Recent reviews by BigCMGN

Great game. You should play it!

Definitely worth a pick up, especially as it is free. Any planet that has this much silicon on it should have alien hotties with giant mommy milkers though. Developers, if you are reading this, please fix this.

Review here: https://youtu.be/XB_hNglvyaQ

Incredible game. You gotta play it.

This game is a lot of fun and has a lot going for it. I particularly enjoy the combat, though I would have liked a little bit of a tutorial. Devs, if you read this, consider a 2 minute combat tutorial for the noobs. Other then that, great game, highly recomended!

I see you Jeff Fischer - I see you clearly.

Godstrike is the bullet-hell, twin stick shooter from The Overpowered Team, and Freedom Games. The player will face off against evil deities in order to lead the protagonist through the story and weed out the corruption that has poisoned the world.

Talaal, the player-controlled hero, can be augmented with a huge variety of spells and passives. Abilities that create weapons that will automatically attack the boss the player is fighting, abilities that augment your natural shooting ability, ones that will defend the player and destroy projectiles. The sheer level of combinations that are possible between the abilities to choose from, combined with the passives to choose from, is mindbogglingly huge.

These are our MGN Impressions of the masked-god driven story that is Godstrike. Our experience with the game is based on the PC, Steam version, played with a control pad. As such, if you’re playing the switch version, or playing via steam with a keyboard and mouse, your experience might be different from ours.

The MGN Impressions are broken down into four different but equal parts:

Story
Sound
Gameplay
X-Factor

The X-Factor for our impressions will change from game to game, and for Godstrike we’ve decided to go with accessibility. Will the game be accessible enough for players who are new to the genre, or aren’t fans of bullet-hell games in general? Want to find out? Stick with us, and you will.


Story 9/10

The thorn in the paw of most bullet-hell games is that there is very little purpose to them beside from the base-level gameplay. You evade the boss, and you deal damage. You progress through, and that’s about it. Where Godstrike marks is difference from the other entries in the genre, is that it has a genuinely well-crafted story.

Without giving too much away I will say that the introductory cinematic gives enough purpose and interest to the player, that they are loathe to skip any later implications of lore. This is really good drawing point, not only are you here for the gameplay, or from your curiosity of what you’ve seen about Godstrike online – you’re given enough early to be invested in seeing it through.

Sound 7/10

First off, let me just sound that the soundtrack fits the game so well. It’s harrowing and foreboding in places where it fits, and is exhilarating in moments where you expect to feel that rush. The lack of a 10/10 rating has absolutely nothing to do with the soundtrack. It’s of the highest quality and execution, and has made for excellent background noise whilst writing and recording this review. You can look it up on YouTube, give it a listen, even if you’re not a huge fan of listening to game soundtracks as background noise or as an experience in general, I highly recommend it.

What lets the sound department is the quality of that open cinematic. It’s incredibly well done, but the lack of an appropriate voice to match the text, is a let-down. My mind is immediately drawn to a voice like Galadriel, narrating the opening exposition. The addition of that hauntingly beautiful smooth voice, would bring the cinematic to life and would give the sound the quality to match the video and the story.

Gameplay 10/10

My instant impression is of the game is that it delivers what it promises. It delivers what you’re expecting it to. There is no mistaking that Godstrike is a bullet-hell game. You don’t have to wean yourself in, or get a feel for the game, you get what you’re expecting and this makes the same so simple to pick up. That’s a pass mark for gameplay for us.

So, what takes Godstrike from a pass mark to a 10/10? A few things.

First, the tutorial room is a great idea. The player can experiment with abilities, ability set ups, the game mechanics like souls, and more. That’s a great gameplay decision from the developer.

Next, the shear level of different ways you can play the game. The ability and passive set ups that are possible are of a ridiculous level, and provide so much variety in how you can play the game from attempt to attempt. That’s going to keep you coming back again, and again.

Next, the health is timer, and timer is health gimmick. It provides something different, and gives the player a fresh experience even if they play bullet-hell games often. And that’s a very good thing, because if you’re heavily experienced with games like this, it can be hard to feel like you’re playing a different game each time you try and buy something new. But here, you do – there’s a point of difference and that’s great.

X-Factor 8/10

The X factor for Godstrike is accessibility. How easy is the game to pick up, if you’re inexperienced with bullet-hell games, or are just not a fan of the genre in general.

What would I say? Very accessible.

How can I say this? Because bullet-hell games aren’t in my top three favourite genres, nor do I have a huge amount of experience with them, but I find myself wanting to play more and more Godstrike.

Wanting to play the game in my own personal time, without recording, or preparing for an article? That means the draw and the accessibility is there for people like me, and perhaps you too. So, if you’re on the fence because you’re not the biggest fan of the genre, or you don’t have much experience trying them, give Godstrike a go. You might be very pleasantly surprised.

I hope you enjoyed our first impressions Review of Godstrike.

This game is far better than I had expected. Shockingly better. The first thing I want to say is the acting is absolutely incredible. I was expecting wooden characters with cliche interactions and back stories and that was not the case. In fact, I completely bought everything the actors said. These are serious actors and they deserve major kudos.

In terms of the game itself, it is really more of an interactive dating type simulator as opposed to a game, per se. While it is not linear in nature (you can choose who you want to date, in what order), you are also somewhat limited in what you can say to them. That is to be expected though, as you can only have so many options in a game like this.

