Main game
2.88 average rating based on 17 ratings
I heard good things about this, but what a disappointment. Slow, tedious, the music is (surprisingly, given the composer) not great, there are a couple cool visuals but mostly the graphics are middling, and the game might as well be called SNES lag simulator. I spent half the play through wishing for a run button, then found out there was one when I got stuck at one point and had to look up where to go. Which is an achievement for a sidescroller with almost no platforming. I played as Ryo, and then tried Maria out for the first level, and I think I would have liked Maria a lot more (the homing missiles get MVP), but still this is a cumbersome mess.
Some neat ideas that ultimately fell short where it mattered most.
Pros:
-a cool sci-fi premise
-an interesting power-up system that suggests varied and interesting action platforming gameplay
-eerie urban backdrops among other interesting level settings
-generous amount of health and checkpoint system to let players retry levels without losing too much progress or starting all over again
-somewhat varied, spooky, and atmosphere providing music
Cons:
-level design feels all over the place with a crazy amount of enemies and projectiles in some sections that really plummet the frame rate which at times feels barely playable
-Power-ups seem to spawn very rarely and inconsistently to the point I did feel like I could properly explore or engage with the power up system and also found getting the wrong one made progressing in some spots nearly impossible
-The generous player health had me inclined to recklessly rush down and out damage most of bosses instead of playing methodically
-Duller and more frustrating later stages make finishing the game feel like a chore, and plot elements are so light there feels like little to no reward for progressing