Champion Shift
- December 4, 2023
- Champion Shift
- 20h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store
Get on Xbox Games Store"Champion Shift" is an action-packed roguelike game where players fight endless hordes of enemies and traverse branching stages as legendary characters, like Sun Wukong and Athena. The game features unique shift mechanics between vehicle and hero forms, offering diverse playstyles and strategies. Challenge yourself in solo mode or team up with up to 4 players in online co-op play for a massively powered run.
PC
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features a unique mechanic that allows players to transform into a car, adding a fun and engaging twist to the gameplay.
- It boasts beautiful graphics, a diverse cast of characters, and a variety of upgrades, making for an enjoyable experience.
- The cooperative multiplayer mode enhances the fun, allowing players to team up and tackle challenges together.
- The game suffers from significant bugs, particularly in multiplayer, where players often experience desync issues and crashes.
- Some gameplay elements feel unbalanced, with the car transformation being overpowered, making other combat options feel less relevant.
- The quests can be repetitive and uninteresting, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- gameplay49 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a unique transformation mechanic that allows players to shift between human and car forms, adding a fun and engaging twist to the bullet heaven genre. While many players appreciate the satisfying driving mechanics and the variety of character abilities, some criticize the overreliance on the car mode, which can overshadow non-car gameplay and lead to a sense of imbalance. Overall, the game offers a dynamic and enjoyable experience, particularly in multiplayer, though it still has room for improvement in terms of pacing and upgrade options.
“The car mechanic makes the game much more fun and engaging; it acts like your second HP bar and breathing room, plus it improves pick-up radius so you don't chase those tiny pixels for experience/gold.”
“The driving mechanics are surprisingly satisfying, allowing you to plow through enemies with your heroic car.”
“Turning into a car is just as good as I wanted it to be, and the variety of 'car' vs 'man' in the gameplay and being able to swap between them at will makes for a much more interesting game than most survivor-likes.”
“The only criticism I would give is the overreliance on car mode, which can make non-car gameplay seem slow and irrelevant.”
“It feels slow, the upgrades are uninspired and the car mechanic does not add a lot to the gameplay.”
“A different spin on the bullet heaven genre with a form-shifting mechanic that is way too powerful and trivializes gameplay in human form.”
- story22 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding the quest system tedious and unengaging, preferring a more traditional survival format. While some appreciate the structure of missions leading to boss fights, issues with co-op desynchronization detract from the experience, often leaving players feeling isolated despite being on the same map. Overall, the narrative and mission design are seen as lacking depth, though the gameplay mechanics and graphics are praised.
“Great to see some actual level design and interesting quest mechanics.”
“Each stage in the game has 3 milestones, 3 missions that you have to complete to fight the boss of the stage.”
“I really like the fact that you have missions to do and you know there are certain islands you need to work to progress.”
“The quests are so boring and uninteresting; it's the worst part of the game.”
“The story/concept is wack, but who cares?”
“90% of the time you will be desynced from your co-op partners, and they'll be on the 'same' map as you, but you'll all actually be playing with bots of yourselves and be on different missions and have different bosses.”
- graphics19 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game are generally praised for their quality and visual appeal, with many users noting that they are crisp, clean, and engaging. However, some players have pointed out a lack of graphics settings and optimization issues that can affect performance. Despite these concerns, the visuals contribute positively to the gameplay experience, enhancing the enjoyment of unique characters and cooperative play.
“Top notch graphics.”
“Champion Shift brings some stunning visuals to the table, truly a treat for the eyes.”
“Graphically, it looks pleasing, and keeping track of your character and the action is surprisingly easy, considering the genre.”
“While yes, it has some neat graphics and cooperative play up to 4 people; unfortunately, there isn't much more to the game after that.”
“Starting from the graphics and ending with the balance and bugs.”
“Once we started talking about bugs, yes there are some bugs, but they are not critical at all and mainly affect the graphical part of the project; I think the developers already know about them and will fix them in the next updates.”
- stability19 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been widely criticized for its instability, with numerous reports of random crashes, freezes, and various bugs affecting gameplay and the user interface. While some players appreciate the concept and potential, many feel that the game is currently too buggy for a 1.0 release, with issues ranging from minor glitches to game-breaking problems. However, there is some optimism as developers are reportedly working on fixes for these stability issues.
“I'm also getting a lot of random crashes, freezes, and disconnects while I'm playing with my friend.”
“So far within the 2 hours I've had three crashes and numerous odd UI element glitches where elements would sort of 'burn' into the screen.”
“It is at the level of the alpha 0.1 version, which has an infinite number of bugs, freezes, and other problems.”
- optimization11 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it runs smoothly on some older hardware and has received praise for its visual appeal, players report issues such as crashes, performance inconsistencies, and multiplayer optimization challenges. There is acknowledgment that further improvements are needed, particularly regarding balancing and hitbox accuracy. Despite these concerns, many find the game enjoyable in its current state.
“The game runs smoothly.”
“It runs well on an old Core i7-4790K and GTX 1060 machine, so kudos for optimization.”
“The optimization was done very well; the developers did not forget about it, well done.”
“This game needs optimization for multiplayer, and it kind of frustrates me how they handle the problem.”
“Optimization and frame rate drops.”
“Performance could be better, and hitboxes are all over the place.”
- music9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players praise it as great and enhancing the overall experience, others find it repetitive, lackluster, and at times annoying, particularly during intense moments like boss fights. Overall, the audio work is seen as fair, with a few standout tracks but a general consensus that it could be improved.
“Absolutely love the graphics and music.”
“Really enjoyed playing the game with a headset to listen to the music; it really adds to the overall gameplay.”
“Really good effects, gameplay is very smooth on my rig and the music is killer so far!”
“My only gripe is the music; it's repetitive and really boring, just turn it off.”
“Audio work is fair to middling; critically, the devs did a good job avoiding irritating sounds for the most part, but most of the music is just 'fine' and there aren't many sound effects that really feel punchy or particularly satisfying.”
“Music / sound effects are lackluster and boring.”
- character development3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is generally praised for its thoughtful design and attention to detail, enhancing the overall gameplay experience. However, some players express dissatisfaction with specific character designs, such as Athena's, and critique elements like footwear.
“Love character design.”
“I do not like the character design for Athena, and I do not like anyone's shoes either.”
“It's a pretty straightforward game, but there's a lot of care and attention put into the character designs, the mechanics, and the gameplay.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by the amusing "transform into a car" gimmick and the abundance of enemy types, which adds a comedic element despite their minimal impact on gameplay. However, some players feel that the overall gameplay experience is lacking, overshadowing the humor.
“The 'transform into a car' gimmick is both hilarious and fun.”
“There are lots of enemy types, and frankly, it's hilarious how many there are considering how little relevance it actually has in gameplay.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find that while grinding for achievements in survivor-like games can be tedious, it encourages them to explore and utilize each champion's strengths, ultimately enhancing their enjoyment of the game.
“Most 'survivor-likes' with grindy achievements like this one don't draw me in, but they challenge players to lean into each champion's strengths more, which makes the game even more enjoyable.”
“The grinding in this game feels excessive and detracts from the overall experience.”
“I find the grind to be tedious and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged with the game.”
