THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER-FREE!

I knew about this game for a while, but ultimately was "sold" it when I played the demo at a gaming convention. I was hooked - I knew I'd be buying this game when I got home. Oh, there IS a free demo!! Download it and give the game a shot. You should be able to tell if you like it quite quickly.

Anyway, I think a very important piece of information which will be the most relevant to many, is that the main story arc is quite short - I completed it in 8 hours (at which point I wrote this review), including much time spent exploring (and dying).

But I still recommend the game. I smell a lot of replay value; the game has a unique combat flow, and really succeeds in scratching the itch for a movement-combat-puzzle game. It reminds me a lot of Doom Eternal in this sense (although perhaps slightly less mechanically complex), and definitely captures a similar vibe - pumping music, twitch game-play, punishing but rewarding combat, soaring movement, and of course - the power fantasy that you have to work for.

Anyway, now for the long part: let's break this down.

COMBAT:
One shot one kill, for you and for the enemies. I love this - it makes the weapons feel meaningful, and makes you feel vulnerable, meaning you don't feel like you got the win for free. Deaths aren't a big setback - just hit R and you're instantly back in the action (and I mean INSTANTLY, they did this really well, technically). The levels are basically formatted like puzzles that you need to figure out. There are many ways to slice the onion here, and its fun to try and see which approach will work in each puzzle. Some were particularly awesome, some a little less, but overall I enjoyed all of them.

You also receive several skills you can use, that charge up throughout combat. This means there are even MORE approaches to the combat rooms, meaning you can suit them to your playstyle. The game, for better or worse, doesn't force you to use all of your skills (like the aforementioned Doom Eternal does), which means its quite flexible.

This is further enhanced by the awesome "upgrades" system. No spoilers as to how this works, but I'm impressed, I like their implementation of upgrades a LOT.

In this paragraph I was going to talk about the bosses, but it felt a little spoiler-y, so you'll have to see for themselves. How much you like them will depend on your style of gaming.

MOVEMENT:
Delicious. Dash, slide, wall climb, vault, grapple hook, fly... A parkour extravaganza. I felt they did this aspect of the game extremely well and it really makes the game. No complaints. Sometimes vaulting was a little clunky, but this was usually when I was trying to reach areas I thought were secrets (they were not, more on that later).

DIFFICULTY:
Difficult. The game is not for someone new to video games - it requires a good sense of positioning and movement, high-speed reactions, and a very solid grasp of mouse+keyboard controls. Intermediate to expert gamers will appreciate it, but people new to computer games will probably rage quit. The game does a solid job of "teaching" its mechanics, but not to a "this is my first computer game" level. I don't think this game was designed with that in mind, and in my opinion (as an experienced gamer), this is for the better.

MAP / LEVEL DESIGN:
Overall really great. Some non-combat parts felt like Roblox obstacle courses on steroids (jumping puzzles), which some players may dislike. I didn't mind them. Some special parts in the game had you playing with limited parkour capacity, which I didn't like as it made them feel artificially slow. These parts usually had some other alterations to the map (no spoilers!) which made them interesting, though.

Other parts had you playing a jumping puzzle while fighting, which I really liked.

STORY:
Interesting, but not mind-blowing. I could kind of predict where they were going overall, but the details surprised me. It was interesting enough for me to stop and listen, but not interesting enough for me to really get invested in it like some story-driven games, but that's fair enough as the game is primarily about the combat.

No spoilers here, see for yourself - but I wouldn't buy the game JUST for the story. That's not what this is about.

GRAPHICS:
Beautiful. Not masterpiece beautiful, but definitely more than beautiful enough. The world feels like a cyberpunk hell-scape and sells it well with all these little visual storytelling details.

I also thought the enemy design was really cool; the bosses especially.

MUSIC:
Slaps. Featuring a soundtrack by Daniel Deluxe, the music does not disappoint, and fits the game perfectly. I literally turned down the other volume tracks but kept the music up so I could hear it more prominently. They nailed it - it's juicy.

EXPLORATION:
A little underwhelming. There are optional collectibles hidden well, but not impossibly, which is great. However, I found myself reaching many "out of bounds" areas that could have been made into secret areas. Maybe there ARE secret areas that I'm just too unskilled to reach, I dunno. I found the overwhelming majority of collectibles, and there IS an upgrade which helps you find them (but doesn't outright tell you how, which I liked).

It's not bad, but could be better.

OVERALL GAME DESIGN:
Really good. All of the auxiliary systems support the main game flow really well; the way the mechanics and enemies are trickled in and taught are great, the upgrade system is great, the combat is awesome, the collectibles and customizables are cool, and the game flows and plays beautifully.

RATING:
Rating? I don't know if its fair to rate this game on a 1-10 scale. It fills a niche, and it fills it well. Could they have done more with the mechanics? Maybe, I'm not good enough of a game designer to suggest any improvements.

I would call this "Melee-mode Doom". I love it, and I'm eager to see where it goes with its after-story game-play and alternate modes. Is it flawless? No. Is it an amazing, special game? Definitely.

8/10, 9/10 even. The number is meaningless. The vibe is not!

