GemCraft - Chasing Shadows
- April 30, 2015
- Game in a Bottle
- 88h median play time
Get on Steam"GemCraft - Chasing Shadows" is a tower defense game where players build and combine gems to create powerful towers and defend against enemies. The game features a deep upgrade system, various enemy types, and a challenging campaign mode. Players must strategically place and upgrade their gems to survive each wave and advance to the next level. With its addictive gameplay and high replayability, GemCraft is a must-play for any tower defense fan.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Great tower defense game with customizable and interesting setups, including variations for early, mid, and late game playstyles.
- Offers a satisfying and fun gameplay experience with a deep gem crafting system that allows for various strategies.
- Extensive content with hundreds of levels and achievements, providing high replayability and a sense of progression.
- Gameplay can become repetitive, especially in the late game where the same strategies are often used to progress.
- Performance issues arise during high-end gameplay with many enemies on screen, leading to significant lag.
- Some players find the difficulty curve steep and frustrating, particularly when faced with overwhelming enemy waves.
- gameplay784 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Gemcraft - Chasing Shadows" is characterized by its deep and intricate mechanics, particularly the gem combining system, which allows for a high degree of customization and strategic planning. While many players appreciate the extensive content and replayability, some find the gameplay to be repetitive and grind-heavy, especially in the later stages. Overall, the game offers a mix of engaging tower defense elements with RPG mechanics, making it both challenging and addictive for fans of the genre.
“The sheer magnitude of systems and abilities that are drip-fed across the expansive selection of maps is only matched by the depth of each mechanic, so I can understand this being a 100+ hour game if gathering all achievements and min/maxing each map is one's initiative.”
“With its deep strategic mechanics, extensive content, and polished presentation, this PC game offers hours of thrilling and rewarding gameplay.”
“Gemcraft - chasing shadows maintains, with modifications and additions, its great mechanics and eye-catching graphics.”
“The gameplay is very linear.”
“To progress you need to grind like mad, combined with boring gameplay.”
“The gameplay is very samey and repetitive, which is not necessarily a bad thing on its own.”
- story534 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The story in "Gemcraft: Chasing Shadows" is generally considered to be a minor aspect of the game, with many players noting its simplicity and cryptic nature. While it provides a backdrop involving wizards and dark themes, the narrative is often overshadowed by the gameplay mechanics, which are praised for their depth and complexity. Players can choose to engage with the story through diary entries and lore, but it is not essential for enjoying the core tower defense experience.
“The captivating and progressively unfolding storyline, coupled with its highly addictive gameplay, makes it a game that I cannot recommend highly enough.”
“Chasing Shadows is the most complex of the series so far, continuing the story of the previous games and further enhancing and refining the basic mechanics established in the series.”
“The story is surprisingly good too.”
“The only point I'll raise as a 'buyer beware' is that it has a 'story' in the sense that you get a few explanations of what's happening.”
“This game has a relatively bare-bones cryptic story, and it doesn't really matter that much in the grand scheme of things.”
“Game really doesn't do a lot of effort to drive the story forward, but the story is pretty much irrelevant anyway.”
- graphics368 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally considered outdated, reflecting its origins as a Flash title, with many users noting a nostalgic charm despite their simplicity. While some appreciate the unique art style and atmospheric effects, others find the visuals lacking compared to modern standards, often stating that the gameplay and depth compensate for the graphical shortcomings. Overall, the consensus is that while the graphics may not impress, they serve their purpose and do not detract significantly from the overall gaming experience.
“The vibrant and detailed graphics create a visually engaging world, and the animations and effects are smooth and satisfying.”
“The gameplay itself is unique but true to the genre, the graphics are particularly nice in this installment of the Gemcraft series, and the audio and overall immersive experience are more than you often get from a tower defense game.”
“Don't let the low quality graphics fool you.”
“Graphics didn't age well.”
“The resolution is low and the graphics look dated, and the game is dated.”
