Cozy game about mining stuff in the wall. The setting is nice, backdrops are beautiful and there's always something misterious about lore pieces you find.
Gameplay can become quite repetitive, until you start unlocking some more powerful game-changing upgrades - then you can breeze though attempts quite effrotlessly.
Overall pretty good experience for a fair price. I wish it was a bit bigger/longer, but I guess that's what DLC's are for, right?...
The eponymous setting is what drew me to this game: A vertical, post-apocalyptic world, wherein a band of scavengers and miners try to survive against an onslaught of monsters, using the resources and technology embedded in the wall. There's a lot of mystery about these ruins, with the characters barely comprehending the ancient tech they find.
Don't get me wrong: This is a very arcade-like game, but there are interesting hints dropped regarding the backstory of this world. Also, the beautiful pixel art and great OST add a lot!
The actual gameplay is split into two major parts: Crawling along the wall with your spider while being hounded by monsters, looking for mine shafts to dig into. Then there's the actual mining, which features no combat, but is always played against the clock, as the countdown to another attack on your spider ticks lower. You're also on an overarching timer, as a boss monster will attack and eventually destroy you, so you better be quick about your business.
The rogue-lite permanent progression is based on points collected from breaking any blocks in the mines, so having a high clearing rate is important. The actual resources collected in the mine are used to upgrade your equipment for the current run.
I have some minor quibbles: The main game's boss final stage is not a real fight, but solely depends on collecting macguffins. Once that boss is beaten, there's no ending to any future runs you do (forcing you to quit manually once you're done); strangely enough, the DLC (get that one, too!) does the inverse and replays the same cut-scene after each successful run. Some late-game areas are extremely slow to mine out, unless you got the right equipment earlier (which is always randomized). The DLC does not take advantage of the full roster of the main game's equipment, artificially limiting choices.
Still, the imaginative setting, the addictive gameplay bolstered by randomized drops and the low price, together result in my hearty recommendation.
The game has an interesting setting and is a lot of fun to play.
The first couple of runs won't get you very far because the game relies heavily on you unlocking some important permanent upgrades.
As soon as you get past these first runs - which can admittedly feel a bit unfair due to your starting gear being quite underpowered - the game picks up speed and makes up for the initial experience.
As the permanent upgrades accumulate and you figure out what weapons to go for and which strategies to follow during explorationyou will soon find yourself stomping everything that gets in your way.
I have enjoyed this game immensely so far. Every run is different than the last, with some runs ending in disaster while others make you feel unstoppable. Every run, whether good or bad, gives you points towards permanent upgrades that drastically change the pace and way you play. I found myself instinctively knowing when to head back to the spider before a wave hit and quickly learned how to use every second of my time as productively as possible. The world itself is beautiful and full of fun surprises. You may stumble into a giant cavern complete with its own small biosphere. You may discover a long lost relic that gives you a huge advantage against the "aliens". I found myself pushing to discover the next part of the wall beyond the clouds. The only complaint I have is the ending which could use some work. As of now it feels too abrupt and slightly unsatisfying, however seeing as how the game gets continuously updated, I firmly believe this will be fixed soon. All in all I'd give it a strong 9/10.
This game is extremely addicting and fun game to play and lose track of time doing it. I do wish you could keep the upgrades you get from mines but that does make the game that much harder to complete. Some resources are few and far between that are very helpful that make this game lose 1 star for me. I don't mind that some resources do not drop right away but man... I've died a few times in a row and not found the resource you need to fix your spider to continue a round longer... But overall im very happy with this purchase and look forward to playing for more hours to come.
