Drifting Lands
- June 5, 2017
- alkemi
- 18h median play time
Sometimes, a game comes along that has you wondering why multiple genres haven’t been combined before.
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Drifting Lands" is an action-packed, hack-and-slash side-scrolling game with RPG elements. Pilot your aircraft through treacherous terrains and enemies, while upgrading and customizing your ship to fit your playstyle. Engage in challenging boss battles and intense missions, with the freedom to choose your own path as you progress through the game.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Drifting Lands offers a unique blend of shoot 'em up and ARPG mechanics, providing a fresh experience with engaging gameplay.
- The game features beautiful graphics and a captivating soundtrack, enhancing the overall atmosphere and enjoyment.
- The customization options for ships and skills allow for varied playstyles, making each run feel unique and rewarding.
- The level design is repetitive, with many stages feeling similar and lacking variety, which can lead to boredom over time.
- The loot system is criticized for being unbalanced, with many items feeling underwhelming and not impactful on gameplay.
- The story and character development are weak, often feeling forgettable and not adding much to the overall experience.
- story124 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The story in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it underwhelming and poorly executed. Critics note that the narrative feels disjointed, often lacking engagement and depth, and ends abruptly just as it becomes interesting. While some appreciate the attempt at storytelling within the gameplay, the repetitive mission structure and generic characters detract from the overall experience, making the story feel skippable and forgettable.
“The game offers different approaches which make it accessible both for casual players like me, who just want to play through the story with some challenge, and for achievers and perfectionists.”
“Content-wise, there is not that much variety, but the story mode will give players a solid 20 hours of gameplay, with additional options of running through levels and increasing leaderboard scores.”
“Extensive story.”
“The story ends abruptly just as it seems to get interesting.”
“The end of the story is rather anticlimactic and sudden, and I was a little disappointed.”
“The story doesn't appear to be anything to sneeze at and mostly happens in tiny vignettes between missions that largely consist of similar waves and patterns between missions, so I'm not going to spend much time on it.”
- gameplay74 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
Gameplay is characterized by a mix of enjoyable mechanics and frustrating grind, with many players noting that equipment upgrades primarily affect numbers rather than introducing new capabilities. While the core loop of missions, loot, and upgrades is addictive and visually appealing, the procedural generation leads to repetitive levels and a lack of meaningful progression. Overall, the game offers fun side-scrolling shooter elements and RPG mechanics, but suffers from pacing issues and a cumbersome UI.
“Gameplay flows nicely, abilities are fun and varied, graphics are sharp and animations are satisfyingly fluid.”
“The core gameplay loop of short missions - loot - upgrade is quite addicting.”
“A unique atmosphere blended with lovely graphics and great shoot 'em up gameplay with new and punchy abilities and weapons.”
“This is especially true since every piece of equipment - except for the special features of a fraction of unique items - does nothing but tinker with your numbers, not opening up new capabilities in terms of gameplay, so the progression never feels like you're going places, since the enemies' numbers are also going up as well, and so your attacks look and perform quite similarly at endgame as they did near the start of the game.”
“Gameplay is slow and the levels got samey real quick.”
“I just came back to see how it was, and the UI was still very bad, very slow gameplay, poor feel of progression.”
- grinding41 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it excessive and tedious, particularly due to the reliance on procedurally generated content and repetitive level designs. While some appreciate the game's mechanics and atmosphere, they feel that the lack of meaningful progression and underwhelming weapon options detract from the overall experience. Overall, grinding is seen as a significant part of the gameplay, but it can lead to frustration rather than enjoyment for many players.
“The basic mechanics were good, but there's a lot of grinding due to stages being procedurally generated, and the feeling of progression is basically nonexistent.”
“I quite shortly after the first boss because the game showed little indication of making the gameplay more interesting (read: less grindy and just about slowly building bigger numbers) and every 5 minutes of gameplay was followed by 3 minutes of navigating menus to inspect items and potentially equip one upgrade.”
“Grinding out DPS weapons to be able to blast through enemies without desperately trying to focus down two of the twelve wasn't fun for me anymore, and I stopped playing about partway through grade 3 (of grade 10 - items stop leveling after grade 6, so grades 7 to 10 are all purely your own skill.) It didn't help that many levels share the same patterns over and over, so individual levels just feel blurred and same-y, making grinding new levels just a matter of slightly different numbers, rather than any sort of new locale or monsters or effects.”
