Cycle 28

[code]Segui [url=store.steampowered.com/curator/39235514]High Score - Time Attack[/url]: pagina Steam Curator dedicata a tutti coloro che amano cimentarsi nell'ottenimento di punteggi esorbitanti, nel collezionamento di achievement e nelle sfide contro il tempo. Lottando per un posto in classifica, come ai tempi d'oro delle Sala Giochi.[/code] Cycle 28 è uno space shooter che ho trovato davvero intrigante. Innanzitutto il titolo è fuorviante, perché in realtà Olivia, la protagonista della storia, il ciclo 28 lo deve raggiungere, in quanto intrappolata in un loop temporale senza apparente uscita: nel ciclo 27, per l'appunto. E qui entra in gioco volendo anche il concetto di morte nel videogame, intesa come Game Over. Difatti essendo Olivia intrappolata in questo time loop, ogni volta che andremo incontro alla nostra dipartita, durante i nostri giri nello spazio, lei avrà delle reminiscenze della run precedente: dei ricordi vaghi che le sfuggono, delle frasi o dei messaggi che appaiono per pochi secondi all'inizio di ogni partita per poi scomparire lentamente sullo sfondo. Nello spazio profondo, che poi tanto profondo non è. Ben presto ci renderemo conto che in realtà siamo rinchiusi dentro una sorta di barriera, una gabbia. Un recinto. Ma soprattutto, che non siamo soli. Che c'è qualcuno con si frappone tra noi e... e poi ve lo giocate. Perché Cycle 28 è uno sparacchino molto semplice, ma per niente banale. Un gioco votato all'ottenimento dell'high score, ma con una storia in sottofondo particolarmente riuscita (sebbene nascosta) e che saprà conquistarvi se le presterete ascolto. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbhQT1ozdPM Cycle 28 è una sfida continua. Con voi stessi. Perché più ci giocherete, più diventerete bravi. Farete più punti, massacrerete più nemici tenendo il moltiplicatore del punteggio costantemente alto. Partita dopo partita, morte dopo morte, un'altra Olivia dopo un'altra Olivia. O forse è sempre la stessa? A voi scoprirlo. Fino a quando non giungerà il momento di guardarvi allo specchio, in questo ciclo 27 senza fine, faccia a faccia con il vostro alter ego, passato o futuro che sia. In questa anomalia spazio temporale, che forse potrà essere dipanata soltanto cambiando approccio. Perché Cycle 28 è un ciclo sostanzialmente chiuso, che può essere però riaperto da un momento all'altro creando potenzialmente un ciclo infinito. [code][b]Modus operandi[/b] Ho completato il gioco più volte, prendendo tutti gli achievement. A distanza di tempo ci rigioco ancora con finalità high score, essendo in Top 10 nella classifica mondiale.[/code]

Cycle 28 on the surface is a $5 shooter, but it hides one of t he most engaging and complex stories I've encountered. Cycle 28 is easy to learn, difficult to master. The combat is easy to get into, engaging, and has a surprising amount of depth and strategy elements for how simple the combat is. Some mechanics take a little while to notice: like not healing when you shoot, but those are fairly easy to learn. Where the game hits its stride is the story. The game drip feeds you this ever more complex story, compounded by the strange world and menu screen antics. As you explore, you unlock more of the story. Once you start investigating the world around you, you only ask more questions.

[quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]Follow our curator page: [b]IndieGems[/b] if you like and want to see more reviews like this one.[/url][/quote] Cycle 28 is a momentum-based bullet-hell survival game that has simple graphics, epic music that is completely tension filled, and an interesting story (that unfolds as you play). The game is rather difficult and has a significant learning-curve. The story is part of the gameplay experience, and I have yet to find out just what the heck is going on, so I won't spoil that for anyone. The gameplay is the meat of the game, you drive a spaceship and try to survive amid an ever-increasing hoard of other ships that all looking to shoot you down. Fortunately for you, you have infinite fuel and infinite ammo, and your gun seems to fire a lot faster than theirs. The hardest part of the gameplay is dealing with the momentum, but this is something that is learned through playing. This is hard because of the built in mechanics and is meant to have that feel when you play, and I think it's done well. Heck, even your bullets give you recoil. I think the mechanics are employed very well here. There are unlockable upgrades for you ship, obtained through progressively higher scores. So if you have a perfect run the first time around, you may never see an upgrade. This is just a FYI for potential new players. The upgrades alter your ship in one way, and you can choose one, two, or none at all, for your next run. They make the runs a bit more dynamic and allows the player to pick and choose the best option for your own interests. There are some basic enemy units, and there are some serious-looking boss enemies that just completely destroy you. (You=me in that last sentence.) I thought about fleeing, but going so far in any one direction will lead to a bright wall of energy that will destroy you upon contact. This reminded me of Q from [i]Star Trek[/i]. The music is really quite epic, I have thought seriously about purchasing this OST. The art is simple, but that simplicity is in keeps with the arcade style of the game. I think everything has been thought out rather well and put together nicely. Final thoughts about this game, I have enjoyed playing for sure. It was a bit diffcult in the beginning and the learning curve is rather steep. I am playing a lot better after about 30 or so runs I would imagine. The initial difficulty in aiming the ship the right way, firing the weapon and having to turn and trottle out of the way of incoming bullets was rather daunting. But I eventually adapted and learned to play a lot better. I am glad that the game allows for auto-fire from holding down the fire button. The epic music and quick games makes you want to try it again and again to beat your score, to find out more about the story, and you are trying to survive as well. There seems to be an end goal in this game, though I have yet to get anywhere close. Nonetheless, this is a good game, fun to play, and that's the most important part! [quote]I received the product for free. I did not receive any compensation to write this review. The opinions represented here are entirely my own and were not influenced in any way.[/quote]

