Goliath
- May 12, 2016
- Whalebox Studio
- 4h median play time
Goliath is an ambitious project. While a lot of its design ideas are really interesting, the execution of those ideas failed at every turn.
Get on Steam"Goliath" is a single-player Science Fiction Fighting game offering around 4 hours of playtime. Players explore a mysterious world and craft giant robots, known as Goliaths, to battle monsters and gather resources. The goal is to survive amongst the giant creatures in this dangerous and broken land by scavenging for resources and building stronger Goliaths.
PC
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox
Reviews
- The game has a really cool concept centered around building and customizing giant robots, which many players find engaging.
- The crafting system is well-received, allowing players to create various items and Goliaths, adding depth to the gameplay.
- The developers are responsive to community feedback and are actively working on updates and bug fixes, which gives hope for future improvements.
- The game suffers from poor optimization, with many players experiencing significant frame rate drops and performance issues, making it unplayable for some.
- Controls are clunky and unintuitive, especially for mouse and keyboard users, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- The story and quests are often criticized for being dull and repetitive, lacking depth and engagement, which detracts from the overall experience.
- story60 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 77 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The story is criticized for being long, repetitive, and lacking depth, leading to a monotonous gameplay experience that fails to engage players. While some find potential in the world and narrative, many feel it becomes a chore to progress due to bugs and linearity, with less than 6% of players continuing past the halfway point. Overall, the writing is seen as mediocre, with a few redeeming qualities, but it ultimately fails to captivate or motivate players.
“Story and writing is decent, with the style being one to not take itself too seriously.”
“It's a cool world, and a cool story; I'll probably end up finishing it just for that, even if it'll be more of a chore than I'd like.”
“Story's definitely not AAA, but at least there is one and adds some filler to why you're doing the things you do.”
“However, the story is long repetitive text that NPCs just blab on; most of it is a waste of time.”
“Weak story, weak characters, monotonous gameplay with no soul.”
“There is no storyteller, so the story doesn't carry any weight and you are not dragged into it.”
- gameplay46 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of potential and frustration; while the core mechanics, such as crafting and upgrading goliaths, are seen as engaging and fun, many players criticize the poor implementation of these systems, leading to a monotonous experience. Issues like ineffective harvesting mechanics and bugs detract from the overall enjoyment, with some players expressing hope for improvements. Despite these drawbacks, the game offers a unique concept and a fair amount of content for its price, appealing to those who appreciate action-survival gameplay.
“The concept is really cool and unique, the gameplay is fun and engaging.”
“Addictive gameplay, quite varied and intense, that will not get boring even in the quiet moments of the game.”
“The action style gameplay revolves around gathering materials to upgrade your base and your goliaths (you can have 3 with you at any time, though only 1 under your control at once).”
“So gameplay turns boring more soon than later: there is no illusion for exploration, combat, loot, reward, or upgrade; there are many missions, but that doesn't change those facts, and less than 6% of players continue after the first half of the game.”
“Weak story, weak characters, monotonous gameplay with no soul.”
“The only reason to play seems to be to upgrade your goliath so you can enjoy more monotonous gameplay.”
- graphics26 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally considered decent and visually appealing, with a unique art style that enhances the overall atmosphere. However, many players report performance issues, requiring more powerful hardware than specified, which can lead to crashes and sluggish gameplay even at lower settings. While the graphics contribute charm to the game, they are not groundbreaking and are accompanied by lackluster animations and music.
“The graphics here are good enough to do what the developers were wanting to do, and it actually lends a certain basic charm to the game.”
“Graphically attractive enough, suits the overall mood of the game.”
“Feels like what you really wanted to see in a 3D survival robot game, with a very unique art style.”
“The graphics are decently serviceable, but also nothing to really write home about.”
“The graphics seem well stylized, but the music and animations are very lackluster.”
“I dropped the graphics from ultra down to lowest one step at a time, and each time it played exactly the same with sluggishness.”
- music18 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as decent but unmemorable, lacking the necessary energy to enhance the gameplay experience. Players noted issues with music cutting out abruptly, particularly during combat, and expressed a desire for more consistent and engaging soundtracks that match the game's steampunk and old west themes. Overall, while the art style is appreciated, the music and animations are seen as underdeveloped and in need of improvement.
“The music, art, and character styles are well developed, making me feel like I'm in a steampunk / old west movie with attitude as soon as I launch it.”
“For example, I would really like the music to fit what the title screen has, this thumping, bass-heavy tune of impending poundage while in combat and maybe a jolly thumping while walking through a forest.”
“That being said, it is obvious that not everything is implemented just yet; the animation and textures could be brushed up, and the music needs a bit more oomph!”
“Consistent music would be nice, but I played for about 15 minutes in silence with only a sparse lackluster punching sound effect.”
“The framerate is laggy, the music cuts out abruptly with no segue, and the combat feels weak.”
- optimization10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with many users reporting significant performance issues and a lack of updates from the developers over the past month and a half. While some players find the game enjoyable and manageable despite these problems, the overall sentiment indicates that optimization remains a major concern.
“At times it will feel a little grindy and there are some optimization issues, but these are problems you can work around.”
“Fun so far, looking forward to performance updates.”
“Game is interesting, but performance is one of the worst.”
“It's been a month and a half and no word on optimization.”
“Poorly optimized.”
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate its self-aware charm and find enjoyment in the dialogue and quirky moments, others feel that the humor often falls flat, coming off as rude and snarky rather than genuinely funny. Despite its shortcomings, many players still find the overall experience enjoyable, even if the comedic elements can be hit or miss.
“It has a certain charm to it, and I find myself enjoying going through the content, trying to unlock new Goliath parts, laughing at some of the dialogue, and generally just having fun.”
“Combat is lacking a guard button; it's funny that a Goliath so big can't block.”
“The game is trying to have self-aware humor, and while it may come off as rude and snarky, it still adds a unique flavor to the experience.”
- stability8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is noted for its stability issues, including various glitches and frame rate drops, particularly during special moves. Despite these bugs, players find it enjoyable and believe it has the potential for improvement. Overall, while stability is a concern, the game's fun factor remains high.
“There are some glitches and clipping problems.”
“Still some frame rate glitches during special moves, but all in all, much easier to play.”
“Tl;dr: Goliath is a buggy, ambitious release that is great fun, and looks to improve quickly.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be both mandatory and tedious, as it requires significant effort to progress while dealing with level-scaling that keeps enemies challenging. This leads to a frustrating experience where players often feel restricted and stressed, particularly regarding inventory management during farming. Overall, the grinding feels reminiscent of classic ARPGs like Diablo but lacks the enjoyment due to its repetitive nature and cumbersome mechanics.
“It's also the only ARPG I can think of that has both mandatory grinding to be able to feasibly kill enemies and level-scaling, meaning you never stop seeing those enemies the game just expects you to avoid because you can barely damage them.”
“Tedious quests; the dialogues are fun sometimes, but the rest is boring.”
“I'm used to this gameplay; it's a lot like Diablo of old, but in a crafting game, it feels very restricting and, honestly, very stressful playing when I don't remember if I have enough space in my chests for something while I'm out farming for drops.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a cool atmosphere with diverse environments to explore, enhancing the overall experience. However, some users feel that the audio, while not detrimental, does not significantly contribute to the atmospheric quality.
“Cool atmosphere, different environments to visit.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users consistently express a desire for increased replayability in the game, indicating that current content may not be sufficient to encourage multiple playthroughs.
