Relentless Frontier

To get straight to the point and then ramble I had an absolute blast playing this game. ever since the late 2022 demo update I was eagerly looking forward to the game launch and episode one did not disappoint at all. I loved the size and scale of levels and how much their was to explore and immerse your self into while blasting away all the bugs that stood in my way. Along with that you could go back and forth between some of the levels sometimes for resources, other times perhaps something you missed or couldn't get to before. the surprise Giani voicing was a good final touch too. I really enjoy the movement system and taking advantage of crouch slide jumping and what not in area's that allow it. this also gets into my favorite kind of secrets with parkour movement based secrets (also found in turbo overkill) where rather than looking for hidden doors, you are wondering can I double jump and dash around that corner (or far away platform or opening in cliff wall) and find a surprise or in some cases a secret bonus zone. along with looking for ways to exploit and gradually climb up platforms and ledges to find rewards too. the music tracks where also continually entertaining and aligned really well with the general mood and atmosphere of the levels. but yeah I never thought I'd have so much fun shooting and smashing little bugs and now I almost wonder if there is a couch pillow shaped like them but I'm sure that's normal thoughts and nothing weird at all...anyway. lastly, of course when it comes to bosses they can be hit or miss in gzdoom engine games but this one really nails it quite nicely with having a good set of unique features, abilities, and of course good scripting to really make them stand out and feel like a proper intimidating boss vs just having a high hp enemy.

DISCLAIMER: I was hired to work on this game after it released into early access, here are my thoughts before I worked on it. I am very passionate about this game, it brings punchy, powerful weapons paired with fluid, precise and exciting movement and melee combat in a dystopian sci-fi setting with a bit of horror flavor. Try it out! You won't regret it.

Overall impressions are positive, so may as well upvote and give it a bit more attention. Shooting feels pretty good, the mobility stuff is simple fun that basically lets the player fling themselves across maps once they get some mandatory upgrades, and most of the levels in the first episode have just enough variety to stay fresh through the run time. Also the sprite work has that hand drawn style mildly reminiscent of Hedon which I like here too. Not going to be critical about the small enemy rooster and weapons yet because those are obviously going to be rolled out with the future episodes. A some nitpicks though: - I wish the regular melee attack with the Omni Axe had more oomph to it. The ground slam and dash attack both get the job done comparatively. - A bit of level secrets bloat like Ion Fury, albeit this game justifies itself some more by virtue of the maps having the actual scale for some dash platforming to tuck supplies away though this leads to another issue. - Way too stocked up on supplies later on and a lot of pick ups for the arenas. Feels like a bit of a waste to the unique "OF" system where you can spend points for immediate health, armor, or ammo, but hey, it's the first episode, maybe the difficulty gets cranked up later (was playing on Hard). Otherwise I enjoyed my time, I await to see what future levels bring.

A wonderful classic FPS which is adept at combining many simple concepts into an experience that is much more than the sum of its parts. Relentless Frontier does a lot of keystone elements of classic shooters very, very well, while also not overusing them in favor of the more modern mechanics. Any game where the starter weapon doesn't immediately become a non-factor whenever you pick up something else gets a lot of points from me, but not only that, the starter weapon becomes absolutely ESSENTIAL to the combat, especially in Relentless difficulty (which has one of the best approaches to a high difficulty in this type of game), and not ONLY that, it's a MELEE weapon, which scarcely get a good track record when circle-strafing is a primary method of survival in these games. The Omnifuel system is RF's main gimmick, and after a brief period of adjustment to the controls, it's one of the best resource management systems in any FPS game I've ever played. Once you're familiar with enemy behavior and health values, baiting them into attacks that leave them vulnerable or getting big enemies low to finish them off with a lunge or slam is not only incredibly fun, but also rewards you commensurately, even on higher difficulties where the Omnifuel gains are lower. The level design is semi-linear, with mostly obvious paths through, but a lot of secondary passageways and secrets that interlink with the main sections of the maps. The Metroidvania elements come into play once you start exploring and backtracking when you acquire new abilities and weapon mods, which is a great time on repeat playthroughs if you're into secret hunting, which RF already [i] excels [/i] at - secrets within secrets, subtle hints via environmental storytelling, a tantalizing upgrade peeking at you through a window near an easy-to-find ammo boost or armor pack. IMO, this is maybe the best retro FPS in terms of how it rewards you for exploring, having a keen eye, and a good handle on the movement to platform well. Solid soundtrack, chunky sound effects, and charming visuals with extremely unique enemy designs (I'm a massive fan of the way the Titans "unfold" when they attack). There's one section that even rivals DUSK in terms of creating a horror atmosphere, which is no small feat in a game with much less overtly scary visual themes. I am looking [i] fervently [/i] forward to this game's development and completion. Relentless Frontier has [i] the sauce [/i]. My only real complaints are that the first proper boss should maybe have some other kind of way to damage it during its shielded period, and maybe a smidge less health on Relentless. The secret shotgun upgrade also absolutely [i] shreds [/i] Titans, which I'm not sure is intentional.

Amazing and chaotic. Worth every penny

몬스터가 엄청 많이 나오고요 맵도 드럽게 넓고 플레이어 이동속도도 빨라서 좋은의미로 정신이 없습니다 계속 새로운 연출 몬스터 무기가 나와서 지루할틈이 없습니다 ㅋㅋ

I liked the game. Congratulations! 7.9 hours of gameplay, and I can say it's quite enjoyable and immersive. I just thought the campaign was a bit short, but since it's in Early Access, that's understandable. Looking forward to the next chapter!

Not fun on any level. Refunded.

amazing game tbh

Really, REALLY solid shooter with some interesting mechanics.