The biggest weakness of the expansive loot system is just that, it is so vast and ever changing that you lose the real reward associated with gathering it. By the time you’ve upgraded and matched your equipment, it’s all too weak and you need to move on to the next set which you’ve already half collected. Another weakness the game has in terms of its loot system is not having any way to benefit from it. While upgrading and collecting is vital to the gameplay in order to survive as the difficulty ramps up, having matching armour and rare items is fairly inconsequential when the community aspect is taken away. For those fans of MMO based loot systems, the idea of showing your hard-earned virtual garbs is a big reward, but even when you’ve coordinated every piece of your equipment just right, you’re the only person that will really get a glimpse of that in Too Human, unless you choose the play co-op.

The co-op play is slightly disappointing, since it limits the game to a base experience involving no story or cutscenes, but it does deliver the gameplay aspect just fine and the game feels like it was designed for co-op. It seems like it would benefit from having more than just 2 players, but the levels also seem a bit small and the worlds closed in, so the decision to have that many seems to make more sense. Your only character is Baldur, however, and it would benefit to have different characters that are involved in the story mixed in if you are not adding the story element.

Although the combat is a lot of fun when you are actually in the dungeons, but the space between each world (the Aesir’s home) is just as vast but without any payoff. One of the worlds you can explore alongside and separate from the dungeons is Cyberspace, which is a lush forest area where extend the story and characters called the Norns offer tips and help to Baldur. You can also collect specific items, and unlock doors within the real world by opening them in Cyberspace. While that element is actually very interesting, it’s unfortunate that it isn’t very challenging. When you are outside the dungeons, you can still visit Cyberspace, but the game becomes terribly tedious as you traipse around through endless forest accumulating little to nothing. This is also something you can’t fully explore until your second play through, at least, which is frustrating the first time going through the game. It is the game actively encouraging you to play again, and not everyone will see this as a benefit.

The game is meant to be played through multiple times. You continue your powers and levels from the end of the game, and it is surprisingly addictive going through and collecting loot, reaching higher towards the highest levels. The story of the game is not as engaging the second time, through, however. While the story holds relatively strong throughout, it seems to have a lot of great ideas that are not well formed. It also ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, which comes off a bit smug and dissatisfying as the game does not feel finished in its own right. And ending at roughly the 10 hour mark doesn’t seem to give you the impression that all the ideas were fully realized this time around, either. The game does not feel too short, but it certainly feels like it could have been longer.

Too Human is a fun dungeon crawler. We spent time reviewing the game with people who had never heard of it before and the consensus was very similar all around. Everyone wanted a chance to play when the action picked up, and got frustrated when the game seemed to go from moderately difficult to you-will-die hard in a very short time. The visuals are impressive and the art design is excellent, but the game lacks polish. Lots of noticeable textures and rough edges give the game an unfinished feel in some cinematics and worlds. When you are between worlds, however, the game is essentially 20 minutes of walking in a row, moving from cinematic to cinematic based on where the game points you. The moral choice of taking the human or cybernetic path does not seem to carry the weight it should, as most people picked either or without much though, and didn’t see a noticeable difference in the way you play.

From a critical eye, the game has flaws. From some visual issues, to a disjointed story line and very basic gameplay mechanics that are very deceptive to most gamers expecting a beat-em-up or an action based adventure. The game is a balance between fighting waves of enemies, walking in search of loot and customizing and developing your equipment. Whether played alone or with a friend, the gameplay experience does not vary, but solo does benefit from the story which is an interesting introduction to the ideas in the game. The game suffers from feeling like a middle chapter in a game that is supposed to introduce the characters. With very little development besides soap-opera like drama scenes with a Norse veneer, the game can come off a bit dramatic. For what it’s worth, it is a good game with a lot of good ideas. If you play the demo and enjoy it, the game will deliver a lot of the same. It is not a perfect game, by any means, but it isn’t a bad one either, and it is something that will get some continued play just to see how deep the inventory system goes.

Game played to completion with Defender and Berserker class. Level 40 achieved. Roughly 20-25 hours of play.

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