I liked Luftrausers, so I was curious to try this one due to the similar style. I like the idea of the story unfolding across successive runs, and I'm really curious to know how it develops. However, at the same time, I find the gameplay leans towards frustrating and repetitive. Unlocked abilities don't change the ship performance and abilities in very significant ways (aside from multishot), and most of the game difficulty is from the fact that you're flying blind into danger most of the time because the view is zoomed in so far. This problem is compounded by ships that are just a wide, fast-moving laser, and blindsides you from offscreen most of the time.

A good attempt at a score attack game, and there is a lot of potential and fun to be had. Unfortunately, there's a small amount of very questionable design choices that greatly ruin the potential flow and fun that this game could provide. Firstly: the score multiplier is reset on any hit. I know where they're coming from; many traditional SCHMUPS have that feature to incentivize perfect runs. This game is much similar to Asteroids or Luftrausers than Touhou or Ikaruga, however, and the dynamic state that enemies attack in can and very often lead to situations where a drone comes out of nowhere, almost invisible against the background, and homes in to hit you with just enough damage to ruin your score. Second: this leads on the first point and is how much the game relies on score for progression. As far as I've seen so far, progression is determined by beating previous scores. This isn't too bad, but can be a pain once you start besting yourself through easier methods. Once that happens you can't just ignore score and play for fun; you have to play for score and that means some rather unfortunate and boring playstyles. Hit and run tactics, picking off stragglers, waiting for the somewhat lengthy heal process, etc. Wanton destruction is heavily discouraged, as that will lead to you getting hit a couple times and losing your score. Third: collision damage. Colliding with enemies could be a neat addition, but with the state it's in all it does is reset your score on a graze, deals large damage to you while barely hurting your enemy. Building off that, we have the collision-type enemies. This ruins runs, and most of the time that it does it's unexpected and unavoidable. The barrier enemies are just all around a bad idea, at least with their penchant for charging and delivering instakills if you're hurting (full-health with the "spear" types, since you can collide with multiple boxes if the enemy has the angle right). Using the white bars on things like the train convoy are fine, but the guys who charge at you head on from off screen, leaving you with 0 chance to turn or dodge are cheap, and not fun in the slightest. Lastly: lack of focus. This is mostly a culmination of the previous points, but the game itself just lack focus and direction. There's a lot of promise with this game (hence the large review), but these three points have largely sealed it off to a very niche audience. There is an ARG involved and I hear it's pretty good, so I'd recommend checking it out if that's what you like. But if you're here for a fast-paced score-attack, I'd look elsewhere.

This is game is and isn't what you expect. There's something compelling about the atmosphere and the mystery, as well as great enjoyment because of tight controls and gameplay mechanics. Love the game and definitely recommend it, but I'm also looking forward to the developer's future games.

After playing through this some more, I have found there's much more to Cycle 28 than blowing things up. There's a mystery to be solved that slowly unfolds through the Cycles, and (as of 1 June) still has not been cracked. OLD: It's a well-playable homage to Luftrausers, with a much more fair hand dealt to the player -- most of the time. This likely will be immense fun for anyone who enjoys Luftrausers or Furious Angels. I love Jordan Rees's orchestral score, which grows ever more grand during the progression of each particular run, and perfectly sets the mood for the action.

[list][*][b][h1]Morlan's shorts:[/h1][/b][/list] It looks and sounds fun, but that's it as far as the positives. I didn't enjoy it. It's too hard and frustrating too early. Your ship is too feeble and your firepower is way too weak even in the first 3-4 minutes of the game. The first upgrades are not enough to give you protection or power against the big guys (or girls) and the thrust-control of the ship doesn't help at all. To replay the same part again and again until I learn it, it's not my idea of fun. Wasted too much time on this.. [b]Don't waste more time reading lengthy reviews.. time is of the essence![/b]

Great little space shooter, really smooth and comfortable to control.