This is a simple old-school game that is structured like an arcade game, where if you die you use continues as if you were putting in quarters. Instead of quarters, you start with three continues and can buy more in-between each level by using dog-tags you collect which you also spend for power-ups. There are 7 levels, however the time it will take to beat those 7 levels will offer a lot of play time. The default difficulty is hard. That's what it's called, and that's what it is. There is no normal difficulty, but it does have an easy setting. I've been playing for probably close to 10 hours and I've only seen level 6 twice. Level 5 is an absolute ball-buster. Apparently there are other game modes but I take it they are unlocked after winning the game once. Despite the difficulty it's very simple, easy and fun to pick up and play. And yet it's deep and well designed. Every level requires different tactics due to the different enemy types, which are quite varied. As you progress you'll see evolved forms of the aliens from previous levels which is also cool from a lore perspective. For example one of the most basic aliens from the early levels comes back in level 4, only this time it drops an acid puddle upon death which you cannot roll through. In order to win you have to use everything the game gives you, not only your movement and shooting, but also the grenades, dodge roll, and melee attack. For example some enemies that move underground can be destroyed before they emerge by using a grenade. Numerous enemies are best dispatched with the instakill melee attack, but this presents a risk because you have to be lined up correctly or you will collide with the enemy and take a hit. It's a nearly perfect game for what it sets out to do. The pixel art and music is amazing. The main thing I don't like is how long you have to wait to get back in the game when continuing. Takes like 20 seconds. When I'm dialed into the action and pissed off, it feels like forever.
My first impressions of this game pre-release were "Wow, it looks like Dead Cells." You can clearly see the visual inspiration in the graphical style and enemy design, as well as in the loot with randomized modifiers. However it features traditional progression, not roguelite progression. To that end it's on the shorter side at 8-10 hours depending how much you die, but the different weapon and gun types give it replay value. It also features a NG+ mode with stronger enemies and weapons, as well as a hardcore and hardcore/ironman (no upgrades) mode. It's a well polished game in terms of production values. It features voice acted monologues and dialogues, when they do occur. The sound design and controls are great. And again, it looks like Dead Cells but that's not a bad thing. The levels are colourful and varied, same with the enemies and I think it has more enemy variety than Dead Cells (at least the version I played without all the current DLC as of 2021). In terms of gameplay the melee and gun combat reminded me of Devil May Cry in terms of how you can smoothly switch between them, although it doesn't have a crazy combo system like that. The melee weapons each have their own standard combos, and the guns are reloaded by landing melee hits. There are off the top of my head I think 6 different weapons and guns, with ascending tiers like in a looter. I didn't use them all so it gives me a reason to replay. By the end of the game almost all the drops are the highest tier so you'll feel powerful. You can change the random modifiers by going to a special NPC at the end of optional challenge missions accessible from your base. You'll want to do this because modifiers can be for your special abilities, of which there are also around 7 I think, and includes your heal. Running out of space so I can't discuss everything, but it's a solid game for the price. For criticisms I'd say the story is barebones (there is lore to read) and the wall cling is clunky. Cute MC 3.5/5
I love how the game looks and as far as I can tell it's faithful to the original (I'm familiar with it but have only played SS2). A lot of effort has been put into the voicework and visual design. In particular I am fond of the colour scheme and architectural design of the setting. However at this point it seems like that setting and the IP are carrying the day. The game has a poor framerate with the following hardware specs: Intel i7-4770 32GB RAM Nvidia GTX 770 And this is with the pixelated graphical style, which I do like, and I understand is toggleable, but is not reflected in the promotional material btw (I didn't know it would look like that). So why the performance issues? If I'm missing something please downvote me to oblivion but this seems unoptimized. The game also has no controller support. Technically it does, technically. Realistically? You can't navigate the menus or inventory using the dpad. The right joystick does work, but moves extremely slow, and is more or less too clunky to be a viable option. There's no slider to increase the speed either, only for camera sensitivity (which uses the same stick outside the menus). You can't toggle the menu tabs using the shoulder buttons, which is standard for this genre (see Deus Ex). And you can't play audio logs or notes from the menu without resorting to the mouse, because 'double-clicking' using the X button doesn't work. On one hand maybe I shouldn't expect a remake of a classic computer game to work with a controller. On the other hand, Deus Ex and Prey managed just fine. I'm putting the review at 3/5 to be fair since I didn't experience the entire demo, but these are major issues that will need to be addressed before the final release.
