Close Order

About

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 Play through the game's story or campaign solo

53%

Audience ScoreBased on 58 reviews

story18 positive mentions

stability7 negative mentions

The game has a unique concept that allows players to build and control a fleet of ships, providing a fresh take on the space shooter genre.
The developers are responsive to community feedback and have made significant improvements to the game since its initial release.
The soundtrack and visuals, while not perfect, have been praised for their creativity and potential, contributing to an engaging atmosphere.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and design flaws, including a confusing user interface and inconsistent gameplay mechanics that hinder the overall experience.
Many players find the difficulty level to be excessively high, making it frustrating to progress through missions without clear guidance or tutorials.
The game lacks a cohesive story and often feels disjointed, with missions that do not connect well and insufficient explanations of objectives.

story
137 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
83%
4%
The game's story is generally perceived as simplistic and lacking depth, with many players noting that it consists of disjointed missions rather than a cohesive narrative. While some appreciate the initial premise and character interactions, the execution is often criticized for being confusing and poorly explained, leading to frustration during gameplay. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop for the action but fails to engage players meaningfully, with many expressing a desire for a more structured and compelling narrative.
- “The story is simple, and I enjoyed the character's knowledge of how ludicrous what they were doing was.”
- “This game has some great ideas: the story for it is actually interesting and the idea of a side scrolling shooter in a 3D space is actually quite interesting.”
- “The game has a cute storyline about planet Earth that was destroyed by pollution, and some of the people escaped to space.”
- “Sadly, the story mode has absolutely no story. It's just a bunch of random missions and they are really hard to complete.”
- “The introduction got me excited, but the game itself does not follow a story; I found it very random.”
- “There is just that intro and then some random missions that don't connect together as a story.”
music
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
67%
11%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its uniqueness and fitting atmosphere, while others criticize the lack of volume control and repetitive tracks. Many users noted technical issues, such as music loops breaking and volume sliders malfunctioning, which detracted from their experience. Overall, while the soundtrack has potential and is appreciated by some, it requires improvements in variety and functionality to enhance gameplay.
- “I really enjoyed the graphics and the music was awesome.”
- “The music is kind of eerie and action-packed, kind of cool.”
- “Music: one of the most important things in a game.”
- “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. 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 also don't enjoy the soundtrack for this game; I really think that it doesn't fit the 'hardcore space pilot' theme.”
gameplay
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
61%
9%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying its unique mechanics and fun core concepts, while others criticize it for design flaws, clunky controls, and a lack of depth. Although it offers entertaining short sessions, many feel it lacks the incentive for longer play and requires significant improvements to enhance the overall experience. Overall, while the game shows potential, it currently struggles with execution and polish.
- “The game is fun, and its core mechanics are easy to understand and implement.”
- “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.”
- “I love the idea of assembling a fleet in a sort of reverse Galaga or Space Invaders, but the interface needs work and some of the gameplay aspects just seem out of place for a shmup/bullet hell game.”
- “Conclusion: while it was nice to attempt a different concept, the gameplay just isn't there and this game is very much unfun and not worth the library clutter.”
- “Clunky mechanics, glitchy gameplay, no tutorial, etc.”
- “Unfortunately, this is the sort of unrefined gameplay I was mentioning.”
graphics
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
61%
13%
The graphics in "Close Order" are described as colorful and visually appealing, with some reviewers appreciating the art style and backgrounds that resemble real space imagery. However, many note that the visuals are underwhelming and in need of improvement, particularly in terms of detail and performance, as the game is currently in alpha and suffers from bugs that affect frame rates and overall graphical quality. While the animations and story intro visuals are seen as mismatched, the potential for enhancement is acknowledged by players.
- “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.”
- “Ships, I feel like the ship movement, artwork of the ships, and enemy ships all work right together; the asteroids add a nice effect to the background as well as some shield for your enemy's shots.”
- “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 volume controls and glitches that disrupt gameplay, although the game does not crash frequently. Overall, while the visuals are commendable, the lack of polish and persistent bugs hinder the overall experience.
- “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.”
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 really made my experience enjoyable.”
- “Humor aside, the game always stays within that believable spectrum, never too serious or ludicrous.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
150%
Players appreciate the game's replayability, noting the promise of additional missions and the inclusion of a survivor mode, which enhances the overall experience and encourages multiple playthroughs.
- “The game has great replay value.”
- “It seems to have more missions coming soon, along with a survivor mode that offers excellent replayability.”
- “The game lacks meaningful choices, making replayability feel pointless.”
- “Once you've completed the story, there's little incentive to go back and play again.”
- “The game offers no new content or variations in gameplay on subsequent playthroughs.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users have praised the optimization of the game, noting that the user interface is visually appealing and functions smoothly without any performance issues. Overall, the optimization efforts have been well-received.
- “The UI now looks great to me, works fine, and has no performance issues at all. Great job on that.”
- “The optimization has significantly improved the game's performance, making it smoother and more enjoyable.”
- “I appreciate the attention to detail in the optimization; it really enhances the overall gaming experience.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The atmosphere is generally appreciated for its music, which users find enjoyable; however, some note that the absence of a more immersive sound environment can be unsettling at times.
- “I like the music very much, but at times, I find the lack of sound atmosphere disturbing.”
- “The game has a beautiful soundtrack, but the overall atmosphere feels empty and uninspired.”
- “While the visuals are stunning, the atmosphere lacks depth and fails to immerse me in the game world.”