- music40 mentions
- 85 % positive mentions
- 10 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising the soundtrack as "top notch," "amazing," and "catchy." Players appreciate how the music enhances the overall atmosphere and enjoyment of the game, often noting its quality and the skill of the composer. Despite some minor flaws in gameplay, the music remains a standout feature that contributes significantly to the game's appeal.
“But it's beautiful, the soundtrack is top notch, the skills are awesome, and the more you dig into the RPG elements, the more it keeps you coming back.”
“Definitely a great game to play and have fun, with cool graphics and amazing music!”
“I am enjoying this in 4K, and the soundtrack is very catchy; I recognize quite a few riffs from retail songs, and I might actually grab the soundtrack for this game, now that many of the songs are burned into my retinas.”
“- The base music is so depressive I feel like I'm playing This War of Mine.”
“- The base music is so depressive I feel like I'm playing This War of Mine.”
- graphics34 mentions
- 76 % positive mentions
- 24 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their sharpness, fluid animations, and vibrant art style, contributing to a visually stunning experience. Players appreciate the crisp and colorful visuals, which enhance the overall atmosphere and gameplay, while the sound design complements the graphics effectively. Overall, the game's aesthetic execution and graphical quality are highlighted as standout features, making it a visually pleasing title.
“This game has beautiful graphics and sound design, and I did not encounter any bugs, so it's good quality software.”
“The art style, the flow of combat, the weapons, all of it is top notch.”
“As I mentioned, the visuals are very nice: they are crisp, colorful, and enemy bullets are clearly differentiated from your own by their black cores.”
- replayability8 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers excellent replayability, featuring a variety of unique ship choices and extensive customization options. Players appreciate the fun shooting mechanics and the diverse ideas that enhance the overall experience, making it a title worth revisiting over the years.
“Really good replayability, and plenty of options for unique ship choices.”
“The shooting is fun and has tons of replayability.”
“Great replay value.”
- humor2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as funny and challenging, providing an enjoyable experience without causing frustration, thanks to its beautiful aesthetics and engaging RPG mechanics. Players appreciate the balance between humor and gameplay, making it a standout in the shoot 'em up genre.
“The humor in this game is spot on, making even the most challenging levels enjoyable and light-hearted.”
“I love how the game balances humor with gameplay; it keeps me engaged and laughing throughout.”
“The witty dialogue and funny character interactions add a delightful layer to the overall experience.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is praised for its unique blend of charming graphics and engaging shoot 'em up gameplay, enhanced by innovative abilities and weapons. This combination creates an immersive experience that stands out to players.
“A unique atmosphere blended with lovely graphics and great shoot 'em up gameplay, featuring new and punchy abilities and weapons.”
Critic Reviews
Drifting Lands PC Review
Drifting Lands is a gorgeous shoot 'em up with aRPG-style skills let down by unmemorable level design and procedurally generated encounters.
76%Line ‘Em Up, Shoot ‘Em Down
Should you buy this game? If you are a fan of the shmup genre, then yes you should. Drifting Lands is a solid shmup that belongs in the collection of any fan of the genre. A few odd design choices and a distractingly bad story hold it back from being excellent, but it is a fun game in spite of it. Just be aware that if you're looking for a danmaku, you might be left a little wanting. If you've never tried a shmup before, this is still a good purchase, though you might want to start on Easy to make the game ease up on the perma-loss aspect. The game does have a demo, so if you're sitting on the fence, download that and see for yourself. Now if you'll parden me, I need to get back to looking for a straight laser drop.
75%Drifting Lands Review
Drifting Lands is rare as a game these days in that it is actually fun and the hours slip by while grinding for better gear. Yes, considering this is a shoot 'em up, the gear aspect is the best part of it. While there are some repetitive issues that start to show themselves hours into the game, the entire package is so coherent as to be recommended. Fans of either shmups or RPGs will find a lot to their liking here, and the rare fan of both is highly encouraged to check it out.
80%
