Ghostship Aftermath

 PC
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 44 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 44
  3. Negative: 18 out of 44

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  1. Andrew_Paterson
    Nov 15, 2014
    1
    I really like the concept behind Ghostship Aftermath but the execution is so poor that it's impossible to play in any meaningful way.

    Keys can't be rebound, returning to the menu exits the current stage. Key controls gets stuck or can't be used. The view gets stuck at bizarre angles. Crouch doesn't work. This has been an issue from version 1.0 all the way to 1.5. Seriously.    I really like the concept behind Ghostship Aftermath but the execution is so poor that it's impossible to play in any meaningful way.

    Keys can't be rebound, returning to the menu exits the current stage. Key controls gets stuck or can't be used. The view gets stuck at bizarre angles.

    Crouch doesn't work. This has been an issue from version 1.0 all the way to 1.5. Seriously. Crouching causes the player to slowly rise into the ceiling.

    The player gets stuck on everything. Boxes marked fragile, the edges of floor plates, narrow corridors, stuff on the ceiling. It's incredibly frustrating and only sometimes possible to unstick oneself.

    AI and aliens. The less said about this the better. The aliens are a bunch of poorly animated, marginally textured, mismatched models found who-know-where. And then they're controlled by AI that sticks them on everything I that the player gets stuck on. Except when they magically phase through things.

    Shooting them is damn near impossible as the gun reticule auto-levels when near level but not when looking up or down. Lots of aliens are low to the ground and the player can't aim that low. Most annoyingly the aliens don't seem to collide with the player and can run through you, hit you from behind before you can slowly turn and around and then they repeat it.

    Some aliens move faster than you but due to the random nature of the game can only be killed by unreachable guns; which makes for irritating unavoidable deaths.

    Ghostship Aftermath has huge potential but is so terribly produced that selling it as a finished product is a borderline scam.    … Expand
  2. Nick_Crusaire
    Jul 22, 2014
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game is very worth the time and money, a randomized narrative makes each play through an
    adventure with nearly every piece of dialogue having alternatives lines to be said or alternative actions based on the actor personality, the atmospherics are very well done, while making your way through the ship there's creeks and groans from the ship, an eerie mist lends to the mystique of either the strange life forms or the situation you are thrusted into. the voices are quite interesting, the whole crackly sort of distorted voices really lends itself nicely to the " everything is junk " theme present in the game.

    the downfalls are pretty blatant, which is why this is only to receive a 6/10:

    - battery life. firstly, an hour long life span of battery. the Duracell bunny is making the earth spin faster from how hard it is rolling in its grave at how incredibly short this weak battery lasts. there's also no recharge ports, which makes no sense in any context.

    - monster closets. complete trash of an event, walk into a room and suddenly aliens spawn after you meticulously comb through the rest of the deck to make sure you have an escape route. a large portion of the time you have no chance of escape, making this nothing but frustrating to have to deal with and severely bottlenecking the exploration aspect.

    - randomized weaponry. this i can almost forgive, but when coupled with the decision to add monster closets, then a weapon that at the very least can get you out of the closet with skillful maneuvering or intelligent aiming (IE: quickly mow down the xeno blocking the door and dash out ) is required.

