Asura
- April 13, 2017
- Ogre Head Studio
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"Asura is a single-player Fantasy Hack and Slash game with an intriguing story, awesome game mechanics, and good visuals/soundtrack. The Vengeance Edition includes a new endless mode, "Vengeance Mode," with a leaderboard and a new difficulty level, "Mahasura," for hardcore players. The update also features a new Chakra System, new items, and Shamshan, where players can show off their gear."
Mac OS
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Reviews
- The combat is fluid and engaging, with a good mix of melee and ranged attacks that require strategic thinking.
- The game features a unique skill tree that is randomly generated each run, adding to its replayability and variety.
- The incorporation of Indian mythology into the story and aesthetics provides a fresh and interesting backdrop for the gameplay.
- The game can be extremely challenging, with a steep learning curve that may frustrate some players.
- There are issues with the controls and hitboxes, which can lead to frustrating moments during combat.
- The random nature of the skill tree can sometimes result in unbalanced runs, making it feel unfair at times.
- gameplay144 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Asura is characterized by a mix of familiar mechanics from other roguelikes, such as a randomly generated skill tree and a dual weapon system, allowing players to switch between melee and ranged attacks. While the core gameplay loop is engaging and offers a rewarding roguelike experience, some players find it lacks originality and variety, with certain mechanics feeling unbalanced or frustrating. Overall, the game is praised for its smooth controls and immersive experience, though it may not fully satisfy those seeking innovation in gameplay.
“Solid gameplay, well-designed systems.”
“The gameplay is quite straightforward: you can switch quickly from ranged weapon to melee weapon according to the situation.”
“It's incredibly fast-paced and fun, and the mechanics of the loot and skills intertwining with each other is great.”
“No originality in gameplay and mechanics.”
“Barebones gameplay.”
“So the gameplay devolves to running and dodging away, turning and shooting, running away, etc. basically kiting the whole time.”
- story48 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story, rooted in Indian mythology, is generally regarded as decent and engaging, with some players appreciating its unique perspective on the hero's journey and themes of vengeance. However, critiques highlight that the narrative can feel bland or simplistic at times, and the cutscenes may lack polish. Overall, while the story serves as a solid backdrop for gameplay, it may not satisfy those seeking a deeply immersive narrative experience.
“The story is decent and incorporates what I understand is a great deal of Indian mythology.”
“Lots of variety for each playthrough, presented through a rad story essentially about playing as a demon rebelling against the corrupt kingdom of men and gods.”
“Additional congratulations for the story that, while simple, is well directed and spaces a little away from the conventional stereotype of the good hero killing the bad foe.”
“The story is also bland and very poor.”
“As for a final rating: due to the grammatical mistakes, a high difficulty curve (for me), and a limited story and soundtrack, this game loses marks.”
“The story is decent and there are a ton of unlockables.”
- graphics46 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players noting that while the graphics are basic and chunky, the overall aesthetic is bright, colorful, and visually appealing. Many appreciate the varied environments and artistic details in the background, although some criticize the simplistic model designs and outdated visuals. Overall, the game is described as having a charming art style that complements its gameplay, despite some inconsistencies in quality, particularly in cutscenes.
“The aesthetic of the game is bright and colorful, and the areas you go to are varied and interesting to look at, and full of cover, treasure, and traps.”
“Graphics (cute and fun to look at; soft for the eyes): 9.5/10”
“The visuals are nice and clear, and a lot of cool effects.”
“Graphics are outdated, and the simplistic style of models don't add much to enjoyment.”
“Graphics = nvidia gt 720.”
“I didn't like the way the game controls and the graphics were of a budget mobile hack and slash game.”
- music32 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 34 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its thematic alignment with Indian mythology and describing it as a good soundtrack, while others note its repetitiveness due to a limited number of tracks. Overall, the sound design is considered decent, but the lack of variety may detract from the experience during extended play sessions. Ratings for the music generally hover around 8/10, highlighting its uniqueness and fitting style, despite some criticisms regarding its repetitiveness.
“Very good soundtrack, matching the Indian mythology theme.”
“Great music and sound effects.”
“Sounds - 8/10 (unique is the best word to describe the music inside the game)”
“There's only about 1 or 2 songs in the game, so the music gets a bit repetitive.”
“The game is simple yet enjoyable, but the limited soundtrack would probably get on my nerves if I played for more than a dozen hours.”
“Due to the limited story and soundtrack, this game loses marks.”
- replayability30 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability, with features such as unlockable bosses, weapons, abilities, and character choices that enhance each run. The inclusion of randomly generated skill trees, maps, and enemies ensures a unique experience every time, preventing players from settling into a single optimal build. Overall, players find the replay value to be significant, making it a worthwhile investment.
“The various passive and active skills, along with the differences in gameplay between weapons and character choice provide a lot of replay value.”
“I absolutely recommend it due to its low price and replayability, but if you really need that 10 bucks, you aren't missing out on much.”
“Randomly generated maps, enemies, and skill trees make its replayable value intact.”
“The procedural generation of the levels and the skill tree lends to a lot of replayability even after completing the game.”
- grinding16 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be quite pronounced, requiring repetitive play to improve and acquire desired items. While some appreciate the challenge and see it as part of the game's charm, many feel that the lack of variety in enemy encounters and room layouts makes the experience tedious and slow over time. Overall, the grind can lead to frustration, especially as players seek specific rewards.
“For a grindy game, there is almost no variety - there are a few preset rooms with a few presets of enemy encounters, and you'll quickly learn to identify these.”
“This makes the game feel extremely tedious and slow to clear rooms.”
“I usually want to clear an entire floor before moving on ahead, but this quickly becomes a tedious process.”
- optimization10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
Overall, the game delivers a polished and smooth performance, but many users express concerns about its optimization, particularly for PC controls and framerate issues, even on high-end hardware like the 1080 Ti. While it is enjoyable to play, the optimization leaves room for improvement.
“Polished, runs smoothly, and is even fun to boot!”
“+ smooth performance”
“In general, I wish it was better optimized (control-wise) for PC with keyboard.”
“However, the game does have performance issues.”
“Even on a 1080 Ti, I had severe framerate issues, which shows to me that the game was optimized poorly.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game currently suffers from several minor glitches, particularly with item spawning during forging, which can hinder gameplay. Reviewers feel that while the potential for a fun experience exists, the lack of thorough testing and polish makes it too buggy for a positive overall impression at this stage.
“There are a couple of minor glitches, e.g., when forging items, it sometimes spawns where it can't be picked up.”
“If this game gets polished and is ready for a public release, it'll make for a really fun experience overall, but right now it's just too buggy and unpolished to consider that great. It doesn't feel like it was tested thoroughly.”
