"KLETKA" is a good game, but not in its current state. At its core, it’s an excellent concept, but for now its content falls short. To put it simply, there’s just not enough of it. Let’s break it down. First, the positives. "KLETKA" is an intriguing clone of Lethal Company, set in a universe where prisoners are trapped in a massive Soviet-era Khrushchyovka apartment building. The atmosphere is undeniably unique from the get-go. The graphics, while visually appealing, follow a retro horror aesthetic with filters - a style that’s become somewhat overused in the genre. It looks good, but it doesn’t stand out. The game is notably more solo-player-friendly than its competitors. I completed the story mode on my first attempt, playing entirely solo. So, if you enjoy this genre but lack friends to play with or have a poor internet connection, this game is worth a try. It’s relatively easy, thanks to certain mechanics I’ll discuss later. On the standard difficulty, you won’t face insurmountable challenges. Sure, you’ll die and encounter obstacles, but the game’s generous respawn system softens the blow. Respawns aren’t free, but by the end of the game, I defeated the final boss simply by stockpiling three revival items in my elevator. Some might see this as a negative, but you can always increase the difficulty. As mentioned earlier, the game’s atmosphere is a highlight, bolstered by its sound design. The music isn’t groundbreaking, but combined with the dark, repetitive corridors and the challenge of navigating them, it creates a compelling mood. One memorable moment is the zero-gravity descent through the mines (more on that later). The game features a straightforward elevator upgrade system. On some floors, you’ll find upgrades in the form of gears, which you can allocate to fuel tanks, scanners, or the elevator’s hull. Personally, I only upgraded the hull a couple of times and never touched the scanner, focusing entirely on the fuel tank. The game offers a decent variety of items, and unlike Lethal Company, almost every item has a function. This seems at odds with my earlier comment about the lack of content, but I’ll elaborate further. The same can be said for the various status effects on different floors. Frost, burning floors, gachimuchi floors, anti-gravity, and fog add some variety to the otherwise monotonous gameplay. Once, I got completely lost on a large factory floor as the fog grew thicker, which was genuinely terrifying. The elevator maintenance mechanic is intriguing, and discovering new elements is always fun. At one point, my elevator refused to move because I was carrying too much ore, forcing me to reluctantly discard valuable resources. These moments add depth to the experience. I’m not sure how well the game plays in co-op, but as a solo experience, it’s a melancholic and enjoyable journey. I recommend giving it a try, but if you’re on the fence, read the section on its flaws. The game has an interesting progression and trade-off system. As you descend deeper toward the "Heart of the Khrushchyovka," you can skip almost every floor. However, skipping floors means missing out on fuel and hull upgrades, so you can’t just ride the elevator down to the 100th floor. This introduces a minor issue: in two out of the three currently available biomes, you can immediately tell what kind of "structure" you’re entering. While the details may vary, you’ll generally know whether you want to explore a floor just by glancing at it from the elevator. I appreciate the player’s freedom of choice, but it trivializes the gameplay. For example, after a bad experience with a "cold" floor, I started skipping all floors with that effect. The game is too easy. I played the story mode on medium difficulty, but it felt more like easy mode. To give you an idea, I intentionally sabotaged my playthrough to test the death mechanics. After running out of fuel and damaging the elevator’s electrical panel, I repaired the panel while nearly dead and scavenged for fuel on the floor I was stranded on. Upon returning, I found a sealed gift in the elevator containing a brand-new fuel canister. I’m not sure if this was a one-time gift for first-time players or a random chance at salvation. Regardless, with a barely functioning elevator and character, I managed to complete the game with eight wrenches for repairs, four full fuel canisters, and a collection of other colorful items like whips, mushrooms, and ore. Items distribution are a sore point in the game. While there are many functional items - whips, flamethrowers, PPShs rifles, rakes, pickaxes, and so on - most of the time, you’ll be looting empty bottles. Seriously, for the first 50 floors, I considered quitting because it was so boring. The game only starts to shine when you encounter interesting enemies on the factory levels, where you’ll find more varied loot like flamethrowers, compasses, and spray cans. However, the pacing is painfully slow. This might not be as noticeable in endless mode, but in the story mode, you’ll often skip floors. Another odd design choice is locking character upgrades in the final, underdeveloped biome - the meat mines. I played through the first two zones with a standard character and only found inventory and health upgrades in the third zone. Why such uneven distribution? The enemies are an interesting bunch. There are flamethrower-wielding foes, Snorks from Stalker, mini Shai-Huluds, spider-like road cones, invisible mutants and so on. But most of the time, you’ll be fighting flies in crates. These aren’t particularly challenging - you break the crate with a few clicks, and if flies emerge, they take a couple of hits to defeat. Traps and the mysterious "SAMOSBOR" event pose greater threats, though I only encountered the latter three times and always managed to escape. Despite the variety, 90% of my enemy encounters were with flies. The game is too short. But since this is an early access project, such a minus is forgivable. Developers are still working on it – just recently they added a new biome. Currently, there are only three biomes: the starting area, which is quick and monotonous; the factory, which is the most polished; and the meat mines, which were recently added but a bit on a short side yet. The factory is the best part of the game, but the overall experience feels incomplete for the moment. Until the game is an early access project, this incompleteness remains a significant drawback. For example, one moment I initially praised - the atmospheric zero-gravity descent through the mines - became repetitive. I experienced it eight times while progressing through the meat mines. The developers clearly took pride in this feature, but they overused it. The game isn’t scary but has a strong atmosphere. If you’re looking for a horror experience, look elsewhere. "KLETKA" is generous with respawns, and the enemies are weak, so you never feel helpless. By the endgame, with an inventory full of beer, rakes and flamethrower, I felt more like the meme, "You're Locked In Here With Me". This isn’t a problem for me, but if you’re seeking horror, this isn’t it. As for bugs, I encountered only two. First, active items like rakes or crowbars sometimes wouldn’t work despite clicking the mouse button. Second, Steam awarded me two achievements I didn’t earn: donating 77 bottles to a vending machine (I only donated 10) and completing the story mode without using the flashlight (I used it constantly). In summary, as I said at the beginning, "KLETKA" is an excellent project that needs more time to mature. Its ambitions and potential are clear, and it has the capacity to grow into something truly remarkable within its subgenre. That’s why I’m giving it a positive review. However, it does have significant flaws, which I’m choosing to overlook to some extent, given its early access status. If you can overlook these issues, you will enjoy "KLETKA" as much as I did. But for now, I’m putting it on the shelf.
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