Filly Astray
- November 2, 2023
- Bit Assembly
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"Filly Astray is a single-player platformer adventure game with a unique combo system, offering 2-5 hours of playtime. Fight your way through six environments and five bosses, with increased damage for chained attacks. As a cute filly, test your skills in this challenging action game, featuring additional challenges for multiple playthroughs."
PC
Steam Deck
Web Browser
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game features charming graphics and fluid animations that enhance the overall experience.
- It offers a challenging yet rewarding gameplay experience reminiscent of classic platformers, with a strong emphasis on learning enemy patterns.
- The game is filled with adorable elements, including cute character designs and fun animations, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
- The controls can feel clunky and unresponsive, leading to frustrating gameplay moments, especially during platforming sections.
- Players often experience issues with stun-locking from enemies, making combat feel unfair and punishing.
- The game lacks a comprehensive tutorial, leaving players to figure out many mechanics on their own, which can be overwhelming for newcomers.
- music40 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its atmospheric and nostalgic 8-bit soundtrack that enhances gameplay, particularly during boss fights. However, others find it simplistic or occasionally distracting, especially in the earlier levels, and note issues with inconsistent volume. Overall, while the soundtrack is generally well-received, it has moments of repetition and inconsistency that may detract from the experience for some players.
“The music is splendid, very atmospheric to the levels and bosses!”
“The 8-bit soundtrack is soothing and cheerful, but it can also get you pumping during boss fights.”
“Great graphics and music, very fun finding all the items and getting the good ending, and hard mode was even more rewarding.”
“The music is a bit too simple.”
“The music doesn't cut when you pause or tab out, which can be distracting when you're busy with multiple projects.”
“Very inconsistent music volume.”
- gameplay22 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Filly Astray" is characterized by its old-school mechanics and charming graphics, but it struggles with a lack of clear instruction on advanced features, such as parrying. While combat and level design are praised, the platforming mechanics are seen as a weak point, leading to frustration with stun-locking. Overall, the game offers enjoyable moments but falls short of fully realizing its potential due to these issues.
“The combat mechanics are good.”
“The level's design and mechanics are neat.”
“Even in only half an hour of gameplay thus far, already there's a bunch of fun and cute moments I had along the way.”
“You can get stunlocked fairly easily if not paying attention, and while there is a mechanic for breaking out, I think it suffers from the same issue a bevy of other really cool moves in the game do – they're barely taught.”
“Imo you probably shouldn't have mechanics or features in the first hour that are almost universally hated in these types of games.”
“The platforming mechanics are a sore spot.”
- story15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely criticized for its lack of depth and development, with many reviewers noting that it feels non-existent or merely a collection of vague hints. While some appreciate the unique approach of conveying a narrative without words, they agree that the overall storytelling could benefit from more structure, character dialogue, and context to enhance the experience. Despite these shortcomings, the passion of the creator is acknowledged, suggesting potential for future projects.
“The headline of this story is that an obviously passionate creator has made something really great, and that they're more than worth keeping an eye on for whatever projects they'll deliver next.”
“With some fine tuning, adding more maps, story, and character dialogue from our filly, I'm sure this game will be remembered very fondly.”
“It tells a story without words, which is a rare ability in this day and age.”
“The story is non-existent.”
“Another problem with this game is the lack of story.”
“-it's clear the tiny hints of a story are mostly there just for the sake of having something, but they're not really developed or explained in any meaningful way.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their charming, old-school pixel art style, fluid animations, and diverse level designs that enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the attention to detail and the vibrant visuals, which are complemented by a fitting soundtrack. However, some users find the gameplay experience to be more frustrating than enjoyable despite the beautiful graphics.
“While Bit Assembly's artwork has always looked great, bringing everything together in this game with super fluid animations, an incredibly diverse set of levels and background art, and a myriad of little details that ooze charm is nothing short of miraculous.”
“Great graphics and music, very fun finding all the items and getting the good ending (though some of the gold bars were too well-hidden), and hard mode was even more rewarding.”
“Filly Astray can often feel old-school – not just in its lovingly crafted graphics, but often in its mechanics as well.”
“You have the classic arcade game style music and sound effects paired with some fitting and well-colored pixelated visuals.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game's stability is somewhat inconsistent, with some experiencing bugs that may improve with future patches. However, there is also a recognition that some issues could stem from user error, particularly among less experienced players.
“It's a little buggy right now, so you could wait until a few more patches come out.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users consistently express that the game requires further optimization to enhance performance and overall experience.
“Yeah, I think this needs a bit of optimization.”
“Yeah, I think this needs a bit of optimization.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users indicate that the game offers a modest level of replayability, suggesting that there are some elements that encourage players to return, but it may not be significantly high.
“It's got a little more replay value than this.”
“It's got a little more replay value than this.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, particularly for its splendid music that enhances the experience of both the levels and boss encounters.
“The music is splendid, very atmospheric to the levels and bosses!”
