Drop: System Breach

About

Drop: System Breach is a single player simulation game. It was developed by Etherfield Studio and was released on March 28, 2023. It received positive reviews from players.

In "Drop: System Breach," become a skilled hacker navigating a fragmented digital world, filled with puzzle-solving, roguelike elements, and action-strategy gameplay. Accept challenging jobs, join a notorious hacker group, and find yourself in the midst of a powerful struggle between factions, each vying for control. Your actions will determine your fame, fortune, and possibly your demise.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 144 reviews

story17 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

The game features smooth, fast-paced gameplay that keeps players engaged and feeling like a hacker in a cyberpunk world.
It has a unique art style and a compelling soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
The mechanics are easy to learn but provide depth, allowing for a satisfying progression as players upgrade their hacking tools.

The game becomes repetitive over time, with missions feeling similar and lacking significant variety in objectives.
The final missions introduce frustrating difficulty spikes and unskippable cutscenes that can disrupt the flow of gameplay.
Keyboard controls can be unintuitive, leading to a less enjoyable experience compared to using a controller.

story
124 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
82%
4%
The game's story is generally considered engaging, with a strong atmosphere and a simple yet intriguing plot that unfolds through mission requests and character interactions. However, many players find the narrative to be linear and repetitive, with a lack of meaningful choices and a grindy progression that detracts from the overall experience. While the pacing and intensity of the missions keep players invested, the storytelling could benefit from more variety and depth to enhance player engagement.
- “Great little game with an interesting main story.”
- “The plot is also exciting, developing after every mission, which encourages you to continue playing and finishing it.”
- “The story is nice and well implemented. Although I had no groundbreaking revelations or plot twists along my playtime, it really kept me playing for the sake of wanting to know what's going on.”
- “The game does not stick the landing; the final two missions are littered with the worst kind of stun lock, you're put under a 5-minute timer, and you have unskippable story cutaways that don't pause the time while you are doing the most frenetic missions in the entire game.”
- “Going through missions in an almost linear way is tedious.”
- “The story is, uh, basically meaningless.”
gameplay
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
67%
4%
The gameplay is characterized by a fast-paced, engaging loop that combines simple mechanics with increasing complexity, providing a satisfying experience for players. However, many users noted issues with repetitiveness, pacing, and a frustrating keyboard interface, which detracted from the overall enjoyment. While the mechanics are interesting and the art style appealing, the game could benefit from more variety in mission types and a more streamlined progression system to enhance player engagement.
- “Dynamic and demanding gameplay surprised me in a very positive way, same as simple but beautiful graphics, smooth animations and visual effects.”
- “The gameplay loop is satisfying, the small puzzles that give your brain a little reset are fun to get better at, the action game's worth of resource management that sometimes feels like swapping through weapons in Doom Eternal is engaging.”
- “It's an amazing game, a fast-paced, strategic hacking sim with a gripping story and easy-to-learn mechanics.”
- “By the end of the game, however, mechanics piled on top of mechanics turn the game into a miserable, frustrating slog of overlapping defense systems and unavoidable pauses designed to kill time on the already stringent clock.”
- “Instead, you have to do the same thing for half an hour just to get a new mechanic or a bit of story; the progression is too slow and grindy in a game that is not free-to-play, which is ridiculous in my opinion.”
- “The gameplay starts feeling stale when every mission looks exactly the same.”
music
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
57%
14%
The music in the game is widely praised for its unique synthwave style, effectively complementing the visuals and gameplay. While some players find it engaging and fitting for the game's theme, others note that it lacks dynamic qualities and can blend too seamlessly with sound feedback, making it difficult to discern during gameplay. Overall, the soundtrack contributes significantly to the game's atmosphere, evoking a cyberpunk feel reminiscent of classic electronic music.
- “It has unique visuals and some wonderful synthwave music.”
- “Everything works perfectly with one another, the mechanics, the visuals, the soundtrack.”
- “The music is reminiscent of the original Vangelis/Blade Runner, really sets the cyberpunk/dystopian future feel!”
- “I wouldn't say the music in the game is catchy, but it does suit the theme well, as it's largely made up of synthetic-sounding beeps and boops.”
- “The music varies a bit, as the tunes don't feel like one song remixed multiple times, but without having a playlist to listen to, it's hard to know how many songs were composed for the game.”
- “My only gripe is that the music doesn't have any dynamic qualities, for example, intensifying as you run out of time.”
graphics
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
29%
18%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique pixel art style, which effectively combines retro and futuristic aesthetics, creating a captivating atmosphere. Players appreciate the smooth animations and visual effects that complement the gameplay, while the vibrant art style and synthwave music enhance the overall experience. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point, contributing significantly to the game's immersive vibe.
- “It has unique visuals and some wonderful synthwave music.”
- “Dynamic and demanding gameplay surprised me in a very positive way, same as simple but beautiful graphics, smooth animations and visual effects.”
- “The visuals and audio are perfect for its story and subject matter, and it manages to look both 'retro' (in the most positive sense imaginable) as well as futuristic.”
- “My issues stem more from the visuals not pertaining to the gameplay.”
- “Don't get me wrong, the art style and design factors in the game are quite great, but the graphics could use improvement.”
- “This kind of pixel art aesthetic could also be incorporated on the game cover, which I believe would attract more attention.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and slow, requiring long periods of repetitive tasks to unlock new mechanics or story elements. While some appreciate the challenge, many feel that the lack of innovation and linear mission structure contributes to a frustrating experience, especially given that the game is not free-to-play.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Instead you have to do the same thing for half an hour just to get a new mechanic or a bit of story; the progression is too slow and grindy in a game that is not free to play, ridiculous in my opinion.”
- “It gets very tedious halfway through, and not a lot of innovative things are being introduced.”
- “Going through missions in an almost linear way is tedious.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised, effectively immersing players in a tense, 80s-inspired hacking environment. Despite a sparse story, the combination of graphics, music, and sound effects contributes to a strong sense of urgency and excitement throughout the gameplay. Overall, the atmosphere enhances the experience, making it a standout feature of the game.
- “While the story was a bit sparse, the game has a strong atmosphere, and the stakes and tension really ramp up toward the end.”
- “The atmosphere is really strong and feels like I am in the 80s, trying to hack my way through many missions.”
- “With all of the graphics, music, and sound effects, the developers created a fine atmosphere.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
The optimization aspect of the game is closely tied to performance, with users noting that their in-game rewards and progression are directly influenced by how well they perform. This creates a dynamic where players are incentivized to improve their skills for better outcomes.
- “You will be paid according to your performance.”
- “The game's optimization is severely lacking, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering.”
- “Despite having a high-end PC, I still experience lag and long loading times due to poor optimization.”
- “The optimization issues make it nearly unplayable at times, even on recommended settings.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express frustration with certain gameplay elements, such as the memory minigame, but ultimately feel a sense of emotional satisfaction and empowerment from the upgrades earned throughout the campaign, enhancing their overall experience.
- “By the end of the campaign, all the upgrades I earned made me feel quite a bit 'more powerful' than when I started.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers suggest that enhancing character design could significantly improve the game's story engagement and overall appeal to a broader audience, indicating that character development is a crucial area for improvement.
- “In order to make the story more engaging and the game more appealing to the general audience, you could focus on character design.”