GALAK-Z

73%
Game Brain Score Based on 395 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
GALAK-Z Game Cover
17-Bit has created a layered system that will constantly kick your butt until you’ve finally got the hang of what Galak-Z is all about.
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GALAK-Z is a single-player Science Fiction Shooter game with phenomenal game mechanics and beautiful graphics. It offers procedurally generated worlds, challenging A.I. enemies, and anime-inspired spacecraft. The Void DLC includes endless gameplay, online leaderboards, and a daily challenge for players to compete worldwide. Additionally, Arcade Mode allows players to replay failed missions without losing progress.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Play​Station
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

73%
Audience ScoreBased on 395 reviews
story22 positive mentions
stability12 negative mentions
  • The game features a unique blend of retro 8-bit vibes and anime-inspired aesthetics, making it visually appealing.
  • The combat system is visceral and satisfying, providing a rewarding experience as players master the mechanics.
  • The character dialogues are entertaining and add charm to the gameplay, enhancing the overall experience.
  • The game suffers from repetitive mission structures and environments, leading to a lack of variety in gameplay.
  • Players lose all upgrades and progress upon reaching a new season, which can be frustrating and discouraging.
  • The control scheme is counterintuitive and can be difficult to master, making the gameplay feel clunky at times.
  • story254 mentions

    The game's story is generally considered thin and unfinished, with many reviewers noting a lack of meaningful narrative progression and repetitive mission structures. While some appreciate the nostalgic anime-inspired elements and voice acting, the overall consensus is that the story fails to engage, often feeling like an afterthought amidst the gameplay. The episodic format, which consists of five missions per season, does not compensate for the lack of depth, leaving players frustrated by the abrupt endings and unresolved plotlines.

    • “The story is pretty great and the voice acting is exceptional, and it all reminds me of a 90's mecha anime with its characters and situations.”
    • “The writing is enough to draw some smiles from time to time with some enjoyable characters, and while the story isn't anything groundbreaking, it has fun with it enough to make you enjoy it too.”
    • “Mixes old-school style graphics with beautiful scenery and a fun storyline.”
    • “The story is unfinished as everyone else has said before, and the game does feel really short and lacking content, which is a shame since what is here is so polished and fun, but after the 10 hour mark you'll probably have unlocked and seen everything there is to see.”
    • “First off, instead of giving an actual end to the story, which isn't anything special to begin with, but still something that should be finished, they decided to throw an endless mode at you that finishes nothing, main characters die out of nowhere in a summary cutscene, and nothing is wrapped up.”
    • “The story is practically non-existent.”
  • gameplay112 mentions

    The gameplay is generally praised for its tight mechanics, rewarding skillful play, and unique blend of action and rogue-like elements, making it engaging and enjoyable for many players. However, some critiques highlight issues with enemy and mission variety, as well as frustrations with the game's punishing difficulty and lack of content depth. Overall, while the core gameplay is often described as exceptional, it may not appeal to everyone due to its challenging nature and design choices.

    • “The gameplay is very tight and mostly fair; it rewards precise play, and most of the time when things go wrong, it is because of a mistake you made and not because the game was being unfair.”
    • “This is some of the best gameplay I've ever experienced.”
    • “The gameplay is awesome; both the ship and the mech handle great, and any move you try with them feels just right within the in-game physics.”
    • “But then there's the gameplay.”
    • “It wants to be hardcore roguelike, but doesn't have the enemy, environment, or gameplay variety to justify that.”
    • “The gameplay is an unoptimized mess that keeps crashing and suffers from poor performance, even though it's not that great looking.”
  • graphics75 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their vibrant, retro-inspired art style that blends 8-bit and anime aesthetics, evoking a nostalgic 80s and 90s feel. Players appreciate the colorful pixel art, dynamic visuals, and attention to detail, although some note that the game occasionally suffers from technical issues and a lack of variety in assets. Overall, the aesthetic choices and graphical presentation are considered standout features, enhancing the gameplay experience despite some criticisms regarding controls and repetitiveness.