    all in all, it's a good atmospheric game if you don't go off the beaten path and get yourself killed, which is abit of a let down that you need to rely on RNG to see if you can truly explore this massive, well crafted space vessel and figure out its history.    … Expand
  3. kylevcabbage
    Jul 22, 2014
    9
    i have been watching the development of this game for months but I'm giving this game an 9 simply because there are bugs in the game which is the only downside and don't massively effect game play but these are being dealt with . That aside and the fact that its been made for the rift, its actually pretty awesome and made by solo dev. Someone mentioned that you only get an hour batteryi have been watching the development of this game for months but I'm giving this game an 9 simply because there are bugs in the game which is the only downside and don't massively effect game play but these are being dealt with . That aside and the fact that its been made for the rift, its actually pretty awesome and made by solo dev. Someone mentioned that you only get an hour battery life on your torch. From what i've read and watched, this is intentional as the game is a survival game and has to be played tactically also it gives you that extra sense of fear when your battery dies especially in the dark areas. This game is a test of your survival instincts versus fear of the unknown and if you keep this is mind when you play it, im sure you will enjoy it. The game is random, has random starts the aliens/monsters pop up where ever and guns are not always in the same place. In fact i could confidently say that this game has so much variety and such a random element to it that you could play this game over and over for hours, days, weeks even months and it would still have you on edge cause you really just don't know what is coming. most games, you complete and play again, but the second time round its easier cause you know where things are and when the next enemy is going to pop up etc. Not this game. It makes it harder to complete but more realistic and maintains its horror aspect through each play through due to fear of the unknown. Very clever, I love it. I really can't emphasize enough how different this game is to others and really doesn't surprise me that people down vote it or give it a bad review because most just jump into it expecting it to be the norm and it really is something different.. definitely worth the money.… Expand
  4. virtualmatrix
    Jul 18, 2014
    2
    I was really hoping for an immersive survival horror that took place in space. I love space sci fi and sci fi horror so this really looked great to me. On paper, Ghostship Aftermath isn't an original product, but that's not saying it doesn't have potential for greatness. Unfortunately, the game is so unpolished it's more of a hassle to keep playing than it is to stop and play somethingI was really hoping for an immersive survival horror that took place in space. I love space sci fi and sci fi horror so this really looked great to me. On paper, Ghostship Aftermath isn't an original product, but that's not saying it doesn't have potential for greatness. Unfortunately, the game is so unpolished it's more of a hassle to keep playing than it is to stop and play something else. Ghostship Aftermath has one thing going for it, atmosphere. Unfortunately though, everything else about it hurts the atmosphere. The controls are absolutely dreadful. I didn't play with a controller but I can tell you that using a mouse to look around or "aim" feels like aiming with a D-pad for Nintendo 64. It was obviously made for Oculus in mind, and not the average mouse and keyboard gamer. Not very smart when the Oculus hasn't even been released yet, and the upcoming bad reviews aren't going to persuade people into buying the game when Oculus is released. Moving around is boring, yes, there's no gravity for the time that I played (2 hours) but moving around isn't fluid, it doesn't feel natural and it gets very boring, very quickly. Then there are the A.I. glitches. My constant interaction with an enemy A.I. was comedic, in a very bad way. No matter how many times I shot the thing, it wouldn't die and it was bouncing around the room, absolutely no quality control when it comes to the A.I. When you add terrible voice acting to the mix you have a very terrible game. It has potential, and I think with 4-5 people working around the clock for another 20 months it could actually be a good game.

    Since it's a PC game, I should also tell you that it severely lacks graphical options and key-binding options; or at least I didn't see the option to bind keys. Graphical options include either 1080p or 720p resolution, Anti-Aliasing Off, 2x and 4x and motion blur. With motion blur turned on you can't see your gun or your HUD at all while turning, it doesn't blur, it just fragments what's on screen, very ugly and when turned off you still get that effect only in a smaller dose.

    So, save your money, put that money aside for a game like Routine, which is (supposedly) releasing sometime in 2014 or wait for the release of Alien: Isolation. After a few hours of Ghostship Aftermath I can honestly tell you that I won't be going back unless very serious changes are made. I was really hoping this game would be different but it's really no different from the other Steam Greenlight games that are putting a stranglehold on Steam. Games like this should not be sold to customers.    … Expand
  5. Alivepl
    Jul 19, 2014
    0
    Oculus rift won't save this game. Stay away. Graphics (unreal engine) reminds me of first Unreal game. First encounter of enemies gave me a laugh. This game looks like a joke. I've seen alphas better than this crap. I wanted this game because i love horror... but this one is pure garbage.
  6. XxZR1xX
    Jul 24, 2014
    9
    Played it, got attacked by a random monster and dragged away... Scared me to death. Definitely worth the price, apparently one guy made the game that is extremely impressive especially with all the playthroughs and the absolute size of the ship. 9/10 , developer needs to speak a bit more openly.
  7. TheTrueBuilder
    Jul 24, 2014
    10
    I cannot respect the developer enough, a single man dev. I hear a lot of bad things about the voice acting and also about the game in general i picked it up yesterday and was overwhelmed by the available support. Actively ready to speak and help and solve issues almost overnight, true dedication. Now the game, it is awesome especially with all the different ways things can go it truly is aI cannot respect the developer enough, a single man dev. I hear a lot of bad things about the voice acting and also about the game in general i picked it up yesterday and was overwhelmed by the available support. Actively ready to speak and help and solve issues almost overnight, true dedication. Now the game, it is awesome especially with all the different ways things can go it truly is a block buster with some flaws, hopefully they are all addressed,Personally a 9.5 out of 10. I cant believe the negative response to this game, probably due to all the creative and different aspects of this game.… Expand
  8. Wyndrusher
    Jul 22, 2014
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There are some good aspects to the game, the branching story, the creepy ship and dark areas add a lot to the look and feel of the game. It has the potential to become a very good game, however it is crippled by poor design choices and horrible implementation.

