Cantata

About

Cantata is a warfare strategy game that offers multiple modes of play, including local multi-player for up to 2 players, co-op, and single-player. As a Commanding Officer, lead your faction through a rich story campaign on the planet of Shoal, battling both human and robot enemies as well as the planet itself. Manage resources, capture regions, and make strategic choices in this delightful game with good graphics. Join the Discord and follow on social media for updates.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

66%

Audience ScoreBased on 116 reviews

gameplay16 positive mentions

grinding6 negative mentions

The game features a unique and captivating art style that draws players in and enhances the overall experience.
Cantata offers innovative gameplay mechanics, particularly with its focus on logistics and resource management, which adds depth to the strategy.
The story and character development are well-written, providing an engaging narrative that complements the gameplay.

The user interface is clunky and often obstructive, making it difficult to manage units and access necessary information during gameplay.
There are significant bugs and performance issues, including game-breaking glitches that can disrupt progress and frustrate players.
The game suffers from pacing problems, with slow gameplay and arbitrary turn limits that detract from the overall enjoyment and strategic depth.

gameplay
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
73%
4%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players praising its innovative mechanics and captivating art style, but criticizing its slow pace, clunky execution, and lack of intuitive tutorials. While some find the turn-based strategy elements and unique supply chain mechanics interesting, others feel overwhelmed by the complexity and bugs, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, the game shows potential but requires significant improvements in gameplay flow and clarity to fully engage players.
- “Innovative gameplay and interesting setting!”
- “The gameplay feels fresh and I'm loving the art style.”
- “Each faction has interesting and unique mechanics which opens a lot of possibilities and forces you to use your resources and action points wisely each turn.”
- “The turn-based mechanics fit the style of the game but have been poorly implemented and often feel clunky and tedious.”
- “Compounding with the incredibly slow and tedious gameplay where units need to be moved one at a time is the fact that they don't go grey when you move them, only when you move and attack with them, which adds even more to the tedium and frustration.”
- “So many of the gameplay mechanics are at odds with each other to the point of it being a frustrating, incongruent slog to play.”
story
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
69%
8%
The game's story is generally praised for being captivating and well-written, with a unique world and interesting factions, though it suffers from pacing issues and a lack of depth in certain areas. Many players noted that while the narrative has potential, it is hindered by numerous bugs, arbitrary time limits on missions, and gameplay mechanics that detract from the overall experience. Despite these flaws, the art style and story elements are highlighted as strong points that keep players engaged, even if the execution is often frustrating.
- “A well-written and detailed storyline helps emphasize the opposing sides and their motivations as they begin to unfurl during the campaign.”
- “The story is captivating, well-thought-out, and paced, which can be lost on some players, as the start of the game is slow, and there's an overwhelming amount of information provided very quickly, which makes learning the mechanics and understanding the story difficult.”
- “The single-player campaign is focused on telling a story; the AI is just there going about their business and you're attacking them because they're in the way of your objectives.”
- “You essentially have 9 missions (and quite boring ones) and that's it.”
- “Every mission is timed because the game designers don't know that absolutely everybody hates arbitrary time limits, and by mission four the game decides it's done with you and presents a mission so difficult that there are turn by turn guides on how to beat the mission.”
- “The maps are huge, story-driven, and unfortunately.... an absolute slog-fest.”
graphics
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
59%
7%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and stunning art style, which combines vibrant visuals with a fantastical atmosphere, drawing players in with its artistic ambition. However, some users note that while the visuals are compelling, they cannot compensate for gameplay issues such as bugs and slow pacing. Overall, the game's graphics stand out as a highlight, despite mixed feelings about the overall execution and gameplay experience.
- “The artwork and atmosphere of the game are unusual and top notch.”
- “Visually compelling in its fantastical art style during character dialogue and strikingly vibrant during gameplay, the graphics are clearly one of the aspects that stands out and gets one’s attention in Cantata.”
- “Excellent art style, ambience, and music throughout.”
- “The art style sucks, by the way. It's like a children's fairy tale book illustration drawn by a hallucinating hippie in the late 60s or early 70s.”
- “Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the developer is unable to give the game the identity it needs to carry through with the promise made by the graphics.”
- “The gameplay was a bit slow and dull; maybe it gets better with time, but I didn't want to go past the refund time period.”
music
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
23%
23%
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to evoke emotions and enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers noting its surprising quality and thematic integration. While the soundtrack stands out positively, some mention that the ambient sounds can become repetitive over time. Overall, the combination of music and art design contributes significantly to the game's appeal.
- “Great interface and music that mesh well with its themes.”
- “Fantastic visuals, surprisingly enjoyable writing and music.”
- “The soundtrack continuously surprised me and filled me with pride for the team I was fighting for, but the animation sounds don't really vary that much and everything beneath the music sort of blends into itself over time.”
- “Music is pretty.”
- “Machines have a very chilled vibe with their soundtrack.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, primarily due to poorly implemented turn-based mechanics that slow down gameplay and create logistical challenges. The need to manage high unit counts and the cumbersome movement system contribute to a frustrating experience, as players often feel bogged down by repetitive actions and inefficient mechanics. Overall, while the game offers expansive and interesting environments, the grinding can detract significantly from the enjoyment.
- “It demands a lot of logistics and supply lines, but getting the info you need when you need it is very tedious.”
- “Waiting between moves becomes rapidly tedious and feels unnecessary within a turn-based title.”
- “Compounding with the incredibly slow and tedious gameplay where units need to be moved one at a time is the fact that they don't go grey when you move them, only when you move and attack with them, so you'll be clicking around checking if all your units can move, and getting jebaited by double moves all the time, spending your energy that you were saving for another action, which will take an extra turn to recover from, adding even more to the tedium and frustration.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is frequently criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs that affect performance and gameplay. While the artistic visuals are praised, the overall experience is marred by these issues, leading many to recommend waiting for further updates before playing.
- “Buggy, slow, and all of the game is focused around storyline missions that aren't very good.”
- “It's still very buggy though, so if you're holding off for a complete game, I'd say to wait a bit longer.”
- “It's subtly buggy.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The optimization of Cantata is currently lacking, with users reporting poor performance on larger levels and a noticeable absence of polish, which can lead to exploitative tactics. While it may still be worth considering for some players, the overall experience suffers from significant quality-of-life issues.
- “If you can stomach bad performance on bigger levels, a serious lack of polish that allows some cheesy tactics, and a lack of quality of life features, then Cantata might be worth a recommendation at this point of development.”
- “The game's performance is not great.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its exceptional artwork and unique style, creating an immersive experience. The pacing complements the moody audio, enhancing the overall ambiance and making it a standout feature.
- “The artwork and atmosphere of the game are unusual and top-notch.”
- “The pacing feels great, and of course, the most eye-catching feature of the game—the style, art, and atmosphere—is incredible.”
- “Moody atmospheric audio.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is praised for its engaging and entertaining approach, complementing the advance wars-esque gameplay. Reviewers appreciate the tone and art style, indicating that the humor resonates well with fans of turn-based strategy games.
- “Really funny and interesting way of doing Advance Wars-esque gameplay; I love the scenario, and the graphics are neat too.”
- “I might wait for it to be more complete (remaining episodes) before fully diving in, but I am hooked on the tone, the art, the humor, and the gameplay resonates with me as a lover of turn-based strategy games.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express that Cantata evokes a deep emotional response, rekindling the thrill and excitement of exploration and discovery, reminiscent of experiences they haven't felt in a long time.
- “Cantata made me feel something that I absolutely love in games and that I have not experienced in a long time: the thrill and excitement of discovering what lies beyond the fog of war.”