    • “The art style grabbed me right away—it has this cool mix of retro 8-bit vibes and anime-inspired aesthetics that make it stand out.”
    • “A fun rogue-like with a beautiful aesthetic, the pixel art, vibrant colors, and synthwave soundtrack transport you straight to the 80s.”
    • “The graphics are stunning and the audio does its job remarkably, with touches of styles like the pilots' intercoms during the fight, and the game is sparkled with humor and references.”
    • “The only good thing I can say is they really nailed the old-school anime VHS aesthetic they were going for (right down to the cheesy Saturday morning cartoon voice-acting), but taken as a game in and of itself, minus all the costume frills, it's not a game I can really recommend to anyone other than a masochist.”
    • “This could have been a great modern game with a throwback aesthetic, but instead it is a repetitive game with almost no variety in assets, enemies, or missions.”
    • “Oh yeah, and after launch the Steam tablet at the bottom right glitches and I have graphic artifacts in the bottom right of my screen sometimes.”
  • music31 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its vibrant synthwave soundtrack, which evokes a nostalgic 80s aesthetic and enhances the overall experience. While many reviewers highlight the quality and enjoyment of the soundtrack, some note that it can occasionally be average or repetitive. Overall, the music significantly contributes to the game's atmosphere, complementing its visuals and gameplay.

    • “A fun rogue-like with a beautiful aesthetic, the pixel art, vibrant colors, and synthwave soundtrack transport you straight to the 80s.”
    • “The music is awesome, the art is awesome, the voice work is really good, the sounds are cool, and the whole idea is fantastic.”
    • “Filled with bright colors and featuring an eclectic soundtrack, it keeps both your eyes and your ears occupied, while some light RPG elements let you blast aliens to bits the way you want to.”
    • “It's a shame though that the amazing game mechanics are dressed up by some horrible looking art designs and boring music.”
    • “This just goes to show you that no amount of style, music, or polish can help if your actual gameplay is unfun and unfair at its core.”
    • “2 - soundtrack could be much better;”
  • replayability14 mentions

    The game boasts high replayability due to its randomized level layouts, diverse unit combinations, and challenging gameplay mechanics, including rogue-like elements and daily challenges. Players appreciate the engaging core gameplay, beautiful art style, and the complexity of stealth mechanics, which allow for varied playthroughs. While it may not offer infinite replayability, the combination of upgrades, achievements, and procedural generation ensures a fresh experience with each playthrough.

    • “This, with the randomized level layout and combinations of units and the challenge they offer, is what makes this game so amazingly replayable.”
    • “Most importantly, the core gameplay is absolutely brilliant, but the art style and voice acting are very good on top of that. Replayability seems infinite with random level generation, infinite mode, daily challenges, and a very good AI. I mean seriously, the AI is great, and thanks to that, stealth mechanics are actually very complex. You could finish pretty much every level without firing a single shot if you wanted to.”
    • “The rogue-like elements mean you're constantly running into new encounters, making for a ton of replayability.”
    • “Brevity of the game; it's not the longest game, but as previously stated, there is some replay value here. At the very least, I'd recommend doing a play-through of each game mode.”
    • “These have set objectives usually, but the randomly generated layout makes the replayability high.”
  • stability13 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous reports of glitches that prevent mission completion, control lock-ups, and freezing during cutscenes. While some players find enjoyment in the gameplay and visuals, the pervasive bugs significantly detract from the overall experience, leading to disappointment and a lack of recommendations until these issues are addressed.

    • “It's almost bug-free, and you will enjoy the laser effects, upgrades, easy-to-understand storyline, and Japanese manga-like animation.”
    • “3rd mission the game glitches out, no mission marker, can't complete it and can't save.”
    • “Coupled with some frustrating glitches that stop me from being able to complete a mission, and thus ruining an entire 'season'.”
    • “I want to enjoy this game, it's fun but every mission in season 2 I can't even beat because all control locks up and I cannot attack due to mech mode glitches.”
  • atmosphere9 mentions

    The atmosphere in the game is generally praised for its engaging art, excellent dialogues, and immersive details, such as cockpit animations that enhance the experience. While some missions lack character interactions that could further enrich the atmosphere, key missions compensate for this shortcoming. Overall, the game offers a captivating and campy ambiance, complemented by soothing music and strong voice acting.

    • “The art, the atmosphere, and the dialogues are truly excellent and really draw you in.”
    • “If you think you'd enjoy a challenging and arcadey space shooter with visceral combat and a great atmosphere, Galak-Z may very well provide a good 10-15 hours of solid entertainment to you.”
    • “The music and game atmosphere is very soothing, and the voice acting is spot-on.”
    • “Game lacks in interactions between characters during some missions, which kind of disrupts the atmosphere, but key missions usually make up for that.”
    • “It could have been a lot more, with each season having its own distinct atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere?”
  • humor9 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the funny dialogue, character interactions, and humorous references to anime culture, while others find the comedic elements inconsistent or overshadowed by gameplay frustrations. Overall, the game features a lighthearted tone and campy humor that resonates well with some players, enhancing the experience despite some criticisms of imbalance.

