MISERY Review: The $10 Co-op Stalker We've Begged For Is a Broken, Addictive Mess

A siren blares. A nuclear bomb is 60 seconds out. I sprint through my house, grabbing everything I can before the world ends. My haul? A squeaky hammer and a bike horn. I dive into the bunker just as the world turns white. This is MISERY, and it's one of the most promising, janky, and infuriating games I've played all year.

This game is, without question, gunning for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. crowd, but built as a co-op roguelite. It’s got the atmosphere, the anomalies, the gritty Soviet-era vibe, and that "Slavic heart". It's also channeling Lethal Company and Abiotic Factor with its "loot-and-return" loop.

It's got a $10 price tag and a "Full Release" stamp on it. One of those things is a fantastic deal. The other is a goddamn lie.

The Addictive Loop (When It Works)

The core idea is brilliant. You're a PMC guarding a secret institute. After the 60-second panic loot at the start, you're safe in your bunker. From here, you venture out each day into a new, procedurally generated map to scavenge ruins, avoid anomalies, and try not to starve.

The gameplay loop is that perfect kind of addictive grind. You go out, fill your bags, run back to the bunker, dump your loot (often on the floor, because storage is a nightmare), and repeat. You use this junk to craft, expand your bunker by smashing walls, and even set up power grids with generators and wires.

It's that perfect loot goblin fantasy, and I'm 100% here for it. The atmosphere is thick, the PSX graphics are a vibe, and the sound design (when it works) is fantastic.

Let's Be Honest: This Is an Early Access Game

Now for the cold water. This game is not a full release. It's a buggy, unpolished Early Access title, and anyone who says otherwise is lying. Clothes clip through your arms, tons of things are missing sounds, and the animations are janky as hell.

The UI is a special kind of hell. It's finicky, unclear, and actively fights you. You can't just drag an item onto another to swap them. The hotkey system is a confusing mess of "equipping" and "assigning" that I still haven't figured out. Even picking up items in your base is deafeningly loud.

The AI is barely functional. Anomalies bug out and kill you instantly. The maps, while "procedurally generated," feel small, empty, and repetitive fast. You'll see the same five copy-pasted buildings over and over. It's a great concept, but it's unfinished.

A Warning: Do NOT Play This Solo

I need to make this crystal clear. If you are a solo loving loner, do not buy this game. I tried playing solo, and it's a miserable experience.

Time moves way too quickly to get anything done. The game is a "dreadfully empty" walking simulator where you find nothing useful. It's an "inventory hell" game, but not in a fun way. You have no space, so you're just constantly running back to your bunker to drop off two pieces of scrap metal. The game is only fun with friends.

The Co-op Is Hilarious (And Fundamentally Broken)

With friends, MISERY turns into a comedy. You're drinking vodka to stay sane, getting mauled by bandits, and laughing as your friend gets yeeted into the sky by an invisible anomaly.

But here's the real kick in the teeth: the co-op is broken. There is a massive, game-breaking desync bug. I was playing with a friend who crashed. When he reconnected, his map was different from mine. I was on "Emission 4," he was on "Emission 0". He was floating in the air on my screen, walking on the ground on his, and our save was effectively corrupted. Disconnecting at the wrong time can just make you lose all your shit.

Combat, Death, and Other Bullshit

If you decide to fight anything early on, don't. Combat is a janky, broken mess. You have no block. Enemies are faster than you. You move slower walking backward, so you can't even kite. You will trade hits, and you will die. You're better off just running.

And you will die. A lot. Often to things that feel like pure, random bullshit. You'll be minding your own business, hear a plane, and think, "Oh, maybe a loot drop?" Nope. It's bombs. You're dead. Or you'll get sniped from nowhere, or just instantly die to radiation.

And don't even get me started on the compass. It's supposed to point to your bunker, but it's completely unreliable. You will get lost and die in an emission. Oh, and the game has no autosave. If you play for four hours and forget to manually save in your bunker, you lose everything.

The Verdict

This game has the bones of something truly special. It's the co-op Stalker experience I've been dreaming of. The loop is addictive, the atmosphere is perfect, and the potential with the promised mod support is massive.

But it is not a finished game. It's an Early Access title, period. It's buggy, janky, lacks content, and has a save-corrupting co-op bug.

And yet... it's ten bucks. For $10, I've already gotten hours of panicked, hilarious moments with my friends. It's cheap, it's ambitious, and it's a mess. If you have friends as patient as you are and $10 to burn, you'll probably love the disaster. Just don't forget to save.

Score: 6.5/10 - A beautiful, janky, broken skeleton of a game that I'm addicted to anyway.

MORE MISERY

MISERY Beginner's Guide: How to Survive the First 60 Seconds (And Not Get Bombed)

MISERY FAQ: How to Save, Find the Trader, and Stop Irradiating Yourself