Game Review: Soviet Project

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch

Soviet Project is a survival horror adventure game that saw a release on Steam previously under the title Bug Dolls: Soviet Project. We'll cover that Bug Doll thing later on in the review, but it's now available on the Nintendo Switch as well. It's a bit of an odd take on the genre as it's far more open-ended than one would expect in the genre. One might even call it an open-world game if its world was not relatively small. We're getting ahead of ourselves though, so let's back up and see what these bug dolls are all about and unravel the mystery behind the Soviet Project!

Let me start off by saying that, name aside, I can pretty much assume that this is a Russian-developed game as it not only wears its roots on its sleeve, but it also leaves lots of random untranslated Russian bits throughout. I guess learning that a game called Soviet Project may be of Russian origin isn't actually a surprise to anyone, but it comes up so much while playing that I had to start off with it. Now onto the story. None of this is properly explained to you in-game, but you are a citizen of a small Russian town during the final days of the USSR. The town has been through some stuff as the remnants of several experiments are left just lying about. Actually, the town is completely empty besides yourself since you missed the evacuation due to being sick. You wake up still hearing the emergency siren, but everyone is gone and all you find is destruction, decay, and a bunch of creepy dolls. It's your task to get out of the town by any means necessary, and maybe uncover the truth behind what's going in the town, and why everyone left.

I hate when this happens!

Look! A Bug Doll!

I'm sure there's far too much gameplay to consider Soviet Project a walking simulator, but you do so much walking from one area to next that the thought of it being one kept crossing my mind. You're given very little direction where to go, you can pick up several items that you have no idea what they do, and can walk right into death within minutes if you're not careful. There are notes everywhere that attempt to both tell the game's story, as well as offer potential puzzle solutions. This leads me to my first, and honestly the consistently biggest, issue with the game: There are many clues that are written on walls throughout the game that are simply left untranslated. I noticed a handful of untranslated sections in the starting building, but assumed that they were just flavor text that I'd just have to live without. I started to find the text's appearance more suspicious when it was placed next to a puzzle that I was currently stuck on. I eventually stumbled upon some online reviews that mentioned these bits of untranslated text, and sure enough they mentioned that they offered solutions to many of the game's puzzles. I can't believe that they'd release this officially in English but leave so many important sections untouched. A simple text box beneath them in whatever language you're playing in would've done wonders. As it stands though, you'll be lucky to actually complete the game without either outside help, or through lots of trial-and-error attempts.

Can I play too?

Probably not a hint, but untranslated...

Back to the walking simulator stuff. You can walk, run, and jump, and you'll be needing these skills to avoid the dolls that roam across sections of the map. Some of these dolls have bug-like heads or limbs, and you also find random (giant) bug pieces mixed in with the random dolls scattered about. The bug origins aren't clearly defined though, but it does add an extra layer of creepy for those who are not fans of insects. Like myself. Anyhow, you're not able to fight off these bug dolls, you're only able to run away, or trap them, but trapping them is something that doesn't occur until far later in the game. You can heal yourself with medkits you find randomly placed around, but I learned that you can just die and let yourself respawn in a safer area, basically avoiding whatever was giving you so much trouble in the first place. Besides the many disposable items you find, you also pick up keys, key items, and several pieces for the traps you can assemble to stop the dolls. Inventory management is simple, but a lot of the items are given no explanation at all. Good luck figuring out what all those random "e"-shaped items are on your first playthrough. You also have a notebook which automatically records important pieces of information you come across throughout your journey. It's a good thing that notebook exists as it acts as a checklist of clues you have to sort out. This, along with a current quest marker, are the game's saving graces as it helps you see through all the fluff to the important tasks needed to get out of Dodge. With a game this open-ended, there's an incredible amount of side-content and areas, and you can gauge how important they are by seeing if they show up in either of these sections.

Random hobo pentagram.

You don't say...

