I, AI

"I, AI" is a much simpler and shorter version of Stellatum. Since they have many common strong/weak points, my review will also be very similar to the one I wrote for Stellatum. I love shmup games and completed several hard games. I understand my fellow gamers' frustration and agree with the Mixed user rating for "I, AI". Although I am biased towards a positive review for indie games, this game has serious issues that indicate it wasn't tested & balanced properly by the developers. This game could have much higher ratings if the difficulty and progression were properly balanced, which seems to be a common issue with these devs' games (such as their "Stellatum"). Even after the "rebalance", the grind was a bit too much and playing this did not feel fun/rewarding but I forced myself to finish the game since I am a bit of a stubborn completionist. I would only recommend getting this game (especially while on sale) if you love space shmups with great visuals and don't mind grinding hard to get only marginally better upgrades. Unfortunately, Steam won't showcase your completion of this game's achievements on your profile, which is not fair for indie developers. [h3] Pros:[/h3] [list] [*] The general aesthetic of the spaceships, asteroids and backgrounds is very pleasing. [*] The customizability of the ship is a big plus. I would have loved to see options for adjusting the firing angles / spread, speed & acceleration/deceleration as well as addition of a more efficient magnet part (or an option) for making collection less of a painful ordeal. [*] Some of the boss designs & attacks were quite memorable (like the spidery boss). I wish there were more boss fights like that. [*] I like the slow soundtrack on the menus and the higher octane music during the action. [*] Supports 4K resolution and generally runs very smooth and stable. [*] Supports both keyboard + mouse & gamepad setups and allows you to customize key bindings. I haven't encountered any input lags or bugs with my keyboard + mouse setup. [*] The price is reasonable. [/list] [h3]Cons:[/h3] [list] [*] The campaign is too short (only 20 missions compared to 50 in Stellatum). [*] There is just one ship you can play with. No alternative ships with different capabilities, and not even reskins. [*] Even after the "rebalance" the upgrade prices are too high. This means you'll be stuck with ridiculously underpowered weaponry and armor if you don't repeat the previous levels over and over, which will slow down your progress quite a bit. [*] Even on "Easy" mode, the enemy HP and fire rate is too high and they are numerous. They even shoot you while they are out of the screen. On the other hand, the player's guns are basically pea shooters. The damage & firing rate of your main guns are too low. Combined with the forced forward movement and kill 'em all requirement to get 3 stars for a mission, completing a mission is more of a chore than fun. [*] When the ship is destroyed it is respawned at the same location without any shield or temporary invulnerability so you are basically screwed if you died under heavy fire because you will probably die there again. [*] It is almost impossible to differentiate the asteroids in the foreground from the ones in the background. Also the colors of the enemies usually matches the colors of their base, making it harder to spot them. This kind of camouflage makes sense strategically (for the enemy) but it is an inconvenience at best for a shmup player. Also limited color palette makes the game look a bit bland / monotone. [*] Story is meh and that's not a major issue for me in a shmup game but your preferences may differ. [/list] I would gladly change my review to a positive one if the issues I mentioned are resolved.

В общем то, игра хорошая. Только короткая слишком и , по честному, однообразная. Если бы не боссы (которые не в каждом уровне есть), играть было бы совсем скучно. А прокачка идет по стопам другого популярного шмапа, но я забыл, как он называется))) Sky Force. во!

[h1] Вполне спокойная леталка-стрелялка по типу Sky Force, но без мозговыноса при прохождении уровней [/h1] Вполне лёгкая леталка, где можно спокойно проходить уровни и спокойно прокачивать свой корабль. Игра хоть и не так красива, как Sky force, но всё же не страшная. Есть приятные эффекты и на максимальных настройках ощутимо нагружает железо. Мелодии и антураж приятные - космические. На лёгком компания проходится за пару часов. Остальное время занимает рутина по выбиванию кредитов на прокачку до полного. Есть достижения, облако и русский перевод. Игра с контроллера вполне отзывчивая - бесящих моментов особо не было. Так что порекомендовать можно, если потом не надоест тупо играть одни и те же уровни ради поднятия бабла на прокачку.

Absolutely gorgeus game! One of my childhood favourite shmup was Demonstar, and I, Ai is very similar to that game in style. Its more slow paced, very clean design, the maps and backgrounds are visually stunning, very detailed environment, i just love the everchanging stardust and fog in the background. The upgrade system is very well done, every single purchase has a great impact. Yeah, it can be a little bit grindy IF you want to finish the game on a higher difficulty, but you can earn credits easier if you change the difficulty (any time in menu), and collect money for upgrades - then go back to higher diff. The ships are awesome looking, the bosses are huge, but it don't take to long to fight them, but they can be lethal. I, Ai is definitely one of the best looking top down arcade game around, the gameplay is smooth, i really can't understand the negative reviews. Maybe it lacks any revolutionary ideas, but hey, its just strong in every aspect. Maybe the slow pace is the problem for others, i actually like it, every bullet counts, its not bullet hell, you have to watch every rocket, and bullet coming for you, and dance with them. Sound design OK, music is OK, the sound of the main weapon is very lame... what is that? :D EDIT: The dev actually listens to feedback, and changed the main weapon's sound effects. Thank you! Anyway, grab it in a deal, it totally worth it.

