Duke of Alpha Centauri
- December 28, 2016
- EGAMER
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"Duke of Alpha Centauri" is a thrilling space shooter game with stunning graphics and various levels, each featuring unique enemies and designs. As you progress, upgrade your ship's systems and unlock new ship upgrades to enhance your battle abilities. With adjustable difficulty settings, this game is accessible to players of all skill levels for endless space warfare fun.
Reviews
- The game features enjoyable graphics and a good soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
- It's easy to pick up and play, making it a fun casual shooter with a decent progression system.
- The game offers a lot of achievements, making it appealing for achievement hunters.
- The gameplay is repetitive and lacks challenge, making it feel boring after a short time.
- Long loading screens between levels can be frustrating, often taking longer than the actual gameplay.
- There is no story or character development, which detracts from the overall engagement of the game.
- music56 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received largely positive feedback, with many players praising its variety, quality, and ability to enhance the gaming experience. While some found certain tracks repetitive or less fitting for specific levels, the overall sentiment highlights a well-crafted soundtrack that complements the gameplay and adds to the enjoyment. Players appreciated the nostalgic and relaxing elements of the music, making it a standout feature of the game.
“The music is very good, and sound effects pop and explode with satisfying results.”
“Great music, crystal clear graphics and a good difficulty progression making this game very entertaining, for those who like shooting stuff in space.”
“I especially liked the music; it wasn't overly intense, and it provided positive encouragement while playing the game.”
“The sound and music are okay, but besides there being no dialogue or somewhat of a story, the game is pretty short, about 2-3 hours long.”
“The music doesn't fit the game at all, sounds like bought tracks, plus the game just randomly shuffles them and plays one during whatever level you're in.”
“Whereas the main menu/level selection theme became tiring after an hour, the royalty-free electronic music used for the levels were mostly bangers.”
- graphics33 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the vibrant colors, beautiful backgrounds, and well-animated elements, while others find them merely decent or simplistic, especially in comparison to other titles. While certain players highlight the stunning visuals and smooth performance, others criticize the loading times and the overall graphical quality as not living up to the game's promotional claims. Overall, the graphics are generally considered solid but inconsistent, with some standout features overshadowed by a lack of innovation in certain areas.
“Its visuals are nothing short of breathtaking, surpassing the disappointments of many other games I've encountered.”
“Graphics are excellent, fantastic backgrounds and well animated and colorful ships and asteroids.”
“Great music, crystal clear graphics and a good difficulty progression making this game very entertaining, for those who like shooting stuff in space.”
“There's no way that a game this simplistic has to take that long to load assets off the disk, crunch the CPU, or to load data into your GPU's graphics memory.”
“Graphics: ok, not great, the levels and ships really aren't much to look at, the particle effects are simplistic, like you'd see in a DirectX or OpenGL demo in 2005.”
“The asteroids are much weaker graphically than everything else on the screen so they distract.”
- gameplay32 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it fun and engaging, particularly for those who enjoy stargazing and planet exploration, while others criticize it for being simplistic, repetitive, and lacking challenge. Many noted the mechanics could benefit from more variety and depth, as well as a stronger narrative to enhance the experience. Overall, while the core gameplay functions well, it often feels stale and could use further development to maintain player interest.
“I wholeheartedly recommend it if you have an affinity for stargazing and planet exploration, along with engaging gameplay mechanics.”
“Makes for interesting gameplay because you have to pay attention to the cooldown and sort of decide if you can be more aggressive and take damage, or steer your ship more conservatively to avoid enemy fire.”
“The gameplay is good, and you get 21 levels with 3 bosses.”
“I tried it and... there was as much time in loading screens as gameplay.”
“The game mechanics are very stale and provide no challenge.”
“The core mechanics actually work though, and if the developer had put some more work into it, maybe giving it a story mode with actual levels and variety it could have been a very fun game, but as is it just gets really boring and repetitive after the first few minutes.”
- story19 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 26 % negative mentions
The game is criticized for its lack of a story or dialogue, with players noting that it consists of 20 missions that can be completed in under two hours without any narrative context. Many reviewers express disappointment, feeling that the game's title suggests a potential storyline that is ultimately absent, leading to a repetitive and unengaging experience despite decent gameplay mechanics and music. Overall, the consensus is that the game could have benefited significantly from a more developed narrative.
“Some may think a game like this doesn't need a story, but if 'I Am Bread' can have a story, then so can this.”
“The core mechanics actually work though, and if the developer had put some more work into it, maybe giving it a story mode with actual levels and variety, it could have been a very fun game, but as is it just gets really boring and repetitive after the first few minutes.”
“This game is simple, and I expected as much, and it plays well. I like to play it, but with a name like that, I almost expected there to be a narrative or a story or at least a character holding that title somewhere in the game, or some explanation as to why I'm slaying wave upon wave of enemy spaceships, but alas, none of that.”
“Even the name implies some sort of story, but there is none.”
“There's no real story that I've seen thus far... nor is there any real dialogue.”
“With a name like Duke of Alpha Centauri, I was hoping there would be some kind of story to the game, but was disappointed.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players finding the abundance of steam achievements amusing and appreciating the vibrant visuals and catchy music. However, the overall comedic impact is diminished by the lack of competition and the presence of unnecessary tips, leading to a sense of humor that feels inconsistent and underwhelming.
“The amount of steam achievements this game has is hilarious.”
“The funny thing is it actually all looks okay – while none of it is exactly mind-blowing, the backgrounds and ships are nice and vivid, and there’s a healthy dose of creative commons music that I will admit to tapping my toe to once or twice.”
“Hilariously, there’s a tip on the loading screen that states what to do 'if you feel vulnerable', which might as well just be removed from the game completely – because it’s never going to happen.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game has limited replayability, with some players noting that it offers only a couple of hours of easy gameplay. While multiple difficulty levels and an endless mode provide a slight incentive to replay, many users feel that boredom quickly sets in.
“The multiple difficulty levels and the endless mode provide a great deal of replayability, keeping the game fresh and engaging.”
“With various challenges and unlockable content, this game offers endless replayability that keeps me coming back for more.”
“The dynamic gameplay and random events ensure that no two playthroughs are the same, making replayability one of the game's strongest features.”
“No replay value, and only 2 hours of very easy gameplay.”
“No replay value.”
“Multiple difficulty levels with an endless mode present a little bit of replayability before boredom sets in.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect to be somewhat tedious and repetitive, often leading to boredom after the initial levels, as the process to become overpowered feels excessively easy and drawn out.
“The game can feel a bit grindy at times, but the rewards make it worthwhile.”
“Grinding is a necessary part of the experience, and it adds depth to character progression.”
“While there are moments of grinding, they are balanced by engaging gameplay and rewarding loot.”
“But far too easy and repetitive, to the point of being tedious and boring after the first couple of levels.”
- stability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Overall, user experiences with the game's stability are mixed; while some report a relatively bug-free experience with minor issues like inconsistent volume, others have encountered significant bugs that detract from gameplay, leading to a low stability rating.
“The game runs relatively bug-free in my experience; the only bug I've encountered is inconsistent volume between the loading screen and the rest of the game. Barring that, I have no complaints.”
“3/10 - extremely buggy (7/10 if controller bug was fixed)”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
“I experienced constant frame drops and glitches that ruined the experience.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is perceived as artificially enhanced, with some players suggesting that the loading screens are a deliberate tactic to create a sense of depth and immersion, despite the levels being short and lacking complexity.
