KnightShift
KnightShift
Game
Game2013
Gorky 17
Developer Metropolis Software
Gorky 17 (released as Odium in North America) is a turn-based tactics tactical role-playing video game developed by Polish studio Metropolis Software and published by Monolith Productions for Microsoft Windows in 1999. The game was later ported to Linux by Hyperion Entertainment and published by Linux Game Publishing in 2006. The AmigaOS 4 version was released in 2015. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
184 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Oct 10, 2026 · last updated Oct 10, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
87
LovedLoved
147 positive · 22 negative
95% range 81–91%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 147 | 22 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 6 | 0 | 7 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
592 of 748 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
87% recommend · 156 yes, 23 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 179 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (1,766 of 2,185 positive).
Players praise Gorky 17 as a cult classic tactical RPG with a unique survival horror atmosphere. [1][2][3] Many note the game's jank, dated visuals, and technical issues on modern systems. [4][5][6] Some reviewers find the game unplayable or disappointing due to its age and flaws. [7][6][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
If Gorky 17 does not hold a cherished place in your childhood memories, I implore you to spare yourself the disappointment. The game teeters on the edge of unplayability, offering little more than a monotonous loop of uninspired combat. Its narrative is so threadbare as to be virtually nonexistent, leaving no emotional or intellectual imprint to speak of. In a mere week, I suspect the entirety of this experience …
- [1]
This game offers a nostalgic trip back to the tactical RPGs of the late '90s. While its visuals and interface are dated by today's standards, its tactical gameplay and compelling storyline still hold up. Fans of the genre will appreciate its atmospheric setting and challenging encounters, making it a worthwhile experience for those willing to overlook its technical shortcomings. …
- [2]
A cult classic tactical RPG with distinct atmosphere and old-school challenge. Still worth experiencing for strategy fans.
- [3]
If you're wondering what is this game like, it's exactly the first Resident Evil, but instead of survival horror, it is an RPG. I think the game is in its own subgenre that never took off, let's call it Survival RPG. You have to be careful with every bullet, you have to look where the enemies can move and position yourself accordingly, otherwise you're going to run out of ammunition and healing items and then you're …
- [4]
Dorky 69. No, but in all seriousness this is a fun little game that will entertain you tremendously if you can take into account (and forgive) it's jank and initial setup woes (game is old and a bit incompatible with some modern setups 'out of the box' as it were.) Atmosphere is spot on and although the story isn't exactly revolutionary or anything the gameplay will hook you if you take the time to understand the …
Summarised from 34 of the 193 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Gorky 17 talk about atmospheric setting and engaging survival horror elements; those who didn't talk about dated visuals and interface by modern standards. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The PC version received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. IGN rated the game as "decent", highlighting the mix of turn-based strategy, adventure and RPG genres. Graphically, "the environments themselves are nicely drawn, character animations are very fluid, and the atmosphere presented is ultimately quite captivating." Criticisms included the lack of a line-of-sight mechanic and some interface flaws. Eric Bratcher of NextGen called it "A groundbreaking title kept from four-star status only by the at-times unwieldy mechanics and some minimal balance issues."
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 184 · most liked firstGorky 17: The mutant RPG that dragged Poland into the global gaming spotlight. You ever notice how\... certain things that aren't a big deal become a very big deal as time goes on. Stuff we dismiss at first as boring, mundane, inconsequential. And then through time, they become monumental and defining. Now, let me give you an example of what I'm talking about. *Never Gonna Give You Up* by Rick Astley. I remember when this song came out. I was six years old at the time. And even then, to my…
neutral · AI labelView post →Finally, I'd be amiss if I didn't mention @warlockracy.bsky.social's "History of Slavjank" videos: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfLE... I love these. Wikipedia can tell you "Gorky 17 is a 1999 Polish game", you need locals to explain why it had 3 Russian translations, each with different politics lol
neutral · AI labelView post →A 1999 ad for Odium, a turn-based RPG for PCs by Metropolis Software This was the NA release of Gorky 17 that debuted in Europe and takes place in 2009 involving a mysterious, Soviet-era military lab. A NATO team was sent to investigate and disappeared. Now it's your turn to face the horrors there!
