Augment Anthem

I got my copy from the developer I would say a very flawed metroidvania that has a few redeeming qualities, it's a very janky game, and yet the exploration is actually very good, so if you can ignore the choppy animation and some platforming issues, maybe it's a guilty pleasure on a good day. One thing it does really well is the actual level design and complexity of progression abilities, which is why I hesitate to give it a negative review, it did the most important thing correctly, it's everything else that needs work. Honestly, if the demo is up after release, just try it, if you don't like the choppy animation you will know it right away. One big problem you may not realize in the demo is that the game has some stutter issues that are more obvious in complex areas, there is something off with the programming in this game, and you can tell that when things get crowded. To give the developer some credit, I approached the dev with the problems prior to release and he tried his best to make small improvements, as I understand the main programmer left the project a long time ago, so the game will likely remain in this subpar state, but I appreciate that you at least did a few small improvements. It's not a bad game, it feels like there are some programming issues with the "animation desync", and similar issues like clunky movement on moving platforms, the direction is fine, it seems to be an issue of actual programming skill or the lack of access to it. A cool gimmick in this game is that you can put slot-based upgrades into your progression abilities, which in turn adds more progression abilities to what you already have, sometimes even multiple times. For example, your teleport ability can be upgraded with a jump (twice), but then it can also transform into a robot, and then the robot can also be upgraded with a jump, so there are 3 progression upgrades on top of your progression power-up, pretty cool, I can't say that I see that a lot. You can maybe get 10-14 hours out of it, the map has plenty of collectibles, secrets, and hidden references, I didn't discover everything. Even though the game does not have a huge production behind it, the story and the characters were not too bad, you can upgrade the town with some decorations, and occasionally visit it to buy upgrades, or unlock some doors for extra items. [h1]Pros: [/h1] (+) The actual metroidvania exploration & level design is above average which is one thing that saves this game from a negative review, it's challenging to figure out, tons of backtracking, many secrets and collectibles, and for the most part the navigation was fun. (+) Relatively complex approach to progression, you can add new abilities for your progression power-ups, sometimes more than once, augmenting your navigation 2 or 3 times per ability. (+) Obviously the game does not have a huge team behind it so the world-building and the narrative is not like top tier, but I thought it was serviceable, you can do some little things in town for fun or progression, the characters and the art were fine. (+) The map is pretty friendly, you can easily teleport between many checkpoints and waypoints. (+) Maybe half of the soundtrack had some great tunes, slightly unusual music direction, cyber melancholy. [h1]Feedback: [/h1] [u]Animation issues/Stutter Issues/Frame Desync/Choppy Frames:[/u] - the animation of the character is not fantastic to begin with, and it's coded in a weird way where there is a bit of stutter/weird frame recovery when you do certain moves. You pretty much feel it the entire game. I still think the landing animation takes too much time, it always feels like you get stunned. The edge grab animation just looks odd, and so is the run animation. You can ignore these to an extent, but in bigger areas with many effects it becomes a problem, the stutter feels like 0.2 second delay in last few areas. - platforms that drag your hitbox are not too uncommon, you might feel like you not moving on certain platforms correctly, or they somehow not interacting with you the right way - most of the enemy animations are kinda janky, and it feels like hitting them needs more of an impact - melee attack is just odd, sometimes it works, sometimes it does nothing, sometimes I can't tell, I rarely found any use for it [u] Navigation: [/u] - you will be activating a lot of buttons in this game that unlock things out of your vision, sometimes the game will tell you something unlocked, but it's very easy to not put those together, I wish the game had more color coding or something so you know what corresponds to what - sometimes you will need upgrades for your abilities, but they can be almost anywhere on the map, in some random corner that is completely out of the way. Like I get it's a backtracking genre, but you don't expect that you need important augment that is in some random unimportant corner - maybe I missed something, but I was facing those blue walls for like 8 hours and thought I missed something, even though the upgrade was on ID, second to last boss, kinda weird, was there a way to get it earlier, or was I baited the entire game to play around those walls - the respawns on getting hit by obstacles can be very wacky, or maybe you could give the player some I-frames after respawn so you not getting chain **** 10 times [u] Other: [/u] - lots of missing sound effects, you still didn't add one for edge grab and self-destruct - sometimes you would not show the rooms connected on the map even though they are connected - the gun upgrades feel kinda unsatisfying, I think they should BANG a little harder and Louder - add wall fire maybe - add some movement speed upgrades (I am sure I am forgetting many things) [b]Overall Thoughts: 6/10 [/b] I think the game has a good direction, I honestly do. It's not the problem of your game design, it seems to be a problem of programming skill or the lack of a programmer I guess. There is a good game, I honestly think you should have invested into someone that could polish it more, I think the game was worth salvaging. The exploration was pretty fun and I like the complexity of abilities, it's a shame the animation and coding seems to be very janky across the board. $17 I think is a little rough for the lack of polish here, the game is more on a guilty pleasure with a few nice elements, it's not great as it stands. Still I appreciate you working with me with the issues, I hope the best for you and your future projects, I slightly enjoyed the game. [code]Niche, obscure and underrated games: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]