The last thing that helps you along is the map. It shows your current location, as well as places of interest. The game world isn't exactly big enough that you can get lost, but everything looks very similar that you'll find yourself referring to it a lot in the early sections of the game. Actually, I wish everything didn't have such a same-y feel to it as I'd have preferred a smaller world that offered more variety. You'll find the same items in every house, the same cars strewn about, the same dolls everywhere, and even the same houses on several different streets. I wouldn't be so rude as to call this an asset flip type situation, but it definitely reeks of a developer that had limited resources to work with. All this together makes traversing hard without a map as there are sections that I swear are lifted and rotated on different corners of the map. Also, since everything has an overcast, foggy look to it that you'll find it hard getting around even if everything didn't look the same as the thing next to it. Perhaps a smaller world with more focused gameplay could've made this a much better game, but we'll never know I guess.

Can I show this here?

Don't become a doll!

The gameplay experience is a very mixed bag from start to finish. When I booted up the game I was impressed by the atmosphere and found everything spooky and cool. The dolls are of a very creepy design, and the first time you see one moving towards you is reminiscent of getting your first jump scare by the dogs in Resident Evil. The dolls started to lose their effect once you realize that they're scattered around everywhere. Most just sit there motionless, looking less and less creepy as time goes on, and the ones that move just become an annoyance after a while. Creepy set pieces that I think are cool get repeated too often to be noteworthy, and the few unique things you encounter lose their shock value since you're already complacent with everything else around you. It’s even hard to get lost in the story as a lot of weird translations in the scattered notes make things at best confusing, at worst downright silly. There's also very little in the way of sound. Music is atmospheric in the purest sense of the word, meaning it's almost non-existent, and sounds that are creepy the first time around are far too overused. One can only find a childish laugh creepy so many times before you're considering turning down the sound effects. Also, even though you're allowed to roam freely, the world is pretty much in a static state. This means you'll encounter similar things in the same areas and can learn what to do to avoid them. Basically gameplay becomes more like rote memorization and less like a narrative that feels like it's moving towards a final goal. I really wanted to be creeped out more by Soviet Project, and it did have some good moments, but I think most players will agree that the honeymoon period with the in-game world wears off rather quickly.

Make the traps!

This damn call box thing...

The game does offer a surprising amount of content though. Since you can tackle things in different orders, and in different ways, gamers can play according to their individual style. I mentioned my tactics of avoidance and basically hoarding all my supplies, but you can just as easily go for a more gung-ho approach. There's also several endings, and the publisher's bullet points on the game promise more than ten hours of gameplay. I can only assume that estimate is taking into account you seeing everything the game has to offer in multiple playthroughs, as you can actually beat it in about a quarter of the time if you can get around the random annoyances mentioned above. Since you can tackle things differently, even to the point of affecting the game itself, this means that the game has high replayability. Unfortunately there is only one save file and starting a new game automatically overwrites it. This is a very annoying mechanic that pretty much ensures that I won't be giving this one a second run, but there is that bonus for those who don't mind discarding their previous progress.

Why is there a carpet on the wall?

Nothing to see here...

Soviet Project might not get the most solid recommendation from me, but I do think it's worth the $3.99 price tag. If you're willing to give a smaller game a chance, and able to trial-and-error puzzles that are left badly translated, then there's definitely something to enjoy here. While this is definitely not a game that everyone is going to enjoy, it does offer enough for fans of the genre that it's worth at least a look, especially if you're able to find it on sale. Whatever you end up doing though, don't become a doll. They lead such crazy lives that you're bound to end up in a deserted town chasing some poor sap who got left behind before you notice it.

Check Out Soviet Project on The Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/soviet-project-switch/

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Story: B-
Gameplay: C-
Graphics: B-
Music/Sound: C
Value: B+

Overall: C

Pros:
+ The story and its mysteries is actually fairly intriguing.
+ A general creepy atmosphere can make this a surprisingly spooky game at times.
+ While it can lead to confusion, there are several ways to complete each puzzle/hazard, as well as multiple endings.
+ The trap mechanics are actually kind of interesting if you're willing to complete the mission to get the parts.
+ Reasonably priced for what you get.

Cons:
- Gameplay mechanics are barely explained, and it took me dying to realize that the game was indeed being saved.
- Since the game world is rather small, and you'll be moving back and forth between similar locations, the game's spooky atmosphere wears off after a while.
- Everything looks rather similar and you'll find yourself lost frequently. (Though there is a map.)
- Some puzzles are impossible to figure out since clues are left untranslated.
- I can't imagine English-speaking players seeing all the endings.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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That's it, Imma head out.

#SovietProject