DESYNC

About

DESYNC is a single player shooter game. It was developed by The Foregone Syndicate and was released on February 28, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

DESYNC is an intense, single-player first person shooter that begs you to play dangerously and creatively. Eliminate your opponents as you perform violent attack sequences using the explosive digital weaponry and lethal side-arms at your disposal. Switch weapons and move masterfully to unleash Attack Sequences – special moves that deal bonus damage and effects. Launch an enemy into a trap with a …

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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77%

Audience ScoreBased on 372 reviews

music85 positive mentions

story7 negative mentions

Fast-paced and challenging gameplay that rewards skill, speed, and creativity with combos and stylish kills.
Striking neon cyberpunk visual style paired with an exceptional synthwave soundtrack primarily by Daniel Deluxe.
Strong replayability with leaderboards, weapon and ability customization, and alternate game modes adding depth.

Steep difficulty curve with some unfair deaths due to poor enemy hitboxes, unpredictable attacks, and cramped level design.
Unclear or minimal in-game instructions causing confusion about mechanics, combos, upgrades, and UI elements.
Visual effects such as screen glitching and heavy post-processing cause discomfort or eye strain for some players.

music
162 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
46%
2%
The music in Desync, primarily composed by Daniel Deluxe with contributions from Volkor X, is widely praised as a standout feature, delivering a powerful synthwave and dark electronic soundtrack that perfectly complements the game's fast-paced, cyberpunk-inspired action and neon visuals. Many reviewers consider the soundtrack essential, often recommending purchasing it separately, as it enhances immersion and maintains player engagement despite the game's challenging difficulty and some gameplay flaws. While a few found the music repetitive or generic, the consensus highlights the soundtrack as a high-energy, atmospheric driver that elevates the overall experience.
- “The soundtrack by Daniel Deluxe fits the game perfectly with its dark synthwave sound and the transition between dying, getting into combat, out of combat, etc. fades the music perfectly (which is more important than you think).”
- “Honestly, Desync has one of the best soundtracks in an FPS I've ever heard, and I've played many of them in my day.”
- “The thudding bass and synths of the soundtrack by Daniel Deluxe and Volkor X make Desync the complete synthwave experience.”
- “I'm not an expert, but it sounded like generic electronic music.”
- “I buyed this game only for its soundtracks and there is my only problem: the music is disabled by default.”
- “Too little of the game's systems are explained, particularly weapon upgrades and sidearm requirements, and the music tracks, strangely, don't loop within levels, leading to periods of awkward silences, save for sound effects.”
gameplay
158 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
53%
8%
The gameplay in Desync is fast-paced and skill-based, blending elements from classic shooters like Doom and Bulletstorm with unique mechanics such as attack sequences and a dash system. While many praise its rewarding combo system, weapons variety, and tight combat, common criticisms include poorly telegraphed enemy attacks, frustrating level design, a steep learning curve, and a lack of clear tutorial or instruction on mechanics. Overall, it offers an intense arcade-style experience with a strong soundtrack, but its difficulty and visual distractions can make it a challenging and sometimes frustrating endeavor.
- “An evolution of Bulletstorm's FPS hyper-kill mechanics, turned into an ultra-customizable arcade game about mixing it up.”
- “The weapons within this game are extremely satisfying to use, and offer a wide array of different effects which can drastically change gameplay.”
- “The gameplay in Desync is very fast paced and tight.”
- “Brutally difficult FPS with poor clarity, clunky mechanics, performance drops, and unreadable visuals.”
- “By the end of my time with you, it felt like more of a chore rather than something I genuinely enjoyed, with gameplay being tedious and to the point where I just wanted it to be over.”
- “Desync establishes itself early on by saying "hey, I'm a great run and gun shooter, and I want to be similar to Doom," but unfortunately where Doom is difficult just due to well-designed gameplay mechanics, Desync is difficult due to completely extraneous and asinine things.”
graphics
134 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
56%
7%
The graphics of the game feature a distinctive neon, cyberpunk-inspired "poly-neon" aesthetic that many find visually striking and well-matched to the synthwave soundtrack, creating a unique and immersive atmosphere. However, several users report that the intense visual effects, including screen glitches, flashing lights, and busy neon overlays, can be distracting, cause eye strain, dizziness, or headaches, and sometimes make gameplay elements hard to distinguish. Performance issues like framerate drops and lack of graphical settings further impact clarity, making the stylish visuals a double-edged sword that some players love while others find overwhelming.
- “The ultra-stylized graphics paired with the synth-wave soundtrack by Volkor X and Daniel Deluxe set up a great atmosphere.”
- “The graphics are vibrant and smooth.”
- “A superb, quality 3D shoot 'em up experience with a 1980's neon/glitch aesthetic.”
- “There's so much stuff that makes it awkward to play: unclear HUD elements (especially remaining ammo), huge dips in framerate in the middle of combat (144+ fps to around 55, often enough to be disorienting and mess with controls) with no "low" graphics settings to be found, awkward/inconsistent feeling hitboxes (most noticeable during bosses), weird enemy design choices that slow the game down, levels that feel procedurally generated even though they aren't (bland and random-feeling), visuals that make the environment blend together and difficult to read, weird choice of weapons that force you into close quarters where all the control/hitbox/HUD/visual awkwardness becomes really obvious as the perfect storm of enemies damaging you by hitting the air adjacent to you while others are firing projectiles that you can't differentiate from their model until they've arrived takes place and you're trying to fire a shotgun at one without realizing that you're out of ammo because the counter is both a bar that isn't great at representing how many shots you have left and also in a terrible spot and then you dodge into a death pit because the dark blue visuals are perfectly hiding a hole in the floor that you slip through and you uninstall the game and go back to playing quake.”
- “Terrible level design with tons of instant kill zones, enemies that poorly telegraph their attacks with awful hitboxes on top of it and an art style that looks cool in motion but is distracting in gameplay especially when you get hit because the entire screen glitches out.”