Works for me (though I admit I waited for a sale), wanting something to fill a few minutes at a time for my work-from-home "coffee-breaks." The fixed pace of each level ensures I won't feel compelled to play longer than I intended. The reviewers who pointed out that this game can be a bit "grindy" aren't wrong, but that's okay for me, as I'm not playing it for long enough at a time to get bored. A former music major, I recognize the value of practice and getting closer to the next weapon upgrade is a nice reward for putting in the time repeating previous levels. The alleged story is pretty silly, but I don't imagine the devs spent enough time on it for it to have taken anything away from the rest of the game which feels pretty well polished.

Well, this one is punishing. Feels solid and old school. Upgrades are incremental enough to feel like real progress. Graphics are superior to most in the genre. The asteroids don't hurt you but they are movable, destructable, and obstruct shots, which adds an interesting dynamic. Negatives are (1) lots of grind, maybe too much, (2) the sound effect of the main gun... All in all, this game is far superior to many older shoot em ups, and should be much higher rated with increased exposure.

[h1] ⚖️ MATCHING EXPECTATION:[/h1] * 🟢 = Available = Fun +1 * 🔴 = Not Available = Fun -1 * Match Nothing = 0 Fun 🟢 Fun Shooting Variety Stuff 🟢 Linear Difficulty 🟢 Diverse Powers Hotkeys 🟢 More Grindy More Powerful 🟢 Mouse Control Movement 🔴 Slow Motion Ability 🔴 Weapon Direction Management 🔴 Loadout / Visual Management 🔴 Beat Hi-Score for replay value 🔴 Online / Local Coop [table] [tr] [th]fMeter[/th] [th]FUN[/th] [th]fUN METER[/th] [th]DISCOUNT[/th] [th]COMMUNITY[/th] [th]REVIEWER[/th] [/tr] [tr] [th]A+[/th] [td]5[/td] [td]Loving it [/td] [td]No Wait[/td] [td] -[/td] [td] -[/td] [/tr] [tr] [th]A[/th] [td]4[/td] [td]Liked it[/td] [td]No Wait[/td] [td] -[/td] [td] ✔[/td] [/tr] [tr] [th]B[/th] [td]2-3[/td] [td]Half satisfied[/td] [td]Wait 50%[/td] [td] ✔[/td] [td] -[/td] [/tr] [tr] [th]C[/th] [td] 1[/td] [td]Less interested[/td] [td]Wait 75%[/td] [td] -[/td] [td] -[/td] [/tr] [tr] [th]D[/th] [td] 0[/td] [td]Not what you need[/td] [td]Wait 100%[/td] [td] -[/td] [td] -[/td] [/tr] [/table] 🏅 Community Rating: [b] Mixed [/b] ⚖️ [b]fMeter {A-}[/b] Worth a play, if you enjoy Fun & Grindy Gunplay. However, if you're looking for Customize Spread Attacks, don't play it 🔎 Check the full list for your preferred gameplay 👇 [u][i]https://steamcommunity.com/groups/expectationchecklist/discussions/1/567039101767952420/[/i][/u] [h1] 🕘 IMPRESSION:[/h1] * Year 2020: Game released * 2 hours later: Feel good :D * 5 hours later: Fun stages * 7 hours later: Some mission feeling impossible to 100% it :( [h1] 🔊 TESTER MUST KNOW:[/h1] * Player can repeatedly grind to overpower difficult mission * Require kill all enemies to earn 100% on each mission * Require click the right abilities at the right time instantly * Ablities = Shield, Energy Bombs, Lighting Spread, Ray, Floating Mines & etc * Some Ablities allow to spread attacks [h1] 💎 SAME GENRE COMPARISON:[/h1] * Optional Auto Fire * Optional Mouse Movement * Diverse Ablities * No other ship * No customization [h1] ⚠️ RUMOR CHECKING:[/h1] * It's a decent shooter ➜ Agree * Similar to Sky Force Reloaded ➜ Agree * After the "rebalance" patch, the upgrade prices are too high ➜ Agree & cannot be reset * The campaign is too short ➜ Happen if you not enough with 20 mission (8+ hours) [quote] [b]Remember to 👍 for me if you liked this review:[/b] 🔔 More similar reviews ➜ [u][url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31940448-Expectation-Checklist/]Browse Here[/url][/u] and follow this Curator, or 🤝 Visit Our Gaming Discussion ➜ [u] [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/expectationchecklist]We're Here[/url][/u] 📢 Disclaimer regarding Short Hours & English Errors ➜ [u][url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/expectationchecklist/discussions/0/4594180031254224809/]Read Here[/url][/u] [/quote]

Una sola parola .FIGO.

Beautiful graphics and nice overall gameplay. The difficulty isn't extremely heavy on the earlier levels (I managed to clear level 8 with just a max of 10 armor points and only gun upgrades). The game demands replaying of earlier levels to amass enough upgrade materials for the enhancement of the various ship parts and I understand that this can be tedious for less patient players, but for me it is okay as a game mechanism. A nice enough time eater I reckon, but my one observation is that the upgrade cost later on should be somewhat lower...

Excellent Shoot 'Em Up, injustement méconnu! Les niveaux sont magnifiques, les ennemis sont variés, la progression de la difficulté est bonne et offre une excellente rejouabilité pour faire évoluer la puissance. Excellent Shoot 'EM Up, unjustly overlooked! The levels are magnificent, the enemies are varied, the progression of the difficulty is good and offers excellent replayability to develop power.