, stay calm, run while you can, and not unnecessarily fight everyone you encounter except you have no other choice (but it's okay if you already pro enough).

[@JohnDoe-pt7ru]

@@Ilyas-ty6cy no, that guy is correct. The AI is very wonky and the counter/parry system is terrible. I've found that if you counter and parry with a delay, you'll land but if you parry and then counter immediately, the enemy will somehow block it by literally skipping frames of animation. I admire the devs for trying to make a "realistic" dueling system but it just falls apart by being nonsensical. When you look at a game like Sekiro, you've going up against ridiculously powerful monsters and such but the game "makes sense" with how things respond. This game does not.

[@ahabduennschitz7670]

@@JohnDoe-pt7ru Exactly. This the kind of game that isnt so difficult because its designed that way, it is difficult because controls, enemy AI and the balancing sucks. But at least the devs noticed that and had put an option for the battle-speed in the game so the fights arent that annoying anymore

[@TheCivildecay]

2:35 this part made me install the game :D

[@ColeyPatroley]

What did you think of it?

[@ColeyPatroley]

@Thomas Willemsen not for me then, thank you

[@TheCreepypro]

as a guy who grew up with 80's and 90's games that were always trying to kill me I am down with this game

[@fgpt4828]

Same

[@KampucheanDemon]

Shadow of the Beast kicked my ass back then

[@Samplelord]

You are not suppose to fight the 2 enemies you mentioned.....you probably did not lower your weapon when the NCP made the gesture to lower your weapon.

[@Silverizael]

That's likely why they respawned as well. They aren't meant to be enemies to fight, so having a checkpoint before them isn't meant to be a difficulty.

[@Samplelord]

@@Silverizael ...You have to trade with their leader to gain passage through the level...don't know how he could have missed that.

[@vash01251]

Maybe the game didnt make that clear. People love ragging on game reviewers i would to see how they would handle the same scrutiny.

[@Samplelord]

@@vash01251 ...I've played the game, the prompt that NPC's give to trade ( which is a core mechanic of the game) is the same for each NPC. The reviewer is ragging on the game for something that only happens when you ignore the very obvious prompt. Just pointing out something that is not bad checkpoint design in a very good game.;)

[@vash01251]

@@Samplelord he may have forgotten about that mechanic. Gamers are so sensitive to the slightest of criticisms to games they like. You enjoy the game great the review didnt bash the game and closes out the video by recommending it. No need to get butthurt over a small gripe.

[@stefanblower5604]

Loved the game. Anothe World/ Barbarian - The Ultimate Warrior. At first i thought i had no hope. But when studying each enemy in combat and the try try again method pays off. Very satisfying when you kill them after dying so many times :D Completed it day 2 :)

[@davidlloyd2594]

Everyone getting their 'Souls' cards out to lay on the table, and I'm over here thinking this plays like Limbo meets OG Prince of Persia.

[@renovasquez5589]

Tight review as always

[@jamiedude1050]

Usually like a challenge, hence why I didn't put this game down immediately. And I really like the sense of curiosity the game has in the sense of not knowing what's round the corner at all. But man does it beat you up, it feels like it's all hard work with no pay off. The intro advice really drew me in also; staying calm and reading. I think they meant reading in terms of reading your enemy in combat (which I also like, much like For Honour) because there's no dialogue or subtitles which I am also a fan of. The whole atmosphere, art style and visual direction of the game is amazing. It's just so fucking hard. And the lack of depth to the combat also doesn't help it, it's just block up or down and dodge some attacks. Enemies' attacks will riposte after blocking too and come at you so quick and the simplistic art style doesn't let you distinguish whether you block up or down and in a game where you die in one hit a lot, that can be frustrating as hell. I love a challenging game and will probably come back when I calm down but man is it hard. Also, am I being stupid or does no one want to trade or accept the offers? Just constantly attacking me. Even with the sword away. That's what drew me in in the first place and I've encountered like one instance of it. Also it'd be nice to not be in a cave once in a while.

[@brandonwiley5372]

I beat this game already, and I'm really glad other people have played it

[@Demonmatamon]

How long was it?

[@brandonwiley5372]

I beat it in about... 5-6 hours and I was stuck on are part for about an hour, until I realized I can just skip the fight

[@Demonmatamon]

@@brandonwiley5372 I'll check it out

[@samlipton7872]

This reminds me of Below, it has a similar minimalist style.

[@PapaiPlatina]

I wrote a review for Unto (in portuguese) and reach out one of the Devs on twitter to ask him about the influences of Another World in the art, he confirmed it and tell me that Below is also a reference and I show play it. So you're right.

[@Mrpandaaable]

I think you only get checkpoints by being fully/somewhat healed, I guess its a way to stop you from getting stuck at a checkpoint in a bad position with low health.

