Bombshell
- January 29, 2016
- Slipgate Ironworks™
- 7h median play time
Bombshell sports impressive shooting and a stylish presentation, but the game's takes on exploration and narrative ultimately drag down the experience.
Get on Steam"Bombshell is a single-player Science Fiction Shooter game with fantastic mechanics and compelling visuals. As mercenary Shelly "Bombshell" Harrison, you'll save the president across 4 planets, combating out-of-this-world enemies with a unique arsenal. Despite phenomenal music and comedic elements, the game is plagued by bugs."
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features a strong female protagonist, Shelly 'Bombshell' Harrison, who is well-designed and voiced.
- The soundtrack is engaging, with a mix of heavy metal and ambient scores that enhance the gameplay experience.
- The graphics are impressive for an indie title, showcasing vibrant environments and decent animations.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs, including game-breaking glitches and issues with character movement and AI behavior.
- The level design can be confusing, leading to frustrating backtracking and unclear objectives.
- The story and dialogue are often criticized for being clichéd and lacking depth, with many one-liners falling flat.
- story61 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The story in "Bombshell" is widely regarded as a cheesy, generic narrative reminiscent of 90s B-movies, filled with over-the-top action and one-liners. While some players appreciate its lighthearted tone and humor, many criticize it for being poorly written and lacking depth, often feeling disconnected from the gameplay. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop for the action rather than a compelling element, with mixed opinions on its execution and voice acting quality.
“The story is exactly what you would expect: 90s B-movie cheese, and I have no problems with that.”
“But despite not being entirely into the story, I still enjoyed the flair of the cutscenes, and they do their job building up some drama between levels.”
“Great artwork and visual style, good soundtrack that is strangely underused, cheesy story (which I'm okay with), some good puns, and that's about it.”
“The story is paper thin.”
“The story is laughable, the action over the top.”
“The main problem with the story though is that it's not really written well enough to draw you into it and expects a little too much from the player to be invested in it.”
- gameplay41 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay in Bombshell is a mixed bag, featuring fun combat mechanics and a variety of weapons, but marred by balance issues, bugs, and repetitive tasks that can lead to a stale experience. While the game offers enjoyable moments and a unique character, it suffers from clunky controls and unpolished design, making it feel less refined compared to other titles in the genre. Overall, it has potential but requires significant improvements to fully realize its gameplay experience.
“However, it does have some positive things; the gameplay is decently fun in the first hours, with huge maps, side quests, a big arsenal of weapons, a likable main character and antagonist, a cool soundtrack, and different environments.”
“It's pretty fun, and you can easily keep track of everything on the screen. It takes a while to get used to some game mechanics, but after that, you feel like you are in total control.”
“Despite the performance issues I've been having, the gameplay is really enjoyable.”
“Bombshell would be a decent game if it wasn't infested with bugs. I was running into issues every 10 minutes, including not gaining XP, getting stuck on terrain and forced to reset, enemies spawning into walls and outside of map bounds, and buggy achievements that unlock by themselves when they feel like it. It also suffers from repetitive gameplay, which becomes kind of stale when hitting episode 2, but it didn't stop me from finishing it.”
“Not so good, the gameplay is somewhat clunky. You get stuck on the scenario pretty often, and there are still a few bugs like floating stuck enemies that you cannot reach. Some strange decisions on the execution animations break the action completely, resulting in an overall noticeably unpolished game.”
“The gameplay mechanics themselves are actually quite good, but this is marred by AI problems and the multiple hard crashes that were experienced.”
- music34 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game, primarily composed by Andrew Hulshult, is widely praised for its heavy metal and synth elements, enhancing the overall experience with a badass and enjoyable soundtrack. While some reviewers noted that the music could have been better utilized or featured stronger themes, the general consensus is that the soundtrack is a standout aspect, complementing the game's visuals and action effectively. Overall, the music is considered a highlight, contributing significantly to the game's appeal despite some criticisms of other elements.
“The soundtrack is great, the levels are creative, as are the enemies.”
“Great game, old school style, with a fabulous soundtrack and level design, good controls, and a bunch of weapons.”
“Amazing soundtrack by Andrew Hulshult.”
“I feel with a stronger story that took itself less seriously, and with better voice acting and stronger music the game could be a real blast.”
“Some stronger themes would really have helped the soundtrack come a long way as I couldn't really get into it.”
“I just couldn't really get behind the voice acting or music.”
- graphics29 mentions
- 66 % positive mentions
- 24 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received generally positive feedback, with many praising the impressive visuals and animations, especially considering its age and use of Unreal Engine 3. While some users noted unresolved graphical bugs and performance issues, the overall aesthetic and artwork were highlighted as standout features, contributing to a visually appealing experience. Despite some criticisms regarding performance, the game's graphics are often described as colorful, detailed, and reminiscent of classic action films.
“Graphics for an 8-year-old game is amazing; Unreal Engine 3 has been pushed pretty far here.”
