Brush Burial: Gutter World has some interesting ideas and atmosphere, but as it stands, the demo feels more punishing than engaging. The main issue isn’t the difficulty itself, but the way that difficulty is implemented.

For example, the inventory system requires you to manually put away an item before selecting another. In most games, switching between items is a single key press . Here it’s a two-step process that quickly becomes tedious and interrupts the flow. This feels like added friction for the sake of it, not meaningful design.

The lack of a save system is also framed as a “feature,” but in practice, it only makes the game more frustrating. Roguelikes and immersive sims often find ways to balance tension with accessibility ,  here it feels like a badge of honor that only ends up locking out most potential players.

Combat is similarly skewed. Enemies don’t play by the same rules as the player: you have to reload every shot, yet enemies can spam projectiles endlessly. Combine that with dying in just two hits, and it feels unfair rather than challenging. Stealth is supposedly central, but then there’s even a button dedicated to summoning more enemies . Baffling for a game where avoiding detection should matter.  

The demo left me more annoyed than intrigued. It comes across less like a game that wants to immerse the player, and more like one that wants to troll them. There’s potential here, but unless the design decisions shift from artificial restrictions to genuine challenge, Brush Burial: Gutter World risks alienating everyone except a tiny niche audience.