Assault Andriod Cactus (Xbox One) - First 40 Minutes of Gameplay
2Disclaimer: I will revisit this game and give it a second chance! :)
First impressions:
Not a fan of this dual-stick shmup -- coming from a dual-stick shmup dev . Here are a few notes of criticism, when bouncing this game's design off my own game design philosophies:
- Speed boost power-up increases your speed so fast you cannot collect auto-collectible power-ups. Power-ups should never burden you, they should empower you.
- Timed power-ups are a no-no! If a power-up cannot last forever, then chances are it is broken (likely too powerful). Plus, when it times out you give the opposite sense of empowerment.
- Holding the trigger to shoot? Why not just aim, as in most dual-stick shmups?
- Regular speed is way too slow, especially for large enemies with blast radius attacks, and especially when you get stuck near one, getting hurt over and over again. You could blame the player. I could also blame the game's mechanics (getting hurt, spamming to get back up, moving too slow... all added together).
- Relating to the previous point: Getting hurt and having to spam the trigger; The triggers are triggers, not buttons, and should not be spammed.
- You should not have to spam anything to get back up. I am not sure why I think this. It just feels wrong. It breaks something. It's frustrating. It makes me feel weak. It feels like it's not my job as a gamer to spam. I will have to think about it more to explain it better. Spamming fast does not seem to matter (you do not get up faster). A broken mechanic that separates the player from the control of the character.
- Health bars are a no-no in shmups. It's an unwritten rule that shmups should be one-hit kills. From a developer standpoint, they can hide issues with not being able to tell how or if you are getting hit or hurt. It can hide poor design. Even if the design is well done but not perfect, the health bar will allow the game to remain imperfect. Imagine changing this game to a one-hit kill: Then, immediately the design would have to change to better indicate how and when you are getting hurt, else frustrate the player with unfair deaths. It's almost a way to force your design to be good, to adopt 1-hit kills.
- Rankings. S+, S, A, B, C, etc. rankings is something I am against for the sake of empowerment of the player. Let the gamer decide what is good or not. You could play amazing (based on your own skills) and then get ranked a C, when to you it was an A+. Why judge? The leaderboards can communicate where you are among the best. Let the player feel empowered.
- Showing yourself as being tired at the end of each stage. I'm not tired! Why the downfall of the character, shown over and over again? I will be tired when I am tired. Excited when I am excited. A game cannot force a feeling.
Pros: It's too bad. This could have been a good game for me. It's fast and smooth. There is lots of action and firepower. A lot is done right. It was an attractive game for me, until I played it and it felt wrong.
In the end, I need to feel in control and fully aware of what is happening, and that is not the case here.