Battlevoid: Harbinger
- February 24, 2016
- Bugbyte Ltd.
- 21h median play time
Get on Steam"Battlevoid: Harbinger" is a hard sci-fi space exploration game that combines roguelike, turn-based, and real-time space battles. As a young commander, you must lead your use strategy and tactics to navigate through enemy territories, defend humanity, and survive. The Special Edition features improved graphics, enhanced UI, more content, and precise controls.
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Reviews
- Engaging gameplay with a mix of strategy and real-time combat, allowing for tactical decision-making.
- Variety of ships and weapons to unlock, providing a sense of progression and customization.
- Addictive and fun, making it easy to lose track of time while playing.
- Repetitive gameplay that can become tedious after a few hours, with limited mission variety.
- Grindy progression system that requires significant time investment to unlock new ships and upgrades.
- Combat can feel unbalanced, with some enemies being overwhelmingly powerful compared to the player's fleet.
- story125 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's story is minimal and largely consists of generic mission prompts such as "destroy this" or "deliver that," lacking depth or engaging narrative elements. Players often find the missions repetitive and uninspired, with little to no overarching plot or character development, making it feel more like a series of fetch quests in space rather than a cohesive adventure. While there are some interesting ideas and random events, the overall execution leaves much to be desired, resulting in a gameplay experience that prioritizes mechanics over storytelling.
“Each map has a new enemy race with their own little backstory.”
“Progress to the final node on each map and you will be given the option to advance to the next and introduced via text to the 'story' for the next mission.”
“The storyline is, to be frank, just kinda weird.”
“The game is alright but gets repetitive and lacks a lot of storyline, and the level locking ships and slow progression is my biggest gripe about the game.”
“No story, no tactics; the only thing you do is grind experience to get better ships so you last longer.”
“The story is barely, barely there, and while it suggests some interesting ideas, it's basically just a few totally ignorable text boxes at the beginning and end of each map.”
- gameplay89 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mix of addictive yet repetitive mechanics, with a core loop that offers heart-pounding moments but suffers from grindy progression and a lack of depth. While some players appreciate the simple controls and casual nature, others find the mechanics uninspired and the overall experience lacking in engaging content. Despite its potential for tactical gameplay, many reviews highlight the need for more variety and improvements to keep players invested.
“The core gameplay loop is like nothing else and provides heart-stopping moments even towards the end of the campaign when you're at your strongest.”
“Addictive gameplay and polished system.”
“Excellent rogue-like replayability with solid gameplay mechanics that create a simple yet deep tactical and even mildly strategic experience.”
“Some mechanics are very lazy.”
“It's obvious developers used cheat mode because, for example, asteroid sectors are just dumb. You cannot skip them, so you just sit in front of your computer and wait for about 10 seconds watching nothing happen. You can encounter multiple on your way, and the maps are randomly generated, so you might find yourself in a dead end and have to travel back through them. There are also black hole and electric storm sectors with the same mechanics.”
“The gameplay loop does get a bit repetitive.”
- grinding52 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is widely criticized for its excessive grinding, which many players find tedious and frustrating, particularly in unlocking new ships and progressing through levels. While some appreciate the opportunity to experiment with different strategies during the grind, the overall sentiment leans towards the experience being overly repetitive and lacking meaningful progression. Despite its enjoyable aspects, the grindy nature detracts significantly from the game's appeal, making it feel more like a time sink than a rewarding experience.
“No real sense of progression for a roguelike; can't find better ships during a run because you need to unlock them by grinding out runs.”
“Overall, it's just not fun to be locked out of higher tier ships based on a grindy progression mechanic instead of how well you are doing in a particular run.”
“The game lost any kind of progress, and now feels just grindy and boring.”
- graphics39 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally described as basic and reminiscent of retro pixel art, with many reviewers noting a lack of modern polish and detail. While some appreciate the simplicity and nostalgic feel, others criticize the visuals for being substandard, especially on higher resolution displays. Overall, the graphics serve the gameplay adequately but do not meet the expectations set by contemporary titles.