    Firstly the audio, sound effects by themselves are good, you knock something it makes noise etc. However the voice commands you receive over the link are so annoyingly pitched that they quickly become utterly annoying.

    Secondly the game play, Aiming is a chore as is navigating around due to the clipping and collision detection which means you'll have to jump(usually with your head going through the ceiling) or shamble around a box on the floor as you're incapable of walking over it.
    Battery power & Oxygen, the game is set in the future yet your light battery lasts only an hour, the Duracell bunny is rolling in its grave. Once you power up the ship/ find it powered up you still need to refill your oxygen at certain places even though you could just open your suit and breathe.

    All in all a game that could be awesome, yet falls flat due to technical issues and poor choices. There is hope that he can at least address those issues if he stops and considers them. I do not however hold much hope of that due to his rants over the groupee keys & how him and his team handle customer relations, as they really are insulting to those with negative opinions, even when warrented. Especially a comment about wanting to laugh at peoples reviews when they've only played it a short time, you really don't need to play it for 10+hours to see the numerous issues.    … Expand
  9. MadJaples
    Jul 20, 2014
    0
    An awkward combination of awfully slow progression even to the beginning of the game when you can start do anything, to arguably the worst on-screen HUD I've ever seen makes this a pretty dire effort..
    The view is definitely askew, where the 'imagined' head of the player appears to be on a curvature rather than on an axis making this one heck of a weird game to be looking through a screen    An awkward combination of awfully slow progression even to the beginning of the game when you can start do anything, to arguably the worst on-screen HUD I've ever seen makes this a pretty dire effort..
    The view is definitely askew, where the 'imagined' head of the player appears to be on a curvature rather than on an axis making this one heck of a weird game to be looking through a screen at. You don't see things as you would if you were looking around in real life, you can see things clearly seem to take a sort of fish-eye perspective, which is both annoying and off-putting.
    Given the size of the game, I honestly expected much better graphics than presented - being more akin to a sort of early attempt at a Doom offshoot than anything of particularly memorable note.

    Jolly bad form I say.    … Expand
  10. manorastroman
    Aug 12, 2014
    10
    Ghostship Aftermath is a good indie game but only if you play it in VR with the Oculus Rift! I would give the game a 7.5 but i deciede to give 10 points because of all the non vr players who gaves so negeative critics. Sorry for my english ;-) ...
  11. GoatsnGreatness
    Jul 24, 2014
    10
    This game has rough edges, but the developer is working them out actively. The game itself is great and all the stuff you can do and experience is great, hopefully the dlcs will offer even more great content.
  12. plk
    Jul 27, 2014
    8
    People are far too critical of this game. Yes it has some issues here and there, but overall there's plenty of play time in this game. Most of those issues have been fixed since other reviews were written. Also keep in mind that most of the people reviewing this game, pirated the initial release without the later bugfix updates, that much is obvious.

    The one unique thing about    People are far too critical of this game. Yes it has some issues here and there, but overall there's plenty of play time in this game. Most of those issues have been fixed since other reviews were written. Also keep in mind that most of the people reviewing this game, pirated the initial release without the later bugfix updates, that much is obvious.

    The one unique thing about ghostship aftermath is the randomness in events each gameplay. Sometimes they help sometimes they hurt. This game is not meant to be won in 1, 2 or even 3 tries. You have to use your head, know when to fight or flee, and remember where items/places are to help you on subsequent playthroughs.

    You also have to actually find the right consoles/keycards/passcodes/locations yourself. There is no map indicator, there is no 'shimmering in the dark' on items you pickup or access or a HUD that points the way for you.

