Shift'n Slay

[h3]RANKING:[/h3] [table] [tr] [td] [h3][strike]AVOID | FLAWED[/strike] | [b]MAYBE[/b] | [strike]WORTHWHILE | COMPELLING | UNMISSABLE [/strike] [/h3] [/td] [/tr] [/table] [h3]SYNOPSIS:[/h3] [table] [tr] [th][b]ASSESSMENT:[/b][/th] [/tr] [tr] [td] Shift’n Slay is a TBT version of Ruiner with a Groundhog day format, in a 2000AD Dredd inspired setting. It is a very short-lived tactical turn-based roguelike with a restrictive approach to gameplay that is interesting, challenging and frustrating. With the game being so short, character development is weak. Gameplay has a puzzle-solving nature that won't appeal to gamers who enjoy complete freedom to act. Kill chains are required to reset the use of actions and keep the round going. The format, lack of distinct level presets and the overuse of assets gives the game a very repetitive feel. While the mechanics can be as frustrating as they are challenging. It is fairly polished, but a few bugs persist and could do with some refinement with QoL. This is a borderline recommendation, as it will only [b]MAYBE[/b] interest gamers with a certain mindset. [/td] [/tr] [/table] [table] [tr] [td][b]STATUS:[/b][/td] [td]Fully released, but being worked on [for now] [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b]APPEAL:[/b][/td] [td]For fans who welcome it's restrictive design and steroid-infused challenge [/td] [/tr] [tr] [td][b]VALUE:[/b][/td] [td]Cheap, but not worth the full price due to its length and reuse of assets. Would prefer more content [/td] [/tr] [/table] [quote=]Key supplied by developer through curator [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/tbtactics/][b]TURN-BASED TACTICS[/b] [/url] | Click for updates of similar reviews[/quote] [i]More info below....[/i] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3438238706 [h3]CONTENT:[/h3] 🔴 For such a cool concept, its a shame there is only the solitary GAME MODE and a single difficulty. There is little reason why there shouldn't be additional 'acts' or more runs. Effectively played in ironman mode, as autosaves occur to one file. 🔴 Using the same MAP for 'every' LEVEL in an act may be understandable. By the 10th revive every run feels more or less like the one before. Despite multiple presets for furniture and enemy spawns. Needs more variety across the board. [h3]ATMOSPHERE:[/h3] 🟢 AUDIOVISUALS are above average. VISUALS are similar to XCOM and the graphic novel ARTSTYLE apt and remindful of 2000AD material. ANIMATIONS are okay. The solitary SOUNDTRACK captures the mood well while contributing to a build-up in tension. EFFECTS are a good fit. VOICEACTING is good, but the protagonist is something else, with their 90s no-nonsense action movie tone. [h3]EXPERIENCE:[/h3] 🟡 The GAME LOOP is simple. Enter a level. Assess the situation. Take out enemies with limited actions and inventory. Reset these and extend the round with each kill. Use furniture and equipment to deny the enemy the chance to attack. Rinse and repeat. The final fight awaiting at the top of the tower is for better players than I. 🟡 Unforgiving GAMEPLAY demands clever and creative use of the limited resources. It all feels puzzle-like to the detriment of actually employing tactics. Results in an unshakeable feeling of repetitiveness that can become frustrating, despite being thought-provoking. Even if some upgrades tweak how these actions can be used. 🟡 TBT COMBAT is very limited. Purposefully designed to force the player into cycles of the same attack combos. Weak damage purposely requires cumulative damage, the use of furniture and clever positioning to takedown foes. RNG plays no part in attacks. Indestructible furniture can be used as cover. Another aspect of the game's design to support the game's concept. Kill chains feel very rewarding. 🔴 UI needs to be better. It fails to show enemy indicators when there is no direct line-of-sight. Unit sequence is available only when the portrait is hovered over. Inventory icons should be reversed with the sidearm and ammo icons. It would be better to show all enemy move and attack capabilities together, rather than the current action. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3438577223 [h3]MECHANICS:[/h3] 🟢 LIMITED ACTIONS & INVENTORY give the concept its validity, yet these restrictions can be infuriating. There's no equipment to pick up. Would like to see a sub-set of actions and equipment made available from a larger pool to extend replayability. 🟢 The idea of EXTENDING THE TURN by killing enemies and reset available actions works well and is surprisingly satisfying. Despite not always being able to kill enemies efficiently. 🔴 CHARACTER BUILDING feels inconsequential. Some upgrades can make a difference, but are too few. Since runs are too short, its impossible to correct a wrong choice. RNG affects which are offered. Stronger skills come with progression. 🔴 A lack of SMART PATHING means the character can move over their own deployed mine if their movement isn't micromanaged. 🟡 The x3 RESTARTS only undo a complete level, not the last action taken. Against the possible avalanche of mistakes they just don't do enough. A complete undo system would have been less punishing. though not in keeping with the game's ethos. [h3]CHALLENGE:[/h3] 🟡 ENEMIES only become varied with progression. Humanoids are reskins but have varied abilities. Some use melee weapons. Others firearms. Some buff their health. Others have armour. Robots that self-destruct on death are a nice conundrum to take out safely. There is room for more. 🟡 The AI shows potential and is good at ganging up on the player. It mostly seems to avoid being next to vital furniture for the character to use. One time a cyber samurai suicided itself by shooting an adjacent explosive barrel. 🟡 BOSS FIGHTS occur at the end of each act. With health comparable to the character and special abilities like full health regen, these guys are really tough too take out. If impossible to do so without having to game the tactical system. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3438575955 [h3]COMPLEXITY:[/h3] 🟡 DIFFICULTY - Only one setting. Initially has a steep difficulty curve. Designed to be challenging and punishing. 🔴 BALANCE - Overwhelming numbers, restrictive abilities and inventory tilts balance towards the AI. Favours the AI more as equipment starts to dwindle. Compensated only by upgrades. 🟡 PACE - Slow at the start while trying to decipher what mechanics there are and how they work. After that its quite fast-paced due to small maps and a limited number of enemies to take on. 🟡 SCALING - Enemy health cranks up beyond what cumulative damage can be delivered in one round to kill them with limited actions. [h3]STAYING POWER:[/h3] 🟢 REPLAY VALUE - Made to be replayed due to failing runs, but its rudimentary. Spawning presets are okay but are lacking in dynamic factors, so each level more or less plays out as the run before. There is some fun trying different strategies across runs, to find that 'optimal' one. 🔴 LONGEVITY - With only one game mode, a lack of new difficulties or even a New Game+ option, there is little draw to keep playing beyond getting all achievements. [h3]PRODUCTION:[/h3] 🟡 QUALITY - Several bugs reported. A few minor ones experienced. See FULL REVIEW for more details. 🟢 OPTIMISATION - Runs at 60 fps. Gfx card ran slightly loud during cutscenes. 🟢 STABILITY - No crashes. [table][tr] [td]Click for:[/td] [td][h1][url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/TheIrregularGamer/discussions/0/597394577043769769/]Full Review[/url][/h1][/td] [/tr][/table] [table] [tr] [td][b]REVIEWED WITH:[/b][/td] [td]Build v1.00.03 - 5 INTEL i5 6600 3.3GHz, 8GB RAM, GTX970 4GB @ 1920x1080 fullscreen, EVO850 SSD [/td] [/tr] [/table] [quote=]Thank you for reading | Click to follow my curator[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40556040-The-Irregular-Gamer/] THE IRREGULAR GAMER[/url][/quote]

