AWA, also known as Aircraft Warfare Arcade, is a thrilling shoot-'em-up game featuring modern military aircraft and nine action-packed stages, each with a unique end-level boss. Choose from eight player aircraft, earn money to upgrade and buy weapons or support drones, and challenge yourself with three difficulty levels. The game also offers TATE mode, online leaderboards, achievements, and trading cards.
Reviews
- The game features enjoyable gameplay with a solid upgrade system and a variety of unlockable aircraft, making it engaging and replayable.
- The graphics and art style are appealing, with well-designed stages and interesting boss fights that enhance the overall experience.
- Many players found the game to be a fun and nostalgic throwback to classic shmups, providing a satisfying challenge without being overly complex.
- The game suffers from a lack of polish, with reports of bugs, glitches, and unresponsive controls that detract from the overall experience.
- The soundtrack and sound effects are often criticized as being weak and uninspiring, failing to enhance the gameplay.
- Some players noted that the game feels generic and lacks originality, with repetitive level design and minimal variety in enemy patterns.
- gameplay26 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the soft handling of fighters and the rewarding bullet-dodging mechanics, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking originality. Although it offers solid controls and a few enjoyable mechanics, many find the overall experience uninspired and generic, with minimal variety in enemies and stages. Despite its flaws, some players enjoy it as a relaxing shooter for casual play, highlighting its potential for fun in short bursts.
“Gameplay: soft handling of the fighters makes successful bullet dodging feel ever more rewarding.”
“Still an ultimately enjoyable shooter with solid replay due to several unlockable ships that mix up the gameplay a bit with different spread and bomb types between them.”
“Fast-paced shmup with responsive controls and old school gameplay.”
“The graphics are unappealing, the music is annoying, and this game's got nothing going on in the actual gameplay department.”
“Don't expect too much; what you see is what you get. Bullet hell simple mechanics could have been more, risking better graphics, effects, enemies, and originality. Most stages feel the same, with minimal variety of enemy fighters and planes.”
“Gameplay is not fun; it has no energy or charm.”
- music17 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it relaxing and enjoyable, while others describe it as repetitive, annoying, and lacking impact. Many feel that the soundtrack does not enhance the gameplay experience, with some wishing for better sound design overall. Overall, the music is seen as a weak point, with a few tracks that may irritate players over time.
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“I have finished it 3 times and still play it; nice soundtracks, smooth gameplay, and graphics!”
“The music is a sort of techno-industrial style and consists of 2 songs.”
“The graphics are underwhelming but functional; it's the sound that I wish were better, both the music and the effects.”
“Same, the music feels out of place and lacking impact when playing or facing the odds, repetitive and boring.”
“If there are shortcomings to Awa, it's the game's relatively short length and extremely bland and cheap music that you'll wish to mute out.”
- graphics15 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the beautiful visuals, such as clouds and planes, and a modern military art style, while others criticize them as underwhelming and uninspired compared to older titles. Overall, the graphics are described as adequate or functional, with some noting smooth gameplay, but many feel they lack the depth and variety expected from a modern shooter.
“I was thoroughly amazed by the graphics but fearful it meant a big compromise in other areas.”
“The graphics look nice and it plays pretty smooth.”
“Awa has really good graphics and a cool modern military art style, there's a good amount of stages, the boss fights are really interesting and fun.”
“The graphics are unappealing, the music is annoying, and this game's got nothing going on in the actual gameplay department.”
“For a modern shooter, it really lacks in the graphics department; any 90's shoot 'em up looks miles better than this. It certainly feels uninspired and bland; it could have been more, much more.”
“This is a type of game that I really enjoy, but lackluster graphics and controls make this a very poor game.”
- story8 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's story is minimal, with players primarily focused on action rather than narrative, as they engage in missions to shoot down targets. While some players create their own backstories, such as battling a Skynet-like threat, the overall experience lacks a cohesive plot, relying instead on gameplay mechanics like loadouts and a money system.
“Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“There is no story whatsoever, just shoot and dodge.”
“There is no story, but I always imagine that I am trying to shoot down aircraft which are controlled by the Skynet computer system from the Terminator series of movies in an attempt to avert the Judgment Day nuclear war (or at least trying to lessen its severity).”
“+/- no particular story.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, including numerous glitches and bugs that can hinder progress, such as freezing at certain levels. While some users note improvements after updates or changes to their systems, overall stability remains a concern for many players.
“The game has lots of glitches.”
“Very buggy; I couldn't progress past the second level because the game would lock up.”
“They have fixed the glitches, or my computer does not suck now; either way, it's a fun shooter like Raiden.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game offers solid replayability, allowing players to experience different difficulty levels and experiment with various aircraft. Users express enthusiasm for replaying the game to explore these options further.
“I cleared the game on easy and I am eager to try it again on other modes and with new aircraft.”
“This game offers great replayability as you can attempt to win with each aircraft and choose from three difficulty levels: easy, medium, and hard.”
“This game does give you some potential replayability though as you can try to win the game with each aircraft and there are 3 difficulty levels to choose from (easy, medium, hard).”