neutral · AI labelView post →If Gorky 17 does not hold a cherished place in your childhood memories, I implore you to spare yourself the disappointment. The game teeters on the edge of unplayability, offering little more than a monotonous loop of uninspired combat. Its narrative is so threadbare as to be virtually nonexistent, leaving no emotional or intellectual imprint to speak of. In a mere week, I suspect the entirety of this experience will have faded from my memory, an ephemeral shadow of mediocrity. While I can…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would like a long form interview or perhaps oral history about the decision chain that led to the release and rebranding of 1999 tactical RPG "Gorky 17" as "Odium", which required not only a pronunciation guide but also a definition on the cover of the box.
neutral · AI labelView post →10+ years. 10+ ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ years, this little nugget of rusted metal and rotted sinew has been festering in the fetid incubatory womb that is my Steam backlog, winding away the years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds. tick tock, tick tock. The rough and callous hands of time rub and rub, whittling away at whatever hellish amalgamation of Polish jerryrigged jank Gorky 17 has become. I decided to finally go through the older games in my backlog and since this seemed to be the oldest…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game offers a nostalgic trip back to the tactical RPGs of the late '90s. While its visuals and interface are dated by today's standards, its tactical gameplay and compelling storyline still hold up. Fans of the genre will appreciate its atmospheric setting and challenging encounters, making it a worthwhile experience for those willing to overlook its technical shortcomings. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3260407635…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Enter if you dare. Survive if you can.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My gambling addict friend said if I post a review on this game and it gets 150 likes and 50 Awards that he will buy me a case of beer and some vodka So im just gonna leave this here.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →RIP to Publisher of Gorky 17, Monolith Productions. A very flawed and weird turn-based game that deserves some attention. Developed by Metropolis, which eventually became CD Projekt.
neutral · AI labelView post →Dorky 69. No, but in all seriousness this is a fun little game that will entertain you tremendously if you can take into account (and forgive) it's jank and initial setup woes (game is old and a bit incompatible with some modern setups 'out of the box' as it were.) Atmosphere is spot on and although the story isn't exactly revolutionary or anything the gameplay will hook you if you take the time to understand the ins and out; there is initial frustration but if you stick with it and bear the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Similar to how "bookworms" claim to have read and love Doestyoveskyieskyo; this is the type of game you claim is your favorite RPG to impress the D&D nerds in your clique.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What can I say...? Gorky 17. That's what I can say. What an incredible game. But let's start from the top. I, as someone who has never played a strategy game before, definitely had trouble at the start. It took me 30+ hours to get through the first mission. That being said though, what. A. First. Mission. It made me feel something, something I haven't felt in a long time.. Was it love? Was it rage? It was hard to tell.. But damn did it make me feel something. Now that I've progressed…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just discovered this thing released as the true arbiter of the best RPGs ever made. Final Fantasy? What's that? Earthbound? Who Cares. Pokemon? Not on the best RPGs. What IS included in the best RPGs is the real actual video game I am not making up named GORKY 17
positive · AI labelView post →What an amazing hidden gem. I love pretty much everything about this game, though it is truly imperfect. All the environments look awesome, there is a little bit of exploration element to the game as well. Turn-based combat is awesome. The music is wonderful. The enemy variety is great. Story was super interesting and engaging as well. The dialogues are odd, most of them are good, but sometimes they're really off as if machine translation was used to translate the dialogues from another…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →At one time, the game was insanely pleasing with its atmosphere and its combat system. One thing is, textures lag well on Windows 7 and 8, it's almost impossible to play, simply because the game turns from a turn-based strategy game with rpg elements into pixel hunting, which is not at all pleasing. The game deserves its 9 out of 10 in full, but does not work on new systems.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Best game of my childhood