- “The graphics are certainly a looker but unfortunately they are too "busy"; I can't play more than 20-30 minutes in a row until I just don't want to play any longer.”
story
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
67%
23%
The story aspect of the game is minimal to nonexistent, with most players noting the lack of plot, cutscenes, or narrative depth. Instead, the game focuses on fast-paced, skill-based gameplay and replayability through mission variants and high-score pursuits within a stylized cyberpunk setting. This design choice suits those interested in arcade-style combat and leaderboard challenges rather than a traditional story-driven experience.
- “There isn't much story to speak of, though Desync doesn't seem to mind much, as the core feedback loop of killing enemies to get higher scores is already so enthralling.”
- “It implements some unique ideas for gameplay, and doesn't try to make the story more than what it needs to be which I always appreciate.”
- “Desync does not have a storyline really, although this is fine as it is aimed as more of an arcade game.”
- “Desync story is beatable in 3 hours; after that, you mostly rerun previous maps and submit better scores online.”
- “No story, the only thing you get is a little cutscene of the boss intimidating you before every boss fight.”
- “There's no real story to speak of; it takes place in a highly stylized, cyberpunk world, but lacks narrative depth.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
29%
21%
The game offers substantial replayability primarily through high score grinding, online leaderboards, and revisiting levels with upgraded weapons. While the overall length is relatively short and lacks multiplayer, its addictive gameplay, varied content, and challenging mechanics provide lasting engagement for players seeking to improve their performance.
- “The weapon upgrade system is mostly pointless and not well balanced and hitboxes are a little odd, but once you get past these problems you'll find a deep, complex single player experience that rewards quick reflexes and thinking, has loads of replayability and is an absolute blast to play.”
- “It also has great replay value for me, going back to earlier levels with better weapons and more experience, to try and climb on the online leaderboards.”
- “There are also leaderboards for every level and overall the game offers lots of content and a decent amount of replayability.”
- “While the game is certainly replayable (I went back and replayed some levels), it is simply rather short.”
- “Last thought, there aren't a lot of levels and there is no multiplayer. There are score leaderboards and an alternate version for each level, which does not increase the replay value above zero; desync is cheap enough to make up for that.”
- “This game will take around 5-14 hours to complete depending on skill and if you are willing to do everything there is, then maybe 25 hours; but there is only some replay value to be had.”
grinding
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game offers some replayability and moments of rewarding accomplishment, but it is often described as tedious, frustrating, and more of a chore than enjoyable. Many players find the repetitive combat and enemy mechanics wear down the excitement, with boss encounters especially criticized for being tedious rather than skillfully challenging.
- “By the end of my time with the game, it felt more like a chore rather than something I genuinely enjoyed; the gameplay became tedious to the point where I just wanted it to be over.”
- “However, all too often the game presents situations that are challenging in ways that are tedious and unfun, where the satisfaction of finishing isn't so much a sense of accomplishment as it is a sensation of 'glad I don't have to do that again.'”
- “Unfortunately, most enemies move nearly as fast as you and want nothing more than to get up in your face; the result is an incredibly tedious act of kiting a group of enemies around as you attempt to increase the distance between you so you can stun and kill them.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
The game's stability has improved significantly since its original 2017 release, with smoother gameplay and fewer noticeable glitches thanks to developer patches. However, persistent visual effects like flickering glitches and heavy chromatic aberration remain distracting and can cause discomfort. Additionally, occasional freezes and crashes occur, primarily in the hub world, and some design choices contribute to a frustrating player experience.
- “No glitches to report either.”
- “So far I'm enjoying it, and it runs great.”
- “The entire screen glitches out when you get hit, causing distracting visual effects that hurt gameplay.”
- “There were a few freezes and crashes experienced, mostly in the hub world, affecting overall stability.”
- “The game suffers from constant digital artifacts, fuzzy glitches, and excessive chromatic aberration that impact playability.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
30%
10%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its ultra-stylized, retro-futuristic visuals and immersive synth-wave soundtrack by Volkor X and Daniel Deluxe, creating a distinct cyberpunk tone that stands out. While the minimalist design and UI may feel rough or unapproachable to some, the cohesive aesthetic and sound design effectively establish a tense, fast-paced environment. However, some players find the combat feedback detracts slightly from the otherwise strong atmospheric experience.
- “The ultra-stylized graphics paired with the synth-wave soundtrack by Volkor X and Daniel Deluxe set up a great atmosphere.”
- “Desync leads a very atmospheric tone which is complemented by the legendary Daniel Deluxe and Volkor X; this is a cyberpunk fan's dream come true.”
- “However, I can praise this game on its visual style, which uses interesting visual effects like color displacement and a reactive HUD, combined with music and sound design done well enough to form the atmosphere Desync aims for.”
- “Weapon feedback isn't very great, with small delays before and after firing, making them counter-intuitive since the game creates a tense and fast-paced atmosphere.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game features generally poor optimization, with performance drops, unclear visuals, and limited graphical settings, especially challenging for low-spec machines. However, some users note it can run smoothly on certain systems, though better optimization options are desired.
- “Really optimized, will run on every machine with no problems.”
- “Otherwise all I can ask for is a few more optimization options for low-spec.”
- “Performance for this game shouldn't be a problem for many.”
- “Brutally difficult FPS with poor clarity, clunky mechanics, performance drops, and unreadable visuals.”
- “I can only ask for a few more optimization options for low-spec machines.”
- “It's always important to point out games with horrid optimization for those with lesser rigs.”