Airmen
- May 11, 2017
- Bronze Johnson
- 165h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Airmen" is a shooter game where players build and battle custom airships, either solo or with up to 2 players in co-op mode. The game features a variety of weapons and components to customize your airship, with the goal of exploring the Archipelago, gathering resources, and battling other players or AI forts. With a growing catalog of over 100 parts and the ability to co-op build with friends, "Airmen" offers a unique and engaging gameplay experience.
Reviews
- The ship building mechanics are deep and allow for a lot of creativity, making it enjoyable to design and pilot custom airships.
- The game offers a variety of play modes, including PvE and PvP, which can be fun with friends, enhancing the overall experience.
- The developer is active and responsive, providing regular updates and engaging with the community, which helps maintain interest in the game.
- The game suffers from a very small player base, making it difficult to find others to play with, especially in multiplayer modes.
- The user interface and controls can be clunky and unintuitive, leading to a steep learning curve for new players.
- Many players feel the game lacks polish and has issues with balance, particularly in combat and resource management.
- gameplay40 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this game is characterized by its innovative ship-building mechanics, allowing players to design and construct vehicles using gathered resources, which enhances the overall experience. While the game offers a rich variety of features and mostly bug-free mechanics, some players find the movement sluggish and the gameplay can become repetitive, particularly in multiplayer settings where cooperation is necessary. Despite these drawbacks, many appreciate the community support and the emergent gameplay that keeps each session feeling fresh and engaging.
“The game mechanics of extracting are amazing as well, letting you design and build a ship in a comprehensive builder and then use it on any server by just paying the material cost for it.”
“Amazing original idea, extraction shooter mixed with building your own giant vehicle with resources you gather from the islands, tech tree to unlock stuff, you have a lot of features and game mechanics to make gameplay feel better than most early access, and it's mostly bug-free which is a lot coming from an indie game.”
“The process of assembling a multi-storied vehicle with your friends is pretty fun, and the time we've spent goofing off while manning our mechanical creations has made for a lot of good stories that we'll remember forever.”
“The movement is sluggish, the sounds are stock and don't really stick out, and the gameplay is repetitive and boring at times.”
“Some really, insanely cool systems, in support of some mind-blowingly poor gameplay.”
“Now the repair mechanics have been nerfed heavily, so it makes solo play even less enjoyable.”
- story27 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely absent, with players noting a lack of narrative depth and character development. Instead, the focus is on a variety of grindy missions, such as resource gathering, hunting, and combat, which often feel repetitive and lack meaningful engagement. While the sandbox environment offers diverse activities, many players express a desire for more structured storytelling and cooperative gameplay elements.
“Instead here you have a variety of missions and quests you can pursue, including delivery, harvest, and rescue missions, which often don’t require you to fire a single shot, even in the open world.”
“Airmen is an addictive little gem of a game where you build airships (or boats, or submarines) and explore a little archipelago, gathering resources and completing quests while dodging NPC hostiles and other players.”
“There is an entire tech tree to unlock and forts across the map where you can do missions and increase your reputation.”
“☑ no story”
“You'd think the combat and capturing parts make it unique, but it still begins and ends the same way as the rescue missions; it's the same thing with extra steps.”
“Would like to see more accessibility and story.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are described as barebones and simplistic, allowing it to run smoothly on low-end systems, but they lack a cohesive art style and can sometimes be unappealing. While some players appreciate the stylized visuals and find beauty in the environments and airships, others feel that the graphics could use improvement and may detract from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the gameplay remains engaging, and the performance is generally stable across different settings.
“It may not be graphically intense, but it is very stylized, and I like that.”
“For a game with extremely simple graphics like these, the environment and the airships look really beautiful sometimes.”
“I recommend this game to people who don't care so much about graphics (which are still great) or lack of excellent animations.”
“The graphics are, as you can see, barebones, but this does ensure anyone can run the game smoothly on practically any flavor of potato; chances are, if you can play the video on this page, you can run this game.”
“Then there are the updates that change the visuals of the game, which, let me tell you, don't change much.”
