The Persistence
by Aethyna
Jul 30, 2021 |
1
Votes |
44
Played |
0
Reviews
8
rate
Genres:
First Person Shooter , RPGGraphics:
3DLabels:
Virtual Reality , Zombies , Shooting , Space Games , HorrorPlatforms:
Publishers:
Firesprite Ltd A black hole appeared over the space colony, Persistence, that has somehow affected its 3D-printing capabilities, resulting in the creation of zombie-like creatures with corrupted human minds. Being the only properly 3D-printed human there, it’s up to you to find out what went wrong at the colony and how to escape the place. Play Now Similar Games Played
People Also Played
Summary
The Persistence is a horror-themed first-person shooter that’s set in space. A black hole appeared over the space colony, Persistence, hence the game title, and this has somehow affected the 3D-printing capabilities of the facility, resulting in the creation of zombie-like creatures with corrupted human minds. Being the only human with a sound mind there, it’s important for you to find out what went wrong at the colony and how you can escape the place.
Plotline
The game is set in the future where colonists of remote space colonies are only 3D printed when necessary to carry out certain tasks and that their “minds” are digitally stored and will be “downloaded” into new bodies once the bodies are 3D printed.
Now, in this game, a black hole suddenly appeared near the space colony known as The Persistence, somehow corrupting the entire process, resulting in zombie-like creatures with incomplete mind downloads. That doesn’t mean the creatures are dumb though.
Being the only human that was “manufactured” properly, it’s now up to you to figure out why there’s a black hole, whether or not you can save the likely thousands of human minds stored on the base, and how you can escape the place in one piece.
Gameplay
Before we get into the actual gameplay, I want to point out that the game made me felt so nauseous, to the point where I had to call it quits after just 30 minutes. In comparison, I made it to the 2-hour mark in Mirror’s Edge. If motion blur affects you as badly as it did me, be sure to head over to the settings and turn it off first before playing. While you’re there, you can turn off “Bloom” too since that feature seems to aggravate the feelings of nausea as well.
That aside, The Persistence Enhanced isn’t exactly the sort of horror-themed shooter that Dead Space was. It’s more subtle in the way that allows you to sneak up unsuspecting zombie-like creatures. There technically aren’t any jump scares but the zombies here move pretty fast and if you didn’t notice one of them but it saw you, you might end up getting surprised, enough to give you a jolt.
The game isn’t as “linear” either, allowing you to freely explore the space colony at your own pace. Besides exploring rooms and unlocking new ones, there are plenty of vents that you can crawl into, which may even reveal entrances that were previously inaccessible. It’s a lot like Deus Ex in a way, really. Though, note that these zombie creatures can crawl into vents as well and you might just be unlucky enough to bump into one after turning a corner.
Despite its open world-ish style gameplay, The Persistence does provide you with a quest that you should eventually follow in order to progress the storyline and complete the game.
Combat here features the standard shooter mechanics, though the creatures can be a bit of a bullet sink at times and headshots don’t seem to kill them instantly. As mentioned before, you can also sneak up behind a zombie to harvest its genetic material ala Big Daddy-Little Sister-style (if you get the Bioshock reference, good for you!) since the creatures will die after being “harvested”. You even get an energy shield that you can use to prevent getting hurt. However, the shield only lasts a short while so timing when to use your shield is critical.
To further enhance your gameplay, the game offers plenty of weapons, armor, and their associated upgrades for you to purchase. You see, there are weapon and armor fabricators scattered all over the colony. Once engaged, you can use Erebus tokens to unlock new items or Fab Chips to craft a new item there. There’s the option to upgrade your weapons and armor there as well.
If you happen to own a PC-powered VR headset, you can play The Persistence in virtual reality mode too.
Community
The Persistence is a single-player experience and hence, the only way you can interact with the community is via the game’s Steam page.
Graphics/ Sound
The graphics here are pretty well-done. As the game has a somewhat horror theme, there are plenty of places where the environment would be basically pitch black, requiring you to use the flashlight you have on hand.
Sound-wise, the game has a faint machine humming noise in the background, like what you’d expect in a space colony. Besides that noise and a few sounds that comes with various interactions, the game can be pretty silent, further enhancing the creepiness of being trapped in a space colony where you are “the only survivor”. The voice acting for the bot is rather good too.
Conclusion
The Persistence may not be the “next Dead Space”, but it does what it set out to do well. The story is intriguing enough to keep you engaged as you explore every inch of the space colony, battling zombie creatures along the way. However, if you do get motion sickness from playing games with Bloom and Motion Blur on, make sure to disable them first before you start playing and you can save yourself from the hours of oddly-persistent feeling of nausea that will likely plague you.
The Persistence Blog
New Game Added: The Persistence
by Aethyna
Jul 30, 2021
Read More
Featured Games
Realm of Warriors
Assemble a party of the strongest heroes to take on both the rebel forces and the corrupting influence of the Dragon Demon in this Chinese-themed browser MMORPG, Realm of Warriors!
RAID: Shadow Legends
Recruit the best to join your team and take on Siroth, the Lord of Darkness himself!
Hustle Castle
Save the king and his daughter from the abyssal lord as he threatens to destroy your kingdom and marry your bride to be in this fun mmo simulation game.
Dark Genesis
Play Dark Genesis and save the world from destruction with your allies.
War Robots
Head into the cockpit of a mech and decimate opponents in War Robots.
Blade of Kings
Blade of Kings is an idle RPG by Esprit Games. You’ll take a role of a warrior, defending the land from hordes of monsters and attempting to rise in rank in the kingdom. Take part in action-packed idle battles, use a variety of skills, raise pets, and achieve victory.
