We have yet another developer throwing their hat into the platfom fighter ring. After Smash Ultimate, the big boys mainly consist of the upcoming Fraymakers, alongside the brilliant Nickelodeon All Star Brawl and the... Interesting Multiversus. Now we have Stardust Valkyries by Nucko Games. An indie platform fighter starring original characters, advertised as combining platform fighters with anime fighters, and the potential is so huge for something like this! But is that reached?
Gameplay: What we have here is basically a platform fighter that takes heavy inspiration from Melee. Meaning you get that game's wavedashing, that game's L canceling, air dodging, etc. Just with this new cast of characters. But there are some new mechanics, mainly being able to cancel some normals into specials. And that's really it, unlike something like Nick Brawl, this game doesn't do much to differentiate itself from Melee. And while that isn't immedietly a bad thing, there are some things that heavily drag the gameplay down.
One example is that when I say it takes influence from Melee, that also includes the lack of leniancy. In modern platform fighters that have wavedashing, the effect is super noticable since it takes you far, and the game does allow for shortcuts or buffers to get quick wavedashing. This game doesn't have it, so you need to do it like Melee, meaning the game can be somewhat clunky to play. Especially to those not used to how wavedashing used to work. Another fatal flaw is that the controller support is so clumsily implemented. For one, you aren't allowed to use the trigger buttons for some reason, so if you normally use those for grab macros, you can just go to hell. But a big fatal flaw is how sensitive the game is to analogue inputs. Imagine this situation: You want to do a D-Air to spike someone, but because you moved the stick 1% to the right, you're getting a F-Air instead. That's bad, and I don't know if the sensitivity can be changed or not, but this being the default sensitivity will definitely be a bad first impression and make people not want to keep playing
There's also minor stuff like how everyone has the same D-Spec, as well as some stuff that feels missing or wrong, like how there are basically no settings for arcade mode. Not even difficulty. And on top of that, you don't get any healing or life refills after a match, so you have to play arcade mode in one sweep. Jeez!
But don't think I hate the gameplay. No, because there is still a fast paced game here, since it is based on Melee, which can allow for fast and fun combos that will impress your friends, and the game knows this since it includes a robust training mode with frame data and even trials. Not common for a platform fighter. It's pretty good and deserves a respectable 7/10.
Graphics and Presentation: The game looks kinda ugly, I ain't gonna lie. Each character, while having good designs, are held back with super low poly counts (And not in a charming way), alongside some really stiff animations. I get the devs might not have been used to 3D games, but still, it's super noticable. Stages also look kind of boring as there isn't much going on in any of them, so really, there's not much to comment on.
Speaking of the character designs though, one thing I like is that when hovering over the characters, alongside some general stats, the game also lists their pronouns, which I think is a neat addition for representation, including a non binary character, as well as other characters that use they as one of their pronouns. That is something I appreciate. Plus, you'll find some nice easter eggs, like the nb character using Potempkin Buster, which I liked a lot. Still, the stiff animations and bad models drag the game down to a 4/10 here
Performance: Even though my PC can play much more graphically intense games at higher graphics options, this game is just optimized really badly. Even on some of the lowest settings, I still run into stuttering when playing, and bad stuttering too. For a game like this, this is unacceptable, and it doesn't help that the game likes to have a hard time even starting up. Yeesh! At least it's not Rushdown Revolt which has a 100% chance of crashing whenever I try to run it. But performance still gets a 2/10
Sound and Soundtrack: It felt very average. Attack sounds are your standard attack sounds, the music fit, but wasn't memorable, characters don't have voice acting, etc. It felt very... Average. So average I don't really have anything to comment on. It's just that average. This average sounding game gets an average 5/10.
Online: While this game has rollback, I have yet to test it, so I won't be scoring this as of now.
Final Thoughts: This game has so much potential. And in some cases, it does. Like the fast gameplay, good character designs, and representation. However, the average sounds, awful graphics, and gameplay issues hold it back HARD! It may sound like I didn't like this game overall, but I did. I wanted to make this review to help share my worries with the game so the devs know what they should focus on should they continue working on the game. I feel this is something that could get big over time, especially with that fun gameplay. However, with everything holding it back, this game gets a 6/10 with a side of a missed wavedash. I can just about recommend this game, but I understand if someone would be put off by the issues listed. Still, I want you all to give this a chance and hopefully, this game will be popular and encourage the devs to keep working.
A love letter to old school platform fighters, crossed with deep 2D fighter influences