“It might be a good game if you are willing to persevere with it, but I couldn't get over the uninspiring graphics, which look decades out of date.”
- replayability250 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The game boasts exceptional replayability, with numerous difficulty levels, game modes, and a wealth of content including skills, upgrades, and achievements that encourage players to revisit levels. Many reviewers highlight the game's depth and variety, making it addictive and engaging for extended play sessions. Overall, players find the replay value to be immense, with endless opportunities for customization and strategic exploration.
“Additionally, the game features multiple game modes, including endurance mode and battle traits, which provide even more variety and replayability.”
“The sheer replayability, challenge modes and overall variety of gem combinations, the leveling system.”
“This is a massive game with outstanding replayability, hundreds of achievements, and many choices.”
“The replayability is a bit shallow, but I'm nowhere near finished yet, so that's at the back of my mind for now.”
“While the graphics leave something to be desired, the replayability and massive amount of customization possible make this game nothing short of addictive.”
“As far as I have seen, this game offers a wealth of replayability, with the ability to go back to any map you've completed and play it with difficulty-increasing modifiers, and also just harder difficulty levels, not to mention an 'endurance' mode.”
- grinding238 mentions
- 1 % positive mentions
- 2 % neutral mentions
- 97 % negative mentions
The game's grinding aspect is a mixed bag; while some players find it enjoyable and rewarding, others describe it as tedious and overly repetitive, especially in the endgame. Many reviews highlight that grinding is necessary to unlock achievements and max out skills, but it can feel like a chore for those who dislike repetitive gameplay. Overall, the experience varies significantly based on individual preferences for grinding and the enjoyment of tower defense mechanics.
“A bit grindy sometimes.”
“A bit grindy.”
“There is no grinding for experience, because if you redo a map, all you get is around 8 points.”
“It stops becoming a game and becomes a chore; don't get lured into grinding for end game content like I did.”
“Game can eventually get extremely grindy when you hit end-game, which may not be for everyone.”
“If you stick to endurance, the game devolves into long sessions of boring and tedious mana farming setups, manually bombing every wave, massive frame rate drops every time you kill beacon summoning giants, and simply waiting and monitoring the level of your gems until you get to whatever wave you want to get to.”
- music108 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric quality, effectively enhancing the immersive experience with dark and ambient tones that fit the game's theme. While some players appreciate the soundtrack's ability to create a unique mood, others feel it lacks diversity and can be easily overshadowed by personal music choices. Overall, the sound design is considered a strong aspect of the game, contributing positively to its overall presentation.
“The sound design, including the atmospheric soundtrack and sound effects, adds to the immersive experience, drawing players into the world of gemcraft.”
“The music is simple and incredibly atmospheric, and although the graphics clearly weren't a major feature in the game's creation, they definitely create the perfect aesthetic.”
“You're never really done playing this game; there's loads of content, battles take the right amount of time, I like the art style and visual effects, the concept and the story are cool, and as I mentioned before, the soundtrack is lovely.”
“Turn off the music, turn down the sound, set the speed to max, and put on a podcast or a long video on YouTube and have at it.”
“Compared to the other games I've covered, this one has a more solitary feel to it; there's no real music, and not too many sound effects, so if you want a game to chill out with while you're listening to something you won't be missing out on much.”
“The graphics are really poor, flash is still flash, and you'll have heard your fill of sound effects and music in the first few hours easily but what it does do it does it too well to dock it too much for that.”
- optimization62 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 26 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant performance issues, especially during late-game scenarios with numerous enemies on screen, leading to lag and low frame rates. While some users noted improvements in the Steam version compared to the original Flash game, others found that even high-end PCs struggled under heavy loads. Overall, while there are options to adjust settings for better performance, the game still suffers from optimization challenges that can hinder gameplay.
“With the challenge bumped up high, it's easy to become lost in the optimization puzzle that comes from setting up your little pieces and evaluating how well they protect your precious orb.”