    The game does seem like a really well done half life 2 mod at first, but it is a full fledged game. keep in mind this is an indie game developed mostly by ONE person with zero budget. *That's basically as indie as it gets*

    No, it's not as pretty as dead space. and initially I didn't even really like it for the first few hours because I was soo lost, but it's a game where you must learn its rules to be successful (which can be a little retro). Once you've got a good feel for the layout of the ship, the game is much easier and you feel less hindered.

    Personally I think this game is much better than other popular indie horrors like slenderman or amnesia. It's a bit like amnesia in space mixed with alien breed or shadowgrounds, except you're not just running from some guy that disappears when you lose him like in amnesia, although there are plenty of areas where you know you're relatively safe.

    This game involves doing tasks that lead you to the next task or storyline, on a ship, in space. filled with aliens. You can't 'clear' an area....once you leave a deck, the respawns reset, although the type and number of enemies is variable. Enemy spawns operate like a trip wire, you walk past a certain threshold or into a certain room and you trigger enemies. These tripwires remain relatively fixed, so you can remember where enemies will probably come from and where to not go unless it's worth it. There's some minor resource management, since you must manage your flashlights battery usage and your oxygen levels.

    The enemies in the game, are really just a barrier between you and tasks/storylines/log files/atmosphere. Those are the main course. You're supposed to walk into the unknown.

    There are 3 sections of the ship, accessed by two main hallways. Each section has 7 decks, for 21 different deck areas in total, which is needless to say, a pretty good amount to explore. This is a full sized ship, with pretty much everything you'd expect to makeup a ship -- crew quarters, medical, a bridge, recreational areas, bars, mess halls, brigs, reactors, even a small church. You can explore it all, but the game will be easier if you don't explore too much or in certain areas.

    Once you know where all the good pickups are, you can start breezing through the game faster and try out some of the other storylines.    … Expand
  13. Mike50551
    Jul 21, 2014
    10
    This game is wonderful in so many ways, people do not simply understand all the design and aspects put into this game. Developer was a sole man team and did extremely well for himself, especially with what im sure was a low budget. The game has exciting atmosphere and things that no game has ever showed before, so many stories. Sure things need Improved, but it has much potential and iThis game is wonderful in so many ways, people do not simply understand all the design and aspects put into this game. Developer was a sole man team and did extremely well for himself, especially with what im sure was a low budget. The game has exciting atmosphere and things that no game has ever showed before, so many stories. Sure things need Improved, but it has much potential and i can't wait to see what this developer can showcase in the future. Most of these people who have reviewed simply forgot that despite all the common issues, they are being fixed quickly and steadily. The Developer is very passionate in his work, If someone only played this game for 1-5 Hours.. the Dev isn't the problem they are. Back when games where long, complicated sometimes boring and extremely fun when you understood and completely knew what you where doing. This is EXACTLY what this game reminds me of.… Expand
  14. matthewdaniels
    Jul 20, 2014
    0
    This game has a lot to be desired when i came across it looked at screen shots it looked interesting with a angle but alas it was terrible voice acting which i can bear if the games ok but alas now that as it turned out was probably one of the better things about this awful game but hey no disrespect to the people who made it after all they've not got a multi million pound developmentThis game has a lot to be desired when i came across it looked at screen shots it looked interesting with a angle but alas it was terrible voice acting which i can bear if the games ok but alas now that as it turned out was probably one of the better things about this awful game but hey no disrespect to the people who made it after all they've not got a multi million pound development budget and a creative team so in that light it could be better it just lacks any enjoyment atmosphere horror scenery or creativity in a word DULL… Expand
  15. ShaunTWilliams
    Jul 22, 2014
    10
    As the sole developer of this game it is not my place to leave a review, but its my place to remind you that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and being a realist know that not everyone will like my game.

    All I ask is that you make up your own mind, check out the walkthrough videos etc of people who have played the game Ghostship Aftermath is very different! IT has random    As the sole developer of this game it is not my place to leave a review, but its my place to remind you that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and being a realist know that not everyone will like my game.

    All I ask is that you make up your own mind, check out the walkthrough videos etc of people who have played the game

    Ghostship Aftermath is very different! IT has random storyline branches, random game events and random enemies. It has perma-death which will challenge you to survive using a variety of unique game mechanics. Its different! Its new and fresh, dont expect a AAA game which looks great for the few hours you play it. Expect to have a game and much more in VR which will give you tens or hundreds of hours of scary fun!

