Defragmented

I stumbled upon this game on Reddit and was very impressed with the quick progression of its development over 18 months with a mainly two-man team. I received a review copy and was excited to play because it reminded me of Hotline Miami (HM), but with a sleek cyberpunk feel. Despite dying countless times, I was pleasantly satisfied with my gameplay experience. If you like overhead shooters in the vein of Hotline Miami, lots of loot, cyberpunk themes, role-playing elements, and great electronic music (particularly synth), then you will really enjoy this game. The aesthetics are great - the amount of detail in the environment is good, and the artstyle during cutscenes is very nice; the world feels vibrant and alive. Running on max settings is not too intensive on your rig, and the flashiness of everything can be quite entertaining and pretty to look at. With a upbeat electronic soundtrack supplemented by visualization in the game world (the black areas of the level pulse different colors in tune with the beat), the music adds immensely to the cyberpunk, action-intensive atmosphere. The story is interesting and well-written - I like the conflict of clones vs. naturalism in a previously-struggling society. You can skip cutscenes and fast-forward through them (also includes the option to toggle them off), which is something small, but still very appreciated. The controls are easy to learn and the tutorial is very helpful at orienting you to the game mechanics, however, I would strongly suggest you use a controller. The learning curve is minimal to moderate, and the most challenging part of the game will probably be either managing the camera and/or accepting the amount of caution and planning required to complete each level. On a keyboard and mouse setup, the camera switching did not feel as smooth compared to when I used a controller - and quick orientation is essential to success because if you fall off the stage you will die and have to restart. Similar to Hotline Miami, the enemy AI can be very brutal, discouraging a guns blazing strategy (at least initially). Scouting the area and learning enemy movement patterns is critical to beating each level. It is easy for you to be killed, however, the game is much more forgiving than HM because when you die you restart, but also keep any experience and money gained - I've actually levelled up a few times by repeatedly dying in a level that I was stuck on. Gameplay involves you entering an area and killing everyone found within. Every character has a laser pointer that shows current aiming direction, however, other elements to consider when firing are distance, weapon accuracy, and bullet spread. There are three classes to choose from, each with two unique skill trees and abilities - like creating a ghost decoy, manifesting a small bullet-negating shield, and healing yourself based on stacks accumulated. Guns are categorized into heavy, light, and energy - each having upgradeable ammo capacity. Furthermore, you can increase your weapon mastery with pistols, submachineguns, rifles, shotguns, and energy arms (adding 2% damage per mastery level) by killing a certain number of enemies. Equipment is further varied by rarity, with orange-colored items being extremely high-valued. When you are in the pre-mission setup interface, you can also go to a store, however, there are different storekeepers in a number of the stages. During each level, you will have to assess the situation carefully - unless you enjoy dying and restarting numerous times. Enemies will chase you if spotted and investigate weapon fire if nearby. One tactic I favored in HM - shooting at things to lure enemies into my killing zone - remains very effective at thinning down the enemy count. You can change up your equipment and have 3 slots for different active weapons (you can still keep others in your inventory). Included in your equipment are 1 grenade and 2 program core (passive abilities like increased dodge chance) slots. I found that both the variety in weapon types and class skill trees made each playthrough unique enough to enjoy. To encourage multiple playthroughs, you have access to a storage container accessible by every character you have. I really enjoyed the brutality and unforgiving nature of HM, however, that savagery is missing from Defragmented because you still retain your experience points and loot. That being said, you will still die quite frequently and each level is highly entertaining. My favorite element of the game is the fantastic soundtrack, followed closely by the flashy presentation of everything. I really do feel like I am in a cyberpunk world whenever I play a stage. Overall, the game plays really well and is a lot of fun if you are interested in intense action in a cyberpunk world. I do not know if there is an item/weapon that addresses this, but one thing I would like is a way to scan enemy health because it is exceedingly easy to die if you do not double-tap (continue firing/attacking) when an enemy has more health than the damage you dealt. One ability I like using teleports you to a nearby enemy (very short casting range) and unleashes a melee attack, however, performing such an action on a shotgun-wielding and/or high-levelled opponent will usually cause you to instantly be killed. With a 30 level cap (more of a soft cap because you still gain experience points) and three different classes to try, replayability is fairly high. If you enjoy top-down action shooters with rpg elements, then definitely give this game a try. Recommend! Cheers, DJSF [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/djsfsroguereviews]@DJSF's Rogue Reviews[/url] [url=http://theroguereviews.com/]My Website[/url]