Loved the old touch w awesome connected levels. Is it perfect? Naw but that what makes it so great. It's like if N+ was a metroidvania

Absolutely Outstanding. Great gem of a game to find. There is a bit of jank, to be sure. The movement can feel off, you grab poles too easily, feedback to enemies is wonky, they're occasionally immune to melee when in a combat animation, balance is all over the place. Nothing enough to completely ruin anything, but enough to be notable. As you unlock more movement options and grow stronger, the jank is more easily ignored. But the story! The atmosphere! The writing! The scale! It's outstanding! Well worth it. Highly recommend.

Interesting take on the metroidvania genre, exploration and soundtrack is really cool

Fun little Metroid-like game with sweet old-school art. I have to confess I never had Metroid back in the day, and I’m old enough to find some of it challenging, but supporting indies is always good karma. Check it out!

First of all AA does a few things very well: the art style, level design, and unique approach to exploration all stand out. There’s a slight learning curve due to unique spin on fight mechanics compared to other platformers and metroidvanias, but once you get the hang of it, that uniqueness becomes one of its greatest strengths. I can definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fresh game in the genre with some unique ideas and approaches.

Augment Anthem is a 2D Metroidvania about a robot named Ego, in a world where robots take control and you're on a mission to find more about yourself and what paths lie ahead. Interconnected world filled with platforming, challenges and puzzles that will test your timings, might and brain. The game has a mechanism called "Augments" where you find different colored augments which gives you new abilities and each color has a different purpose which strengthens your abilities even more allowing you to progress in the world and visit previously inaccessed areas. The game starts off slow when you don't have any abilities, however it gets super fun and more addictive as you start unlocking more and more augment chips. The game is getting even more polished day by day from the devs and is already in a very good state, some sections were a bit janky to proceed through however, it's not a showstopper and it's a part of any platforming / metroidvania game in general. The OST and music sometimes were looping but it's was enjoyable to listen to all these hours of explorations and platforming and I don't mind a good OST. Boss fights were a big highlight as each requires a certain strategy, dodge timings and a use of abilities you learned during your journey in order to overcome them, I also loved the designs of all of them. Adrenaline rushing fast paced battles that will keep you on your toes. There are many hidden gems out there that needs to be discovered and having said so above, I honestly enjoyed the game alot and took my sweet time finishing it and 100% all achievements as it got me hooked and addicted. It's really worth giving it a try and I'm sure you won't be disappointed especially if you're a big fan of metroidvanias then I'd recommend it. Overall Rating 10/10

had fun playing this twin.

