Clash Force
- October 25, 2017
- Kevin Dressel
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam"Clash Force" is a retro-style run-and-gun shooter game featuring the heroic trio of Voom, Scorpido, and Echid. Your mission is to stop the Evil Crackman and his minions across various stages, from forest bases to the Flying Fortress. With multiple weapon upgrades, difficulty levels, and an auto-save feature, this game offers a challenging and enjoyable experience for both beginners and 80s game experts.
Reviews
- The game captures the nostalgic feel of classic NES titles with its colorful graphics and catchy music.
- Gameplay is straightforward and fun, with tight controls and a well-balanced difficulty curve that ramps up nicely.
- Unlimited lives and quick respawns make it accessible for players of all skill levels, allowing for a more relaxed gaming experience.
- The lack of an auto-fire feature and limited shooting directions (only left and right) can lead to frustrating gameplay, especially during boss fights.
- Level design is often repetitive and lacks variety, with some stages feeling unfairly difficult due to cheap enemy placements and projectiles.
- The game is relatively short, and some players feel it doesn't offer enough content or unique mechanics to justify its existence compared to better titles in the genre.
- gameplay25 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 76 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized as a mix of basic 2D platforming and shooting mechanics, heavily inspired by classic titles like Contra, but often criticized for its lack of innovation and depth. While some players appreciate the tight controls and nostalgic feel, others find the gameplay repetitive and uninspired, with little differentiation between characters. Overall, it offers a challenging yet familiar arcade-style experience that may appeal to retro enthusiasts but leaves some players wanting more complexity.
“Quality of life retro shooter platformer with tight controls, satisfying gameplay, and a bumpin soundtrack.”
“Good controls and fun gameplay.”
“Clash Force offers pretty much the kind of quick, arcade-style gameplay experience you'd expect from a 'no-bullshit' shooting platformer.”
“The gameplay is extremely basic, just left, right, jump, shoot left and right.”
“Back then, it was fun, but when the possibility was drawn by the game designer, why stick around with primitive gameplay when you could polish it and make a new one rather than simply copying it?”
“Gameplay itself is tired and dead 2D platforming with an emphasis on shooting/bullet hell gameplay aspects.”
- music19 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it catchy and enjoyable, while others describe it as forgettable and lacking the intended 80s charm. Many appreciate the soundtrack's quality and its ability to complement the game's visuals, though a few note issues with looping and a disconnect from retro sound aesthetics. Overall, while the music is generally seen as decent, it does not consistently elevate the gameplay experience.
“The music is nice and catchy.”
“Quality of life retro shooter platformer with tight controls, satisfying gameplay, and a bumpin soundtrack.”
“The music, sound, and graphics feel like they're crafted together and complement their styles appropriately.”
“It's decent, but I didn't get the 80s charm that it attempts to replicate; the music is forgettable, and the only time you might enjoy it is by putting the game on its highest difficulty, but even so, the simplicity makes this game too tedious.”
“You are stuck with your pea shooter that does barely any damage, making boss fights drag on longer than they should, and the music is forgettable.”
“Musics are alright, although since they do not sound like they're coming from an old console, it feels a little out of place.”
- graphics18 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their vibrant colors and retro pixel art style, reminiscent of classic NES and Game Gear titles. While some players appreciate the nostalgic aesthetic and the visuals in motion, others note the lack of modern graphical options and variety in character design. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong point, appealing particularly to fans of retro platformers.
“The visuals are very colorful and nice to look at; they are like a mixture of NES and Game Gear.”
“The graphics look good for the most part, and the universe is reminiscent of Bucky O'Hare while having its own style.”
“The visuals actually look really good in motion, thanks to a combination of strong palette choices, parallax scrolling, and stylistic lighting effects.”
“A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel art as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
“There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
“The graphics look the part of a side scroller from the retro days but could have pushed it a little bit more graphically.”
- story3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's story emphasizes resilience and the unpredictability of life, suggesting that perseverance can lead to unexpected outcomes. While the narrative is straightforward and simple, some players appreciate the lack of complexity, finding it refreshing that the plot doesn't require deep understanding.
“The moral of the story is that you never know what life has in store for you. If I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“The gameplay is simple, but the story is engaging.”
“The plot of the game is that you don't need to know the plot, and that's good enough for me.”
“The plot of the game is that you don't need to know the plot, and that's good enough for me.”
“Simple gameplay and story.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is viewed as tedious and simplistic, lacking the nostalgic charm it aims to replicate. Players find the experience monotonous, particularly due to limited mechanics that hinder effective boss battles, making the process of reducing health bars feel laborious.
“It's decent, but I didn't get the 80s charms that it attempts to replicate; the music is forgettable, and the only time you might have fun is putting the game on its highest difficulty, but even so, the simplicity makes this game too tedious.”
“The standard mapping limits your airtime and therefore the number of shots you can fire at the boss during each jump, making the process of chipping away the boss's health bar a more tedious and difficult task.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The reviews do not provide specific insights into the monetization aspect of the game, focusing instead on personal preferences for neo-retro hardware and software. Therefore, no clear conclusions about monetization can be drawn from the provided text.
