Review: Mists of Noyah for PS5

We’ve all encountered games where the hype far outpaces the final product. In the gaming world, keeping promises is essential, so when a development team promises greatness and falls short, it’s disappointing for us all. Remember when No Man’s Sky first launched? Many were underwhelmed by its initial release. Over time, though, Hello Games turned it into something spectacular. This isn’t a criticism of Hello Games—they deserve commendation for how they turned things around. Instead, it’s a lesson for other developers who often fail to fulfill their pledges. This brings us to our subject today on the PS5: Mists of Noyah. Initially, it had all the elements of a groundbreaking title but, as we’ll explore, struggles to live up to its potential.

Imagine a game blending the crafting elements of Terraria with the exploration of a roguelike Metroidvania—a world rich in adventure, ever-changing on each playthrough, with deep crafting mechanics. On paper, Mists of Noyah could have been that game. However, in practice, it feels more like a project left incomplete.

Starting Mists of Noyah, the idea is immediately enticing. You’re plunged into a world where your character must protect a village from nighttime creatures. Daytime is for gathering resources and fortifying your defenses. I anticipated tense hours strategically choosing which resources were most critical, knowing one misstep could spell disaster. And then, suddenly, I found myself inexplicably dumped into a forest.

Mists of Noyah comes with no tutorial. In theory, I have no quarrel with games inviting you to discover their mechanics. Give me a basic grasp of controls and a vague mission, and I’ll enjoy unraveling the narrative as I go. This method can effectively create suspense and mystery. Sadly, here it just felt like someone forgot to include that crucial starting guide.

I managed to unpack the rudimentary controls quickly and began hopping between platforms, battling foes, and collecting resources. I figured out that chopping trees and mining were key aspects, completing an early quest to craft wooden armor by stumbling through multiple menus. This uncertain button-mashing to navigate the game was less than satisfying. Then, as soon as I died, it was back to square one, with no more guidance than before, except now it was nighttime.

Enemies ramp up in difficulty as night falls—they quickly surpassed the capabilities of my meager bow, forcing me to dash past them in search of the village I expected to begin in. After several unsuccessful attempts, I finally stumbled upon it, only to find it just as incomplete as the introduction.

Faceless vendors populated the town, each lacking meaningful interaction, selling items that held no context or clear purpose. This made spending my accumulated gold an exercise in frustration since I couldn’t discern what, if anything, was beneficial. A fairy offered the chance to run a dungeon, which seemed inviting. Entering at an ‘easy’ level, I was unceremoniously defeated by the first enemy I met. Determined, I pressed on into new settings.

The biomes, though varied in theory, were merely reskins of the opening forest, with minor tweaks for desert or arctic environments. Transitioning between these regions felt disjointed—a few steps in one, then suddenly another, still with no clear mission. Though combat was serviceable, nothing drew me further into the game, and day-night cycles, while conceptually interesting, only muddled my objective when I wasn’t entirely sure what it was in the first place.

A crucial clock ticks in the corner, supposedly offering a countdown to enemy invasions. Yet, it never halts. In a game demanding heavy menu navigation and discovery, this unfailing timer contributes unnecessary anxiety. During one visit to the village, I found a scroll containing the initial plot. What should have been a seamless integration into the game’s world turned into a time-wasting, risky endeavor since the clock ticked away as I read. Such elements might have been an intentional choice by the developers, yet they felt more like overlooked details. Mists of Noyah desperately needs an auto-pause feature, but it’s nowhere in sight.

Mists of Noyah feels like a skeletal blueprint of what could have been an exciting game. Its narrative is unclear, set in a world you struggle to connect with due to directionless gameplay. It gives the impression of a project rushed to release before its time, seeking to move on to other ventures. If it seemed unfinished to its creators, why should we, as players, commit our resources and time to it? It’s regrettable because its aesthetic appeal suggests hidden depths. As the saying goes, it’s all show but no substance. Had the fundamentals been refined with greater attention and care, we might have a far different discussion.

If Mists of Noyah were still in Early Access, we might expect it to be a work in progress, warranting a different kind of review. However, presenting an unpolished game for £8.00 feels off-putting, especially when observing it being offered on Steam for nearly double the price—a considerable oversight, considering two years separating the console ports didn’t result in a more complete game. This tweaked version feels less like a thoughtful development and more like an opportunity to capitalize on eager consumers.

Mists of Noyah is a game easily bypassed. It basks in the promise of what could be but fails substantially in execution. It feels unprepared for a final release on any platform, much less as a port of a pre-existing PC game. Save your eight quid for something that’s delivered with heart and clarity—it will certainly be a wiser investment.