Nebula Reviews #22: Misery


The new co-op survival title Misery is a brilliant concept. It perfectly scratches that "extraction shooter" itch, blending Fallout-style exploration with the deep, satisfying "full customization of a base." My partner and I were instantly hooked by the demo.
​But after playing the full release (out since October 23, 2025), it's painfully clear that this game's "infinitely playable" potential is being crushed by game-breaking bugs and a core that feels like it's "still in a demo phase."

​The Premise & Story
The game starts with a fantastic, frantic opening: you have exactly one minute to grab anything you can from a house and "get to the bunker" before the bombs drop.
​From there, the loop is simple: you survive in your bunker, then venture out into a new, randomly-generated world to scavenge. The catch? You must return before the "emission"—a world-brightening death event—happens. This loop is tense and incredibly promising.

​Gameplay: The Co-op Misery (The Bugs)

The game has only been out for just over a week, but the co-op functionality is fundamentally broken. We play side-by-side, but the game forces an internet connection that seems to be the source of a nightmare-fueled bug.
​If you are not the host, you are in for a world of pain.
​The Inventory Wipe: We've had a glitch where, upon rejoining or starting a new mission, the non-host player's entire inventory is gone.
​The "Storage Gremlin" Bug: We've also had a desync issue where, as the host is loading, the entire world outside the bunker disappears for the non-host. You can't do anything but sit there and wait to become a "storage sorter Gremlin."
​Losing all your hard-earned stuff to a glitch isn't just frustrating; as I said to my partner, "it's very sad actually."

​Gameplay: The Broken Core (The AI & Balance)

Beyond the connection bugs, the core gameplay itself is unfinished. The combat is incredibly imbalanced. Guns are "really overpowered," making other items like throwables completely redundant.
​The enemy AI, to put it bluntly, "cannot handle" combat. We've seen:
​The "twin boss" get "stuck on logs really easily."
​Regular enemies "just sit there and look at you" if you stand on top of a tent.
​This removes all sense of threat and urgency, turning a survival-horror game into a simple (and buggy) shooting gallery.

​Our Hope for the Future
I want to be absolutely clear: my partner and I love the core of this game. We're being this harsh precisely because we see the masterpiece that's buried under these bugs. The late-night runs, the panic of "the emission," and the dream of building our perfect bunker—that's the magic. We are genuinely rooting for Platypus Entertainment to fix these issues. We're not just angry; we're hopeful, and we'll be the first ones back in the bunker the moment a patch drops that makes co-op stable.


​~~~{Gameplay}~~~
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☒ Average
☐ Different
☐ Starring at walls is better
☐ Don’t Play
(Note: A brilliant concept crippled by co-op bugs and broken, exploitable AI.)
​~~~{Difficulty}~~~
☐ Just press next
☒ Easy
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Difficult
☐ BIG BRAIN MATH
(Note: The survival should be hard, but overpowered guns and broken AI remove all the challenge.)
​~~~{Graphics}~~~
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☒ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ Paint.exe
(Note: Perfectly fits the dark, ambient theme.)
​~~~{Audio}~~~
☒ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ Earrape
(Note: The score and atmosphere are brilliant.)
​~~~{Game Time}~~~
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☒ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond
(Note: A survival loop with huge potential, but a severe lack of variables and locations makes it redundant fast.)
​~~~{Bugs}~~~
☐ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☒ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
(Note: Inventory-wiping, world-deleting co-op bugs and exploitable AI.)
​~~~{Price}~~~
☐ It’s free!
☐ Worth the price
☐ If u have some spare money left
☒ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
(Note: Not recommended at all until the game-breaking co-op bugs are fixed.)


​The Final Verdict

Ultimately, Misery "feels like it's still in a demo phase." The core hook of base-building and extraction is fantastic, but the execution is a mess.

​That said, as my partner pointed out, "there are games that are more expensive and are in worse positions than this." The future of this game may honestly lie in its community. If "modding capabilities" are enabled, fans could be the ones to add the "100 different new locations" and "20 new enemies" this game desperately needs.

​My verdict? Wait. "It's pretty good, it just needs work." A lot of work. But for now, save your money and your misery.