Consider this video outdated! A major update to the game was released fairly recently that fixes some some of my criticisms with the game. I do plan to take a 2nd look at it, but I have a lot of other projects I'm currently working on, so it might be some time.
I think there's a lot more coming soon to that effect. A lot more dialogue, more NPCs, in game maps, the story is supposed to kick off properly (though I think it's already really good if you follow it closely enough), the magic system, alchemy...
I think its even better to wait for the next major patch [Thaumaturgy to be added] to update your video just to ensure that is gonna worth your time for %666.
Seriously man, you got a GREAT VOICE. And as a game designer I realy do like how clear your demonstration are that is rarely find on youtube. Keep work on it you may achieve something.
I personally really liked the level design. Knowing your way around the entire map is a challenge, but it can really help in future playthroughs. I prefer exploring everything, before going on to the next level. I guess not everyone likes that as much...
I wouldn't say its ahead of it's time, but sure it took front of one of gaming aspects, towards realism. So I would say it's on it's own course. Even when its been years since the industry bets on "low graphics but fun" games, realism will aways be a thing, a goal to reach and surpass. graphic, physic, movement possibilities and control, interaction... we just see these aspects isolated between games and genres, where each runs to perfect it.
@St. Petersberg Really late with this comment but if you see this great. Exanima is only the "Beginning". Exanima is sort of the working structure for a larger game the team is developing. Lots of different elements that aren't in Exanima at all will be part of a new game. Way more RPG type elements, a story, and a regular outside world and not just the dungeon. While they perfect the fighting system they released Exanima and update it.
I'm so glad you made this video, this is one of my favorite games of all time despite it's unfinished state. It's such a hidden gem that deserves so much more recognition
Holy hell, you're so confident in your words, even with such a small channel, you definitely put me at ease when I was feeling a little nervous and concerned that I had spent my money on this game, so thanks for that, easy sub for you my dude
Went on the hunt for some new footage since the update is imminent and happened upon your video. Really great insight into one of the most special games I've played in years. Enjoyed your dulcet tones as well. Subbed and glhf
Wow dude, your review style is very unique and very entertaining to watch! It reminds me a bit of the documentaries made by Ahoy. Best of luck in growing your channel, you deserve it!
I played the whole game using manual saves through hidden files. It desperately needs a traditional saving system and a SEPARATE true hardcore mode. It turns out it's really fun that way.
agreed, sometimes i love the feeling that i could die at any time and lose everything, but other times i just wanna chill out and explore some rooms without fear of losing all of my progress. Luckily the later you progress the harder it tends to get to die, as you’ll be wearing plate armor and finding more healing salves.
How come you have just 2.4k subscribers? This video is absolutely amazing and it's very professional. I absolutely love how well you recorded yourself and the knowledge you have. Keep up the amazing work, you're awesome!
Unbelievable! I randomly found this game and your video was a recommendation. As i watched you talk really professionally about the game i expected you to have a couple hundred subscribers but im honestly shocked to find out you are this small. You use clean and simple but effective editing and you do great voice over with an amazing voice. You defintly found a new fan. Keep up the good work.
Dude I've been following this game for years now, stoked to get the July update ! One of the most satisfying combat systems ever, once you master all the weapons it's pure bliss.
I'm still holding out for Exanimas' physics implemented into a Project Zomboid type survival horror. Being able to physically block doors/windows, create road barricades, makeshift base build by pushing heavy objects. Exanima is really ahead of its time.
about blocking, it's actually really effective if you move the cursor over the striking point and obviously, bigger shields mean less required precision. blocking attacks and counter attacking is extremely effective at getting in clean blows.
Capocuoco I'm planning on covering some lesser know games in the near future for my examination series. Though I might make a new series as well. Still deciding on these things since I only started consistently uploading recently.
Great Video, you definitely deserve a larger community on this channel! Where was this game earlier in my life? I just bought it right after the video.
thanks to this vid, i bought this game. what a spectacular project. the combat is so satisfying and surprisingly intuitive once you get the hang of it. beautiful engine. im going to donate more $ just to see the devs get everything they need. i really want this to succeed and grow
Seems like a sweet cross between Darkwood, Resident Evil 7 and Superhot. I know this is the most popular video on your channel, but I only came to it from the Killing Floor 2 video and then the game worlds being too but video. What I’m trying to say is: I really like your channel. I’m surprised you’re not more popular.
Why do you not have more subs? If only RU-vid used video quality in their algorithms instead of length. Earned a sub, no idea how I️t took me this long to find you
One thing to point out, about the shield, the more you learn skills about it, the better your character handles it, it still is kinda wonky sometimes tho.
