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Seven Days to Die First Impression Review: A New Player's NightmareRating: 4.5/10 Welcome back to another game review, folks. Josh Bailey here from 2tonwaffle.com, and today I'm diving headfirst into something that's been sitting in my Steam library for way too long. We're talking about Seven Days to Die, the zombie survival game that's been kicking around in Alpha for what feels like an eternity. Now, I know this game has a dedicated fanbase, but I'm coming at this completely fresh with zero experience. Spoiler alert: it didn't go well. 7 Days to Die on Steam7 Days to Die on Steam7 Days to Die is an open-world game that is a unique combination of first-person shooter, survival horror, tower defense, and role-playing games. Play the definitive zombie survival sandbox RPG tha...The Setup That Should Have Been a WarningBefore I even got into the actual game world, Seven Days to Die threw up more red flags than a communist parade. The character creation process dumps you into a selection screen with various pre-made characters that have faces stuck in perpetual shock. These poor souls look like they've seen some serious stuff, which, given what I was about to experience, feels pretty accurate in hindsight. But here's where things get problematic right from the start. The game asks you to make all these crucial decisions about world generation, server setup, and gameplay mechanics without giving you a single clue about what any of it means. What's a seed? How does world size affect gameplay? What the hell is a Blood Moon range? The game just sits there like "Figure it out, genius" while you're frantically clicking random options hoping you don't break something. This is Game Design 101 stuff, people. If you're going to ask new players to make important decisions, at least give them the context to make informed choices. Instead, Seven Days to Die treats onboarding like an afterthought, which honestly sets the tone for everything that follows. The Loading Screen From HellOnce I finally managed to stumble through the setup process, the game decided to punish me with what might be the longest loading screen in modern gaming history. I'm talking five solid minutes of staring at progress bars while the game "generates towns" and "creates points of interest." At one point, I genuinely thought my computer had frozen. For a new player, this is strike two before you've even seen a zombie. In an age where games load in seconds, making people wait this long feels almost insulting. Sure, I get that it's an indie studio and procedural generation takes time, but there's got to be a better way to handle this. Maybe some actual tutorials during the loading time? Just a thought. Welcome to the World (Now Go Die)Finally dropping into the game world, I was greeted with a quest from some guy named Noah telling me I've crossed "the duke" and need to prove myself worthy of joining White River Settlement. Cool story, but how about teaching me the basics first? The game immediately demands I craft a bedroll, gather plant fibers, and start building shelter. Simple enough, except nobody bothered explaining how to do any of these things. Want to gather plant fibers? Apparently, you punch grass. Want to craft items? Good luck finding the interface. Need to repair something? Hope you enjoy googling game mechanics because Seven Days to Die sure isn't going to help you figure it out. I spent a solid chunk of my first hour just trying to understand basic controls that should have been explained in the first five minutes. Death, Frustration, and More DeathThe core survival loop of Seven Days to Die revolves around a simple concept: you have seven in-game days to prepare for a zombie horde that comes to wreck your stuff. During the day, zombies are slow and manageable. At night, they turn into sprint-happy murder machines that will chase you down like you owe them money. Here's the problem: the game gives you almost no time to actually learn its systems before throwing you into this pressure cooker. I died three times in my first hour, each death sending me back to my bedroll with nothing but my underwear and a bad attitude. Every time I started making progress, something would go wrong. Couldn't figure out how to use bandages while bleeding out. Couldn't repair tools that broke at the worst possible moments. Couldn't even open locked doors that seemed easy enough to break down. The death penalty in Seven Days to Die is particularly brutal for new players. You drop everything when you die, and if you can't get back to your body before dying again, that gear is gone forever. This creates a vicious cycle where new players get stuck in a loop of spawning, dying, and losing progress without ever getting the chance to actually learn the game's systems. The Tutorial That Doesn't ExistPerhaps the most frustrating aspect of Seven Days to Die is how it completely fails to teach you anything meaningful about its mechanics. The game has a quest system that theoretically guides new players, but these quests are more like scavenger hunt items than actual tutorials. "Craft a stone axe" sounds simple until you realize the game never explains where to find the crafting menu or what materials you actually need. I found myself constantly alt-tabbing out to Google basic questions like "how to repair items in Seven Days to Die" and "how to upgrade building blocks." This isn't clever game design that encourages discovery. This is lazy development that pushes the burden of explanation onto the community and external websites. Even simple things like inventory management become unnecessarily complicated when the game tells you you're "encumbered" without explaining your weight limit or how to check your current load. Quality of life features that have been standard in survival games for years are either missing or poorly implemented here. The Good Buried Under the BadDespite my overwhelmingly negative experience, I can see glimpses of what makes Seven Days to Die appealing to its dedicated fanbase. The building system, once you figure out how it works, offers a lot of creative freedom. The day/night cycle creates genuine tension, and the looming threat of the seven-day horde gives the game a unique rhythm that you don't find in other survival games. The procedural world generation creates interesting landscapes to explore, and the variety of zombies and creatures adds some welcome diversity to encounters. When everything clicks together, you can see how Seven Days to Die could be a compelling survival experience for players willing to push through the initial learning cliff. The crafting system is also quite deep, with a tech tree that allows for meaningful progression over time. If you can survive long enough to start unlocking better equipment and building materials, the game opens up significantly in terms of what you can accomplish. A Wasted OpportunityThe tragedy of Seven Days to Die is that it doesn't have to be this hostile to new players. The foundation of a great survival game exists here, but it's buried under layers of poor user experience design and obtuse mechanics. With better onboarding, clearer tutorials, and some basic quality of life improvements, this could be a fantastic entry point into the survival genre. Instead, Seven Days to Die feels like it was designed exclusively for people who already know how to play it. The developers seem to assume that anyone picking up their game will either have friends to teach them or the patience to spend hours researching basic mechanics online. That's not a reasonable expectation for a commercial game in 2024. The VerdictAfter spending two hours with Seven Days to Die, I can confidently say this game is not ready for new players. While I'm sure there's a great experience waiting for those willing to climb the learning cliff, the path to get there is unnecessarily punishing and frustrating. The lack of proper tutorials, confusing interface design, and brutal death penalties create a perfect storm of new player hostility. When I spend more time dead or researching basic mechanics than actually playing and enjoying the game, something has gone seriously wrong. Seven Days to Die earns a 4.5 out of 10 from me. The core concepts are solid, but the execution fails new players so completely that I can't recommend it to anyone without significant patience and external research time. If you're curious about survival games, start with something like Valheim or Conan Exiles instead. Your sanity will thank you. For the developers still working on this Alpha build after all these years: please, for the love of all that's holy, add some proper tutorials and quality of life improvements. You've got the bones of something great here. Stop making it so damn hard for people to see it. Until next time, this is Josh Bailey reminding you to always check the reviews before diving into your Steam backlog. Some games are hidden gems. Others are just hidden for good reason. --- Josh Bailey is the founder of 2tonwaffle.com and has been reviewing games for over a decade. When he's not dying repeatedly in poorly designed survival games, he enjoys coffee, complaining about bad user interfaces, and wondering why developers hate new players so much.

