Black Future '88
- November 21, 2019
- SUPERSCARYSNAKES
- 3h median play time
Even with no shortage of challenging side-scrollers to get into these days, Black Future '88 is more than worthy of your time and does more than enough to stand out in an increasingly populated crowd
Get on Steam"Black Future '88" is a fast-paced, rogue-like 2D action shooter set in a dystopian future. Players must fight their way to the top of a procedurally generated tower, defeating enemies and bosses to earn upgrades and abilities. With permadeath and a unique synthwave soundtrack, each run offers a fresh challenge in this adrenaline-pumping adventure.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a stunning cyberpunk aesthetic with vibrant pixel art and an engaging synthwave soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
- Gameplay is fast-paced and fluid, with a variety of weapons and perks that encourage experimentation and strategic play.
- The roguelike mechanics provide a sense of progression and challenge, making each run feel unique and rewarding for players who enjoy skill-based gameplay.
- The visual effects can be overwhelming, with excessive screen shake and flashing lights that may cause discomfort or confusion during gameplay.
- Controls are often criticized for being unresponsive and lacking customization options, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- Some players find the game repetitive and lacking in content, with limited enemy and boss variety, making it feel less engaging over time.
- music78 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in "Black Future '88" is widely praised for its engaging synthwave and electronic soundtrack, which enhances the game's immersive experience and complements its intense gameplay. Many players find the soundtrack to be the standout feature, describing it as catchy, upbeat, and perfectly suited to the game's retro aesthetic. Overall, the music significantly contributes to the game's appeal, making it a must-play for fans of the genre.
“The soundtrack of 'Black Future '88' is one of its great attractions.”
“With a mix of synthwave and electronic sounds, the music not only complements the action, but also increases the immersion in the game.”
“The soundtrack is absolutely banging and really enhances the experience.”
“It's a good game, but the soundtrack isn't that great.”
“I first thought that the visuals were a bit less than I paid for, and got annoyed that it didn't go higher than 1920x, but then the music started, and I realized that it didn't matter at all, because the game was too awesome to care.”
“Only pros are the art style and soundtracks.”
- gameplay75 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "black future '88" is characterized by its fluid movement and intense combat mechanics, offering a unique blend of roguelike elements and stylish visuals. While many players appreciate the fast-paced action and engaging soundtrack, some find the mechanics confusing and poorly explained, leading to a steep learning curve. Overall, the game is praised for its captivating gameplay loop and aesthetic appeal, despite criticisms regarding repetitiveness and a lack of variety in weapons and skills.
“The movement and general gameplay feel fluid, and the other systems (stims, perks, curses) feel balanced.”
“The gameplay is tight and the different weapons and power-ups make for great combinations.”
“Fantastic, fast-paced gameplay, amazing lighting and coloring, sprites (animation and art) and backgrounds are beautiful, shooting and melee feels good and you can get broken as hell with the right mixes.”
“It's unfortunate that the first impressions of this game will undoubtedly be very rough, but if you bother to keep playing, more mechanics (some that should have been there at the start) will be added that makes a lot of sense in hindsight.”
“The content is sparse, weapons are not different enough, skills are barely modifying gameplay, characters are bland and do not justify the vertical slice built around replayability.”
“Overall the game is a nice concept but it feels that it is lacking in gameplay variety to keep someone hooked for longer than a few hours, causing it to become pretty stale and boring fairly quickly.”
- graphics44 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of "black future '88" are widely praised for their vibrant color palette and retro-futuristic pixel art that effectively captures the cyberpunk aesthetic. While many players find the visuals striking and immersive, some criticize the visual clutter and screen effects that can detract from gameplay clarity. Overall, the game's aesthetic is considered a standout feature, enhancing the frenetic action and atmosphere.
“With a vibrant color palette and pixelated graphics that evoke the aesthetics of the 80s, the game is a true visual delight.”
“The visuals are pretty good, but the screen shake and pulsing from every bullet you shoot is extremely bad and there is no way to turn it off, it is the one thing that makes this game nearly unplayable in my opinion even if the rest of the game was great.”
“Visually, this game is gorgeous; it comes with every color you'd associate with synthwave and cyberpunk aesthetics, as well as great lighting effects to craft a great atmosphere.”
“For some reason, I was also hitting sub 60 fps on default graphical settings.”
“The graphics look neat to me, but it is hard to decipher what is going on all the time.”
“Pixel graphics are ugly; I wish developers would stop using them.”
- story8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's story is minimal and lacks depth, primarily serving as a backdrop for the action rather than a focal point. Players are thrown into combat with little context, and while the premise involves a mad scientist causing chaos, the execution leaves much to be desired, with many feeling that the narrative needs significant improvement and more content. Overall, the story is seen as a weak aspect of the game, overshadowed by its gameplay mechanics.
“The story idea and roguelite aspects are great, the inventory seems a little undermatched.”
“Graphics pixels can say very beautiful, exciting plot with a great combo system.”
