Close Order

About

Close Order is a single player action game. It was developed by Raconteur Games and was released on January 21, 2016. It received neutral reviews from players.

Close Order is an arcade shooter with one simple goal: become a badass armada! In this mashup of genres, defeat enemies for parts to build up an armada of ships around you. Fight from a distance, charge headfirst into battle, or create a mix of anything and everything. You decide how to play!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

54%

Audience ScoreBased on 61 reviews

story18 positive mentions

stability7 negative mentions

Close Order offers a unique blend of arcade shooting and strategic squad management, allowing players to build and control a fleet of ships.
The game features a visually appealing art style with vibrant particle effects and a captivating soundtrack that enhances the gameplay experience.
The developers are responsive to community feedback, showing commitment to improving the game and addressing bugs and balance issues.

The gameplay can become repetitive due to predictable enemy patterns and a lack of variety in missions, leading to a plateau in challenge.
Many players have reported bugs and technical issues, including problems with the user interface and controls, which detract from the overall experience.
The game is relatively short, with limited content and missions, which may leave players wanting more after a few hours of play.

story
145 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
85%
3%
The game's story is set in a post-apocalyptic universe where players control a small team of survivors on a mission to find remnants of civilization after Earth's destruction. While the narrative is simple and unfolds through brief dialogues and static cutscenes, it lacks depth and coherence, often feeling disjointed with missions that do not connect meaningfully. Overall, the story serves more as a backdrop for gameplay rather than a compelling narrative, with many players expressing a desire for a more engaging and structured storyline.
- “The story places the player in the remnants of a shattered humanity, piloting a ship in the aftermath of Earth's destruction.”
- “You control a small team of survivors—Mary, Abe, and Chakor—who set out on a mission to find what remains of civilization and resist the threats that roam the stars.”
- “The narrative unfolds between missions through simple dialogue and static cutscenes, offering context but never overstaying its welcome.”
- “The game doesn’t rely heavily on storytelling; instead, it focuses on atmosphere and mechanics.”
- “The story mode is ok but there is no story at all, you have just some missions.”
gameplay
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
64%
8%
The gameplay is characterized by a unique mechanic of fleet assembly that offers fun and accessible mechanics, but it suffers from a lack of depth and complexity as the game progresses. While the core mechanics are easy to grasp and can provide enjoyable short sessions, many players find the gameplay repetitive and lacking in strategic variety, with clunky controls and a need for better interface design. Overall, despite its potential and interesting concepts, the gameplay is seen as flawed and in need of significant improvement to maintain player engagement.
- “At the heart of close order lies its core mechanic: transforming your solitary craft into a powerful fleet.”
- “+ unique mechanics that allow you to have and control a large amount of ships that link and surround your main ship.”
- “Overall it's a pretty fun shooter that has a fair share of problems, but has a unique mechanic that keeps the gameplay fresh and appealing.”
- “The early game feels thrilling as your armada grows, but as you near the end, the lack of new mechanics or escalating complexity becomes apparent.”
- “However, this same accessibility means the mechanics never reach the strategic depth they promise; the potential for more complex fleet behaviors or specialized units feels unexplored.”
- “Unfortunately, this is the sort of unrefined gameplay I was mentioning.”
music
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
65%
11%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its atmospheric and energetic electronic tracks that enhance the gameplay experience. However, players have reported significant issues with volume control, buggy music loops, and a lack of variety, which detracts from the overall enjoyment. While some appreciate the unique blend of genres and the composer's efforts, others feel the soundtrack does not fit the game's theme and needs improvement.
- “The soundtrack matches the aesthetic with a mix of atmospheric and energetic electronic tracks that reinforce the sense of momentum.”
- “Being a musician and slowly getting into sound design and composing music for video games, I must give credit to the music composer because he did a great job.”
- “The music is quite unique; instead of the developers going for a traditional, boring old sci-fi themed soundtrack, the music sounds like a horror, techno, sci-fi mix, which is inventive and unique.”
- “The one that caused me the most trouble is the bugged music.”
