12 is Better Than 6
- November 19, 2015
- Ink Stains Games
- 6h median play time
12 is better than 6 is a frantic, top-down shooter with a lovely pen and paper visual style
Get on Steam"12 is Better than 6: The Apostles" is a new DLC for the main game, featuring 3 new characters with their own story campaigns and unique gameplay mechanics. Experience horse chases, river rafting, and train robberies while battling new enemies like berserk shooters and dynamite-equipped foes. Add it to your wishlist and prepare for a wild Western adventure.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- Unique hand-drawn art style that enhances the game's atmosphere.
- Engaging and fast-paced gameplay with a mix of shooting and stealth mechanics.
- Challenging difficulty that requires strategic thinking and quick reflexes.
- Clunky controls and awkward shooting mechanics that can frustrate players.
- Repetitive level design and enemy encounters that can lead to boredom.
- Weak story and dialogue that detracts from the overall experience.
- gameplay412 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "12 is Better Than 6" is often compared to "Hotline Miami," featuring a top-down shooter style with unique mechanics such as manual reloading and weapon-specific handling. While many players appreciate the game's art style and the tension created by its mechanics, criticisms include clunky controls, repetitive gameplay, and a lack of polish that can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game offers a mix of fun and frustration, appealing to fans of the genre but leaving some players wanting more refinement and depth.
“The game combines fast-paced gameplay with a distinctive black-and-white visual style, where every shot counts.”
“The gameplay is fun and the story is good enough, but it’s hard to recommend a game that crashes so often.”
“The mechanics feel good and it doesn't overstay its welcome.”
“The gunplay is unsatisfying, and because everything is so slow, you can barely get into a gameplay rhythm.”
“Setting is interesting, but it kind of overstays its welcome due to slow, clunky, and repetitive gameplay that hardly lives up to its core inspiration.”
“Clunky, repetitive gameplay, boring dialogue, and an overall unpolished feel doesn't make this game feel worth downloading, even when it's heavily discounted.”
- story394 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it either confusing, poorly written, or forgettable. While some appreciate its engaging elements and unique perspective, particularly in a western setting, others criticize it for being shallow and lacking depth, often leading players to skip dialogue in favor of gameplay. Overall, the narrative seems to serve more as a backdrop for action rather than a compelling driving force.
“The story is engaging, with plenty of interesting characters and twists.”
“The game has a storyline that attracts players, as if after playing, I would look forward to the later storyline, which is quite good.”
“I highly recommend this game if you've got spare time and enjoy fast-paced shooters; it's got a really good soundtrack to accompany it and the story is pretty good with a handful of different characters involved.”
“The story is confusing and hard to follow, and I personally did not find the setting in any way immersive, nor the gameplay explained well.”
“The underwhelming ending made me feel cheated– your character randomly dies mid-level, without giving closure to active plot threads.”
“The story reads like a half-hearted first draft.”
- graphics275 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of "12 is Better Than 6" feature a unique hand-drawn art style that evokes a minimalist, black-and-white aesthetic, often enhanced by splashes of red for blood. While many players appreciate the charm and creativity of the visuals, they also note that the monochrome palette can make it difficult to distinguish enemies from the environment, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences. Overall, the art style is seen as a standout feature, though its execution may hinder clarity during fast-paced action.
“This game is an action-packed top-down shooter set in a wild west world with a unique hand-drawn art style.”
“The hand-drawn art style is simply gorgeous and is what benchmarks this game as something completely different.”
“The art style is truly nice and original, the black and white world is only colored by any blood you spill, and the soundtrack is quite good.”
“The game feels janky, the artwork is muddy and confusing, and the story is extremely childish.”
“The black-and-white visuals can often obscure level geometry that the player gets stuck on, and being that you die in one hit, this is quite a bad thing.”
“The art style sometimes hides enemies who kill you.”
