Amid harrowing reviews, Samson devs promise to fix ‘unacceptable’ bugs and issues: ‘We are listening to everyone’s feedback’

Considered by many to be a spiritual successor to Sleeping Dogs, Samson is having a lot of trouble living up to the cult classic or just achieving a positive review score in general. Though charming in some aspects, the game is seeing horrible optimization problems, leading to a very middling reception and a “mixed” rating on Steam.

But its developers are well aware of all the problems players are facing, at least those that aren’t inherently tied to the game’s core design. In a Steam note posted today, Liquid Swords’ creative director Christofer Sundberg thanked everyone who hopped onto the title, even if they didn’t end up liking it. He highlighted that the game launched “with flaws” for “a number of reasons” and that developers are looking into “unacceptable” bugs and performance problems the community is facing at the moment.

“Early impressions are mixed, and many of you are experiencing game-breaking bugs and performance issues. That’s unacceptable and we are listening to everyone’s feedback and are hard at work to deliver the game we spent years of our lives developing,” he wrote.

Liquid Swords remains “committed” to the game, the note reads, promising to grow it in every way imaginable, including “quality, gameplay, and content.” To that end, a patch is set to come out Friday that will address some of the more pressing problems in the game, including crashes, general polish, more save files, and other technical fixes.

Animation improvements, performance issues, gameplay refinements, and more polish are to come in subsequent updates as the studio tries to turn community opinion around. True redemption stories are few and far between, with only Cyberpunk 2077 and No Man’s Sky really pulling them off, though I am hopeful that this game will end up faring better than it is now. It’s a $25 experience, so that itself gives it a lot more grace than the other two examples, both of which launched at $60.

Our Scott Duwe gave Samson a 6 out of 10, praising its unique concept, proper pricing, and short but packed main story while criticizing its technical side, particularly its poor vehicle handling, clunky combat, and bugs. Much of the same criticism can be found among the title’s Steam reviews, with one top review saying that “melee combat and driving are the worst parts of this game.”

Many others echo these sentiments. “Tons of bugs and glitches, sometimes even completely game-breaking. I couldn’t proceed with the story further than mission two, so I just had to replay grindy missions over and over again till I paid my debt (the game’s main goal) and… that’s it,” one review reads.

“It’s just not good. The game feels heavily unfinished and extremely repetitive. The map is the size of a basketball court. The missions are the same things recycled over and over and over. The dialogue is very cringe and predictable. The driving is abysmal,” reads another.

Games launching to less-than-stellar reviews is nothing new, but at least this time around, it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to give it a try. Samson‘s pricing could actually end up having a very positive impact on Steam and video games as a whole, since developers could “get away” with certain corner cuts by currying favor with players with the price alone. Samson now has only 56 percent positive reviews on Steam and the “mixed” tag, but I am damn certain that it’d have even worse reviews had it been even slightly pricier.

At this price range, it now has a position to improve and win back some of those positive reviews, as there genuinely seems to be a good game hiding somewhere beneath all the jank.

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Your journey from Finland to Russia in Road to Vostok doesn’t need to be a lonely march, and that can be ensured by finding a cat on the fourth day of your adventure. If you manage to survive the first three days, you’ll be tasked with finding a missing cat.

Let’s look at how you can rescue it and add it as your beloved companion.

How to complete the Missing Cat event in Road to Vostok

You have to survive the first three days, and you will be able to accept the quest. The cat can be found in the Outpost area, but for that, you’ll need to prepare carefully. The quest requires you to travel from the Village to the School, and then to the Outpost, and then again return via the same route. Since you’ll lose hydration and energy at all levels, you’ll need water and food.

Stick to the right side of the map, go past the lake, and you’ll find a road. Stick to the road, head right, and you’ll find the Transfer sign that takes you to the School area. Once you’re at the School, walk near the cover that will lead you to the bridge. This is a straight route, but there will be enemies around.

Reach the end of the bridge, and you’ll reach the Outpost area. The Outpost is extremely dangerous since it’s an open area, and you can get shot. There are three bunkers at this location: the first one is immediately on the right of the spawn point. The second one will be to the left of the Red Farmhouse. Finally, the third one is to the right of the Red Farmhouse.

Once again, keep to your right, and you’ll come across a small hill. There’s an entrance to an underground bunker that will lead you to the cat. Go inside a room on your left, and you’ll find a small well (look for the entrance hidden by wooden planks). You’ll find the black cat in a cardboard box. Interact with the well to rescue the cat.

The exact location of the cat could differ on your save. It can spawn in any of the three bunkers at the Outpost location. Once you rescue the cat, head back via the same route that you came from. Don’t die along the way, as you’ll need to restart the entire process.

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