Samson Review – When Ambition Hits a Concrete Wall of Frustration

What is Samson?

It’s hard not to have high expectations when the key figures behind the Just Cause series are involved. Even though warning bells had been ringing around Samson (subtitled A Tyndalston Story) for some time, part of me hoped that the developers at Liquid Swords knew what they were doing. I hoped they had understood how to create a focused, narrower experience that they could actually polish to perfection, rather than another bloated open world.

Initial impressions of the game strongly evoke the semi-linear mission structure of the Grand Theft Auto series, but with one major twist – there isn’t a single firearm in the entire game. The core concept revolves around driving through an open city and completing tasks for local criminals, with all combat occurring face-to-face. It feels like a spiritual successor to games like Sleeping Dogs or Mafia, but in a much rawer and, unfortunately, less refined package.

Story & Atmosphere

At the center of the narrative is Samson McCray, a man returning to his hometown with a massive debt hanging over his head. Chased by gangs from St. Louis, Samson’s situation is desperate as his sister is being held hostage until he pays back a staggering $100,000. Unfortunately, the plot serves as little more than a thin veil to justify sending the player on a never-ending cycle of dangerous missions.

Samson himself isn’t a particularly charismatic protagonist, and his supporting cast consists of the most tired stereotypes imaginable in the crime genre. While the game attempts a level of self-awareness and exaggeration, this approach falls flat because the characters lack depth and dynamic motivations. The atmosphere of Tyndalston is dark and gritty, featuring permanently wet roads that look great, but the immersion is quickly broken by looping NPC dialogue and repetitive sound effects that become grating after an hour.

Gameplay & Mechanics

The heart of the gameplay is governed by the Action Points system. Each in-game day, you have points to spend on missions, typically allowing for about three tasks per day. Meanwhile, you must keep paying off your debt, or debt collectors will hunt you down. On paper, this sounds like a brilliant mechanical pressure, but in practice, it is pure misery. If you fail a mission, you lose nearly all your accumulated cash (roughly a 90% loss), which is incredibly frustrating. Instead of fun, the game becomes an exercise in patience and avoiding punishment.

Missions are split into two categories. Vehicle missions involve races or destroying rival cars. The problem is that your car breaks down very quickly, and you cannot steal cars from traffic. If your vehicle dies in the middle of nowhere, you are forced to run for miles. The second category consists of on-foot missions, where you deliver packages or beat up enemies. This is where the game truly falls apart. The controls are imprecise, the character feels “floaty,” and the combat system is genuinely poor. Enemies can stun-lock you in a series of hits you can’t escape, and they often spawn directly behind you without warning.

The RPG system and Skill Tree are practically useless. Even toward the end of the game, with several abilities unlocked, Samson felt just as weak as he did at the start. There is zero sense of progression. Technical glitches, where you get stuck in the environment or your character starts flying through the air, only add to the despair. I found myself rage-quitting several times because I lost progress due to a coding error rather than my own skill level.

Final Verdict

Samson is a title that had the potential to be a unique variation on the urban action genre, but it ended up as a broken and unfair frustration simulator. While Liquid Swords succeeded in creating a visually interesting Tyndalston, they forgot to populate it with playable and enjoyable systems. The constant pressure to play perfectly under the threat of losing all progress, combined with technical instability, makes this a product I cannot recommend in its current state. Unless the developers commit to a massive overhaul of the core mechanics, Samson will remain a sad reminder of wasted potential.

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FAQ

Q: Can I use guns in Samson?
A: No, the game focuses exclusively on melee combat and fist-fighting. You will not find firearms in the protagonist’s arsenal.

Q: What happens if I don’t pay the debt on time?
A: If you fail to make regular payments toward the $100,000 debt, debt collectors will actively hunt you in the open world, making navigation significantly harder.

Q: Can I steal any car I see like in GTA?
A: Unfortunately, no. You are limited to your own vehicles, which must be maintained and repaired. Carjacking random civilians is not a feature in this game.

Q: How does the Action Points system work?
A: Every activity or mission consumes a certain number of points. Once you run out, the in-game day ends, and you must rest to replenish them.