Do you ever find that SokPop game that you really enjoy in terms of gameplay, but it only has 20 minutes of content so you just get very tilted instead? To be clear, I don't have a problem with the length of a game, I just see a game that has enough assets to be a longer experience, so even if they repurposed some of the content, it would still be enjoyable for at least a few hours. For example, since the game already has a hoverbike for the player and the enemies, they could have made a few racing challenges to make the game more wholesome or at least some kind of arena mode. It reminds me of the [i] Helionaut [/i] a bit, you will explore a small open world where the objective is to repair the ship, but there is no crafting system. The game can be completed in 20 minutes on the first attempt, and as far as I can tell, there is not much in terms of optional content; you are not required to pick up every upgrade, but it only adds maybe 5 minutes of exploration. I do like the gameplay, the on-hit feedback feels very satisfying, additionally to just having Star Wars vibes with the speeders. You can unlock a few different weapons, I got the duel-blaster and the energy shotgun in addition to the starting weapon which is like a regular blaster.
Let me use another game from SokPop as an analogy to explain where my criticism is coming from. They made this fun game where you swim on the boat and fish, except there are only a few types of fish. In comparison to making a game, adding more fish variety is not that big of a deal, but it makes a huge difference. I understand that SokPop has a short development cycle so they abandon the games very quickly, all I am saying that if you already put the effort to make the assets and mechanics, make sure that you use them to the fullest. I like the combat in this game, but I never really had a chance to utilize the power-ups properly. Look, I am not asking you guys to make 3-hour games all the time, but if you have a good idea, don't treat it like junk, it's very frustrating to see such a fun concept and have it abandoned so easily, out of all the things you came up with, this should have received more love. Maybe put a small arena with 10 waves or something like that, let me use those mechanics and upgrades, and you already have the assets to make it.
[h1] Pros/Cons: [/h1]
(x) It's a fun game, just too barebones in terms of content for me to formulate a strong opinion, I wish there was more to it. The core mechanics had potential to be fun, if they were supported with things to do. On a side note, I generally like the reused music in SokPop universe, but there is a point where you should consider making something new as well.
[b] Overall Thoughts: 6/10 [/b]
It's SokPop, so the lack of content is expected because of the short development cycle, but this is not a story-driven game, it's an exploration game with combat and should have more exploration. Again, I don't dislike the game, I just don't want to see a good concept abandoned so easily. I would play a game like this for 10 hours if it had 10 hours of content, and I am not asking for 10 hours, just not 20 minutes.
[code]Review By: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]
