Conglomerate 451

Conglomerate 451 is a good game with some limits but capable of effectively masking them.

Conglomerate 451 manages to mix the highest traditions of the dungeon crawler genre with the gameplay mechanics one would expect from any modern video game. There are some flaws here and there, especially concerning the procedural generation of the missions, but they are counterbalanced by the high variety of the enemy types and the deep customization system of the agents.

Conglomerate 451 is an interesting hybrid of a dungeon crawler and a roguelike. The small Runeheads team clearly worked with perseverance and didn't fail to satisfy the player.

Conglomerate 451 is an atmospherically impressive cyberpunk dungeon crawler that doesn’t take many risks. Although it is playing safe, it provides the player with a great atmosphere, deep gameplay and some of the best cyberpunk environments to date, despite its repetitiveness and balancing issues.

Conglomerate 451is an average Dungeon Crawler RPG that gives you a lot of content but limited depth. In the end, it all results in a competent effort lacking soul both in gameplay and art direction.

Quotation forthcoming.

While I did enjoy my time with this game, I don't think I will be revisiting it in its current state. If you have a hankering for an old school turn-based strategy game then you'll probably enjoy this. For everyone else though I think you may be a tad overwhelmed and disappointed with what's on offer here.

Conglomerate 451 isn’t a game for everyone. For those wanting a taste of what Cyberpunk 2077 will be bringing later this year, it’s likely that Conglomerate 451 will only satiate your visual senses with its dark, neon, cyberpunk aesthetics. But for fans of RPG and dungeon crawling games, you probably won’t regret adding Conglomerate 451 to your library.

Conglomerate 451 has a strong first couple of hours. The story takes place over the course of 75 weeks, a mission for each week. You play the director of a paramilitary organization that's been tasked with destabilizing the rogue corporations which have taken over the district 451 in the city of Conglomerate. Though the setting is a bit heavy-handed, unlike say the original Mirror's Edge, it's not bad, but no one will chalk it up as telling a groundbreaking story in the cyberpunk space.

Despite a nice aesthetic in the missions and a handful of interesting concepts, Conglomerate 451 just doesn’t do quite enough to stand out and be noticed.

There’s nothing quite original in the game’s design. Its every feature is just mediocre and I find it hard to imagine the way the developers could infuse more life into the gameplay now. [05/2020, p.64]

There’s nothing outright bad about Conglomerate 451. If you want a dungeon crawler with this specific motif and you’re okay with a less than stellar underlying game that for all intents and purposes gets the job done, this should fit that bill. It gets the atmosphere right and there’s plenty to do, and especially for the asking price, what’s on offer here is not unreasonable.

An utterly average dungeon crawler with surprisingly solid RPG elements, but very boring, repetitive gameplay and bland graphics.

It's not a bad game, it's just too average for its own good. Just about everything the game does is done better by someone else. If you want a first-person dungeon crawler, there's Legend of Grimrock. If you want an RPG with a large roster of characters and permadeath, you're better off with Darkest Dungeon or something similar. Even the out of combat progression systems are better handled in games like X-COM. Conglomerate 451 is playing in a crowded space, and like the corporate drones in its own cyberpunk dystopia, it just can't establish its own identity.

Conglomerate 451 repeats itself ad nauseum: 75 missions will take you on a journey through 6 small maps filled with murderous women in kilts and goons in sweatpants. The developers did try to randomize levels, but could not hide the lack of variety.

Conglomerate 451 has a solid gameplay base, but that’s really all there is to it and it’s not enough to fully support the game on its own. The combat is decently engaging, but the repetitiveness and lack of interesting elements outside of it means it fails to garner full attention for any extended period of time. Those looking to crawl through neon corridors and vaporise cyborg punks will find some enjoyment from it, but it’s ultimately forgettable.