As a huge fan of cyberpunk work and shooters I was drawn to [b]Defragmented[/b], and that is what made it hard to come to a conclusion about this game for I really wanted to like it buut ultimately it feels like it still needs a lot of work and polish. [b]Defragmented[/b] describes itself as [i]lightning-fast cyberpunk action RPG[/i] but I disagree, I prefer to say it is a shooter with some minor RPG elements. I’ll first adress the things I like about the game and which kept me playing as well as giving a general insight on what the game has to offer. [h1][b]The Good:[/b][/h1] The game focuses heavily on fast-paced shooting in which characters can die in a split second, weapons with various different stats that you can loot and leveling up 1 out of 3 available characters, each with their own unique set of abilities and starting weapon. When starting a new game you can select 1 out of 2 modes, [i]Defragmented[/i], which is described as “the way the game was meant to be played”, and [i]ARPG[/i] in which the characters can soak a lot more damage. Besides the shooting part of the game, you have this kind of visual novel style of dialogue which happens between levels and fills you in on the story. The game also offers a couple of bonus stories, which are basically sets of dialogue expanding on some characters from the main game. I like the fact that the game has 3 difficulty options to choose from, the variety of weapons that you have at your disposal and the ability to approach any level the way I want, go in stealthy using melee attacks or going in guns blazing. The game gets progressively harder and harder and, in a way, I thank the devs for not making the levels procedural generated. The fact that each of the levels are hand crafted lets you learn your way around and improve yourself, as well as develop different tactics, the more you play it. One thing I can’t stress enough is how good the music is. All those times I was getting slightly annoyed by some of the problems the game has, it was one of the things that managed to keep me in line for it is so good to listen to (considering you’re into this type of music). The other thing that kept me going was the story. At first it felt okay but around half way through the game things get more interesting, if somewhat predictable. [h1][b]The Bad:[/b][/h1] Now for the sad part. First of all, the game is a shooter and as such it allows you to choose between a top down view camera (default) and some sort of isometric camera. The latter feels wonky and I can’t imagine why you’d use this over the other, especially when you can “look ahead” of you to see your surroundings. Also, having to spam E to loot things is kind of bothersome, at least to me, why don’t you pick up credits and ammo automatically by walking over them? The biggest problem I have with the game are the enemies. While playing in the same difficulty setting, on the same level, they can either be extremely deadly or real dummies. Sometimes enemies would start shooting the wall when I was on the opposite side. There were numerous in which my shots missed the target but, even though they were crossing the enemy field of vision, they just stood there doing nothing. There were also times in which 2 enemies were facing each other and if I killed one of them the other wouldn’t react. That said, seeing their fellow comrades on the floor, dead, didn’t seem to bother them either. Another nuisance I have is related to the visual side of the game but not the graphics themselves. For instance, the fact that the UI looks very odd and it isn’t very appealing, it feels like a placeholder. The fact that the game reuses the same backgrounds during the dialogue sections a lot of times, a bit of variety would be nice there to keep things interesting. In addition, the main character has no portrait and never speaks directly but you act sort of as the game’s narrator. [h1][b][u]Final Verdict:[/u][/b][/h1] I really wanted to like this game but due to all the tech side of things I don’t feel comfortable in recommending it. Besides what I’ve mentioned, it’s worth pointing out that it takes about 6 hours to complete the story mode, and then you have NG+. For the asking price of 15€, I’m not really sure I can say it is worth it. [b][u]Pick it up on sale or in a bundle[/u][/b]

