Update: I played for 2 more hours on my Steam Deck this time. The game works flawlessly out of the boxI.
Original Review below:
It has become common after the huge success of Vampire Survivor to create Bullet Hell, Action Roguelike games. Personally I greatly enjoy these games. I think Armechgeddon is most likely the fifth or sixth type of these I have. I don't play them as much as I would like due to nausea being induced some by them after an hour or so of gaming. So going right into it, if you are prone to sensory overload from games like Vampire Survivor, then you might want to be careful with Armechgeddon.
However, if you are not prone to these issues, or willing to spend time with them when you feel up to the constant action Armechgeddon is one of the better games I have played of late, in the vein of Vampire Survivor.
Specs Played on: i5-7400 @ 3Ghz, 16 GB RAM, SSD, and a 1060 GTX.
Bugs encountered: 0: No bugs encountered, though with these it is hard to tell sometimes if modifiers are working.
CTD encountered: 0 - No crashes to desktop encountered during my first hour of playtime.
Visual factor: 7 or 8, it throws a ton of elements on the screen so it will not be Elden Ring quality.
Action value offered: 10, this is an instant combat focused game.
Sound quality: 7, not bad but could be better, but doesn't distract from enjoyment.
Music quality: I can not rate as I turn off gaming music.
Price value: I can't get a decent McDonald's meal for less than the cost of this game. It is a steal at the offered price.
I don't really have any cons yet at this point, for a $5 USD game, in early access it played a lot better than many games I have that were released into retail at 10x the price. So for that price difference even if I eventually come up on a few (which every game has some) I am sure I will be able to overlook it for the price.
As far as pros go, if you are into bullet hell games with Roguelike elements but with progression in forms of upgraded weapons and systems, upgraded weapon types as you progress along, and different Mech unlocks s you go, this is a perfect game for you.
Couple of notes from my time playing:
1) When you see an enemy with a red outline, these guys are going to be stronger, usually one-two on screen at any given time, I think starting around stage 3. The nice thing about these is the often drop repair kits, extra piles of gold, or my favorite a giant magnet which will automatically pull all the scrap to you. I had one instance of this giving me five upgrades in a row due to the amount of scrap it gave me.
2) Offense is nice, and works great for the first four or five levels, but even before that you want to work on getting extra armor and shield percentages. Shielding you do not have by default but once you add it, it doesn't take up a weapon slot.
3) Acid is great. At first I thought it was just so/so, but once you get the Acid sprayer upgraded fully, you will see dozens of mobs fall quickly if they are in the right spots.
4) Having all weapons slots filled are great, but sometimes you might want to forego a new weapon to slot to further upgrade a weapon you already have. Once you start to play you will get a feel for that.
5) I can't say it enough but having max shielding and the auto repair functions with related upgrades, makes life so much easier than just shooting your way out of a wave. So don't skimp on defense.
Once again this was only after an hour of play, so it is a very short review that I will comeback after I get more hours under my belt and revise the review. However I can very safely tell my friends on Steam that Armechgeddon is a blast to play.