[@malikjohnson7950]

Good point

[@IndieGamePulse]

+1 for the inconsistent and frustrating checkpoints! I turned the game off after being reset to a fight that took me like 45 minutes to beat.

[@MeximidgeComedy]

Poor baby

[@ShamrockShylock]

One of the better game pass games, alot are shit, but this pulled me in

[@knobyogurt]

Out on Google Stadia. Thank god?

[@RickyLake]

I just finished this game yesterday. Great game, but the last enemy had me raging. Not a good way to finish the game.

[@WLD2312]

Im stuck to the final boss .... i don t know how what to do...

[@theonlycatonice]

@@WLD2312 So I figured out a slight cheese method, drop down but don't atk during the drop, atk after, shoulder ram, atk, shoulder ram. You can sometimes trap him in a cycle of being downed. It's still difficult, so if you don't have combat assist on I'd recommend turning it on.

[@WLD2312]

@@InnerRise between 1hours and 3 hours . It's depends to yours skills just

[@WLD2312]

@@theonlycatonice yep thanks ur method work perfectly !

[@RickyLake]

@@InnerRise I beat it in about 5 hours

[@BuckNasty5k]

This game is dope. Give it a shot. Best thing I've played in awhile. A little frustrating at times, but the combat is very satisfying when you do succeed. Keep an open mind when approaching each fight. Enemies have different fighting styles... Some are more susceptible to the shoulder check... some are too quick (don't telegraph enough) to engage with the block-counter approach... some have a fairly predictable attack pattern.

[@BuckNasty5k]

how do u decapitate dudes?? i see it in the trailer, but have never pulled it off. Is it just a matter of timing when the enemy drops to his knees?

[@funnylookingfoetus]

Your review made me buy the game, and while I am generally just not good at these types of games I managed to finish it and that really felt good. Once you just pay attention and respond (running / defense is sometimes the best strategy) you can beat these creatures. But boy did I grind my teeth a few times. But it would not be a good game without proper incentive to fight and finish it.

[@2TonStudios_Games]

Stephen here, I made Unto The End, just wanted to say congrats! If you have any questions about Unto let me know. Maybe interesting: there are 2 other endings and an unlockable play mode which ties into the story. All the best!

[@LordSnoodles]

I like KC Nwosu's work

[@blackishjustin]

Thanks for the review. I've been curious about this, as it has a side-scrolling Souls-like appeal. Reminds me of Salt and Sanctuary, but with a blander art style. Looks fun!

[@odinonion4619]

It's more sekiro than souls that you have to get good at parry.

[@nosferadu]

I found the combat in the latter half of the game pretty hard, but you can always reduce the combat speed to 75% or 50% which makes it much easier. You can also avoid most of the tough fights by either running past the enemy or giving an offering. My biggest gripe with this game is that you can lose your torch and then hit a checkpoint in the dark. This saves your game there and you're in pitch black darkness with no torch. If you're out of sticks and can't craft another one, you're screwed!

[@ahabduennschitz7670]

yup the game sucks. I didnt even played it that long, maybe 30 minutes or so and i was already annoyed af by the constant darkness. They worked 4 years on the game and all they came up with is a 75% black screen almost THE ENTIRE GAME. Thats just lazzy af

[@nosferadu]

@@ahabduennschitz7670 True the game is overall a bit too dark for my taste, but overall I actually enjoyed the game and played to the end. (even got the good ending!)

[@DraconicAux]

The game looks great and all, but the unbelievably hard combat ruined the whole game for me. Usually you’re supposed to have fun playing video games but all this did was make me lose my mind.

[@trashd1994]

Honestly. You could try 40 different ways of fighting an enemy and not make any progress whatsoever.

[@bdk2008]

Agreed. When a game is this difficult, it isn’t fun.

[@bulletpr00f101]

Happy to see that none of you like a challenge. Lol

[@nicolasribeiro5320]

@@bulletpr00f101 I played all 3 Dark Souls, even made a play through on SL1, i really like hard games, but Unto The End is just so frustrating

[@thezucc2637]

@@bulletpr00f101 I like when a game uses complexity or good mechanics with difficulty, like "Kingdom Come:Deliverance" or "dark souls" . When a game is hard for no reason i know its a bad game.

[@VinoIxRxMxA-cq2iy]

The game looks fantastic but sadly my laptop can't run it. :( i wish developers add a potato option for old end pc specs... Game minimal specs: Memory: 4 GB Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD 6570 CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 File Size: 3 GB OS: Windows 7 or later My PC: 4 ram, A4AMD 2.5Ghz 2CPU, 512 vram. I'm not sure if the game will work properly. Someone can tell me? im not an expert, sorry.