Overall a quite good 'examination' of Exanima. I appreciate you mentioning things like atmosphere, music, story etc., as most people focus solely on the combat. May I ask how far you've played the game though? All footage seems to be from the beginning of the first level. The first few levels are meant more as a tutorial and an opportunity to gear up. The game will change drastically afterwards, especially once the remaining content has been added (there are currently 5 out of 15 planned levels in the game). The game in general is currently barely representative what it will be when finished. There are many more scrolls, old parchments and books to get a better picture of the lore in the areas deeper down. However, the fact that the whole plot isn't presented to you on a silver platter is very much intentional. Not only is it much more believable that there isn't constantly something around to force feed you the story, but it's also the reason why many players gather on the forums to discuss all their different interpretations of what they have learned so far. 'Interpretations' is the keyword here, since everything you find is subject to the authors' intentions, opinions and their own interpretations they had when writing it. You may never know the whole story, and what you know may be nothing but lies (which is actually an important topic in the story itself). I don't know if you noticed, but the environment is a very important part of the story telling. Every character, room or corpse you find tells a piece of the story. Everything was placed with careful consideration. In future, there will also be dialogue and ways to more actively participate in the story. The physics are certainly an important part to make the world feel real, and to make gameplay more interesting and dynamic, but I definitely wouldn't say it's what the game is about. Combat is also not the focus of the game, even though it's not surprising that players think so, since it's very well made and a lot of fun, even after hundreds of hours. There will soon be a very extensive update, containing a remade and extremely complex AI system, better combat behaviours of NPCs, two new levels, remastered early levels, natural terrain, dialogue, a companion, much improved character balancing, 50+ pieces of armor and weapons, graphical enhancements, and lots of general tweaks, improvements and fixes.
Thank you very much for the constructive criticism! To answer your first question, I have played to level 4. In hindsight, I certainly should have mentioned this in the video since it is unfair for me to criticize some of the game's elements without actually finishing the game , but I will definitely think about that factor in the next examination video I make, as this is the first of a planned series. And as far as only showing footage from level 1, I wanted to spoil as little as possible, so I decided to leave out any following levels. That, and admittedly I'm not the best at the game, so I died many times trying to record footage. As for story telling, I completely understand that it is intentional for there not to be a direct presentation of the story, but I still believe that a bit more could be given to the player. Of course, I recognize that the game is still being developed, and the addition of dialogue will make me much more happy. But, I also have no issue with anyone being fine with the story in it's current state, as my dislike for the story is based mostly on my personal taste. I'm incredibly excited to see what is going to come to the game, but at the same time I am of the firm belief that a game being sold should be judged regardless of development status. Early access shouldn't be an excuse to release a game with minimal content. I don't look at Exanima this way however. In fact, it is one of the few early access games I have played and been completely satisfied with the state of the game. But until any of the new upcoming content is added to the game, my opinion of the game will not change. I will play through the game again, and attempt to actually complete all currently available levels while paying more attention to the things you mentioned. Maybe this will make me look at certain aspects differently, but either way, I certainly plan to revisit the game in a future video.
Ah, not trying to spoil the content is obviously a good reason, especially in this game since exploration is a very important aspect. The developers themselves try to avoid them like the plague, which sometimes frustrates some players, since they don't get to see screenshots while they wait for updates lol. I can see why someone would like a more direct approach to the story telling, and I can certainly accept that, but just for completeness' sake I would like to mention another important reason why it is this way (which I seem to have forgotten to do in my previous post). The game is designed to not be player-centric, which is something that not only applies to the story telling, but to the game in general - be it world design, combat, sight, dialogue, or anything else. This means nothing is done to explicitly accomodate the player, and everything that applies to the player must also apply to non-player characters and vice versa. This is an extremely important fact and something the developers are very passionate about to adhere to, and is the opposite of what is being done in most games. In terms of scrolls, for example, this means there will only ever be one if someone had an actual reason to write it and leave it there, and the content may not even tell the truth. Also, in case you haven't heard of it yet, I'd also like to mention Sui Generis, which is the developers' actual goal to make. It'll be very similar to Exanima, but much bigger in scope. That game is also the reason why they spent almost a year developing the new AI system, which will be totally overkill in Exanima.
I'm just another fan. How long it will take until it's finished is nearly impossible to tell. There are still quite some features missing, and two thirds of the content (though levels are relatively easy to create). I'm fairly certain it won't be this year though.