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i have a dream of finding the developers and paying them to make part 2 of this game cant wrap my mind around the idea that it isnt happened yet
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →◤ ASCII ART REVIEWS ◢ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⢟⣫⣶⣾⣿⣿⣷⣯⣻⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⢣⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⡯⣹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠟⠁⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⢿⡸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠁⢀⣀⣝⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⢸⣧⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠟⢠⡴⣾⣿⡧⠐⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⡟⠀⠃⢸⣿⡇⡿⠟⠋⠁⠀⢠⣌⠻⣎⢿⣿⡬⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⠀⣸⣿⣿⣷⡖⡃⠀⢰⣶⣄⠈⠁⠈⣃⣭⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⠏⠀⠉⣿⣿⡟⣼⣿⣶⣤⣉⠛⠷⡄⠀⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣦⠀⠀⣿⠟⣐⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⣤⠰⣷⣍⡻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⡇⠀⣀⣐⡲⠯⣝⡠⡙⢿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠀⠘⢿⣷⠀⠈⠻⣿⣿⣿ ⠿⠋⠠⢾⣿⣿⡿⢃⣦⡙⢎⢢⣌⠻⣿⡇⢸⣧⡈⠛⠀⠀⠀⠹⣿⣿ ⣶⣿⣿⣷⣦⣍⠀⣾⣿⣿⣎⢳⡹⣷⣌⠃⣾⣿⣿⣦⣠⣤⣄⡀⠹⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢦⠹⣿⣿⣿⣦⠳⡜⠻⠶⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣆⠹ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣄⠙⣿⣿⢃⣤⣙⣤⠾⣓⡘⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣣⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⡭⢆⣹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ◤ Follow…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Main menu screen stays frozen over the game, and then textures are all blurred once I start the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A cult classic tactical RPG with distinct atmosphere and old-school challenge. Still worth experiencing for strategy fans.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My friend who i play CS:GO with said if i post a review on this game and it gets 200 likes and 200 awards that he will buy me a RTX 3060 and 2 kilos of canned ham. So i'm just gonna leave this here. Help a brotha
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ gorky 17 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, get your gorks out ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ bastards
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Old and buggy. Not worth your time in order to get it to run on your system in 2025.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pleek day 2, going through indie, demo and one retro game! Carrion Holstin(demo) Gorky 17 join at www.twitch.tv/catofnox #indiegame #retrogame #twitchstream
neutral · AI labelView post →TL; DR Gorky 17 aka Odium is a cool turn-based tactics game with elements inspired by RPGs and survival horror titles. It does a lot of things well and is good enough that I would purchase a remaster, however, it has some issues, and it is only about 10 hours long with an abrupt ending. Note there are some technical difficulties, and the game crashed at two separate times. Story Gorky 17 was destroyed as part of a “post-Cold War cleanup,” at least that is the official story, but NATO…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you're wondering what is this game like, it's exactly the first Resident Evil, but instead of survival horror, it is an RPG. I think the game is in its own subgenre that never took off, let's call it Survival RPG. You have to be careful with every bullet, you have to look where the enemies can move and position yourself accordingly, otherwise you're going to run out of ammunition and healing items and then you're stuck. Here you're going to have to live without the comforts of modern turn…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the first turn based, rpg, adventure, horror games ever made .. so badass, epic and captivating .. It's easily one of my favourites to this day and it's a damn shame it's sequels were shooters .. Give it a shot, nuff said
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I remember the first time I played Gorky 17. It was 2002. I was thirteen, sitting at an old beige PC that buzzed like a trapped fly every time it loaded a new scene. The box art showed soldiers and monsters, and I thought, “Cool, another shooter.” But it wasn’t that. It wasn’t even close. It was cold. Not just the setting — a ruined Polish town swallowed by fog — but the feeling. Every street was empty, every corner too quiet. You didn’t run. You crept. And every fight was a small, desperate…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A good game with a great visual style. Even after 26 years, it looks good. Fans of tactical RPGs will find the game easy, but it's a good introductory game for beginners. The only thing I don't like is that the game ends abruptly.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Started replaying Final Fantasy Tactics, since I've been out of creative juice for a bit. And the game is still so damn good! This and Gorky-17 were one of my first turn-based grid-based games, and it's nice to see them pass the test of time - even if they aren't the most complex as of now.
