Personally: I've been playing this game on and off for over 20 years now. I even went to meetups in Finland to meet other kuskis (Elasto Mania players). Three times so far... The game has become an integral part of my life, and I've made some good friends playing it. So yes, safe to say this is not an unbiased review. What is Elma? Conceptually it's a simple game: A 2D motorcycle game where you must first collect some apples and then a flower. Don't hit your head. That's pretty much it. Physics: One of Elma's most appealing aspects in my opinion is that underneath the deceptively simplistic exterior hides a deep and complex game with totally nuts physics that takes, no kidding, years to master. It may seem slow and weirdly syrupy at first, but trust me you will still find it too fast when you realise the level of finesse, accuracy and consistency that's required to be competitive. Community: With the unofficial online patch Elma Online (or EOL for short) you'll be able to compete with other kuskis in live battles. Or perhaps, if you're out of your mind, you'll try to set a world record in one of the 54 classic levels that come with the game, whose records have been honed and perfected to the point of absurdity over the years. You'll also find hundreds of additional level packs and tens of thousands of levels that have accumulated over the game's lifespan. Conclusion: Whether you're a casual player who just wants to check out an old classic, or a competitive player who wants to test your might on a new battleground, you should get this game. And don't hesitate to hop on the Discord server if you need help. Happy driving
There are many great things about this game, which makes me wish I got hold of it back when it was released. Maybe I would have the same nostalgic love for it that I have for NFSU2 which was released the same year. But it also has its share of problems. The Good: - The physics is on the whole are pretty well done. The cars are very slippy slidey but I don't mind it. - It looks amazing for a game from 2005. - The car destruction is delightful. - The npc AI is remarkably good compared to even some modern racing games. - Good variety of biomes to race in. The Bad: - Inconsistent obstacle physics. The idea of having obstacles is nice, but the final result is far too unpredictable. Sometimes running over a concrete slab does nothing, other times running over a traffic cone sends your car tumbling into the underbrush. - Difficulty. Bizarrely, the rubber banding seems to be somehow inversed. Cars ahead are quicker, and cars behind are slower. - Inconsistent ragdoll. When and where the game decides you should ragdoll seems totally arbitrary. - The camera is horrifically bad; in tight corners you can't see where you're going. - The sluggish steering. Oh god the steering, why is it like this? In a game where fast reactions and small margins can make all the difference, I cannot fathom why they would devise a steering system where the car responds about half a second after you press the keys. You have to be a psychic to play this game at the limit, because you have to predict what angle and velocity your car is going to have half a second into the future, and also whether there are any obstacles there. - Track design. Tragically for a racing game, the track design is this game's biggest weakness. About half the braking zones have (sometimes invisible) jumps in them, which makes driving unbelievably difficult. The number of times you will brake too late because of an imperceptible jump and overshoot the corner by a mile makes for an incredibly frustrating experience.
In a lot of roguelikes, FTL included, you can sometimes get royally screwed by RNG. Not this time. You know that every time your run goes south, it's your own damn fault. It's infuriating, having your crew die and your energy depleted, knowing that the only one you can blame is yourself. Oh well, let's rewind time and try again. Into the Breach plays like a bizarre chess game where you know what your opponent is about to do, and it is your job to disrupt their plans. Initially when looking at videos and screenshots of the game I thought the scope was far too small, and I would have liked a bigger board and more units, but after playing it for a couple of days I must say that I was entirely wrong about that. The balance is perfect, it allows for a lot of variey but avoids getting clogged. It looks quaint, but keeping those pesky critters away can be a real handful. All in all solid and incredibly reasonably priced entry from Subset Games that will inevitably spawn a host of clones, just like FTL did. I can't wait for what they will come up with next.