“Huge kudos to the art and design team; they have done a really good job on Bombshell's graphics. The game looks absolutely beautiful and badass.”
“The graphics look great and it performs admirably; it's clearly a homage to 80's action films with Shelly constantly singing out one-liners when she kills things.”
“A lot of unresolved graphical and engine bugs.”
“However, even dropping the graphics to their lowest setting and lowering the resolution didn't seem to help performance at all.”
“The game has a surprisingly robust video options menu for the graphics level that it has, which can be considered sub-par at best.”
- humor19 mentions
- 89 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the witty one-liners and puns, while others find it lacking and not fully integrated into the gameplay. Many references and weapon names aim for a Duke Nukem-style humor, but the execution often feels forced or out of place, leading to a tone that is more serious than comedic. Overall, while there are moments of humor, they do not consistently land, leaving some players wanting more from the game's comedic elements.
“The protagonist is a sexy female half-cyborg with a quite harsh but funny attitude.”
“Most of the humor in Bombshell is derived from stuff like naming a weapon 'Ion Maiden' (because Iron Maiden... get it?) or 'PMS' (which is basically on par with naming a town Morningwood).”
“- Cheesy but awesome humor, one-liners, puns, and I think most importantly sarcastic remarks about fetch quests and pushing buttons, which while that is a lot of the gameplay actually helps keep it entertaining.”
“Not funny enough, not crazy enough... remember how there was Duke Nukem Forever?”
“The dialogues are not funny, the controls are clunky at best, the animations are bad, etc. The character being a direct copy of Elexis Sinclaire from Sin doesn't really help either.”
- stability15 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of Bombshell is heavily criticized, with players reporting frequent bugs, crashes, and glitches that disrupt gameplay, such as issues with enemy AI, terrain navigation, and achievement unlocking. While some users found the game enjoyable despite these problems, many noted that the bugs significantly detracted from the overall experience, making it feel poorly optimized and frustrating at times. Overall, the game's stability issues are a major concern, overshadowing its fun elements.
“Bombshell would be a decent game if it wasn't an infestation of bugs. I was running into issues every 10 minutes while playing, including not gaining XP, getting stuck on terrain and being forced to reset, enemies spawning into walls and outside of map bounds, and buggy achievements that unlock by themselves when they feel like it. It also suffers from repetitive gameplay, which becomes kind of stale when hitting episode 2, but it didn't stop me from finishing it.”
“Have never been able to finish the game due to crashes, freezes, and lost progress.”
“Its enjoyment factor is reduced by being utterly buggy and broken at the state that it is in.”
- optimization15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players reporting smooth performance even on older hardware, while others experience significant issues such as frequent glitches, FPS drops, and unresponsive settings like v-sync. Overall, many users agree that despite some decent gameplay elements, the game's optimization problems detract from the experience, making it challenging to enjoy on less powerful systems.
“I may be wrong, but for me this game was perfectly optimized and I have a pretty old PC (CPU and HDD are really outdated).”
“Performance-wise, the only problem I had was I couldn't get V-Sync to work, so I had to play in borderless window.”
“Overall the game is worth buying, but be aware of the performance issues if you're not running the latest and greatest systems.”
“The game is so poorly optimized it's almost shameful.”
“It's a campy action movie in game format, and it's just hampered by the copious glitches and bad optimization.”
“I got it while it was on sale for $10 after having my eye on it since release, and I can't believe how many bugs and performance issues still persist in the game.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers good replayability due to its character abilities, weapon upgrades, and hidden secrets, making it enjoyable to revisit. However, some players feel it lacks replay value without a map editor, indicating a need for additional content to enhance longevity.
“The character abilities, weapon upgrades, and secrets mean that this game has great replay value.”
“In short, it's a fun game with replay value and a great lead character, though it has some rough edges.”
“There is no replay value; the game really needs a map editor!”
“Once you finish the game, there's little incentive to play again.”
“The lack of variety in gameplay makes it hard to justify multiple playthroughs.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and boring, often involving repetitive backtracking and buggy exploration. However, a recent patch has improved the experience, making it more tolerable despite still retaining some grindy elements.
“Gameplay-wise, it boils down to keep moving and shooting with tedious backtracking and buggy exploration.”
“It's boring, tedious, and tries to be Duke Nukem, failing horribly.”
“Edit: recent patch resolved most of the issues I had with the game, so although I still find the game tedious, it's much more tolerable now.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in these games is crucial, as it is intricately tied to storytelling and quality writing, effectively establishing an immersive mood that enhances the overall experience.
“Some games heavily rely on atmosphere, storytelling, and good writing to set the mood.”
“The immersive atmosphere draws you in and makes you feel like you're part of the world.”
“Every detail contributes to a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere that lingers long after you finish playing.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization of the game is widely criticized, with players feeling that the $30 price tag is unjustified and perceiving it as a blatant cash grab.
“This game feels like a total cash grab; $30 for this piece of junk?”
“The monetization is so aggressive that it ruins the overall experience.”
“I can't believe how many microtransactions are crammed into this game.”
