Angels Fall First
- October 1, 2015
- Strangely Interactive Ltd
- 4h median play time
Angels Fall First is a first person combined-arms sci-fi wargame. From commanding the battle standing on the bridge of your flagship all the way down to frantic infantry firefights - AFF brings together all the combat you ever wanted. Featuring tactical team-oriented gameplay and offering a wide selection of weapons, tools, vehicles and spacecraft, AFF focuses on objective-based scenarios with a h…
Reviews
- The game offers a compelling blend of infantry, vehicular, and space combat, reminiscent of classic titles like Star Wars Battlefront 2.
- The customization options for both ground and ship combat are extensive, allowing players to tailor their loadouts to their preferred playstyle.
- Despite a low player base, the AI is competent and provides a fun experience in both single-player and multiplayer modes.
- The game has been in early access for several years, leading to concerns about its long-term viability and lack of updates.
- The user interface is cluttered and can be overwhelming for new players, making it difficult to navigate and understand the game's mechanics.
- The multiplayer experience is severely limited due to a lack of active players, often resulting in matches filled with AI instead of human opponents.
- gameplay423 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this game is a blend of classic mechanics reminiscent of titles like "Battlefront" and "Battlefield," featuring a mix of infantry and space combat with a strong emphasis on teamwork and strategy. While the core mechanics are engaging and offer a variety of gameplay styles, many players note issues such as janky controls, a steep learning curve, and a lack of polish that can detract from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, the game is praised for its depth, customization options, and potential for fun, especially in offline modes with AI support.
“The gameplay is absolutely fantastic.”
“Very fun gameplay, loved the gunplay and ship combat.”
“Gameplay-wise, it's the ground and space battles of the original (good) Battlefronts; the nitty-gritty mechanics, customization, and detail of Battlefield; and a little real-time tactics sprinkled in.”
“The gameplay did not correspond to what the trailer would have led me to believe; it's completely messed up, the shittiest, most basic Unity shooter I've ever seen.”
“Runs like garbage... confusing and not fun gameplay... toxic players... save your cash :)”
“The current state of the game does not match the posted screenshots or videos in any way - the gameplay is laggy and the framerate is extremely low.”
- graphics288 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally considered dated, reflecting its development on the Unreal Engine 3, but they are often described as adequate or charming for the gameplay experience. While some players find the visuals to be subpar compared to modern titles, many appreciate the art style and the game's ability to run smoothly on older hardware. Overall, the graphics do not detract significantly from the enjoyment of the game, with many reviewers emphasizing that gameplay takes precedence over visual fidelity.
“The graphics and performance are also pretty polished for an indie game.”
“The graphics are nice, the movement and feel are excellent.”
“The graphics are great, even though this game took it to be fun before having high-definition graphics.”
“The graphics are very drab, and the player base is dead.”
“Graphics are poor, AI simplistic, weapons basic, interface can you use joystick to pilot ships?”
“This is an ugly game with generic graphics and a predilection for bland environments, even in space the game looks boring.”
- optimization147 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a significant concern among players, with many reporting inconsistent performance, frequent frame drops, and stuttering, even on modern hardware. While some users note improvements over time and appreciate the game's potential, they emphasize the need for further optimization and bug fixes to enhance the overall experience. The developers are actively working on these issues, but the game's reliance on Unreal Engine 3 presents inherent limitations that contribute to its performance challenges.
“The loadout system reminds me a little of a mech game; you can balance the performance of things using the mods and augments to tweak armor and weapons to function the way you want.”
“This speaks volumes of the developers' level of optimization and quality of the team that develops this.”
“The game itself is amazing, but the Unreal Engine 3 is a complete mess and has serious optimization issues for newer hardware.”
“Sadly, the game has piss poor optimization, the graphics are very drab, and the player base is dead.”
“I want to love this game but it's just so badly optimized, my PC is by no means weak yet the frame drops on ground maps are making it unplayable for me.”
“The game is poorly optimized, I find it more difficult to run than just about any other game I own.”
- story108 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 80 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth and coherence, with many players expressing a desire for a more structured campaign or narrative to enhance the gameplay experience. While some appreciate the mission briefings and the potential for engaging lore, the overall sentiment is that the game feels disconnected and lacks a compelling storyline, leaving players without a clear understanding of their objectives or the significance of their actions. Many reviewers hope for future updates to introduce a more defined narrative and character development to enrich the gameplay.