“In itself, it's a surprisingly simple game—no story, no gimmicks: you are simply thrown into the middle of the action, where you have to destroy all kinds of different enemies while progressing through the levels, defeat some bosses, until the final boss battle.”
“My biggest gripe is with the story and overall background of the game and its characters.”
“Of the little story we have, some mad scientist/CEO and his buddies somehow managed to nuke the planet to the point where he even destroyed people's sense of time.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by its immersive and oppressive cyberpunk aesthetic, enhanced by neon lighting, synth-punk music, and detailed environments that transport players to a dystopian future. While the visuals are praised for their beauty and vibrant colors, some players note that excessive visual clutter can distract from gameplay. Overall, the game successfully creates a captivating atmosphere that contributes to its replayability and cult potential.
“The neon lighting and detailed environments help to create an immersive and oppressive atmosphere, transporting players to a dystopian future, where each level is a new adventure.”
“The music and atmosphere alone will hook you, and the lightspeed gameplay will keep you coming back for more.”
“I think this roguelike accomplished what it set out to do with its post-apocalyptic dystopian atmosphere and synth-punk themed music & weapons.”
“Black Future '88' is an underrated platformer with areas that fall short, clad in a cyberpunk atmosphere that won't quit.”
“Little pricey by conventional metrics, but it definitely has cult potential, replayability, and (most importantly for it) a heavy atmosphere.”
“I think this roguelike accomplished what it set out to do with its post-apocalyptic dystopian atmosphere and synth-punk themed music and weapons.”
- replayability7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players find it enjoyable and challenging, others feel that mastering the game leads to redundancy and a lack of diverse content. The simplistic gameplay and limited weapon variety contribute to a sense of repetition, although the atmospheric elements and visual appeal may attract a dedicated fanbase. Ultimately, while there is potential for replayability, it may diminish for those who fully master the game.
“Little pricey by conventional metrics, but it definitely has cult potential, replayability, and (most importantly for it) heavy atmosphere.”
“Its pixel art and lighting look stunning; the challenge it provides offers good replayability, and its rich content yet simple gameplay harmonize very well.”
“The content is sparse, weapons are not different enough, skills are barely modifying gameplay, characters are bland and do not justify the vertical slice built around replayability.”
“I've definitely found the game pretty replayable, although if you completely master the game, I could see it easily getting repetitive and losing its replayability.”
“I've definitely found the game pretty replayable, although if you completely master the game, I could see it easily getting repetitive and losing its replayability.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with some players noting smooth performance overall but experiencing crashes and significant stuttering during gameplay, particularly in combat. While the visuals and soundtrack are praised, the inconsistent fluidity detracts from the overall experience.
“As you play, you unlock new things that can show up based on your performance.”
“The game also runs smoothly, but I have experienced two crashes.”
“Style, performance (other than some weird issues with enhanced enemy projectiles), and a banging soundtrack.”
“One more thing, it is badly optimized (like other reviews have mentioned).”
“It is not fluid gameplay throughout; only when you are sitting still will the endless stuttering stop.”
“In fights, the game is constantly stuttering.”
- stability6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous bugs and glitches that significantly impact gameplay, including game-ending issues and freezing when enemies take damage. Reviewers express disappointment that the game was released in this state, suggesting it requires extensive fixes and improvements to become enjoyable. Overall, the stability issues detract from the overall experience, making it feel unfinished.
“It's a real shame this game isn't in early access, as it's buggy and it seems like it could do with many additional implementations, concepts, and mechanics to make it more fun.”
“The problem is that it is buggy beyond fixing.”
“But there is one grievous exception which makes this game almost unplayable: every time an enemy takes damage from your weapons, the game freezes for a moment.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players feel that the grinding in the game is exacerbated by its short length, leading to rapid difficulty spikes. Additionally, the rewards for grinding are perceived as insufficient, as tower upgrades quickly outpace player progress, diminishing the sense of empowerment.
“The game is very short, which makes the grinding feel excessive, and the rewards don't feel empowering enough to make a significant difference as the tower upgrades seem to outscale you.”
“Grinding becomes tedious quickly, as the limited content doesn't justify the time spent on repetitive tasks.”
“The grind feels unbalanced; instead of feeling rewarding, it often feels like a chore that detracts from the overall experience.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is initially perceived as simple and amusing, but players soon discover a deeper, more intense comedic layer that enhances the overall experience.
“At first, I thought the game was simple but funny; then I realized that it is much cooler and more hardcore.”
Critic Reviews
Black Future ’88 review
Even with no shortage of challenging side-scrollers to get into these days, Black Future '88 is more than worthy of your time and does more than enough to stand out in an increasingly populated crowd
90%Black Future ‘88 (Nintendo Switch)
With the eShop seemingly overrun with roguelike titles, Black Future ‘88 doesn’t overuse the idea. It does a good job of giving options for exploration to the player.
70%Black Future '88 (Switch) Review
Fleeting fun in a neon shooting gallery.
70%