Feels more like a puzzle game than a tactical rpg.

3 Restarts and no save... I don't mind a challenge, However it is only with some games. That being said I did not like the aspect of having a forced hard mode right out the gate when I want to fully understand the mechanics. I grew up on games that had no saves and if you fail or have to turn the console off then back to the start you go.. Every game was iron man style. I don't care much for these days to have that in games unless I am looking for a challenge because I truly enjoy that title. Should be a player choice on difficulty and not a forced option of limited tries. Sometimes I just want to have some fun and enjoy a game with some challenges but not this. Also, the roblox type characters that use mature language just feels like they don't know the target audience, or maybe they do and that's the type of players that like it but not me so I can not recommend.

El juego es hiperadictivo. Es, básicamente un juego táctico por turnos en el que tienes que ir aprendiendo de tus errores para poder mejorar en las siguientes partidas. Dispones de recursos limitados para eliminar a tus enemigos, por lo tanto tienes que ir midiendo muy bien tus pasos. Limite de movimiento, munición, disparos, golpes, trampas. Todo es limitado. Es la primera vez que juego este estilo y creo que gracias a el me voy a adentrar un poco más en este genero, ya que a pesar de lo típico que suele echar para atrás a los jugadores, como la vista isometrica o los gráficos, el juego es muy bonito e interesante. El inconveniente por ahora? Me he quedado en las 2,5h de juego y ya no se me abre el juego. Se me queda la pantalla negra. He desinstalado e instalado, reiniciado el PC, y nada. Además me ha dado pantalla azul varias veces y crasheos también. Pero no se si dejar de recomendarlo por esto, ya que siempre he pensado que este tipo de cosas pueden ser por problemas en el PC de cada uno, lo dudo bastante, el resto de cosas me van perfectamente. Conclusión? Lo poco que he jugado genial, y con ganas de más, pero el juego no me funciona. Prueba y si no reembolsa.