[B] THIS REVIEW IS SPOILER-FREE! [/B] I knew about this game for a while, but ultimately was "sold" it when I played the demo at a gaming convention. I was hooked - I knew I'd be buying this game when I got home. [b]Oh, there IS a free demo!![/b] Download it and give the game a shot. You should be able to tell if you like it quite quickly. Anyway, I think a very important piece of information which will be the most relevant to many, is that the main story arc is quite short - I completed it in 8 hours (at which point I wrote this review), including much time spent exploring (and dying). But I still recommend the game. I smell a lot of replay value; the game has a unique combat flow, and really succeeds in scratching the itch for a movement-combat-puzzle game. It reminds me a lot of Doom Eternal in this sense (although perhaps slightly less mechanically complex), and definitely captures a similar vibe - pumping music, twitch game-play, punishing but rewarding combat, soaring movement, and of course - the power fantasy that you have to work for. Anyway, now for the long part: let's break this down. COMBAT: One shot one kill, for you and for the enemies. I love this - it makes the weapons feel meaningful, and makes you feel vulnerable, meaning you don't feel like you got the win for free. Deaths aren't a big setback - just hit R and you're instantly back in the action (and I mean INSTANTLY, they did this really well, technically). The levels are basically formatted like puzzles that you need to figure out. There are many ways to slice the onion here, and its fun to try and see which approach will work in each puzzle. Some were particularly awesome, some a little less, but overall I enjoyed all of them. You also receive several skills you can use, that charge up throughout combat. This means there are even MORE approaches to the combat rooms, meaning you can suit them to your playstyle. The game, for better or worse, doesn't force you to use all of your skills (like the aforementioned Doom Eternal does), which means its quite flexible. This is further enhanced by the awesome "upgrades" system. No spoilers as to how this works, but I'm impressed, I like their implementation of upgrades a LOT. In this paragraph I was going to talk about the bosses, but it felt a little spoiler-y, so you'll have to see for themselves. How much you like them will depend on your style of gaming. MOVEMENT: Delicious. Dash, slide, wall climb, vault, grapple hook, fly... A parkour extravaganza. I felt they did this aspect of the game extremely well and it really makes the game. No complaints. Sometimes vaulting was a little clunky, but this was usually when I was trying to reach areas I thought were secrets (they were not, more on that later). DIFFICULTY: Difficult. The game is not for someone new to video games - it requires a good sense of positioning and movement, high-speed reactions, and a very solid grasp of mouse+keyboard controls. Intermediate to expert gamers will appreciate it, but people new to computer games will probably rage quit. The game does a solid job of "teaching" its mechanics, but not to a "this is my first computer game" level. I don't think this game was designed with that in mind, and in my opinion (as an experienced gamer), this is for the better. MAP / LEVEL DESIGN: Overall really great. Some non-combat parts felt like Roblox obstacle courses on steroids (jumping puzzles), which some players may dislike. I didn't mind them. Some special parts in the game had you playing with limited parkour capacity, which I didn't like as it made them feel artificially slow. These parts usually had some other alterations to the map (no spoilers!) which made them interesting, though. Other parts had you playing a jumping puzzle [i]while fighting[/i], which I [b]really[/b] liked. STORY: Interesting, but not mind-blowing. I could kind of predict where they were going overall, but the details surprised me. It was interesting enough for me to stop and listen, but not interesting enough for me to really get invested in it like some story-driven games, but that's fair enough as the game is primarily about the combat. No spoilers here, see for yourself - but I wouldn't buy the game JUST for the story. That's not what this is about. GRAPHICS: Beautiful. Not masterpiece beautiful, but definitely more than beautiful enough. The world feels like a cyberpunk hell-scape and sells it well with all these little visual storytelling details. I also thought the enemy design was really cool; the bosses especially. MUSIC: Slaps. Featuring a soundtrack by Daniel Deluxe, the music does not disappoint, and fits the game perfectly. I literally turned down the other volume tracks but kept the music up so I could hear it more prominently. They nailed it - it's juicy. EXPLORATION: A little underwhelming. There are optional collectibles hidden well, but not impossibly, which is great. However, I found myself reaching many "out of bounds" areas that could have been made into secret areas. Maybe there ARE secret areas that I'm just too unskilled to reach, I dunno. I found the overwhelming majority of collectibles, and there IS an upgrade which helps you find them (but doesn't outright tell you how, which I liked). It's not bad, but could be better. OVERALL GAME DESIGN: Really good. All of the auxiliary systems support the main game flow really well; the way the mechanics and enemies are trickled in and taught are great, the upgrade system is great, the combat is awesome, the collectibles and customizables are cool, and the game flows and plays beautifully. RATING: Rating? I don't know if its fair to rate this game on a 1-10 scale. It fills a niche, and it fills it well. Could they have done more with the mechanics? Maybe, I'm not good enough of a game designer to suggest any improvements. I would call this "Melee-mode Doom". I love it, and I'm eager to see where it goes with its after-story game-play and alternate modes. Is it flawless? No. Is it an amazing, special game? Definitely. 8/10, 9/10 even. The number is meaningless. The vibe is not!