izigame.me

Kvark gets a lot of comparisons to Hrot due to the art style and Czech setting, but I think a more accurate comparison would be to say that Kvark is to Half-Life what Chasm: the Rift is to Quake. The point of Chasm was basically to make a smaller, stripped down version of its inspiration that could run on weaker computers that couldn't run the real thin, and Kvark similarly distills its source material into something smaller and tighter that could be made by an extremely small team (I think basically two people). While Kvark does have some issues and doesn't quite reach the same heights as the best of the best retro shooters, and one of the best examples of the "Half-Like" subgenre that we're starting to see more of.
The absolute best aspect of Kvark is the level design and environment art. While the layout and pacing is very Half-Life inspired, the brutality soviet setting differentiates the game from it's main inspiration and gives the game its own uniquely compelling world (albeit one weirdly similar to another recent Half-Like, Vladik Brutal). Each level is about 10 or 15 minutes and never outstays its welcome, the layouts and flow of each level are rock solid, and there are some nice Valve-esque puzzles and setpieces to keep things interesting. I do wish you could save wherever you want, but the checkpoints are paced reasonably frequently and with the levels being fairly short the game had a good "one more level" feel. I felt like I was witnessing the designer get bolder and more comfortable with level design as the game progressed, the early levels are good, but fairly basic, but as you get to the second and third chapters you start to see larger, more complex layouts and ideas. The story is fairly sparse, but the environmental details along with the notes left around give the game a good sense of personality, and I enjoyed the streak of quirky, but understated humor (the fixation on dill in particular was very funny)l.
Your arsenal is also generally pretty good, though I do have a few gripes with specific weapons. The pipe wrench you start with simply doesn't have much of a sense of weight and feels kind of wimpy compared to say, the Opposing Force or System Shock 2 wrench, but as soon as you get a few guns you probably won't bother with the wrench anymore unless you've specifically been upgrading your melee skills. The guns themselves feel very good however. They're enjoyable to shoot, precise, and while there is an aim-down-sights option, you basically never need it. The Kar98k in particular is really fun to get headshots with (and I love the Looney Tunes-esque animation where a beheaded enemy will reach up wondering where their skull is) and grenades are fun to toss with good, chunky explosions. The minigun is an unfortunate dud, however. I'm used to miniguns having a warmup time and I don't mind as long as the wait is worth it, but it actually has worse DPS than the AK47 and can only fire briefly before needing a cooldown. It's pretty much only useful against a tankier mutant that shows up near the end of the third episode and even then the only real benefit is the amount of ammo it holds rather than it's offensive capabilities.
I think where the game starts to falter a bit is the enemy roster. As someone who's become accustomed to the pacing of Half-Life combat, I appreciated that the enemies move fairly quickly to keep you on your toes, and that pressure made for some good situations, but there simply isn't much in the way of variety for most of the game and the enemy behavior isn't particularly complex. Most combat situations feel fairly similar and generally throw the same two or three humanoid enemies at you. Episode three introduces some new mutants and robots that add much-needed variety, and the robots in particular give the combat loop that element of enemy prioritization that I love in a good shooter, but it does feel a bit too little too late. I imagine the game was probably made in the order of the levels, and I feel like if perhaps there was a polishing pass to bring some of the late game complexity into the earlier chapters it would have helped, but I also understand not wanting to play all your cards too early.
The boss fights aren't bad, but they are of the "shoot it until it dies" variety which has surprisingly been the case for the three major Half-Like's I've played (this, Vladik Brutal and Phantom Fury. I'd actually say the second boss is one of the more thrilling and fun boss fights I've played in a shooter, and while the final boss isn't mind-blowing, it did a good job throwing enough enemies at you to keep you on your toes while you try to kill the main enemy, but I am surprised I haven't seen anyone attempt a classic Valve-style environmental puzzle boss like the Blast Pit from Half-Life 1.
The last gripe I have is more of an ease-of-use thing, but it annoyed me that the double-barrel shotgun was the third gun in its weapon slot, which meant I had to press the '4' key three times to pull it out despite that generally being the close quarters gun. The second episode doesn't give you the single-shot at all (or at least I didn't find it) and I died multiple times from fumbling around trying to get the double-barrelled shotgun out only to accidentally select the crossbow, and long-range scenarios are a lot more scarce than close quarters combat in this game, so it felt odd to prioritize the crossbow and the Kar98k (even if it is amazing at mid-range) over what shoudl be the emergency weapon.
Gripes aside though, there's a lot of strong material here, and between this, Vladik Brutal and Phantom Fury, I'd say Kvark is the most consistant of the Half-Likes I've tried. While I did think it was a bit too easy in spots, the shooting is still very fun, there's loads of atmosphere, and I never found myself getting bored or wanting to quit. It's clear the developer's design skill grew as they progressed through making the game, and now that the hard work of making the base of everything is out of the way, I'd imagine a DLC or even full-blown sequel could easily be in the upper eschelon of retro shooters. For now though, I think Kvark can at least claim the Half-Life crown, and even if that's partially because there's not much competition, I still think it's and above-average game with a lot of charm.
(oh but the pink soap in this game doesn't kill anything mark that down too)