For what it is, this game is incredible. And it is wholesome too. The dates feel like genuine first dates and everything that goes with them (the awkward nerves, the decision to drink or not, the break the ice games, etc) are done perfectly.

The only con with this game, and I'm stretching here, is that I felt that the first few dates ended a little more awkwardly than I would have expected. I felt that maybe, and just maybe ,the game wanted to push me to have ambivalent feelings about the dates so that I'd be more open minded to the other girls. I mean, wouldn't it be weird if you found the perfect girl on your first (virtual) date? 20 mins in, game over!

If you are on the fence about this game, I think you should give it a crack. If nothing else, you will see some incredible acting and get to talk (kinda...) to some really attractive ladies.

The bullet hell genre has been around for quite a while now and in its wake has left us with quite a few wonderful titles. These games often combine the refined and tight controls synonymous with the modern era of gaming with a chaotic and frantic core gameplay style more akin to arcade titles of old. Think 1942, 1943 – The Battle of Midway, & 1944 – The Loop Master – as the earliest and best examples of this style! What I wouldn’t give to be 15 years old with a pocket full of quarters again! I digress…

IMPORTANT NOTE: You can't use your mouse to shoot, only the keyboard! Your right forearm will get sore!!! Luckily I have a very strong right forearm, so...

This has become a rather saturated field but arguably no other title of this nature leans into the arcade vibe more than Jetboard Joust.

This game plays similarly to titles such as Resogun, Dead Nation, Alienation or Nex Machima thanks to it’s frantic and busy on-screen projectiles, enemies and hulking bosses, offering a real challenge for even the most seasoned arcade veteran.

Pixel Perfect Aesthetic

Let’s talk about how this game presents itself first of all. It uses a mesh of vibrant colours, dynamic animations and incredible sound effects to bring this pixellated world to life. When a developer takes this artistic approach, it can go one of two ways. It can come across as lazy as if it was chosen as a less time-consuming option.

However, it can also come across as charming such as games like Fez, Uncanny Valley or Undertale. This game falls into the latter category, nailing the aesthetic and providing enough care, attention and detail to justify the retro choice.

Frantic, Fast-Paced Action

The gameplay is exactly what you would expect and more from a title such as this. You’ll get the predictable moments such as shooting mindlessly at hordes of smaller enemies, dodging particles that aim to stop you in your tracks and collecting coins as you go. However, there is more here than meets the eye.

You’ll have a progression system that offers several additional items, perks and weapons for the job at hand, with some offering some really brilliantly handled mechanics. These help to shake up the gameplay, keep things fresh and adds more tactical approaches for the player.

Then in addition to this, you have the boss battles that raise this ‘Space Invaders on acid’ gameplay to all-new levels of intensity. These behemoths will go out of their way to stop you succeeding and have a variety of intricate attack patterns that will have you pulling your hair out as you try to memorize their ways and defeat them.

It’s another reason why this game is more than just your run of the mill bullet hell adventure. There may be no real story to speak of but when the gameplay is this addictive, who cares?

The Verdict

Is this game deep and meaningful? Not at all. Does it have staggering visuals or never before seen mechanics and features? Again, no. However, this game does the bullet hell genre justice with a brilliantly addictive and tightly controlled experience with progression and loss battles that are more than enough to keep you engaged.

This game is a brilliant, chaotic, and addictive button mashing good time that will have you coming back to play over and over again.

Awesome so far!

6 / 10. In its current format, Sign Of Silence is a decent game however it could become an excellent game with a few tweaks and fixes.

The gist of the game is you get lost deep in the forest of Massachusetts near a town called Danville. Side note: I kinda wonder if one of the game developers names is Dan… I digress. In Sign Of Silence, there are three ways to win. You can take a service elevator, fly off in a helicopter, or drive off in a boat. Obviously.

Pros

The biggest pro of this game is, by far, the sound. If this game was graded on sound alone, it would get a 10/10. The background, ambient noise is incredible. It has all the sounds you’d expect to hear if you were out wandering alone in a haunted ghost town and then some.

Not only is the ambient sound good, the sound effects, particularly when you’re being chased by a ghost or similar creature, are excellent. I had my headphones on medium settings and I got the sh*t scared out of me more than a few times. The Jump scares in this game are intense and they often come when you least expect them.

The game has an outhouse.

Cons

While this game is quite fun and has a lot going for it, there are a lot of things I didn’t care for in this game.

First off, the tutorial does not go into any depth or add any value whatsoever. It feels like an after thought.

The developers should either do it right or simply skip it and hope people figure out the buttons.

The game needs voice comms – like Phasmophobia has. Hopefully they are added in a future update.

The lack of a map, or even a compass, is frustrating. I really had no idea where the hell I was going at any point in time. I found myself running in a direction and simply hoping that I would find the items and objectives as I went. This is not a good plan for a game of this size.

Lastly, I found the multiplayer to be very enjoyable. And buggy. The first time I tried to join a game the “host” was clearly AFK. We were unable to kick him / her, start the match, or even join a different game. Every time I left the match and clicked “join the game” I was put in the same game. Very frustrating.

I will note however that when I tried again a few hours later, I was able to join an active game (me + 3 randos) and it was a lot of fun. The “type to talk” was a little annoying, but it was better than silence.

VERDICT

DECENT

The game is fun, especially when playing multiplayer, however it is also quite buggy as well.