Just got this game, and it's actually really awesome. Stalker mixed with SCP mixed with Car Mechanic Simulator.
You have a possessed car that you maintain and customize and use to navigate around a Stalker style zone avoiding anomalies and looting all the while picking up weird radio transmissions and following a storyline with 3 other characters on the radio.
The zones aren't randomly generated, only the anomaly placement, so as you navigate a zone multiple times you start to get more comfortable with the roads and shortcuts meaning you can start navigating further out and getting more resources to upgrade your car and base with.
So far I absolutely love it, basically FTL but with the loops being a part of the storyline (your car will always keep you alive even if you lose all your loot and it gets totally fucked). So like if you die or get caught in an anomaly storm, your car will just zap you back to the garage, usually in a state so fucked that it barely drives, e.g. no wheels, no engine, and no headlights just barelling metal on pavement into the back wall.
You can also pick up "quirks" which are a fun sort of puzzle. Basically any action in the car or any state of the car can become randomly linked to another action. So like opening the back left door could turn your radio on, or flipped on your wipers could slam on the gas. So as you're out there surviving, you'll also have to be paying attention to what you did to make the trunk open, then diagnose the issue and repair it.
But yeah, if you're interested in rouge type games this one is top tier. Especially on PS5 because the haptic feedback is really dialed in on this one. You can tell how fucked your car is just by the feedback on the triggers (brake gets stuck, gas kicks back and rumbles aggressively).
Ah yes, American Stalker, it's even car-centric to denotate its American-ness
The car in this one is more like a spaceship. The world can get so hostile and terrible that even a few seconds on foot can kill you.
It's also a shitty station wagon with a top speed of 40mph and barely any traction or stability so you're just lumbering around constantly just barely escaping giant anomalies by the skin of your teeth. No running away, only managing the damage taken.
The world can get so hostile and terrible that even a few seconds on foot can kill you
so American Stalker.
I mean it's literally called the zone, and full of anomalies, the influence isn't hidden.
I'll probably give this a try. I played the demo and thought it was alright, but I'm still interested because the world is nice and the plot is interesting.
Some of the anchor portal moments can get wild. I managed to get out of a run with 2hp left and no tires. Just rolled down a hill eating beans until I hit the portal. Couldn't even drive my car into the garage, had to install a new engine in the parking lot.
I found a YouTube link in your post. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
damnit I have so many games to play and here I am buying another one despite swearing off roguelikes. You had me at FTL and zones not being randomly generated
I've been having a blast, haven't played many rouge likes lately that made me actually care about surviving a bad run. This one really forces you to care because it's not a true rouge and each run has your dealing with the consequences of the previous.
