The Alters Feature Scores
Explore all 56 feature scores for The Alters, organized into pros and cons.
Scores by Feature
Summary
56 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.021 (38%)
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Positive 3.5-4.420 (36%)
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Neutral 2.5-3.412 (21%)
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Negative 1.5-2.43 (5%)
Pros
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Narrative quality was one of the strongest areas, with many reviewers praising the story as compelling, thoughtful, philosophical, or emotionally resonant.
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Voice acting was strongly praised across many reviews, especially Alex Jordan’s work differentiating the many Jans, with only one mild delivery caveat.
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Graphics were praised repeatedly, with reviewers calling the game gorgeous, detailed, good-looking, or visually distinctive.
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Atmosphere was consistently praised as isolating, eerie, tense, symbolic, and thrilling.
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Emotional impact was consistently strong, with reviewers describing thought-provoking, personal, vulnerable, and resonant moments.
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Originality was strongly praised, with reviewers calling the concept unique, uncategorizable, ambitious, or unlike anything else.
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Replay value was widely praised because alternate Alters, choices, endings, and remembered dialogue paths encourage repeat runs, though a few reviewers saw replay fatigue.
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Most reviewers praised the blended survival, management, and narrative mechanics as polished or inventive, though a few found the underlying gameplay basic.
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Character development was broadly praised for distinct, evolving Jans, though one reviewer felt the alters leaned into caricature.
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The core loop was often described as compelling, addictive, or well-designed, with one dissenting review arguing the hybrid systems failed to cohere.
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Value for money was praised, especially around the $35 price and replayable mid-sized scope.
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Frame rate stability was generally strong, with reviewers citing consistent 60+ fps, 120 fps, or stable 60 fps with only occasional drops.
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Fun factor was positive, with reviewers describing the game as entertaining, a blast, hard to put down, or excellent from start to finish.
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Sound design evidence was strongly positive, emphasizing exceptional audio, tension-building environmental sound, and fantastic sound design.
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Performance optimization was mostly praised on reviewed builds, though one PC review reported dreadful performance.
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Resource balance was mostly praised for satisfying pressure and strong management hooks, though some reviewers found it irritating or overly punishing.
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Reviewers generally praised the variety created by survival, puzzles, exploration, branching side quests, and genre mixing, with one caveat about restrictive base building.
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Soundtrack quality was praised for its synth mood, Piotr Musial’s work, and enjoyable/chill music.
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UI design was mostly praised as clean, tactile, and not intrusive, with some interface quirks noted.
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Art direction received strong praise for the alien planet, visual design, and Jan/Alter presentation.
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Side character depth was praised in the reviews that addressed it, with the Alters described as distinct and fully realized.
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World-building was praised for its strange sci-fi setting, cultural detail, and labor/corporate themes.
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Writing was mostly praised as authentic, human, or excellent, though one negative review called it shallow and another noted occasional creaking.
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Environmental detail was praised for adorable base rooms, dinky detail, and visually distinct alien landscapes.
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Innovation was praised through the game’s unusual genre blend and standout sci-fi structure.
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Animation quality was mostly praised for character design and subtle idle movement, though one reviewer found some animations rough.
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Map and navigation design was praised for clever fast travel and tense maze-like routing that reduced backtracking.
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Menu usability was generally positive thanks to quality-of-life tools, though some reviewers found navigation old or menu-jumping cumbersome.
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Immersion was strong but intense, with reviewers describing deep involvement and a claustrophobic, absorbing feel.
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Exploration divided reviewers: several found it atmospheric, tactile, or satisfying, while others found it basic, repetitive, or chore-like.
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The Alter roster was mostly praised for distinct variants, though one reviewer felt not all Alters were equally useful or nuanced.
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Level and map design were praised for dense, hand-crafted layouts and well-crafted act-specific maps.
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One reviewer specifically praised the controls on both controller and mouse/keyboard, with no conflicting control-responsiveness evidence.
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Facial animation evidence was positive, with one reviewer specifically praising how faces reflect current attitude.
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Onboarding was praised for introducing many systems without overwhelming the player.
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Bug evidence was mixed: several reviewers saw minor bugs, glitches, or stuck characters, while one reported zero bugs and another saw more disruptive issues.
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Jan’s appeal was mixed: some found him more complete, plausible, and sympathetic, while one reviewer found him unpleasant.
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The crafting and production automation earned positive evidence for reducing food and essential-goods micromanagement.
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Enemy or hazard variety had limited but positive evidence, with anomaly variants helping keep exploration tense.
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Handheld suitability had limited but positive evidence, with Steam Deck described as playable with decent image quality.
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Puzzle evidence was mixed: environmental puzzles earned praise, but the probe-based resource puzzle was criticized as fiddly and low-value.
Cons
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Grind level drew negative evidence, with reviewers criticizing repetitive busywork and mindless material loops.
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Crash stability was a major issue in one PC review, which reported frequent crashes around the Quantum Computer.
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Age appropriateness evidence points to mature themes, with one reviewer warning about substance abuse, suicide, and self-harm.
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Load-time evidence was mixed-to-negative because shader precompilation was called long or repeatedly required on launch.
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Progression drew criticism from one reviewer who felt unlocks mostly reduced earlier friction rather than adding exciting new capabilities.
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Movement drew mixed-to-negative notes, with one reviewer calling traversal cumbersome and another saying Jan could feel awkward or get stuck.
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Accessibility evidence was limited and mixed, with reviewers noting useful settings but also describing the overall accessibility approach as limited.
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Save reliability was mixed: one reviewer lost progress due to daily saves and crashes, while another appreciated nightly/location auto-saves.
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Mission design received mixed evidence because one reviewer felt survival objectives and narrative goals could work against each other.
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Visual effects evidence was mixed-to-negative in one review because close-up scenes sometimes became pixelated.
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Combat-like anomaly encounters were generally seen as simple or secondary; some found them fitting, while others called them weak or uneven.
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Polish was mixed, with notes about lacking presentation and unskippable scenes despite otherwise strong execution.
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Difficulty balance was mixed: several reviewers valued the pressure, but others found the stress overwhelming or the economy hard for newcomers.
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Dialogue quality was mixed: some praised meaningful character conversations, while others found the script or conversations flat and stilted.
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Pacing was mixed, with praise for quick days and well-timed beats offset by complaints about cyclical acts, clocks, and difficult bad-end pressure.