There are a LOT of metroidvania's nowadays, most of them aren't all that good but there's also quite a few true hidden gems in this genre. On my quest to find those gems I'm willing to give them all shot, as long as they're not too anime or retro-looking. Augment anthem did not look amazing at first glance, but it didn't look bad either. The setting and pixel art intrigued me enough to give it a try, despite some complaints i heard about the controls. The atmosphere was immediately noticably good but I wasn't really feeling the gameplay during the first hour. But then i got to the first boss and for some reason it started to click, not that this boss was hard or anything. In fact the whole game is rather easy but i'm not a massochist who wants soulsvania after soulsvania. I just want to explore and on that front augment anthem delivers. The more i played and explored the more i got hooked untill i couldn't put the game down anymore. This game nails exploration, which is in my opinion the most important aspect of any metroidvania paired with platforming. The reason exploration is so good is twofold; level design and progression tied to collectibles. First of all the level design is honestly great both at a macro and micro scale. Macro because the world is beautifully interconnected with lots of backtracking, unlockable shortcuts and non-linearity. Micro because most rooms feel unique with their own platforming gauntlets, environmental hazards or gimmicks. The way rooms play differently as your skillset expands also makes backtracking a joy. This aspect is tied to a very satisfying progression system that's not afraid to break the game. You start of pretty weak in terms of combat and platforming prowess but by the end you become a hyper mobile death machine that obliterates anything in your path. There's few MV's where the differences in skillset is more notable than in augment anthem. While it does mean the game gradually becomes easier it does feel super rewarding. It's also made super convenient to get these upgrades as the game marks completed rooms in a different colour, something that i LOVE and should become the norm in MV's. Speaking of the map it's actually suprisingly huge, like properly massive especially if you wish to 100%. But don't worry about getting too lost, the game always marks your next main objective on the map, giving you a general sense of direction. If you tread in a new biome you will only be able to see your current room on the map but the level design always flows to a central save point that unlocks the map. You can also opt to reveail rooms you haven't been to yet but this is completely optional. Some of the later biomes do have a sort of central puzzle that sends you out in multiple directions to unlock said puzzle. These aren't marked on the map but the environment art does show you where to go in a very immersive way. For example by following coloured pipes that branch of towards the objectives, and no i'm not talking about yellow paint but actual environmental clues that respect your intelligence. There's also lots of puzzles spread across the rooms that shake things up, something i can always appreciate but the focus is most often on platforming. That's right, not combat but a platforming centric mv for once thank god! Not to say there isn't combat, more on that later, but the biggest appeal other than exploration is for sure platforming. While it starts of a bit clunky and some things remain a bit jank like the pole/ladder grabbing and jumping as well as some issues clipping through moving platforms. The overal feeling of platforming is still pretty smooth, especially when grappling is involved. Like i said you become a hypermobile robot by the end of the game where you can traverse huge distances in seconds. Super fun and not too difficult as it's not precesion platformey for the most part. Some gauntlets are slightly tougher but nothing insane to make you have to be a sweaty gamer. Like i said before combat won't test your mettle either as most enemies are pushovers due to your range advantage. Most enemies are melee anyways but there just isn't that many enemy types for such a long game. Their ai is also a bit quirky and most can be safespotted although there are occasions where you're swarmed in a confined space. Despite that i never really felt challenged by the combat, not even on the bosses. That isn't to say the bosses aren't fun or unique though, each fight felt very distinc. In a way they almost feel more like puzzles rather than actual fights, something i'm a big fan of. Their designs were also very cool and grotesque which made me very fascinated in the world. They have cool lore which can be found through the many lore snippest which also act as a reward for exploration. The writing in this is excellent but the real star of the show for the narrative are the side characters and their backstories, specifically the ones in the hub town. I was completely engrossed by their dialogues and interactions with eachother, which made revisiting the hub a lot of fun because i was occasionally treated to snippets of peak worldbuilding. While there were some cliche lines from the protagonist and the villains, everything the side characters said and did was pretty ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ cool, which also suprised me as i didn't expect such expert characterization in an MV of all things. Finally there's the mood/atmosphere which comes from the audiovisual experience. I value this more than most metroidvanieurs as it can make or break my immersion. I'm happy to say augment anthem delivered a very tangible and great atmosphere. The haunting music felt very melancholy and oppresive, matching the bleak setting and grotesque visuals. The OST was also just pleasant to listen to as were the visuals to look at. I'm a huge fan of pixel art and while this game had 3D models with a pixelation filter on top, it still worked very well since this created a very uncanny feel for the enemies. The environments and lighting though were authentic pixel art and looked great. It was also well optimized in terms of file size, loading times and framerates. I didn't encounter any bugs or crashes so the game felt very polished to me as well. Honestly for the amount of content the game offers it's a pretty good deal even with the slightly above average price. There's at LEAST ten hours of gameplay on offer or closer to 16 if you wanna go for everything which i highly recommend!

If you like Metroidvania you will likely enjoy this one too. Music is nice, artwork is awesome. And the game has some interesting mechanics.