DubWars

About

DubWars is a single player casual shooter game. It was developed by MURA Interactive and was released on July 19, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"DubWars" is a single-player shooter game with excellent graphics and a phenomenal soundtrack. The game syncs music with gameplay, where each beat of the EDM/Dubstep songs fire unique weapons. With 10 custom-built levels, players can discover and support musicians while upgrading their weapons and surviving the rhythm. The game is best played with a Steam Controller, Xbox, or PS4 controller.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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77%

Audience ScoreBased on 213 reviews

music64 positive mentions

grinding10 negative mentions

The unique mechanic of shooting based on the beat of the music creates an engaging and immersive gameplay experience.
The game features a vibrant retro art style reminiscent of 90s shareware games, which adds to its charm.
The soundtrack includes tracks from independent artists, providing a fresh and diverse musical experience.

The game suffers from a lack of updates and support, leading to unresolved technical issues and limited content.
Players have reported frustrating gameplay due to the lack of control over weapon firing, which is tied to the music's rhythm.
The upgrade system is level-specific, requiring players to grind for upgrades in each level, which can feel tedious and repetitive.

music
232 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
68%
4%
The music in the game is primarily dubstep, featuring tracks from independent artists, which many players appreciate for its energetic and immersive quality. However, some users find the limited song selection and repetitive gameplay detract from the overall experience, as the game's mechanics tie weapon firing to the music's rhythm, leading to frustrating moments of inactivity. While the concept of syncing gameplay with music is praised, the execution can feel awkward, and the lack of variety in tracks may diminish replayability for some players.
- “The music is all from small, independent artists (at least they were when the game came out) and each gets a little bio on the loading screens, which is really cool.”
- “The soundtrack is filled to the brim with bangers, the game is colorful and every level is unique with its own personality.”
- “The way your weapons synchronize with the music adds a huge immersion factor, and the fact that they used real EDM producers instead of some corny 8-bit track adds a huge bonus to gameplay.”
- “The music is meh and gameplay is boring.”
- “It's not enjoyable when you've got a foe lined up in your sights, but the weapons/music won't cooperate.”
- “The problem is when you have to replay levels, and you will, the songs soon grate on you.”
graphics
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
47%
10%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the vibrant and unique retro art style, while others criticize the visuals as bland, confusing, or even migraine-inducing. Many players appreciate the integration of graphics with the music, noting that the visuals can be colorful and fun, but also mention issues with optimization and clarity, leading to gameplay challenges. Overall, while some find the graphics stunning and enjoyable, others feel they detract from the experience.
- “Now the graphics in Dubwars are probably the most vibrant I've seen in a good while, from the bullets that you shoot from the enemies.”
- “The graphics are stunning and super vivid, the music is incredible, the controls are super easy, and the concept of the game is one of a kind!”
- “This game is just amazing, beautiful graphics, awesome and catchy music.”
- “The visuals are bland, despite being flashy, and in one instance, the background gave me an instant migraine; not hyperbole, an actual migraine.”
- “Difficult to follow enemies, clunky movement, and just appalling graphics; it looks like it was just made with some basic sprites.”
- “You can see an increase in clarity of the graphics; they're better, but they're still pixelated on the parallax backgrounds and overall have a flash game/amateur look to them.”
gameplay
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
57%
11%
The gameplay of the game features a unique mechanic where weapon firing is synchronized to the beat of the music, creating an immersive experience that some players find enjoyable and challenging. However, many reviewers criticize the gameplay for being limited and tedious, with a lack of manual control over shooting, which detracts from the overall fun. While the visuals and soundtrack receive praise, the gameplay's repetitiveness and basic mechanics leave some players feeling underwhelmed.
- “The gameplay is decent and fun, the music is good and some of the visuals are amazing.”
- “I didn't expect much from this game but it blew me away with its phat beats and simple but effective gameplay.”
- “The way your weapons synchronize with the music adds a huge immersion factor, and the fact that they used real EDM producers instead of some corny 8-bit track adds a huge bonus to gameplay.”
- “Music is meh and gameplay is boring.”
- “The gameplay is basic; you get wubs (currency) that you use to upgrade your attacks. Each attack is tied to a certain beat that triggers your ship's weaponry, and you kill the enemies that appear based on the beat of the music. The entire basis of this game is timing; you need to time your shots and know the beat of the music to anticipate your next attack. Some people might like this, but to me, this game feels like every other top-down game with just music playing in the background as you defeat enemies. It doesn't add a challenge.”
- “Gameplay-wise, it is bad and limited.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be dull and tedious, often leading to frustration, especially when attempting to complete levels on harder difficulties. The separate upgrade system for each level contributes to a slow progression, making the gameplay feel repetitive and reliant on farming in-game currency. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a significant drawback, detracting from the enjoyment of the game.
- “This means that upgrading your ship is separate for each level, which just makes for slow and tedious progress, making it slightly frustrating if you're trying to complete each level on the hardest difficulty.”
- “In its current form, the game feels too dependent on grinding for currency to use the upgrade system.”
- “Gets grindy and repetitive really fast.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
49%
38%
The game lacks a coherent story, with players noting that there is no narrative to engage with. Instead, the focus is on gameplay mechanics, which are plagued by numerous glitches and broken features, detracting from any potential storytelling elements. Overall, the absence of a meaningful storyline leaves players feeling disconnected from the game experience.
- “No storyline - maybe a recommendation for the feature?”
- “The new spawning system for this level is floating dungeons at spawn with creepers and spiders, but I do wish there was a way to destroy these dungeons because they do tend to spam my screen.”
- “No story.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while it offers significant replay value through numerous upgrades and the ability to replay levels extensively, some players find it short and lacking in content, especially with only five out of ten planned songs available at launch. Despite this, many feel it is worth the price for the hours of enjoyment it can provide.
- “Replayability is huge with tons of upgrades specific to each level, and I mean, you can honestly replay a level 'til you're sick of the song.”
- “Very original idea that gives you hours of replay value.”
- “The game can seem short once you get all the levels down, but overall it's worth the price compared to other games you could get.”
- “At the time of this review, there are currently five songs that are playable, which is half of what they're offering; ten songs at completion.”
- “Con - very short and low replayability; it really should be 99 cents.”
- “The game can seem short once you get all the levels down, and it comes down to replayability.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous bugs reported by users, leading to a frustrating experience. Additionally, the removal of difficulty and endless modes has contributed to a perception of the game being overly easy. The drastic change in art style has also been noted, further impacting the overall stability of the game's identity.
- “The game is incredibly buggy, which severely impacts the overall experience.”
- “The stability issues make it frustrating to play, as crashes and glitches occur frequently.”
- “The game feels unfinished due to constant bugs and performance problems.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its clever use of music as a weapon, leading to unexpected and amusing moments that elicit genuine laughter from players, especially during impactful beat drops.
- “I was confused as to why my ship didn't fire when I clicked, and I was laughing when I found out the music is my weapon.”
- “I'm very impressed, and I keep finding myself literally laughing out loud when the beat drops.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game features appealing music, but some users feel it leans towards promoting the artists rather than enhancing the gameplay experience.