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Dimension Drive

It's not been the smoothest of journeys to release for Dimension Drive, and nor will yours be through its initial twelve stage campaign, but it is a polished and engaging shooter that asks more of each player. This is definitely not a 'turn your brain off at the door' kind of bullet hell experience, but it's worthy of the effort. Failure will be frequent, and frustratingly so in the early stages, but it's not cheap and beating a section or level never feels unattainable. There is a specific type of coordination required that will take time to perfect, and for some it might overwhelm, but Dimension Drive is a game that can be as rewarding as it is demanding.
Dimension Drive Game Cover
75%Game Brain Score
gameplay, story
stability, character development
81% User Score Based on 67 reviews
Critic Score 72%Based on 9 reviews

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Dimension Drive Game Cover

About

Dimension Drive is a single player and multiplayer arcade shooter game with anime and science fiction themes. It was developed by 2awesomestudio and was released on December 7, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

Dimension Drive is a space shooter that challenges your skills in entirely new ways. Play two games at once on this dual battlefield madness set on a comic book universe!

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Dimension Drive screenshot
Dimension Drive screenshot
Dimension Drive screenshot
Dimension Drive screenshot
Dimension Drive screenshot
Dimension Drive screenshot
Dimension Drive screenshot
Dimension Drive screenshot
Dimension Drive screenshot
Dimension Drive screenshot
Dimension Drive screenshot
+10
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81%
Audience ScoreBased on 67 reviews
gameplay19 positive mentions
stability2 negative mentions
  • Unique dual-dimension teleportation mechanic adds a fresh and strategic twist to the classic vertical shoot 'em up formula.
  • Visually appealing with colorful, comic-book-inspired presentation and a fitting energetic soundtrack that enhances the arcade experience.
  • Engaging gameplay that challenges both reflexes and strategic multitasking, offering a rewarding experience for shoot 'em up fans including a local co-op mode.
  • Steep difficulty spikes and unforgiving instant-death obstacles make the game frustrating and potentially inaccessible for casual players.
  • Relatively short campaign with limited weapon variety and content, relying heavily on replayability and mastery of mechanics.
  • Some technical issues and design flaws, such as occasional control awkwardness, confusing split-screen management, and lack of online co-op or leaderboards.
  • gameplay
    67 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Dimension Drive offers a fresh twist on classic vertical scrolling shooters with its innovative dual-dimension teleportation mechanic, requiring players to multitask between parallel battlefields for a blend of fast reflexes and strategic puzzle-like gameplay. While the core shooting mechanics remain traditional, the dimension-shifting system enhances level and boss design, adds depth, and increases challenge, though it can feel overwhelming initially. Overall, the gameplay is engaging, rewarding, and highly replayable, particularly in cooperative mode, though content depth and weapon variety are somewhat limited at present.

    • “Instead of navigating a single playfield, players must constantly shift between two parallel dimensions displayed on a split screen, creating a gameplay experience that demands both reflexes and strategic awareness.”
    • “The game’s level design takes full advantage of this mechanic by creating situations where both dimensions must be used creatively.”
    • “Boss encounters also incorporate the mechanic, often requiring players to track attack patterns across both dimensions while identifying safe moments to teleport.”
    • “At this point, if I am honest with you, I cannot recommend the game to my friends due to how screen switching mechanics work and not much weapons.”
    • “Only one 'real' weapon and a lack of powerups makes the gameplay experience a little shallow.”
    • “The dual-screen mechanic, while innovative, can initially feel overwhelming, especially for players unfamiliar with multitasking in fast-paced shooters.”
  • story
    28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story follows pilot Jackelyne Tywood in a comic-book sci-fi style, presenting a straightforward yet engaging narrative that provides context and personality to the gameplay. While not highly unique, the story's presentation and additional lore collectibles add depth and encourage exploration, and some players appreciate its charm despite others finding it unremarkable or skippable. Overall, it complements the game's intense action without overshadowing the core shoot-em-up experience.