“One small negative I have is that for how simple the graphics are, some parts of the game can be a little unoptimized.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- -17 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be significant but ultimately rewarding, with many describing it as a classic case of engaging sandbox gameplay that requires substantial effort to progress. While some consider the missions to be particularly grindy, others appreciate the low-impact nature of the grinding, especially when combined with enjoyable elements like airship piracy. Overall, the grinding is seen as a necessary part of the experience that can enhance enjoyment for those who are invested in the game's premise.
“Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
“The grind is satisfying and offers a real sense of progression.”
“Classic case of awesome sandbox, nothing to do; missions are very grindy.”
“So I spent a long time alone and with friends grinding.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received criticism for poor engine performance and a subpar user interface, with players noting that even simple graphics can feel unoptimized. Despite these issues, the overall performance remains consistent across various graphics settings, only showing improvement with specific presets or custom setups.
“Very fun game, the dev is an actual unit; the only issue is optimization.”
“The overall performance seemed identical regardless of graphics settings until entering fairly basic presets/custom setups.”
“The poor engine optimizations and the subpar UI (user interface).”
“Very fun game, but the only issue is optimization.”
“One small negative I have is that for how simple the graphics are, some parts of the game can be a little unoptimized.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highly praised, with players highlighting its ability to create hilarious moments, especially in cooperative play. The combination of absurd scenarios, like building a flying stick figure with a gun, leads to laughter and memorable experiences among friends, making it a perfect choice for those seeking comedic entertainment.
“This game is amazing; the co-op aspect of it is fantastic, and playing with friends leads to some hilarious moments.”
“It's frustrating, of course, but it's also funny and sometimes humbling.”
“If you want a game where two Russian guys and a stoner are dying laughing because you built a flying stick figure with a gun, then this game is absolutely perfect for you.”
- stability3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, the game demonstrates impressive stability for an early access title, with users reporting minimal bugs and smooth performance even on low-end PCs. The combination of solid building mechanics and enjoyable gameplay contributes to a positive experience, making it stand out among indie games.
“Amazing original idea, extraction shooter mixed with building your own giant vehicle with resources you gather from the islands. The tech tree to unlock features makes gameplay feel better than most early access games, and it's mostly bug-free, which is impressive for an indie game.”
“Good building mechanics, decent combat, and an alright art style. I like the game; it runs great and I have not noticed any game-breaking bugs.”
“This game runs great on my low-end PC and it is incredibly fun to build ships.”
- music3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's music features an engaging mix of sea shanties that enhance the action, particularly during intense moments like boarding enemy vessels. However, while some players appreciate the unique soundtrack, others find it reminiscent of more somber themes, suggesting a polarizing reception. Additionally, there is a community interest in creating fan songs, indicating a potential for a richer musical experience.
“The game's soundtrack is actually amazing; if you think the sounds of solitary confinement or the noiseless abyss of space were masterpieces, then you'll love what you'll hear in this game!”
“Seriously though, there are people who made fan songs for this game and would likely be willing to do more.”
“Seriously though, there are people who made fan songs for this game and would likely be willing to do more, and bronze never did anything with that.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game features a positive monetization model, allowing players to unlock cosmetics for their ship and character without any microtransactions, which is well-received. However, there is a noted need for better advertising to attract a larger player base. Overall, players find the game enjoyable despite these concerns.
“Unlock cosmetics (no microtransactions, yay!) for your ship and player.”
“The monetization model feels exploitative, pushing players to spend more than they should just to enjoy the game fully.”
“While the game is enjoyable, the constant prompts to purchase in-game currency detract from the overall experience.”
“The lack of meaningful rewards without spending money makes it hard to stay engaged with the game.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is characterized by a relaxing ambiance complemented by numerous creative ideas, contributing to an enjoyable experience.
“Many great ideas and a quite relaxing atmosphere.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the game's simplicity and ease of learning, highlighting that it offers significant replay value, making it enjoyable to revisit multiple times.
“Simple, easy to learn, tons of replay value.”