- “You can try to turn it down using the frustrating cursor that is used in menus, using buggy volume sliders, but even if you manage to get the volume to where you want it (which is unlikely since the first slider barely works, the second even less so, and the third is unusable). After a loading screen, the volume goes back to max, and if you try to change it after that, the music will briefly go to the volume you set and then quickly rise back to max. I point this out because it made it impossible to make a video of this game because the music was always overpowering my voice.”
- “I really don't enjoy the soundtrack for this game; I think it doesn't fit the 'hardcore space pilot' theme.”
graphics
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
65%
12%
The graphics in the game feature a clean and glowing art style that enhances clarity during intense battles, complemented by colorful vistas and atmospheric electronic music. While the visuals are generally appealing, many users note that they lack detail and polish, particularly in the 3D elements and backgrounds, indicating that improvements are needed as the game is still in alpha. Overall, the performance is stable, but there are bugs that can affect the graphical experience, suggesting that further optimization and updates are necessary.
- “The art style leans on clean, glowing designs that emphasize clarity during hectic battles.”
- “Visually it's a treat; I don't mean it's next-generation graphics, but its colorful vistas and elements of the world back up the style the game is presenting.”
- “Artwork is very nice; the backgrounds look like real space pictures of galaxies and stars, great to look at, and a nice touch by the game makers.”
- “Review: Close Order is a third-person space shooter with surprisingly underwhelming 3D visuals.”
- “For example, when I started a new game, there were no graphics, only a few words.”
- “Right now we can see a fully made third-person spaceship shooter, but you can see a lot of lacks in graphics and physics.”
stability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is described as promising but plagued by numerous bugs and stability issues typical of early access titles. Users report frustrating problems with the volume controls, glitches during gameplay, and a general lack of polish, although the game does not crash frequently. Overall, while it shows potential, its current state is marred by instability and annoying technical issues.
- “A promising game but unfortunately buggy and not very polished.”
- “You can try to turn it down using the frustrating cursor that is used in menus, along with buggy volume sliders, but even if you manage to get the volume to where you want it (which is unlikely since the first slider barely works, the second even less so, and the third is unusable), after a loading screen the volume goes back to max. If you try to change it after that, the music will briefly go to the volume you set and then quickly rise back to max. I point this out because it made it impossible to make a video of this game since the music was always overpowering my voice.”
- “Early access games are buggy, and while playing, you encounter a lot of annoying issues.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game's atmosphere is primarily driven by its engaging soundtrack, which blends atmospheric and energetic electronic music to enhance the sense of momentum. However, some players feel that the absence of sound effects at times detracts from the overall immersive experience.
- “The soundtrack matches the aesthetic with a mix of atmospheric and energetic electronic tracks that reinforce the sense of momentum.”
- “I like the music very much, but at times, I find the lack of sound atmosphere disturbing.”
- “The game doesn’t rely heavily on storytelling; instead, it focuses on atmosphere and mechanics.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
Players note that while the game offers some replayability through a survival mode and upcoming missions, the challenge tends to diminish quickly as players' fleets become overly powerful, reducing tension and excitement in longer runs.
- “Seems to have more missions coming soon and a survivor mode which gives good replay value.”
- “The challenge plateaus quickly, and while the survival mode offers replay value, it suffers from the same balance issues—your fleet becomes so powerful that tension fades long before the end of a run.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization is praised for its smooth visuals and stable performance, even with numerous ships on screen. The user interface is also noted for its appealing design and functionality, contributing to an overall positive experience without performance issues.
- “The Unity engine handles the visuals smoothly, and performance remains stable throughout, even when dozens of ships fill the screen.”
- “The UI now looks great to me, works fine, and there are no performance issues at all. Great job on that.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by a subtlety that resonates well with players, striking a balance between believability and lightheartedness without veering into absurdity. Overall, it enhances the experience without overshadowing the game's core elements.
- “Let's dive in head first! The subtle humor that I enjoyed.”
- “Humor aside, you're always just in that believability spectrum, never too far serious or ludicrous.”