Drone Swarm

66%
Game Brain Score Based on 140 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Drone Swarm Game Cover
Drone Swarm is a simple strategy title with great combat set amongst some pretty backdrops, where battles provide plenty of excitement.
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In "Drone Swarm", you control a massive swarm of 32,000 drones and protect your mothership in intense battles against three alien factions. Use your drones for attacking and defending, and adapt to the unique abilities and tactics of your enemies. Upgrade your swarm and mothership as you make your way to New Earth. Drone control allows you to select drone behavior and draw paths for execution.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

66%
Audience ScoreBased on 140 reviews
story25 positive mentions
stability5 negative mentions
  • The game features a unique and innovative mechanic of controlling a swarm of drones, which is both fun and engaging.
  • The graphics and visual design are impressive, providing a visually pleasing experience during gameplay.
  • The storyline has interesting elements and plot twists that keep players engaged, despite some criticisms about its execution.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs and technical issues, including crashes and unresponsive controls, which can significantly hinder the experience.
  • Many players find the game to be too short, with a playtime of around 8 hours, leading to concerns about its replayability and overall value.
  • The difficulty spikes and lack of balance in missions can be frustrating, making it feel unapproachable for some players, especially when upgrades are lost unexpectedly.
  • story108 mentions

    The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and filled with interesting twists, while others criticize it as bland and poorly executed. Many noted that the dialogue is often cringe-worthy and the characters lack depth, leading to a feeling of detachment from the narrative. Additionally, bugs and repetitive mission structures detract from the overall experience, making the story feel less impactful.

    • “It's a fun game with a great story and detail.”
    • “The story is exciting and encourages you to play through the game with all the side quests.”
    • “Having said that, the single storyline they do have is still quite interesting.”
    • “The story is not well written and the voice acting is mediocre.”
    • “The story is a little bland and the skeleton it provides could have been fleshed out to make the story much more impacting; the lines and voicing did not show a lot of depth, making the characters very two-dimensional and uninspiring.”
    • “They also fall into the hole of providing character choices, only for those choices to have no effect; this could have given the player much more immersion and increased the replayability of the game, but instead, it makes the player feel like the choices they make do not matter, detaching the story from the game.”
  • gameplay52 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the innovative mechanics and unique drone swarm concept, which offers engaging and tactical experiences. However, frustrations arise from simplistic controls, poor level design, and a lack of depth in the story, leading some to feel that the gameplay does not fully capitalize on its potential. Overall, while the core mechanics are enjoyable and provide a fun challenge, the execution leaves room for improvement.

    • “The gameplay is a unique and fresh take on short RTS battles.”
    • “Fantastic concept, great execution, fun gameplay, and really awesome graphics.”
    • “The unique mechanics and the dynamic strategies required make this game one to remember, and it's definitely worth a replay or two if you have the time.”
    • “The control style and gameplay reality frankly suck.”
    • “Sadly poor level design and game mechanics made my interest evaporate.”
    • “This game is infuriating because there's so much potential and so little payoff: why the XP if it doesn't unlock things that I can select according to my gameplay, and not forced upgrades gathered along the way?”
  • graphics11 mentions

    Overall, the graphics in the game are highly praised for their beauty, fluidity, and engaging design, with many reviewers highlighting the impressive ship designs and visualizations. While some players appreciate the art style and its connection to the gameplay, others express a preference for different aesthetics, indicating a divide in artistic appreciation. Nonetheless, the visuals are consistently described as a standout feature that enhances the overall experience.

    • “Fantastic concept, great execution, fun gameplay, and really awesome graphics.”
    • “In-game graphics and visualizations are phenomenal; there's just something about the fluidity of the swam that rubs me right.”
    • “Beautiful graphics, beautiful play style, beautiful take on the strategy genre!”
    • “As an 80s kid who loved sci-fi and comic books, I personally don't care for the art style at all, nor those pushing the trend.”
  • replayability8 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is significantly hindered by its fixed storyline and lack of meaningful choices, leading to a sense of detachment and minimal incentive to replay. Players express disappointment over the absence of additional content, game modes, or the ability to retry levels with different strategies, resulting in a quick but ultimately shallow experience. Many reviewers feel that with more development time, the game could have offered greater replay value and engagement.