    • “The story centers on Jackelyne Tywood, a skilled pilot and the last known survivor of a civilization destroyed by an aggressive alien race known as the Ashajuls.”
    • “The narrative unfolds between missions through comic-style panels that resemble a graphic novel.”
    • “Cutscenes between levels present the story of Jack and the Ashajul, and during gameplay you can pick up so-called data-stores unlocking more of the tale.”
    • “The story didn't pique my attention at all and felt more like a waste of time, but luckily you can turn off all the cinematics and skip the story.”
    • “Game plays and feels fine, although I don't care at all about the story or characters.”
    • “The main story can be completed in a limited number of stages, meaning that much of the game’s longevity comes from replaying levels to improve performance or achieve higher scores.”
  • graphics
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features a vibrant, comic-inspired sci-fi aesthetic with clean, colorful graphics and smooth 4K visuals that enhance its arcade-style atmosphere. While generally praised for its polished art style and solid performance, some minor graphical oddities and occasional amateurish textures are noted. Overall, the graphics complement the gameplay well, delivering an engaging and visually appealing experience.

    • “Visually, Dimension Drive adopts a colorful science-fiction aesthetic with clean, comic-inspired character designs and vibrant effects during combat.”
    • “Even the graphics are shockingly 4K; super high detail, albeit simple graphics... retro reborn.”
    • “Great art style and presentation, love the comic book style cutscenes.”
    • “The graphics and art direction are decent but quite amateurish, so the game mechanics and music are the things that will definitely carry the game should you decide to play it.”
    • “A technical concern I do have is the requirement of dedicated graphics.”
    • “A less graphics-intensive mode or setting, I think, will help their purchasers.”
  • music
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its energetic, electronic style that complements the arcade gameplay and maintains momentum. It cleverly blends retro influences with modern elements, delivering a memorable and immersive audio experience that enhances the game's intensity and atmosphere. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature that significantly contributes to the game's appeal.

    • “The audio design supports the energetic tone of the game with electronic music that builds intensity as battles escalate.”
    • “The music matches an early 90’s Commodore 64 electro style; think Chris Hülsbeck's Turrican soundtrack, if you’re as old as some of us bammsters.”
    • “Very well designed levels (and bosses) that will challenge your skills (and nerves), cool music, a great story... such a great surprise!”
    • “Music is alright, but just 'arcadey'; it doesn't stand out or add much depth to the experience.”
    • “The soundtrack is not particularly complex and feels repetitive; it fits the arcade style but lacks variety.”
    • “The music matches an early 90's Commodore 64 electro style, which may feel dated and nostalgic only to older players.”
  • replayability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers high replayability through its innovative core mechanics, multiple new modes, and a sufficiently lengthy campaign with 13 levels. Players appreciate the variety of modes that encourage repeated play and extend the game's overall longevity.

    • “In addition to the main campaign, the game includes features designed to increase replayability.”
    • “For the genre, this game is long enough (13 levels, but I needed to repeat some of them :p) and the replay value is very high (thanks to the innovative core mechanic and lots of new modes).”
    • “I love modes like these, so I am very happy to see this kind of mode included for replayability.”
  • optimization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features solid optimization with stable 60fps performance on high-end machines, complemented by nice visuals. However, its replay value relies heavily on revisiting stages to improve scores due to a limited number of main story levels.

    • “The main story can be completed in a limited number of stages, meaning that much of the game’s longevity comes from replaying levels to improve performance or achieve higher scores.”
    • “Nice visuals, and the performance was very solid at 60fps, though I'm running it on a powerful machine so I'm not sure if this statement holds true on lower-end machines.”
  • stability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is generally solid with only a few minor glitches during cutscenes and typical early-access issues. These small irritations are expected at this stage and do not significantly impact the experience.

  • character development
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in Dimension Drive is reflected through its colorful sci-fi aesthetic and clean, comic-inspired character designs, which are enhanced by vibrant combat effects.

  • grinding
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding is considered tedious due to frequent instant-kill spots, challenging boss attacks, and multiple continues required, making early progress slow and frustrating.

    • “3 continues and many instant kill spots and boss attacks make starting from the beginning very tedious.”
  • humor
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users find the humor to be charmingly old-fashioned and genuinely funny, contributing positively to the game's overall appeal.

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72%Critics’ scoreBased on 9 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

Dimension Drive is a arcade shooter game with anime and science fiction themes.

Dimension Drive is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac OS, PlayStation 4 and others.

On average players spend around 4 hours playing Dimension Drive.

Dimension Drive was released on December 7, 2017.

Dimension Drive was developed by 2awesomestudio.

Dimension Drive has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its stability.

Dimension Drive is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Assault Android Cactus, Enemy Mind, Crimzon Clover WORLD IGNITION, Galacide, Horizon Shift and others.