Defragmented is a difficult game with the similar mechanic to Hotline Miami - work your way through a level murdering everyone, mindful that if they see you they'll probably kill you. And when you die, you get rapid restarts so you get straight back to the murdering. You need to be stealthy, you need to work out their movement patterns, and when things go south you need to be deadly accurate. Your first weapon will not be accurate, so you'll die over and over. But every level is full of random loot placed in lockers, bins and on the bodies of the people you murder. Eventually you'll find a weapon (or two) whose stats you are happy with - maybe a sniper, maybe a full-on assault rifle. You'll start to feel more confident. Most importantly, you keep everything when you die. You even keep your XP, so the more you play, the more of a beating your character can take. Post-tutorial gameplay from chapter one [pre-release build]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrY9eV1ylr8 Crucially, it never becomes easy. You'll always need quick reactions, you'll still need to figure out the cleverly constructed levels, and if you murder somebody in earshot of other enemies, you'll still be chased by a mob and almost certainly get wiped out. So you can't grind your way to success, although it does help. Some neat additional skills give you extra tactical possibilities. Possibly the most useful is a decoy that marches forwards and draws enemy fire for a few shots, useful if there's a heavily armed guard facing the direction you want to go and who you can't get behind. The game camera takes a bit of getting used to. The top-down view goes a long way but for precision shooting (and working out fields of vision) you'll need to use the temporary 3D views. In a tight spot, predicting which way the camera will point when you press the camera button isn't easy. And using these views while actively moving around isn't usually a good idea. A few times I fell off the level into a chasm because the camera did a sudden 180. The story happens between levels and adds context to the game, is well-written and skippable. It does feel a bit separate from the action, though; it feels like you could rewrite the story completely and the game itself would be identical. Complaints? I didn't like the menu system. In going for an 80s cyberpunk terminal feel (to fit in with the rest of the game) it ends up being confusing and hard to read, particularly at first. The grinding aspect can be off-putting when you start to worry you can't complete a level until you've raided the same locker 50 times. And yeah, I shouted a lot at the aforementioned camera. That's it. Defragmented is unforgiving at first, but rewards you for persistence (and repetition). If you can get past that, dig the neon cyberpunk aesthetic and enjoy rummaging through bins for loot, you'll get a lot out of this game. It's satisfyingly frustrating all round. * [url=https://youtube.com/user/randomiseuser]More gaming videos by Randomise User[/url]

I'm not really sure if I would recommend the game - probably just not to everyone. And as I played it through (and, of course, had some nice moments) I give it a thumbs up. The thing with Defragmented is that it reminds you how great Miami Hotline was and why that is. I guess the main thing is focus - Miami focuses on the shooting, and Defragmented adds these RPG elements that don't always make sense. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose - but with a dexterity-based game like this it should be your own fault to lose, not because the dice roll said so. Anyway, overall the game worked nicely enough, even with the somewhat strange controls and camera. And I often liked the atmosphere. The music's superb too.

Очень достойный топ-даун шутер. Немного лутер-шутера. Немного РПГ-элементов (3 класса со своими особыми навыками + их прокачка). Приятная стрельба. Хороший саундтрек. Неплохой сюжет. 10 блинк-убийств из 10

Clunky gameplay, ugly graphics, bad writing. Good music that doesn't fit in the game and its world, however. If you want a good scifi twin stick shooter, take a look at Leap of Fate and Neon Chrome.

Fun but tough, the soundtrack is nice and the quality of the artwork during cinematics is quite high.

If I had just bought this game for the music, then I would have thought it was a terrific deal. This is the best album of futuristic electronic that I have ever heard. The soundtrack comes with the game, in a folder, so you can listen to it out of the game. I cannot get enough of it. That said, there is also a game, too, which is pretty cool. This twin-stick shooter works great with ubuntu linux and supports game controllers. I found it somewhat difficult, but then I realized that the difficulty settings are meant to be adjusted, for experience point rewards, so there is a lot of reasons to redo missions. The in-game story is pretty good, although the actual cut scene animations -- well, the illustrations really do not match the game theme really but they are okay - not really necessary actually - I just skipped them. All in all, I can see why there might be people who don't recommend the game play, but this is a game that you will need to have some patience. The tutorial does not explain everything, and there are a lot about upgrades that you need to figure out yourself. In the end, you might get turned off of this game, but I think it is totally worth trying for the price. I would recommend it to someone who liked twin-stick games with rpg-type skill upgrades and a cyberpunk theme... Or just someone who wanted a great electronic soundtrack.

I like this game. It has many tropes common to arpg's: loot, leveling up, abilities etc..., but its combat is refreshingly different than most arpg's. I have not gotten too far into the story yet, but wanted to give it a positive review because the combat is so different. Missions are brief, usually kill everyone or retrieve data. There are usually between 3-6 enemies per mission (so far). Just like in real life, no one in this game survives more than one or two shots. Instead of facing down hordes of foes spamming heal potions, the goal of every enemy encounter is to ambush the enemy, picking the approach that gives the best odds of surviving quick, brutal gunfights where even just one bullet can put you down. In fact, it is best to never take any opponent head on. Flanking, waiting for patrolling guards to turn around, and the element of surprise are essential for success. It can be frustrating at first, but there seems to be no penalty for dying. Once I got used to the pace of the gunfights, I learned to approach each enemy tactically, using the environment to maximize my odds, and the game became quite fun.