“Graphics are crisp - controls even crisper.”
“Good graphics, sound and overall a fun game to play.”
“I really dig the graphics.”
“The only thing that I wish was better is the graphics - I have a 5K screen and it looks blurry because the max setting for it is Full HD.”
“Graphics look like 1990s clipart, and again, even the slightest effort to maintain a cohesive story or world-building beyond the opening paragraph would have been appreciated.”
“The graphics were very substandard, considering the price.”
- replayability23 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers a solid level of replayability, primarily due to its randomly generated maps, diverse ship and weapon combinations, and unlockable content. While some players find the gameplay can become repetitive over time, many appreciate the tactical depth and variety that encourage multiple playthroughs. However, once most content is unlocked, some users feel the replay value diminishes significantly.
“Can't forget to mention the whole board you play on is randomly generated each game, it's highly replayable.”
“Excellent rogue-like replayability with solid gameplay mechanics that create a simple yet deep tactical and even mildly strategic experience.”
“Loads of replayability as each and every time you play, the map is much different than the last.”
“The replayability of this game may not be to everyone's taste due to the monotonous battles, which on occasion can be very difficult.”
“It's a good game on the first few playthroughs, but the replayability is poor.”
“I admit, once you've unlocked most of the ships, there is not much replay value later on, but the way to get there took me more than 20 hours... well worth it!”
- music12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; some players find it pleasant and ambient, enhancing the overall experience, while others criticize it for being repetitive and shallow. While a few appreciate the soundtrack as "sublime," many suggest that it may be better to play with personal music instead, as the game's score does not leave a lasting impression. Overall, the music contributes to the atmosphere but lacks depth and variety.
“Namely, I find that I mostly enjoy this game as a 'zen experience.' Just play through and tune everything out, letting the music and sound effects pull me away.”
“The game has a lot of variety, and is really well-made for such a simple premise - but there's a good variety of ships/loadouts, fairly decent snarky humor (go matrix celestials!), and the soundtrack in particular is sublime.”
“Just absolutely glorious to listen to... and this is said as someone who almost always just mutes game music and puts on my own.”
“The game is light on game elements, story, music, and even UI.”
“The music helps create an ambience, but it's very limited and repetitive, so it can get annoying after a while.”
“Maybe use your own music since I can’t remember anything about that.”
- monetization4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game is heavily criticized, with users noting intrusive advertisements for the developer's other game and a strong emphasis on microtransactions, suggesting that the game prioritizes profit over player experience.
“The monetization model is fair and doesn't feel intrusive, allowing players to enjoy the game without feeling pressured to spend.”
“I appreciate that the game offers a variety of cosmetic items for purchase, but they don't affect gameplay balance.”
“The in-game purchases are optional and provide a way to support the developers without compromising the experience.”
“This feels like the sort of game that is really designed for microtransactions rather than something you actually purchased in full.”
“Initial startup - an advertisement for the developer's other game which takes you to their website.”
“Once again, the advertisement for the other game.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized for being quite poor, with numerous bugs that significantly hinder gameplay and performance. Users report issues ranging from minor slowdowns to severe bugs that make the game nearly unplayable.
“Not a bad concept, but the gameplay is not great; it's very buggy to the point where you can't really play.”
“The game can be a bit buggy or slow at times.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players generally praise the game's optimization, highlighting smooth animations and the effectiveness of carefully optimized ships, which contribute to a feeling of invincibility during gameplay.
“Sometimes wiped because I felt invincible with my carefully optimized ships.”
“Butter smooth animation, well optimized.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a well-crafted blend of snarky humor and variety, enhancing its simple premise. Players appreciate the witty dialogue, particularly referencing pop culture elements like "matrix celestials," which adds to the overall enjoyment.
“The game has a lot of variety and is really well-made for such a simple premise, but there's a good variety of ships and loadouts, along with some fairly decent snarky humor (go Matrix celestials!).”
“The humor in this game is top-notch, with clever writing that keeps you chuckling throughout your playtime.”
“I love how the game balances its serious moments with hilarious dialogue and quirky character interactions.”