Level layouts seem to vary only by a very minuscule amount each new run. Not nearly enough that I would consider it "varied". e.g. 2 enemies might be in front of a table instead of behind. Overall level layout doesn't seem to change much, if at all. Meaning levels 1, 2, 3, 4 5, ... etc have barely any difference when I come back after each death. So the biggest source of "variation" is really just the perks you get to choose after certain levels as it may affect your choice of actions. Maybe things get more varied in later levels but the start does nothing to really hook me on this game. May be worth a try if you liked X-COM or similar. But even then, X-COM had much more mission variation starting in the early game and it isn't explicitly advertised as a roguelike.

Игра хорошая, но меня победило управление( А в целом Дред во все поля, ультранасилие и прочие расчленухи

Во-первых, не оптимизирована. Графика опоздала лет на 20, как минимум. И зачем вообще вводит настройки графики, если их нет. О каких высоких и ультра настройках идёт речь?! Во-вторых, русская озвучка. В начале игры был удивлён, что она есть, но потом оказалось, что она с матами. Всегда "удивляют гениальностью такие разработчики". Для меня это равносильно прозападной "клюкве" - бололойко, мэдвэд, водка, пьяные русские ругающиеся матом. Из-за этого в обучении сразу переключил на английскую озвучку. В-третьих, главного героя представляют как опытного бойца. На деле катает урны и табуретки по карте?! Зачем надели на него "крутую" броню? Он должен кидать во врагов табуретки, кидать врагов об стены - механик множество. Взять туже mutant year zero. В-четвёртых, это не пошаговый тактический рогалик - это просто пошаговый рогалик для смартфонов. Трейлер и описание вводят в заблуждение. Итог: Тактики здесь нет, даже "запаха".

Для меня полнейшее не попадание в жанр, не стоит обращать на надпись «пошаговый тактический рогалик» в описании игры, это скорее тактическая головоломка в антураже киберпанка. Главная особенность механики то что бой представляет собой тактическую головоломку, где нет шансов пападания укрытий и т.д. а где имеет значение последовательность совершаемых действий и их просчет, типа кидаем табуретку в певого у стола снимаем ХП подходим стреляем в третьего, потом добивам кулаком первого восстанавливаем действие добегаем до второго толкаем его в токсичный бак добиваем кулаком, восстанавливаем действие и добегаем до третьего и гасим кулаком… Не люблю такой гем плей от слова совсем… Элементов рогалика в игре не то что бы много, через две арены дают случайный апгрейд , по факту имеют значения только те апгрейды которые увеличивают урон или скорость ходьбы и в общем-то все. Айтимизация в принципе отсутствует как класс, что получил в начале то и используешь до конца постепенно тратя… Билдостроение то же по факту отсутствует... Метопрогресс выражен в получении небольшого бонуса за убийства боссов и за убийства 25, 50 и 100 мобов. Я не любитель жанра тактических головоломок по этому мимо, но как представитель жанра игра не то чтобы плохая, из серии за 300 руб сойдет.

The Steam notation system is just wrong: the world is not binary and this game is a good example of that. Not a bad game, but not a good one either. It has some nice ideas (inspired from The Bourne Identity), a decent execution, but it lacks that little thing that makes you come back to it again and again. So you beat the boss in about 4h and you wonder whether or not you should continue the game... The answer is probably no... unless you are trying to have another 100% achievements game! Difficult to recommend, but difficult to blame.

Неплохой тактический рогалик, который выглядит и играется вполне весело, но если честно меня не затянуло (но тут скорее проблема во мне). Есть совсем немного мета-прогрессии, но её совсем мало и ощущается она даже не как прогрессия, а скорее дополнительный бафф(что ни есть минус, да и не плюс, но отметить стоит). Если вы соскучились по годным тактическим рогаликам, вам сюда. P.s Приятно порадовало наличие русской озвучки, +1 балл за это можно точно накинуть