    • “Great ship designs, good soundtrack, and some funny dialogue.”
    • “The graphics are stunning and the audio does its job remarkably, with touches of styles like the pilots' intercoms during the fight (a nod to the anime material the whole game is inspired from), and the game is sprinkled with humor and references (one of the enemy pilots is dressed like the protagonist of Guacamelee).”
    • “The game doesn't take itself seriously and some of the campy dialogue is pretty funny.”
  • character development8 mentions

    Character development in the game is characterized by a blend of cartoon and anime influences, resulting in visually appealing designs for characters, factions, and ships that pay homage to classic space operas. While some players appreciate the lively and comedic aesthetic, others find the overall character design lacking in detail and not fully reflective of its inspirations from 80s-90s anime. The simple storyline complements the vibrant visuals, but opinions on the effectiveness of character representation vary.

    • “The character design seems to be a mix between cartoons and anime, and while not detailed, they are good enough in my opinion.”
    • “Simple storyline, lively and comedic character design, and very responsive action gameplay.”
    • “Ship and character designs are a nice homage to other space operas and shows.”
    • “Besides that, I find the visual style and character design kind of off-putting.”
    • “With elements of old-school space shooters like R-Type, Gradius, and perhaps a bit of color from Pop'n TwinBee, it is mixed with manga character design spiced with a lot of references to the art style of series like Transformers or Saber Rider.”
  • optimization8 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its smooth performance and appealing visuals, while others criticize it as an "unoptimized mess" plagued by crashes and poor performance. Although there are reports of some known issues, the developers are reportedly working on fixes. Overall, the game's optimization appears to be inconsistent, affecting the overall experience for many players.

    • “Runs smoothly, looks gorgeous, and the control scheme is reminiscent of the game it took inspiration from, with enough of a modern twist to make it relevant in today's age.”
    • “Some performance issues on the cutscenes, but it is a known issue that the devs are trying to fix.”
    • “Performance-wise, I haven't found any problems.”
    • “Very poor optimization; the game itself is not worth the price.”
    • “The gameplay and mechanics seem fine, and I would probably have kept playing if it wasn't for the fact that the game is an unoptimized mess that keeps crashing and generally suffers from poor performance, even though it's not that great looking.”
    • “Cons: unoptimized garbage that keeps crashing.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, as missions lack variety and are bogged down by repetitive dialogue and procedural generation issues. The requirement to start each chapter weakened and the loss of upgrades after missions detracts from immersion and enjoyment, making the overall experience feel more like a chore than a rewarding challenge. While some boss encounters provide a brief respite, the constant need to gather resources and upgrades can become overwhelming and unenjoyable.

    • “The missions are not very interesting, the procedural generation isn't great, having to start each chapter weakened is frustrating, missions are overly laden with story dialogue you have to hear over and over, and there's a lot of dead space and tedious searching; you're weaker if you don't do everything each time.”
    • “The difficulty ramps up to a level that is a bit more tedious than some would want, and the idea that you always have to search for your gear again kind of ruins the immersion for me.”
    • “Even after repetitively grinding my way through randomly generated missions in a near-dead ship, gathering whatever upgrades the game would allow me to get (but not keep if the mission failed) and defeating the grueling end-season boss encounters (the only unique and genuinely fun parts of the whole game), I was 'rewarded' by inexplicably having every single one of my hard-earned upgrades stripped away and being forced to gather salvage to repurchase them all again in a ship that has been completely reset to default while still having to face bigger and tougher enemies.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    The emotional engagement of the game appears to be lacking, as one user expressed indifference after only completing a few missions, indicating a disconnect that led to a lack of motivation to continue playing.

  • monetization1 mentions

    Reviewers express a desire for fair pricing in gaming, advocating for games that offer value without excessive costs, particularly criticizing AAA publishers for charging high prices for limited content. They emphasize the importance of supporting games that demonstrate that quality can prevail over inflated pricing driven by marketing.

    • “The monetization model feels exploitative, as it pushes players to spend more money to enjoy the full experience.”
    • “It's frustrating to see so many features locked behind paywalls, making it hard to enjoy the game without shelling out extra cash.”
    • “The constant barrage of microtransactions detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game, making it feel more like a cash grab than a genuine experience.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

76% average critic score

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Play time

20hMedian play time
20hAverage play time
20-20hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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