“The story is fascinating, the weapons are different enough to make your choices interesting, yet the game is pretty well balanced and no weapon is overpowered.”
“You start in a large briefing chamber with some sweet holograms and a bunch of bored soldiers watching a description of mission objectives (you can always skip this part, but it still takes a minute for the mission to load).”
“Everything in the game feels grand and epic, it does a great job to make you really feel like you are waging war on the frontier of space, even in the small ground missions.”
“There is no story that you would expect from a single-player game, and there is nobody populating the servers like you would expect from a multiplayer game.”
“Game is bland in terms of story.”
“No story... absolutely no idea what you're fighting for or why it's important; factions are just introduced fighting and you go in and shoot... this isn't like other shooters like COD or Battlefield, which at least can pretend to be based off of real life... this is another world, another galaxy, with no lore at all... you just shoot things.”
- stability66 mentions
- 6 % positive mentions
- 3 % neutral mentions
- 91 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many players reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and occasional crashes, particularly in AI behavior and graphical performance. While some users find the game generally playable and enjoyable despite these issues, others express frustration with the instability, especially in multiplayer settings. Overall, it appears that while the game has potential, it requires significant improvements to achieve a more polished and stable experience.
“No glitches or crashes, very polished.”
“Making our own server was simple, virtually no glitches were encountered, and although the Unreal 3 engine isn't state of the art, the mechanics of the game are more than enough to provide a very immersive experience.”
“Only issue is lack of players, but that is irrelevant as it has nothing to do with how the game runs, and it runs great.”
“The game is buggy, laggy, and overall broken.”
“The game in its current state is very buggy, confusing, and unpolished.”
“However, the multitudes of bugs, glitches, and just overall bad UI bring everything down.”
- monetization50 mentions
- 6 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 66 % negative mentions
The monetization model of "Angels Fall First" is highly praised, as it features a one-time purchase price with no microtransactions, DLC costs, or monthly fees, which stands in stark contrast to many AAA titles. Reviewers express frustration over the game's lack of advertising, attributing its small player base to insufficient promotion rather than the quality of the game itself. Overall, players appreciate the developers' commitment to a fair pricing model and hope that increased visibility will attract more players.
“No microtransactions, no monthly fees, no additional DLC costs, just one flat fee for a fantastic and fully fleshed out never-ending space war with really functional bots.”
“If you were disappointed with Star Wars Battlefront II, this game has everything that the 2005 version has and more, plus no microtransactions, and it's only $20.”
“No loot boxes, no microtransactions, ground and space battles, multi-person ships, squad play and teamwork, combined arms ground combat, tons of customization, lots of options for loadout, offline single-player bots that actually work well, and a good community with regular updates from the devs.”
“Unfortunately, multiplayer FPS games is a hard market to get into with basically zero advertising.”
“First of all, I love the passion the devs are putting into this game, but the only sin the devs have committed is not having more ads and marketing to get this masterpiece known by the public.”
“Because the developers are not putting much into advertising, there are barely any people on the official servers.”
- music28 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received generally positive feedback, with many players praising its cinematic quality and ability to enhance the gameplay experience, particularly during intense moments like space battles. However, some users noted issues with the music's volume and inconsistency, such as it starting and stopping randomly during matches. Overall, while the soundtrack is appreciated, there are calls for improvements in sound design to better align it with the game's atmosphere.
“The music is good if you like classic sci-fi action a la Starship Troopers.”
“Epic music is playing in the background, while you activate the alternative flight mode and let your ship 'float' into the battlefield.”
“Amazing game, amazing soundtrack; the AI in the game is so smart that sometimes I forget I'm playing against bots.”
“By default, the game has really loud music, but you won't be able to hear enemy footsteps if you have it on that loud.”
“The music is disappointing, and the instructions/directions in gameplay and tutorials are a bit confusing.”
“I really hope the developers focus on improving their sound design overall with better voice acting, sound effects, and music to really bring the game together.”
- atmosphere20 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive and visceral experience, allowing players to feel like space marines engaged in intense warfare. The combination of large-scale battles, detailed environments, and a variety of gameplay modes contributes to a rich sci-fi ambiance reminiscent of classic titles. Despite some technical issues, the overall atmosphere enhances the sense of teamwork and excitement in combat scenarios.
