[h1]Shoot, Dodge, Get Bored, Repeat[/h1]
Most battles are won with information, and in [i]Redex[/i], you are given none. This isn’t part of the game’s mechanics, rather a showing of carelessness by the developers. Upon entering this 2D shooter, you will be greeted by waves of enemies, with no idea on how to fight back.
[h3]The Good[/h3]
[list]
[*]Gives good incentives for replay.
[*]Enemy spawn waves are balanced.
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[h3]The Bad[/h3]
[list]
[*]Unpolished, as many spelling errors appear within the game.
[*]No tutorial or information on controls.
[*]Most weapons were either unsatisfying or underwhelming.
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[h3]The Ugly[/h3]
[list]
[*]Doesn’t allow screenshots from Steam overlay.
[*]Would often click out of the game leaving me exposed to enemy fire.
-This may be due to having multiple monitors.
[/list]
[b]Specs:[/b] OS: Windows 10 // CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K @ 4.20GHz // GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 // RAM: 16.0 GB // Dual Monitor Setup
[h2]Gameplay Breakdown[/h2]
🎮 [b]Controls[/b]
After I successfully mashed all the keys on my keyboard, I was finally ready to play. This game revolves around you progressing through waves, as you kill enemies, all while maneuvering around the many bullets flying at you. The game successfully tells you how to avoid attacks, but says nothing on how to fight back. It was only after a couple runs of purely using the starting pistol, till I realized that I had other weapons in my arsenal. Such a useful piece of the game was never mentioned or ever explained. For most games to be enjoyable, it would help to know how you're supposed to play them.
[quote]A helpful Control guide made by User Noodles[/quote]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2381724289
🔫 [b]Weapons[/b]
Once you obtain the knowledge on how to swap your guns, you'll be able to shoot something that's not just the starting pistol. After a few runs, you'll be able to unlock new guns in the main menu. There is a decent amount to mess around with, but ultimately they’ll fill you with disappointment. Whether it's a gun such as the AK47, whose recoil made it too inaccurate for any real use, or the SVD, which despite being a sniper rifle its damage never felt consistent. Each gun had its own problem, but the movement system also added extra hindrance to their use. Arial movement is a large part of this game, as you're jumping and dashing around to avoid incoming damage. Shooting while in the air, would often lead to bullets straying off target and missing. I would often resort to using the starting pistol, as its accuracy and infinite ammo made it the most ideal choice. Some of the later guns improved on what the AK47 and SVD lacked, but by the time you acquire them, displeasure with the weapon system would have already settled in.
💻 [b]Terminal Items[/b]
A vending machine that instead of dispensing sodas, gifts turrets and armour. After killing an enemy, they will drop some silver coins, which can be spent at the terminal. Items offered from the machine arrive in airdrop crates, which can be picked up and relocated to your liking. This is useful when you start to create a bastion of turrets. Each location will add some items to the terminal, making them feel a bit more unique, but also helps balance the game against the difficulty increase. For each item bought, the price will increase for the next purchase, as a way to help the difficulty curve. This curve of increasing prices will affect you in the late game, as you'll have to continuously buy ammo instead of more turrets or body armour. This led me to ultimately relying on the starter pistol, as ammo isn't an issue. Without the worry of buying ammo, I was able to buy more turrets, which are more powerful than any gun in our arsenal.
💀 [b]Enemies[/b]
Each enemy is armed with a firearm that's pointed at either you, or one of your items from the terminal. Each map will vary in difficulty, and this is reflected in the enemy waves as well. One map will see you starting out against enemies with only pistols and revolvers, but another map will see you fighting against shotguns from the start. With each passing wave, the enemies will be upping the ante, with bigger guns and increasing numbers. The progression in enemy numbers and their firepower felt smooth, as they never felt too weak or overpowered, but the game will get repetitive quickly with only the boss rounds to break the tension.
🌎 [b]Locations[/b]
As of writing this review, there are three unique locations; more are supposedly coming soon per the selection screen. Each area has its own unique design, with how often the elevation changes being the most impactful. These elevation changes affect the game by disrupting lines of sight for the enemy and yourself. With this, you’ll have to decide the best placement for yourself, and your terminal items. Each location also has their own unique boss, with them appearing every ten waves. The bosses themselves can be quite a struggle, and if not prepared, will easily kill you. Bosses will also drop in enemies during your fight, forcing you to juggle both.
[h2]Sound[/h2]
Gunfire felt bland and uninteresting as they lacked individuality. No matter what gun you use it will have the same reload cue, and despite there being a decent amount of guns to choose from, guns of the same category sounded exactly the same. Sniper rifles did have a satisfying heft to their gunfire but everything else fell short. Other audio effects didn't leave any notable impression, as it was all basic sound effects for the most part, with some things just not having an audio cue. The background music is the same two songs on loop, which does get annoying, as your entire goal is surviving for as long as you can.
[h2]Visuals[/h2]
The minimalist pixel style earns a passing grade. The locations looked mediocre, with nothing being better quality than that of entry level design. All guns and items did have their own unique asset, which differs from their audio counterpart.
[h1]In the End...[/h1]
How many waves of enemies can you kill till you get bored? For me, it was about two hours worth. [i]Redex[/i] offers a lot, while at the same time offers so little. What it does offer pales into comparison to what's missing. After obtaining most weapons, I felt like I experienced everything it had to offer, as there is no story or any goals to achieve. I can’t recommend buying, as there just aren't many redeeming qualities. The cheap price point may be tempting, but Steam houses many other great games for a cheap price point. If you’re still craving a tower defense game, I’d recommend [i]Bloons TD 6[/i], which during sales can be even cheaper than [i]Redex[/i], and receives updates regularly keeping the game fun and fresh.
