Achron
- August 28, 2011
- Hazardous Software Inc.
"Achron" is a Science Fiction Real Time Strategy game that allows for unique time travel-based tactics in both multiplayer and single-player modes. Experience dynamic temporal environments, where you can alter past and future actions to outsmart opponents. With the ability to send units back and forth through time, create paradoxes, and engage in subversive strategies, "Achron" offers a fresh and innovative take on the RTS genre.
Reviews
- The time travel mechanic is innovative and well-implemented, providing a unique and engaging gameplay experience.
- The game offers a complex strategic layer that allows players to manipulate events in the past and future, creating interesting tactical possibilities.
- Despite its flaws, Achron is a highly original concept that stands out in the RTS genre, making it worth trying for those interested in time travel mechanics.
- The game suffers from poor execution in various areas, including bad pathfinding, confusing controls, and a lack of polish, making it frustrating for players.
- The tutorial and campaign missions are poorly designed, leading to confusion and a steep learning curve that can deter newcomers.
- Technical issues such as crashes and a dead multiplayer community further diminish the overall experience, making it hard to recommend as a fully realized game.
- gameplay36 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Achron is centered around a unique and innovative time travel mechanic that is both engaging and strategically rich, offering a fresh take on the real-time strategy genre. However, many players find the overall execution lacking, citing issues such as confusing interfaces, poor pathfinding, and unpolished core gameplay that detracts from the experience. While the time travel aspect is praised for its ingenuity, the game's balance and controls leave much to be desired, making it a mixed bag for players seeking a polished RTS experience.
“The time travel mechanic is fully fleshed out, and I have never played a more confusing and fun way to play an RTS.”
“This game shows a highly innovative, I'd even say genius mechanic of time travel in a real-time strategy - something no one has done before or since.”
“Fantastic gameplay, fantastic soundtrack; my friends and I greatly enjoy trying to one-up each other in multiplayer.”
“A real-time strategy game with a short time travel mechanic let down by awful execution in nearly every area.”
“The concept is amazing, but the gameplay is just so unpolished and so boring most of the time, I just can't recommend it.”
“Once you take away the utterly broken time mechanics, what you're left with is a rather poorly balanced strategy game, with really poor controls.”
- story17 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it poorly executed and lacking depth, while others appreciate its innovative concepts. Critiques highlight issues such as amateurish voice acting, a weak narrative structure, and a frustrating difficulty curve that detracts from the overall experience. Despite some players recognizing potential in the story, many feel it fails to engage due to its execution and design flaws.
“The story behind it is excellently written, and the mechanics are solid.”
“Of course, there's nothing like using every last resource to build a huge army, destroying all of the enemy's units, and then getting a surprise mission to 'build this and that' with resources you no longer have.”
“This sounds like an amazing game decades ahead of its time, but sadly its poorly designed tutorial and heavily scripted missions will turn off most players and make them drop the game in frustration.”
“Voice acting is amateurish and lifeless, as if the actors were bored or annoyed with the story as much as I was.”
“Okay, that's being generous, the storyline is probably one of the weakest things in the game.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game have been widely criticized for being rough and poorly designed, detracting from the overall experience. Users report issues such as graphical glitches and a lack of aesthetic appeal, which can hinder gameplay. Despite some improvements on newer hardware, the visuals are generally considered subpar and not a strong point of the game.
“The commands, graphical design, and UI all remain very rough, as do the campaign scripting and map design.”
“The graphics are pretty bad, in a way that personally made it more difficult for me to play.”
“It had all graphics glitched on my laptop, but it finally ran on my new desktop computer.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game initially faced stability issues, including bugs and pathfinding problems that required multiple updates to address. While it remains somewhat buggy, players feel that these challenges add a layer of strategic depth to the gameplay.
“Another thing that contributed to that is it was a bit buggy at first, and the pathfinding took a lot of updates to make right.”
“Buggy from time to time, but that one mechanic brings this game more strategy than Starcraft!”
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised, with many users highlighting its fantastic quality and how it enhances the overall gameplay experience, particularly in multiplayer settings.
“Fantastic gameplay, fantastic soundtrack; my friends and I greatly enjoy trying to one-up each other in multiplayer.”
“The music is pretty good, though.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly in managing and controlling the hierarchies, which adds to the overall frustration.
“As tedious as it is to arrange these hierarchies, it becomes even worse to control them.”
“The grinding feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“I find myself doing the same tasks over and over, which really drains the fun out of the game.”