Hovercrafts x Nihilism

I’m an architect, and I’ve had the privilege of following the development of this little gem of a game relatively closely. Thanks to the pure luck of the YouTube algorithm, I came across a video by the developer titled 'The Hidden Genius of Shadow of the Colossus's Map,' which analyzes the game’s navigation and exploration mechanics. After falling down that rabbit hole, I joined the project's Discord server. There, the author, occasional contributors, and I discussed mechanics, tested dev builds, talked about artistic and design references, and shared cultural insights. I was happy to find a space where we could exchange knowledge across the arts in general (including everything: design, architecture, art, literature, film, photography, and storytelling). As for the game itself, I’ll keep it brief: - Elegant design solutions (speed gauges, ship vector pointers, etc.); - Good graphic design (simple and efficient UI, great text aesthetics, though unfortunately a bit too 'epileptic' at times); - Solid and tasteful artistic inspirations (Baroque, Ergo Proxy, Alberto Giacometti, Aldo Rossi, among others); - Attention to detail (ship interior, the map, structures and objects scattered everywhere, the little flame from the thrusters); - Simple and satisfying mechanics (the ship handles well, good shooting mechanics, smooth zoom, and tasteful low-poly/pixel art); - A very cool opening scene, reminiscent of Baroque. These are just my initial impressions (I haven’t finished the game yet), and there will certainly be more to say. Thank you, Adam, for your dedication to such a well-crafted project

Absolutely loved it, Shadow of the Colossus but the horse is a ship and also the colossus are angels from Evangelion, really cool. The ambience is really well done, the blurriness might make it hard to see the structures but it does add to the mystery of the world and specially of the bosses. Also, pretty good soundtrack. In general the difficulty is nice, there's a balance within you dying on 1 hit and the very telegraphed bullets, that along side the ship's frictionless movement with the dash makes the gameplay interesting and fun. There are some spikes though, nothing too heavy but some will need a lot more attempts than the rest. The story and the theme are, well, basically in the title. A deep exploration on meaning and purpose of oneself, with the other part reminding me of Umurangi Generation, exploring revolution and oppression. Incredible game, short and it leaves a big impact, easy to tell there was a lot of effort with the world and the designs to live up to its inspirations. Totally recomended for anyone. Esp: Me encantó, Shadow of the Colossus pero el caballo es una nave y los colosos son ángeles de Evangelion, tremendo. La ambientación está muy bien lograda, lo borroso puede dificultar la visión de las estructuras, pero contribuye al misterio del mundo y especialmente de los bosses. Además, el soundtrack pega de diez. En general, la dificultad es buena, hay un equilibrio entre que morís de un solo golpe y que las balas sean predecibles, lo que, junto con el movimiento sin fricción de la nave con el dash, hace que los combates sean interesantes y divertidos. Igual hay algunos picos, nada muy fuerte, pero algunos jefes necesitan muchos más intentos que el resto. La historia y la temática están, bueno, básicamente en el título. Una profunda exploración del sentido y el propósito de uno, con la otra parte que me recuerda a Umurangi Generation, explorando la revolución y la opresión. Increíble, corto y deja un gran impacto, es fácil ver que se ha puesto mucho esfuerzo en el mundo y los diseños para estar a la altura de sus inspiraciones. Totalmente recomendado.

I will start by saying that I do like this game in theory, it runs really well and its art direction is solid. However, its controls are horrible. The ship only has digital control inputs for some reason despite being mapped to analogue sticks, the left stick controls both steering and throttle despite throttle also being mapped to the right trigger, and if you unmap throttle from the stick it it breaks certain sections of the game entirely. The worst offender has to be the camera as it makes aiming almost impossible. This game needs a proper orbit camera, not an orbiting chase camera. I can’t aim and steer simultaneously if steering is throwing off my aim and aiming is making me loose my sense of direction. I want to enjoy this game, I really really do, but I can’t help but loose my temper as almost every single death I’ve had has been caused not by the enemy getting a good hit on me, but by loosing control of the ship and being killed by a cheap shot.

I personally really enjoyed the regirock noises

Love the open world aspect with inspiration from shadow of the colossus, intense bullet hell bosses, mechanical movement to master, all around great game, especially considering the price. A hidden gem if you will that came across the discovery page. Love the vast open world and little direction the game gives you while exploring the map. Very few criticisms to give on the game: the boosting mechanic of timing extra boosts is fun and challenging that make movement in boss fights enjoyable while forcing the player to make conscious decisions of focusing solely on shooting versus movement: A very fun and engaging take on that dynamic from this game. I will say the boosting mechanic did take away from the open world navigation as instead of focusing on the terrain and taking in the varying landscapes of the game, I was looking down at the boost bar to move around faster through the world rather than looking around at the sights. Also not sure if intentional but it seems that hitting multiple boosts in a row increase your speed and you still keep your speed once you fail to hit the next boost, but once you re-boost and start the boost cycle over again, your speed gets reset back to near base speed which was frustrating at times near the end of the game when you're traveling long distances All in all, a hidden gem of a steam indie game, especially considering the price. Would love to see a timed boss rush mode to increase replayability and possibly extra bosses in the future. Well done

Fabulous game. I like the inspiration a lot and I feel a lot of the developers personality in the gameplay and direction. I think the bosses are very creative and the world is nice and big helping to make the player feel extra small. Can't wait to see what else soomr makes in the future <3

pick this up ASAP

Great short little game. Pros: Great for fans of Shadow of the Colossus, map and bosses are very inspired by SotC. Even if the mechanics don't line up exactly, they still carry the same weight and feeling. Controls are weird but the bosses are perfectly designed to accomodate that fact. Achievements are silly and self-aware about the bosses. Good writing concept for the first few bosses. Absolutely worth it for the price. Cons: Inconsistent boss difficulty, [spoiler]the leadup to the final boss is astronomically harder than the final boss itself which just mostly reuses attacks and concepts you've already seen earlier in the game. The hardest boss in the game was Saturn, but it was right in the middle of the progression.[/spoiler] The gameplay OST consists of 2 total tracks that don't change based on gameplay but rather just seem to toggle occasionally. Writing works well as a concept up until [spoiler]your friend dies, at which point it just becomes generic introspection any depressed person ever has already had. Probably could have been avoided if you started messaging other people in similar situations, as the fact what appears to be your internal monologue is framed as a conversation with something unseen, leading to the isolation of your friend dying not hitting as hard as it probably should. If the goal was to portray that you don't have anyone to talk to anymore about your situation, the way it was portrayed missed the mark.[/spoiler]

Quite fun little game. Got tired of the soundtrack 1 hour in and there are some annoying things with the controls and camera, but nothing that won't stop you from finishing it.

Loved the game. Gameplay was hard to control but when you manage the control its very fun to play. Atmosphere and music is very shadow of the colossus like. Edgy story but the game's aesthetic is worth to read and play.