“If you played the previous GemCraft games, this one has been optimized to make things far easier to play quickly.”
“There are a lot of options to improve performance in the menu, including a setting to automatically reduce graphic settings temporarily when the framerate drops.”
“This game has such bad performance, I get like <15 fps, not playable and not worth any €.”
“However, if you take it 'to the next level' [i.e. enraging lots of waves, manafarming, slowing-gems, etc.], it becomes nearly unplayable because of performance.”
“The only setback I can think of is that you're going to waste a lot of time on this game and that there's rather poor performance when it comes to having several thousand mobs on screen - not even NASA computers would be able to handle the playstyle I would like to play.”
- atmosphere56 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its dark, immersive qualities, enhanced by effective sound design and music that create a moody and unsettling experience. While the graphics may be dated, they contribute to a unique aesthetic that draws players into a mystical and eerie world. However, some players find the oppressive atmosphere can make extended play sessions uncomfortable.
“The sound design, including the atmospheric soundtrack and sound effects, adds to the immersive experience, drawing players into the world of Gemcraft.”
“I really like how sounds, music, and art play along so well to create such a unique atmosphere.”
“Overall atmosphere feels somewhat oppressive and uncomfortable, making it unpleasant to play the game for long stretches.”
“Quickly, you are enveloped in a minimalistic but eerie and mystical atmosphere.”
“The game has a story but it's not really that entertaining; every now and then you unlock one or more pages of lore, each about 30 words long. In my experience, all they do is add to the dark and grim atmosphere of the game, and I'm not invested in an actual story like I am when I'm playing The Walking Dead (an extreme example, but you get the point).”
- monetization28 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 36 % negative mentions
The monetization model of the game is praised for being straightforward and player-friendly, with no microtransactions or ads in the Steam version, allowing players to enjoy the full experience for a one-time purchase. While a free version exists with ads, many players recommend buying the game to support the developer and access all features without the hassle of in-game purchases. Overall, the game is seen as a rich experience that respects its players' time and investment.
“No gimmicks, no microtransactions, no ads, just an incredibly rich game which knows its roots and succeeds in expanding the formula to its highest potential.”
“Also, no microtransactions in the Steam version.”
“I also dislike in-game purchases, so the Steam release, which delivers the full game (and more) for a one-time purchase, is really awesome.”
“(but in-game purchases will drain your wallet)”
“If memory serves me correctly, the first flash release of this game had some weird microtransactions in place, which sort of put me off from playing it (I can't remember if you bought shadow cores or what; this was a few years ago).”
“The game may be played for free on the website of the developer, but with ads; outright purchase to both squash those ads and to support the developer for such an excellent job is the way to go.”
- humor14 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its absurd and hilarious tower-building mechanics, alongside a brutal difficulty that encourages creative and often comical strategies. Players appreciate the game's ability to deliver unexpected and funny moments through its unique gameplay elements, such as the wizard core's banishment feature, which adds a humorous twist to the tower defense genre. Overall, the humor is rooted in the game's quirky balancing issues and the freedom to experiment with outrageous combinations.
“Build hilarious towers, survive brutal waves, and maybe even rediscover your inner child (the homicidal one).”
“Biggest pro: lets you get away with hilarious game-breaking combos if you're smart enough and try a lot of things.”
“Funny twist is that your wizard core can 'banish' monsters reaching it in exchange for some of your mana burning up, if you have enough of it (and there are ways to decrease banishment cost).”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight that the freeze spell is highly effective and can be deployed instantly, providing both damage and crowd control by freezing enemies. This versatility contributes to a stable gameplay experience, allowing players to strategically manage threats.
- character development2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development offers a diverse range of approaches, allowing players to customize their characters and manage their abilities in unique ways. This variety enhances gameplay by providing multiple strategies for progression and exploration.
“There is plenty of variety in how you approach character development and map management.”
“The character development system offers a rich array of choices that truly impact gameplay.”
“I love how the character development allows for unique playstyles and strategies.”
