Skillshot City

gaeming

Chaotic yet skillful game, cant go wrong with it. still in early access but its still really good and improving, for sure gets at least a few hours of fun minimum but can see myself playing this more often

It is not very often that I take the time to leave a Steam review for a game. SkillShot City is an extraordinarily fun game when you have 10 to 15 minutes to waste. I only started playing recently, but as a time-killer or distraction, it is a great game. [hr][/hr] [h2]Graphics[/h2] The visual style of the game is labelled as 2D by Steam, but I would describe it as more of a 2.5D game. There is depth, although the camera is fixed above the gameplay at a slight angle, which gives you a sense of that depth. Aesthetically, it is a very blue game, but this allows your actions in-game to look much more visually spectacular. Blood trails are clear, and bullet traces are easy to see. My only real gripe is that the crosshair can be difficult to see when things get chaotic. That could be because I am playing with HDR on an OLED display, so your experience may vary. [b]8/10[/b] [hr][/hr] [h2]Level Design[/h2] This is where it falls a bit short for me. So far, from my experience and what I have read, there is only really one map: the Huge City map. Looking through posts while writing this, Bencelot, the developer, explained that the old Turbine map is now part of the Huge City map. I am hoping they release more maps in the future, perhaps with different themes. The city we currently have is fun and immersive, with varying heights, routes, corners, toxic areas and more. It definitely does not leave you feeling restricted and allows for different types of gameplay, from close-quarters combat with SMGs to long-range shots with sniper rifles. I just wish there was a bit more variety, with more levels or maps to play. That said, the NPCs on the map are fairly dynamic from wave to wave, and the different map features add more diversity to the gameplay. It will be interesting to see where they take this next. From reading about the development, it appears that a lot of work was put into balancing the gameplay. There was a period when the game was dominated by rooftop campers, but that is no longer the case. [b]8/10[/b] [hr][/hr] [h2]Sound Design[/h2] This is a difficult one for me to review accurately, as I have the music turned down quite low or play my own music. However, this apparently means I miss out on part of one class, which gains an ability that activates in time with the music. From an SFX perspective, it is a very arcade-like sounding game, even featuring a good old Wilhelm scream for good measure. The weapons sound fairly distinctive, and you can roughly tell which direction an off-screen sound is coming from. The sound design helps you lose yourself in the game. As I do not really listen to the music, and it is an actual gameplay feature for one of the classes, I am going to give this: [b]7/10[/b] [hr][/hr] [h2]Gameplay[/h2] The gameplay is literally point at the enemy and click. Various weapons have different trade-offs involving range, fire rate, area damage and bullet strength. Alternatively, you can just use a flamethrower. Yeah. Finding the right gun can be a little tricky. As I am new to the game, it seems that what each trader sells changes every round and every game. I have not noticed a consistent pattern showing where I should go to find what I want. It is more of a case of, [i]"Nope, nope, nope, ooh, piece of candy."[/i] It does make the game fun, but the RNG takes a little away from the skill involved, unless I am simply oblivious and there is a pattern. That remains to be determined. At the end of the first two rounds, players vote on which changes they want. One option might make the helicopters flying around the map drop better loot, while another might allow weapons to shoot farther at the cost of reduced movement speed while firing. Every round feels different. There are also eight classes to choose from, each with its own perks. Every class then has its own skill pool. You use acid to open flasks, unlock more skills and level up existing ones. This is where the pay-to-win aspect becomes a little touchy. During my first 16 hours, I did not spend a penny and never felt as though I was at a disadvantage. That said, I bought the first DLC today. It gave me 20 level boosts, a large amount of acid and therefore plenty of new skills to play with. That could be considered pay-to-win, as it allows you to instantly bypass part of the grind. However, no individual skill feels particularly overpowered, at least in the current version of the game. Either way, the game provides solid fun for around an hour at a time before I have either won enough or lost enough that I need a break. Your mileage may vary. [b]8/10[/b] [hr][/hr] [h1]Overall Score[/h1] [b]8/10 for the free-to-play experience.[/b]