- music203 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players praising its catchy and fitting soundtrack that enhances the overall experience, particularly in relation to the western theme. However, some users note that the limited number of tracks leads to repetitiveness, detracting from the enjoyment over time. Overall, while the soundtrack is often highlighted as a standout feature, its effectiveness can vary depending on individual preferences and gameplay duration.
“The soundtrack is phenomenal – the best part of the game, by far.”
“The music fits the western atmosphere wonderfully without feeling cliché.”
“Great music and amazing artwork given the game is hand-drawn; much respect, I was extremely skeptical to even play this game but boy was I glad I did.”
“The music is awful and repetitive.”
“However, the sound design is quite lackluster and the soundtrack is repetitive.”
“The soundtrack is completely underwhelming and doesn't even fit the game's style and pace.”
- grinding24 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 8 % neutral mentions
- 79 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and frustrating, often describing the gameplay loop as a slog that detracts from the overall experience. Many reviews highlight the repetitive nature of certain achievements and the clunky mechanics, which contribute to a sense of monotony and hinder enjoyment. While some acknowledge that the shooting mechanics can become frantic, the overwhelming consensus is that the game suffers from poor design choices that make grinding feel like a chore rather than an engaging challenge.
“I want my shots to be continuous, not tedious.”
“It can be a bit grindy sometimes.”
“It can feel a bit grindy.”
“Even as a western fan, the gameplay loop feels tedious and not well polished.”
“It just kills the pacing entirely and is tedious af.”
“The gameplay is tedious, with you going one path, either killing or sneaking behind enemies.”
- stability24 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- -8 % neutral mentions
- 96 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many users reporting frequent bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, particularly on macOS. While some players experience minor issues without significant impact on playability, others face game-breaking bugs, freezes, and crashes that hinder their experience. Overall, the game appears unpolished and incomplete, leading to a frustrating experience for many.
“The game runs bug-free on the macOS version.”
“I haven't encountered any crashes or glitches during my gameplay.”
“The stability of the game is impressive; it runs smoothly without any interruptions.”
“All the redeeming qualities of this game get overshadowed by how often you have to repeat work for buggy reasons.”
“The game is quite unpolished with several glitches and bugs and also feels 'incomplete' at many points.”
“Game-breaking bugs let me not play any part of the game; freezes and crashes happened in the main menu already, and no solution was found anywhere.”
- humor23 mentions
- 96 % positive mentions
- -9 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised, with many players highlighting the funny NPC dialogue and the main character's dark, dry wit as standout features. While some reviews note instances of inappropriate or racist humor, the overall consensus is that the comedic elements enhance the gameplay experience, making it enjoyable despite a lack of depth in the story. The game's unique graphical style and humorous take on western tropes contribute to its charm, making it a recommended play for those who appreciate a lighthearted approach.
“It's a simple, fun, and kind of hilarious game that you would like to play on and on.”
“NPCs are funny, and their dialogue makes the game.”
“The main character is a fun antihero with a dry and dark sense of humor that I really appreciate.”
“It's not funny nor interesting, and it makes you care even less about the characters and story of the game... such as it is.”
“The attempts at humor fall flat and feel forced, making the experience more cringeworthy than enjoyable.”
“I found the jokes to be stale and unoriginal, which really detracted from my overall enjoyment of the game.”
- replayability15 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is generally considered low, with many reviewers noting its short length and lack of compelling reasons to replay. While some players mention the potential for achievement hunting and a few grindable mini-missions, the consensus is that the game offers little depth or incentive for repeated playthroughs.
“Tons of fun and a fair amount of replay value if you want to hunt the achievements.”
“Yes, it is rather short, but it's not that easy and it has some replayability.”
“At various stations in the story, you'll find yourself in some town-like area where you will find a person offering a specific perk upgrade for an amount of cash you almost certainly have managed to scrounge up by that time, and a fellow offering a randomized replayable mini-mission you can keep running in order to grind up the cash to purchase the upgrade.”
“However, it doesn't have any replayability.”