    I hope you all enjoy the game, and if you have any questions or want to find out about the game be sure to head over to the forums and Steam forums/Store page.

    Thanks Everybody,

    Shaun Williams BA Collapse    … Expand
  16. Pingy
    Oct 4, 2014
    10
    This game is not an FPS, it is a sci-fi survival horror game. Survival here means you have resources you need to manage other than health and ammo. You start out with only 90 minutes of oxygen so you need to keep track of how much you have and try to find a place to recharge before you run out, and sprinting uses 4x the oxygen so you have to be aware of your situation and decide whetherThis game is not an FPS, it is a sci-fi survival horror game. Survival here means you have resources you need to manage other than health and ammo. You start out with only 90 minutes of oxygen so you need to keep track of how much you have and try to find a place to recharge before you run out, and sprinting uses 4x the oxygen so you have to be aware of your situation and decide whether it's more important to move fast or breathe longer.

    Light is a limited resource that needs managed for survival, but also plays into the horror side of things. Dark is scary and scary is good, but you can't see items, messages, or enemies in the dark so you need a flashlight to survive. If you're using a flashlight it's not so dark and not so scary which is bad for horror. So for middle ground between a scary dark ship and being able to see things and survive you only get 60 minutes of flashlight battery (non-rechargeable). If you run out completely... good luck with that.

    All gamers know with melee enemies and guns that backup+shoot=win. To disrupt this equation there are boxes all over the ship that are collision enabled. Here if you try and run backwards shooting you risk running into a box and getting caught by the bad guy if you don't jump over it fast enough. This is an intentional feature designed to make you watch where you're going and prevent you from playing this like an FPS. Remember where I said "this is not an FPS" earlier?

    Additionally, enemies are very difficult to kill, especially in groups. It imbues a sense helplessness in the player, and being helpless is scary. In one variation of the storyline I ended up in a corridor filled with aliens yelling "F*CK YOU DIE DIE DIE! F*CK YOU DIE DIE DIE!" as I poured plasma rifle fire into the oncoming swarm and screamed "NOOOOOOOOO!" as I was overwhelmed and eaten.

    Perma-death is listed in the features section and seems self explanatory, but I feel it needs reiterated because some people don't quite get how it works. The game does save at loading screens so that you can quit and pick up the story later if you need to, but there is no manual saving or loading. When you die though your last save point dies with you and you have to start a new game. Having a save point to fall back on makes dying less of an imposition and alleviates the player's fear of dying and doesn't emphasize survival.

    The game does lack some polish and is rough in some areas and had it been AAA I would have deducted some points. But it was made by 1 developer with 0 budget, and is understandable. He has been continually improving the game over time, releasing updates periodically. He has also already released 1 free DLC and will be releasing another for Halloween as a token of appreciation to the customers and as an apology for the buggy release. He's not perfect, but how many developers even bother to try and make things right with their customers? Not enough, and thats why this gets a 10.

    Even if it is rough in places, the tension in the game is palpable. I usually play games to relax, and I've got to say that I almost don't like playing this one because it keeps me wound up the whole time. The biggest part is you don't know what's going to happen next. The storyline is randomized, enemy spawns are randomized, the only thing you can be sure of from one game to the next is your own name, the location of some weapons/objects, and that you're on a big scary Ghostship.

    Even the way you move is tense, difficult, and adds to the atmosphere. You clunk along slowly in your heavy spacesuit with magnetic boots, and although you can "sprint" (I use that word loosely, its more like a fast jog) it is only for a couple seconds before you have to go back to walking speed. After all, you are Dr. Jake Abbots from the Colonial Science Division, not a space Marine.

    I recommend this game because it achieves its overriding goal, to scare you the entire time, and the randomized storyline is a novel idea that provides tons of hours of replayability. I should note that I HIGHLY recommend reading the manual and watching the getting started video from the developer before playing the first time as you're thrown into the deep end on this game.    … Expand

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  1. Riot Pixels
    Aug 27, 2014
    57
    A weird, twisted take on a horror game that combines excellent gameplay ideas with truly horrendous mistakes. It’s brilliant and disgusting at the same time, but, alas, the latter prevails.
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