The story is about a Necromancer that experimented on people and every floor makes up for residents the highiest is the villagers and lowest are the noble ones.
manoogianation yeah I have finished crossroads the last newest level but i cant best golem president golem level boss, but I have slain sir a lvl 5 boss.
Funnily enough, for me the confusing level design is one of my favourite parts about the game. It adds to the feeling of dread knowing you're in some strange dungeon with no way out, where the only way to go is deeper. If you can find your way deeper.
Great production and voice, and content is on point. I can see this channel having a big-ass growth spurt (ass-growth? Spurt-ass? This channel will definitely have the biggest butt) if you keep up the good work✌️
i know im late, but there’s actually a few perks for shield in exanima that make it MUCH more reliable. You can make it so the shield will continuously block while you attack, or make it so can attack from behind the cover of your shield. In Arena, shield + blunt weapon = profit
man this game is more like a taste of what is to come, their real game that is just like examina is called sui generis looks like we'll have a bit of magic to play around with.
Sui Generis was Kickstarted 5 years ago and all they've achieved so far is Examina, an ongoing tech demo that gets updated every 18 months. Sui Generis will never see the light of day
lmfao so I guess late stage development footage and devs making videos doesn't pass for progress? guy just because you don't hear too much of something doesn't mean it's not being worked on with diligence. as far as examina goes it's just a sneak peak of what they are mainly working on, the day will come mark my words.
DrinkEnemyBlood The Thaumaturgy system will be present in Exanima, but it will only be possible to get to full potential in Sui Generis. (On the full potential, that is not a certain, but the Thaumaturgy system is definitely going to be present.)
Hadn't really planned on doing anything along the lines of a "let's play" but I do intend to take another look at the game at some point. Especially since the new update came out recently. Though it may be some time before that happens.
gotcha, I hope ya do play the game deserves more recognition from people and i would like to see more people play it other then Odhinn the underwhelming not say he's bad or anything but i would like see more ya know?
also, as you continue to play and figure out the mechanics, the zombies will be nothing but cannon fodder to you. I used to not be able to complete the first level, now I can get to at least the fourth level without taking any red damage at all. I could probably get all the way to the 6th level boss without taking damage if I bring Derrin with me and avoid a certain boss type character in the midway of the current game.
This is a really good video, explains the game really well, my only gripe with it is that you're talking about it as if it's a 100% finished and released game. You only mention that's it's unfinished once, towards the very end of the video. I feel like this might misguide some people into thinking that it's a bad game. Other than that, I really liked it :) The Arena mode is my favorite part of the game. The dungeon is cool, but it's too spooky for me. :D Like you said, it's so satisfying to level up your fighters, and the higher lever you get, the more intense the fights are, because you could lose all your progress with that fighter. You say there is no real goal for Arena, and while there may not be a "VICTORY" screen at the end (although, I don't know about that, I've never gotten max level in Arena,) I think the goal is pretty obvious. You work your way up, and try to become the ULTIMATE FIGHTER :D
Thank you for the feedback! The point you made about me treating the game as finished, I understand where you're coming from, but I have a bit of a strong opinion on early access games. And that is that no matter what the state of the game is, if it is being sold for money, then it can be judged fully. The only early access games that I give some slack are ones that I personally find worth the money in their current state, and I also see genuine and reachable potential in. Exanima falls into that category. I think that it is worth every penny I spent and we still have more updates coming. That being said, the game still has many flaws, which Bare Mettle seem eager to improve upon. Considering the amount of failed early access games we've seen in the past few years, it's great to see a game like Exanima do it right (even if progress is slow). But aside from that, thanks so much for the comment!
+clu If you've never heard of counterstrike surfing you absolutely have to take a look as it's some of the hardest physics gameplay you can find. The channel Ksfrecords or just searching Surf_it_omnific would be a good place to start.
Cant explain how much i wish this project would get some serious support. This and its supposed parent game Sui Generis deserve attention and completion! Put that mana bar to use lol
This game is a Dark Souls of Dark Souls game. That is also Dark Souls. The rooms are dark, and enemies probably have souls, so you should feel bad for killing them, Therefore, Dkark Solus.
hades2cool Yes, and if you read the comments, there are quite a few people who believe Exanima, and BM, are complete piles of....yeah.... (Obviously, they couldn't git gud, like us. 😎)
It is cool. Always wanted to see physics based combat where no animations for swing are played that go through enemy and instead of splitting him apart (from what animation looked like enemy should be split... sword went thriygh his body lol) there is only some damage. Here there is bounce back of strike if it was blocked and weapon dont go through the enemy!!!