[@SpaceTacoTV]

I kinda disagree with saying this game is "fun". Unto the End was clearly a labor of love, but the combat system is honestly kinda bullshit. It isn't hard in the way dark souls is, where the difficulty is maddening but ultimately still very fun. The combat system in this game is just unfair and wildly unbalanced. It's more of a dying simulator than an actual game. This game is on Xbox gamepass so try it out there if you can, otherwise I'd pass unless they re-balance the game. If you don't believe me, just check out the numerous negative reviews on Steam basically echoing exactly what I'm saying here. Just warning you.

[@IndieGamePulse]

I had the exact same take. Controls were way too clunky, and the mechanics were very unfair. However, from what I've read in their updates, it seems like they've taken the community reactions to heart and adjusted several mechanics of the fights. I haven't gone back and played (too many bad memories lol) but at least they're seemingly trying to make it better and somewhat enjoyable.

[@papastrella.ianmussari]

Exactly my thoughts

[@futurecrusader9228]

@@papastrella.ianmussari Not really once you realize you can do more than the game tells you it feels fine. That I think is the fault in the game.

[@korvkorv532]

I don't have the cash for this atm but I like challenges and 2:35 made me laugh so... Have to keep this one in mind after saving money.

[@maxmustermann2197]

I like the concept behind the game, but the combat system is horribly executed... Everything is slow and unresponsive, enemies react unfairly fast, leading to every success feel like luck rather then accomplishment. The option to avoid fights altogether is interesting but very poorly communicated, lots of trial and error, which is just bad game design.

[@jyesucevitz]

will lowering the difficulty make it enjoyable to a more average to slightly above average game player?

[@PeeMiIk]

Combat pisses me of i was boxed in by two enemies and tried to rolled so they were on one side not possible i killed one to then focus on the other then a popup showing me how to stop bleeding mid fight making me lose the rest of the fight and having to start again WHO PUTS POP UPS MID FIGHT AND MAKES IT SO YOU CANT MOVE WHILE ITS UP

[@ALXD1974]

Another world with swords!

[@LordSnoodles]

why is there never any sounds from the game in these reviews? Sounds are mentioned, but not shown?

[@MeximidgeComedy]

How do you show a sound? You can hear them but didnt know you could see them.

[@brigadierblue221]

Wish this was on PS+

[@thefirethefire9131]

Love this game so much.

[@hansdejan4608]

same... idk why its also fun to play it again.

[@miaoFoodNow]

Nice review

[@swarth8632]

I'm downloading this right now!!!

[@chillwillfromtheville]

Game is beautifully BRUTAL!!!!

[@jacksnuller4867]

Played this for couple of hours and I can say it is complete shit and a misery to play. Controls are clunky as hell. Good luck trying to block three times in a row and manage to land one hit in. You try to roll to have the enemies on the same side and you probably stumble and drop the torch. Then good luck seeing anything anymore not that you really saw anything with the torch since the enemies might behind some rock and you are suppose to know are they attacking high or low. It does not matter that the game is hard but unfair is another story. I have played through every souls game, hollow knight, sekiro etc... but those have solid controls. Here 100% of the encounters you die the first time and probably loads of times and you get through those by pure luck not to mention traps and other shit also kill you every time since there is no way to know those are there and how you are suppose to dodge them. This game is no way fun to play.

[@timhicks3387]

Git gud

[@jacksnuller4867]

@@timhicks3387 Idiot. This game is like 4 hours long and there is nothing to get good at. Controls are pure crap and you just have to figure out the patters and that is it. This game is horse shit and if you had to get good at it you don't know how to play games.

[@jacksnuller4867]

@Thomas Willemsen I finished it under 5 hours so maybe you should Git Gud? It does not require smartness or skill LOL. It requires tedious trial and error. That is all. It is a linear game with horrendous controls and you have zero fun or feel of accomplishment at any point playing it.

[@maxmustermann2197]

100% agreed

[@mysteriousman4966]

Trial and error: the game.

[@fgpt4828]

This game is fantastic

[@bobbysworldrox]

How do you save game

[@hansdejan4608]

When I quit my game... and I come back it loads at the spot I have quit my game. So I guess it saves in the spot you quit.

[@KORTOKtheSTRONG]

looks cool

[@addul1996]

This is a lot like song of iron

[@rajwardhansingh8563]

Mans made this video to express his pain abt that one glitch 😂

[@geoffreywinn4031]

Cool video!

[@Kopesy]

This looks noice!

[@gamerattitude9314]

$24 for that? I think not

[@danytalksmusic]

Weird how when do you don't scream obscenities, make no dirty jokes, and don't make hyperbolic statements then you somehow get less views 😅

[@mazzatti8046]

This game is not worth the price, and it's more annoying than fun 3/10 would never play again.

[@Longshotsz]

Lmao Sec(first)ond

[@denisrybak-posselmann4734]

Jungs lasst blos die Hände von dem Schrott. für 5€ währe es vielleicht gerade so ok.

[@bricktea3645]

Garbage game,I tried to learn their pattern but its too dark to be readable.

[@thezucc2637]

this game is trash