Hey everyone! Just finished my latest First Two Hours episode covering 198X, and I'm honestly conflicted about this one. Really wanted to get the community's thoughts on this design choice because it's driving me nuts. The game starts SO strong. Beautiful 80s aesthetic, genuinely engaging story about a kid discovering an underground arcade, music that absolutely nails that synth-heavy nostalgia vibe. I was completely hooked during the opening sequences. But then it hits you with this massive wall: you reach an arcade machine and the game literally will not let you progress unless you complete the entire shoot-em-up minigame. No skip button. No quit option. No "walk away" choice. You're trapped there until you beat it or force quit the whole application. I spent 20+ minutes dying over and over on this side-scrolling shooter (my fingers are NOT what they used to be), and I never got to see the rest of the story. All that beautiful narrative work becomes completely inaccessible if you can't master their arcade challenge. So here's my question for you all: Is this acceptable game design? I get that they want to recreate the authentic arcade experience, but forcing completion feels hostile to players. What if someone's here for the story? What if they have limited gaming time? What if they're just not good at those types of games? Compare this to something like Celeste, which is brutally difficult but gives you assist options, or Hades, which lets you progress the story regardless of your combat skills. Those games respect their vision while acknowledging different player needs. Am I being too harsh? Should narrative games be allowed to gate content behind skill challenges? Or is player choice more important than artistic vision? Would love to hear your thoughts, especially if any of you have played 198X. Did you manage to get past that first arcade section? Was the rest of the game worth the frustration? [Link to full review: https://2tonwaffle.com/the-first-two-hours-198x-review-when-nostalgia-cant-save-poor-game-design/ What's your take on forced progression in story-driven games?

Hey everyone! Just finished putting together my full review of 60 Parsecs! after streaming it live last night. This game is seriously addictive once you get into the resource management flow. For those who haven't heard of it, imagine being stuck in a cramped space shuttle with the most dysfunctional crew possible while trying to survive on an alien planet. You've got a coffee addict going through withdrawal, a strong guy who's dumber than a box of rocks, and an AI that won't stop making sarcastic comments about your terrible leadership decisions. The opening 60 seconds where you frantically grab supplies from an exploding space station had me sweating more than any action game this year. Then the real challenge begins when you're rationing soup cans and deciding whether to craft medical supplies or communication equipment while your crew slowly goes insane. Managed to last 42 days before everyone either starved or got killed by aliens. Not bad for a first attempt! Anyone else played this? How long did you survive? And seriously, why is coffee withdrawal more dangerous than actual space monsters? Full review with gameplay breakdown here: [60 Parsecs! Review: Space Survival Meets Dark Comedy](https://2tonwaffle.com/60-parsecs-review-space-survival-meets-dark-comedy-in-this-resource-management-gem/) What other survival games have you been playing lately? Always looking for recommendations!

Looking for a unique gaming experience that blends history with compelling storytelling? "11-11 Memories Retold" offers players an immersive journey through World War I, following two distinct protagonists: Harry, a Canadian photographer, and Kurt, a German engineer. This narrative-driven game stands out with its dreamlike art style that perfectly captures the essence of wartime memories. Players alternate between characters, making choices that shape their stories and influence the overall narrative direction. What makes this game special: • Dual protagonist storylines that eventually intersect • Unique painterly art style that enhances emotional storytelling • Historical accuracy combined with personal character development • Moral choices that impact story outcomes • Photography mechanics that add realism to Harry's character While the game experienced some technical hiccups during gameplay, including occasional crashes, the overall experience remains engaging and emotionally resonant. The storytelling quality and artistic vision make it worth exploring for players interested in narrative-rich experiences. Whether you're a history buff or someone who appreciates story-driven games, "11-11 Memories Retold" delivers a thoughtful exploration of war's human impact. [Read the full review and gameplay experience here: https://2tonwaffle.com/11-11-memories-retold-a-beautiful-war-story-marred-by-technical-hiccups/] Rating: 3.5/5 stars Recommended for fans of narrative games and historical storytelling.