Astroflux
- September 27, 2016
- fulafisken
- 17h median play time
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Get on itch.io StorePlay Astroflux - a retro styled, action packed MMO space shooter.
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Reviews
- The game has a nostalgic charm and is enjoyable for those who appreciate retro-style gameplay.
- The community is friendly and helpful, making it easier for new players to get into the game.
- There is a vast universe to explore with interesting mechanics and a variety of ships and weapons.
- The game suffers from a significant grind and pay-to-win elements, making progression frustrating for free-to-play users.
- There are numerous bugs and performance issues, including lag and disconnections, which detract from the overall experience.
- The player base is dwindling, leading to a lack of multiplayer engagement and making the game feel empty.
- grinding36 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- -6 % neutral mentions
- 97 % negative mentions
The game is heavily grind-oriented, with many players noting that the grinding increases over time and can feel tedious, especially for upgrades and currency. While some enjoy the grind as part of the gameplay experience, others find it frustrating and indicative of a pay-to-win model. Overall, the grinding aspect is a significant part of the game, which may deter those seeking a more dynamic or less repetitive experience.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
“The grind is satisfying and offers a real sense of progression.”
“The game is based on grinding, so expect a lot of that here.”
“Endgame grind is very tedious, and the only thing that will keep you there is talking to random players that still play.”
“You either pay real money or waste many hours grinding for upgrades.”
- story36 mentions
- 8 % positive mentions
- 81 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is primarily driven by a series of quests, including storyline, daily, and timed missions, which provide players with ongoing objectives and rewards. However, many users express frustration with the grind required for leveling up and the perceived pay-to-win elements, as well as issues with quest progression and clarity. While the variety of missions and enemies adds some depth, the repetitive nature of the tasks can lead to boredom over time.
“You do have to grind to level up, but you do it while completing story quests, daily quests, and timed quests, so you always have something to do.”
“Storyline quests give you something to work toward as they take you through all the systems.”
“It has a reasonable mix of short and longer length missions, making it easy to manage your time.”
“Leveling is kind of bullshit; you are kind of required to pay money to get into the next tier of the game and missions, and that majorly sucks.”
“Lack of information makes it a frustrating questing system, and a lack of quests leaves you wondering what to do but sit and kill enemies that give you 20 XP each kill, which would require you to kill thousands to level up.”
“So timed quests are where your focus is spent, but in timed quests, they don't tell you where to go to finish it, so you spend the entire duration flying in random directions trying to find out what to do.”
- gameplay24 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mixed bag, featuring enjoyable mechanics and fluid combat in a 2D space shooter format, with a blend of bullet hell and ARPG elements. While many players appreciate the diversity of weapons and upgrades, some criticize it for being repetitive and slow, with potential pay-to-win aspects affecting competitive play. Overall, the experience is fun and engaging, though marred by certain frustrating mechanics.
“The mechanics of the solar systems are rather realistic in the way they move, bosses are interesting, and the community of the few of us who still play are extremely friendly and helpful.”
“A solid overhead 2D space shooter with progression mechanics, lots of areas to explore, and fluid combat.”
“Overall, the diversity of weapons, upgrades, and enemy AI make gameplay very enjoyable.”
“Gameplay: repetitive grindfest”
“Very slow gameplay, very slow movement, many identical tasks.”
“It's full of sinfully bad gameplay mechanics that I, personally, would never touch if I developed games, because most of these bad mechanics serve only to frustrate and ruin the experience for players.”
- monetization14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The monetization model of the game has been widely criticized as exploitative, with many players labeling it a "cash grab" due to its heavy reliance on microtransactions that disrupt gameplay and immersion. While some users argue that the balance between free-to-play and pay-to-play players is maintained, the frequent reminders to purchase in-game items and the introduction of overpowered ships for real money create a frustrating experience for many. Overall, the monetization strategy has led to a negative perception, with players warning others to be cautious about engaging with the game.
“However, having played this game on the web browser for a year, I can say that microtransactions do not disturb the balance between free-to-play and pay-to-play players in the game.”
“Some people might not like this game because it is a bit of a grind and it has in-game purchases, but it is fun for what it is!”
“For a free-to-play game, there are too many notifications and reminders that it depends on in-game purchases, which really breaks immersion.”
“Pay to win, dead game played this before on ArmorGames; still a cash grab.”
“It's a flash/browser game that was dumped on Steam as a cash grab then made 'free' (but not really).”
“The microtransactions are required if you want to keep playing since it gives you a better ship.”
- music10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising it as "brilliant" and "awesome," while others find it repetitive and annoying due to looping tracks and overlapping audio. While the ambient sound is generally considered decent and fitting, the overall experience is marred by instances of blaring music and poor sound effects.
“The music is also very nice and peaceful.”
“The music is brill.”
“Music is awesome too.”
“The music ends up looping over itself a lot of times, and you end up with two different tracks playing at the same time.”
“Blaring annoying music, horrible sound effects, confusing interface, get ganked while opening my map to look for things to do.”
“Music: meh, three songs which can (and will) loop over each other if you alt tab sometimes.”
- graphics5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally described as decent, featuring good visuals in a 2D world that many users find brilliant for a basic game.
“It's a great basic game with good visuals in a 2D world.”
“Graphics are brilliant.”
“The graphics are decent but lack the polish expected from a modern game.”
“The visuals feel outdated and do not match the current standards in gaming.”
“While the graphics are functional, they fail to create an immersive experience.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting frequent glitches, freezing issues, and unfulfilled promises for improvements. Many feel that the developers' reluctance to bring in new talent has contributed to the game's decline rather than its enhancement.
“Could have been a good game if the devs accepted new developers to their team, but they would rather let a good game die than fix animation glitches and fulfill old promises by expanding the game. (Played since November 11, 2012 on Kongregate)”
“It freezes frequently.”
“It is glitchy as hell, and my firing also sticks when it glitches out like that.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized, particularly regarding UI issues that have led to framerate drops, indicating a lack of experience from the developers. Players feel that the optimization efforts are insufficient, as the rewards system does not significantly enhance the gameplay experience.
“The optimization in this game significantly enhances the overall performance, making for a smoother and more enjoyable experience.”
“The developers have done a great job optimizing the game, ensuring that it runs well even on lower-end hardware.”
“You know a developer is inexperienced when one of their big patch notes includes 'UI optimization' because their UI caused framerate issues.”
“Nothing much to say about this; it probably needs more players, but it kind of feels pointless since the rewards are just... basically the same. As a reward, they give you some resources that are relative to your performance in the match, and this system is used in many games.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, noting that the ships exhibit a sense of autonomy, which enhances the immersive experience and evokes feelings of wonder and attachment. This dynamic creates a unique bond between the player and the game world, as the ships seem to possess their own personalities.