“You can't beat the feeling of immersion and atmosphere of being able to board a capital ship and blow it up from the inside.”
“The gameplay is fun, the teamwork is pretty good (even for the AI, which is another thing that the devs are working hard to improve), and the massive battle atmosphere is something I adore.”
“The atmosphere is awesome because you feel like a space marine on the front lines.”
“So as cool as it might be to think of fighting space battles and then returning down through a planet's atmosphere and taking our ground vehicles... you're not going to do that in this game.”
“Sure the game has some downfalls, glitches, buggy/cheaty AI at times, but it doesn't take away the atmosphere and feelings of being a space warrior fighting for the AIA or ULA (I think I got the names right? I just tell by their awesome armor design).”
“It all helps conjure an atmosphere, and the briefings do just that.”
- grinding16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 56 % negative mentions
Overall, players have mixed feelings about grinding in the game. While some appreciate the fair progression system that avoids traditional grind mechanics and allows for natural ranking up, others find certain aspects tedious and confusing, particularly in navigating menus and objectives. The experience can be enjoyable initially, but may become repetitive over time, especially in more open maps.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“No grinding for unlocks, zero microtransactions, and a dedicated dev team.”
“No grinding, ranking up happens naturally while playing.”
“Fun for the first hour, then it's just tedious.”
“But to get there involved loads of tedious and confusing menus and clicking on things that weren't clear buttons, and I never understood my objectives.”
“Territory maps have a tendency to be more open, while incursion maps have a tendency to build two frontlines grinding against one another.”
- replayability14 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
Overall, the game boasts exceptional replayability due to its dynamic battlefield, customizable game modes, and a variety of roles players can assume. While some users noted the limited number of game modes, the engaging maps and extensive gameplay options contribute to a rich replay experience. Many players appreciate the ability to tweak various game settings, which could further enhance replayability.
“I truly believe that a changing and variable battlefield makes for strong replayability.”
“Thankfully the dev added custom offline game bots and even server bots, making this game's replayability insane.”
“It's a great game with a huge amount of gameplay and replayability.”
“Having the ability to tweak gravity, score limits, AI behavior, weapon damage, and so on, would improve the replayability of this game even more.”
“These games were relatively easy to pick up yet had tremendous replay value; unfortunately, they have died off with the times.”
“Game is now a lot more playable; the only main issue is trying to play over LAN since it either won't let me host or won't let them connect to my game.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a deep emotional connection to the game, highlighting its ability to evoke feelings of heartbreak and adrenaline during intense combat scenarios. The immersive experience of tactical warfare and unique map designs enhances the sense of realism, making players feel genuinely engaged in the action. Overall, the game's emotional impact stands out, surpassing that of other titles in the genre.
“Never has a game like this made me feel like I'm truly in close-quarters combat within a space station or battleship.”
“When I saw the developers of Strangely Interactive releasing an actual update (not that their previous ones were bad; most EA games have horrible updates), I cried.”
“Even the new Battlefront, which is admittedly much more accessible, still can't meet the level of emotional turmoil and adrenaline surge that this game invokes in me.”
- humor5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its chaotic gameplay, where players find amusement in crashing and navigating through maps that often favor one side. The presence of highly skilled bots adds to the hilarity, allowing for entertaining solo matches, while the intentionally poor voice prompts contribute to the overall comedic experience.
“Flying around like Starfox, doing barrel rolls and laughing my ass off as I crash into everything.”
“The bots are astoundingly good at stock level, and allow for funny matches with up to 63 of them, so you can even practice on your own and get some in-game credits to upgrade your loadout pretty soon.”
“Voice prompts are so bad it's funny.”
- character development3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is hindered by a confusing design that makes it difficult to distinguish allies from enemies. While the textures and overall artwork are praised for their quality, the lack of color contributes to a somewhat monotonous visual experience. Additionally, the ability to customize loadout profiles for soldiers and vehicles adds a layer of depth to character progression.
“The textures, artwork, ship, vehicle, and character design are all top-notch, and I like the way that you can set up loadout profiles for both your soldier and any vehicles that you might be using, similar to the profiles in Titanfall.”
“The weapons, vehicles, and character design are also very good, although they can feel a bit single-tone; the entire game feels drab with very little color.”
“The character design makes it hard to tell friend from foe.”
“Character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful progression.”
“The characters are one-dimensional and fail to evoke any emotional connection.”