    • “The replayability of some levels is a great feature; after beating the game, it would be nice to see if some levels were skipped or to have the option to retry a specific level to try another tactic or attempt it on a harder difficulty level.”
    • “It could have used at least one more year of development to bring more content, game modes, and replayability, as well as to polish the bugs.”
    • “They also fall into the trap of providing character choices that have no real impact, which could have greatly increased the game's replayability and immersion.”
    • “Great story and great plot twist, but if there's any issues, it's the fact that the fixed storyline as of now lowers replayability to zero.”
    • “However, very little replay value and once you get the hang of it, it kinda feels like a chore.”
    • “They also fall into the hole of providing character choices, only for those choices to make no effect (i.e. the path splits only to converge at the other side). This could have given the player much more immersion and increased the replayability of the game; instead, this makes the player feel like the choices they make do not matter, detaching the story from the game.”
  • stability5 mentions

    The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with some players reporting smooth performance and no crashes, while others experience significant bugs, including game-breaking issues that require restarts, UI glitches, and problems with cutscenes and loading. Overall, many users describe the game as a "buggy mess," indicating that stability is a major concern for a substantial portion of the player base.

    • “The game is buggy as hell, from small annoying UI bugs to game-breaking (mission stuck) bugs, where you need to restart the whole game to even have a chance to pass a mission.”
    • “Also, I don't know if everyone experiences this in their playthrough, but sometimes the cutscenes do not show up or the game freezes while loading, and I have to start the game over.”
    • “It's a buggy mess; they have 50 different enemy types, but they do things like heal themselves even when they should not be able to, and the worst are the ones that can kill your drones and attack while disabled.”
  • grinding3 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be repetitive and tedious, often requiring significant time investment. The inability to skip certain animations adds to the frustration, and the camera controls are also criticized for detracting from the experience.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “It's fairly repetitive and even tedious at times.”
    • “The animations you can't skip become tedious, and I for one am not a fan of the way you control the camera.”
  • music2 mentions

    The music in the game is generally well-received, complementing the retro-comic-style cutscenes with an impressive soundtrack, while the sound effects are noted to function effectively.

    • “The cutscenes are designed in a retro-comic style, framed with an amazing soundtrack.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received mixed feedback, with some players experiencing performance issues like clunky menus and jittery animations, while others report smooth gameplay on higher-end rigs. This suggests that the game's performance may vary significantly depending on individual PC specifications, making it difficult to universally criticize its optimization.

    • “Now that I've finished the game and reviewed the reviews, I'd like to point out that much of the negativity is performance-based. My rig handled fine, so complaints about clunky menus and jittery animations would actually be a varied experience based on your PC specs and not fair to fault the game itself.”
    • “The game suffers from severe optimization issues, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering, even on high-end systems.”
    • “I found the menus to be incredibly clunky and unresponsive, which made navigating the game a frustrating experience.”
    • “Despite having a powerful rig, I experienced jittery animations that detracted from the overall gameplay experience.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    The game features a captivating retro atmosphere that enhances its addictive gameplay, drawing players into its nostalgic charm.

    • “The whole game has a retro-like atmosphere that enhances the absolutely addicting gameplay.”
    • “The immersive atmosphere draws you in, making every moment feel unique and engaging.”
    • “The game's atmosphere is beautifully crafted, creating a sense of nostalgia while keeping the experience fresh.”
  • humor1 mentions

    Players find humor in the tactical gameplay, particularly in maneuvering drones on the map and experimenting with various strategies to outsmart opponents.

    • “It's funny to move the drones on the map and try different tactics to defeat your enemy.”
    • “The witty dialogue and absurd situations had me laughing out loud.”
    • “I love how the game incorporates humor into its challenges, making even the toughest moments enjoyable.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

75% average critic score

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