positive · AI labelView post →Short review: Welp, that's an hidden gem right there! An RPG turn-based strategy where strategy, items and placements are way more relevant than stupid grindy mechanics (and the story is really cool.... despite not having a sequel!) don't get me wrong, it's nearly not perfect but it is quite the oddity, and something 'fresh' (despite being decades old), rarely seen in the videogame market. Just one thing: don't get alienated by the high difficulty at the start, not after long the game gets way…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A classic representative of turn-based strategies. Yeah, a lot of people didn't even catch it when it first came out. I will never stop remembering how I played it on a square monitor - it was a carefree time
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is so epic
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this on a whim, and I wasn't disappointed. I've never played a game that mixed survival horror and tactical roleplaying before, but Gorky 17 has left me wanting more. Gorky 17 is the *good* kind of jank: Fun but exploitable gameplay with some genuine strategic elements. The voice acting is campy but fun, the monster designs are top notch, and the cutscenes are evocative of Parasite Eve. Also, the website is still up to this day! It's clear that the developers had a lot of love for this…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A timeless classic. Please, TopWare, make a remake!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The first turn based game I've ever played, and I love to play this from time to time. I'd love a proper sequel to this.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Interactive garbage You walk from fight scene to fight scene, losing your spare amunition while enemies become stronger. The turn based concept which is already tedious in itself becomes repetitive very soon, so the time is filled with boredom and frustration.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It’s like if Soviet Poland made X-COM after watching The Thing too many times and added just enough vodka fueled dialogue to trick you into thinking its a Resident Evil spin off with eastern bloc flair. Polska Górą!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Просто, коротко, по-старому. - Хороший саундтрек. - Хороший фон между боями. - Враги разнообразны, как и орудия их уничтожения. - Сюжет о "великих" заговорах, великих бойцах, "великих" проблемах. Metropolis Software молодцы. Simple, concise, old-school. - Great soundtrack. - Nice ambiance between battles. - Enemies are varied, as are the weapons you use to dispatch them. - A plot about “grand” conspiracies, great fighters, and “epic” problems. Metropolis Software nailed it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Doesn't seem optimised to run on modern rigs - way too many crashes and missing textures. Borderline robbery for the base price it's asking for.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Picked up Gorky 17 since it's on sale through Steam. Played for a little bit, it's neat so far. Resource management is more important than I expected, it does feel like a tactical RPG survival horror game so far.
positive · AI labelView post →One of my first games, i liked it
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of my flawed favorite childhood games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absolute classic. Great soundtrack, tons of cool weapons, and a bunch of boss levels. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Once a Cossack, a Ukrainian and a Russian met..." Excellent plot, dialogues, combat system. The variety of opponents, weapons, locations and the heroes themselves cannot but rejoice. Unfortunately, on new systems there are problems with textures, but the impression of the game does not spoil one bit. For its time it was one of the best, if not the best. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sadly, an incredibly dated game that has issues even just running properly on modern systems, let alone offering a good enough experience to begin with. There are certainly some very interesting and unique aspects to this game. A turn-based RPG featuring modern warfare units, with limited supplies and enemy encounters, makes for a distinctive long-term strategizing not seen in most games of this genre, if any. There's also a very eerie atmosphere that instantly pulls you in, even all these…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Tonight, I'll be giving you an exclusive sneak peek of Gorky 17 and Heretic 2 running on my #Pistorm32Lite Amiga 1200 at https://twitch.tv/walkerogr! Don't miss this chance to see these epic games in action on a 68k-based computer before their release! Join me and let's dive into the nostalgia and fun together #RetroGaming #Amiga1200 #Gorky17 #Heretic2 #GamingPreview
neutral · AI labelView post →Played this one a long time ago, now returned for another walkthrough to check out how it holds on a Steam Deck. It's a simplistic tactical game with plenty of atmosphere, engaging music and a campy story. You won't find strategic depths here, and balance goes out the window as soon as you get hold of a flamethrower and a shocker, but it can be a great fun to absent-mindedly chop at the stunned and burning enemies with a trusty axe. Visually it's the late 90s in all their glory, a hybrid of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is kinda odd, it's like a JRPG mixed with something like XCOM and I like it. The game is kinda hard and also not. They don't give you a lot to heal and barely enough resources overall. Specialising each character to a few weapons each is probably the best way to go, since they get better with weapons they use. The game is pretty difficult, but you can ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ your way through it. Tranquelize the enemies and then burn them if possible and pummel them to death. The characters... some…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Will not play nice with modern PC and/or Windows 11.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →some kind of Russian breed for Fallout. I don’t understand all this Russian stuff well, but I think they did something good
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game gave my monitor a burn in after alt-tabbing once, absolute trash, i hope it gets deleted from the face of the earth, idiots who made it. absolutely disgusting piece of trash. i fixed it using this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMK5aUPpak4 i played it on my screen for about half an hour and thankfully the burn in was gone
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The mix of horror and strategy is something we don't see enough of these days. Unique experience.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game offers a gripping storyline and intense tactical combat! The atmosphere is dark and immersive, keeping me hooked from start to finish. Great for fans of strategic and story-driven games! 🚀🔫
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →does not start on Ubuntu 24.4
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Didnt realize i was live for like 5 hours lol. No viewers was just kind of enjoying the game. Gorky 17 is like super solid
positive · AI labelView post →But what about Gorky-17? :3 Let's at least settle on it being second best Polish game!
positive · AI labelView post →Runs great on modern hardware
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oh, love the vibes.. reminds me of an old game I loved so much, Gorky 17
positive · AI labelView post →
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