“The price itself isn't bad for such a minuscule shot of adrenaline, but the replay value is non-existent with nothing to really make you want to replay it apart from maybe the achievements, which are just tedious to get, making them almost obsolete.”
“Good game, a little short (around 3 hours) and not a lot of replay value.”
- atmosphere13 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 15 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its fitting music and unique comic-style graphics, which create an engaging experience that captivates players. However, some reviews note inconsistencies, such as difficulty in seeing details and a lack of character development, which detracts from the overall immersion. While many appreciate the atmosphere and find it compelling, others feel it falls short, indicating a mixed reception.
“The music fits the western atmosphere wonderfully without feeling cliché.”
“Overall the atmosphere and the action is going to pull you in, and if you are like me, you will not want to take a break until you see the end.”
“The whole style of the game, considering that it's in comic style with only the blood being colored, gives this game a unique atmosphere.”
“It fails in setting the atmosphere with the combination of the music and colors/style.”
“There is no atmosphere and it reeks of low effort all over the place.”
“It didn't develop anyone's character, it didn't add to the atmosphere, it didn't even make me want to shoot the bad guys; it just made me pause and wonder how old the developer is.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game received mixed reviews; while some players reported smooth performance and no significant issues, others experienced frame drops, crashes, and limited graphics options. Overall, the game's performance was generally stable for many, but certain configurations struggled with optimization challenges.
“We can enjoy the story and gameplay with the firm performance of the game along with its memorable characters.”
“I had fun trying to speed run the gunfights and the game itself runs smoothly.”
“I encountered zero issues throughout; no clipping, no weird physics, no stuttering or freezes or crashes.”
“It's poorly optimized.”
“Then there's the framerate and performance. I have a GTX 970 paired with an i5 6600K processor and 24GB of RAM. The game has very limited graphics and performance options, with only V-Sync being the one that caught my eye (I personally hate input lag).”
“I don't know if it's an optimization issue or what, but I get frame drops sometimes, and when I quit out, it always crashes. :/ But otherwise, it's fine.”
- emotional5 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- -40 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Reviews highlight a lack of emotional depth in the game, with an underwhelming ending that leaves players feeling cheated and unresolved plot threads. While the music and graphics create a wholesome experience, many feel that the narrative fails to fully engage them, suggesting that more storytelling elements could have enhanced their emotional investment.
“The music, the graphics, and the game feel combine in a wholesome experience.”
“It was okay, but I certainly wouldn't have minded more text and/or cutscenes (or even a longer game) if it pulled me deeper into the story and made me feel more invested in what was going on.”
“Where it starts out interesting, trying to pull at an emotional connection – a fine opportunity to teach us core mechanics and supply us with some real motivation – it fizzles.”
“The story was incredibly boring and failed to evoke any emotional response.”
“I found the narrative to be dull, lacking the depth needed to connect with the characters.”
“The emotional impact was nonexistent; I felt nothing throughout the entire experience.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers praise the character development for its well-executed mechanics and impressive level and character design, highlighting a strong integration of gameplay and narrative elements.
“The character development is incredibly deep, allowing players to truly connect with their journey and growth throughout the game.”
“I love how the characters evolve based on the choices I make, making each playthrough feel unique and personal.”
“The backstories and interactions between characters are rich and engaging, adding layers to their development that keep me invested in the story.”
Critic Reviews
12 is Better Than 6 Review - Cock, Lock, and Miss
A stylish top-down shooter brought down by mechanical quirks. They say that 12 is better than 6, but this game is only holding 6. It's good, but it has some work to do if it wants to get all 12.
60%12 is Better Than 6 Review
Gorgeous graphics, a wonderful soundtrack, and exhilarating and quick-paced gunplay makes 12 is Better Than 6 a very fun experience. However, the game is dragged down aggressively by its terrible story and equally awful writing.
60%12 Is Better Than 6 Review
12 Is Better Than 6 Review
80%
