Gripper
- August 6, 2020
- Gripper
Gripper is a fun, engaging, gritty little game that’ll have you wishing you could Akira slide in real life. While the game will come and go fast, you’ll appreciate the experience for what it is, and it certainly won’t overstay its welcome.
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Gripper: Prologue" is an action RPG where you use a car with a hook to tear the hearts of relatives and bosses in a world where androids burn men literally. After your farm is burned down, you must learn to kill with your car to avenge your loss. The game features 4 bizarre biomes, 2 colossal bosses, and a nightmarish tunnel with incredible music, offering a personal story of loss and closure.
Reviews
- The game features a unique and visually stunning art style that combines cyberpunk elements with energetic designs.
- The gameplay mechanics, such as the hook and grip movement, provide a fresh and engaging experience, especially during boss fights.
- The music and sound design enhance the overall atmosphere, contributing to an adrenaline-pumping experience.
- The controls can feel inconsistent and frustrating, making it difficult to navigate and engage effectively in combat.
- The game suffers from a lack of depth in its story and character development, leaving players wanting more narrative substance.
- Many gameplay sections, particularly the tunnel sequences, can be punishing due to poorly designed obstacles and a lack of checkpoints.
- gameplay17 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The gameplay in Gripper is characterized by its unique mechanics, such as the hook for ripping apart enemies and high-speed motorcycle action set in a post-apocalyptic world, which many players find thrilling and addictive. However, the controls can feel inconsistent, leading to frustration during combat and boss battles, and the game lacks variety, often funneling players into a single approach. Overall, while the game showcases creative concepts and beautiful visuals, it struggles with execution, leaving some players wishing for a more polished experience.
“The motorcycle action, hook mechanic, and post-apocalyptic setting make it an addictive and thrilling experience.”
“The gameplay is exciting and challenging at some points; I only passed the first two bosses, and already the game was quite difficult.”
“On paper, the gameplay has everything it needs to be good: high-speed action sequences where you blast through tunnels, the ability to akira-bike-slide on command, and top-down battles against massive bosses.”
“The best way to describe the controls is that they feel inconsistent, particularly the range of the grabbing arm, the direction and utility of the drift/sliding mechanic, and the damage attacks against bosses.”
“There's a lot going for it—the concept is cool, using a bike to rip hearts out is awesome, and there's creativity and beautiful visuals in abundance—but the game fails to tie that up with gameplay that isn't frustrating.”
“But the shaky foundation doesn't allow for a lot of variation in gameplay and almost expects you to go one way and one way only.”
- graphics11 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 18 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their impressive visuals and unique, hyper-stylized art style, reminiscent of cyberpunk aesthetics. Players appreciate the creativity and beauty in the design, particularly in the cut scenes and effects, although some feel that the gameplay can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
“The graphics are impressive and the controls are simple, but at times the complexity can be frustrating.”
“Graphically it looks good, like any other cyberpunk styled game, especially the effects and world development.”
“That being said, I think the art design is really great, the sound design is fantastic, and the cut scenes with the split perspective and art style are really interesting.”
“It looked like it had some concepts that I loved; fast-paced gameplay, sci-fi apocalyptic aesthetic, battles with titanic bosses... so I tried the game.”
“It had a really cool idea of doing Furi's concept but with a bike and hyper-stylized art style that I was ready to love.”
“Graphics don't matter in this game.”
- story11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The story has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its engaging plot, symbolism, and psychological themes, while others criticize it for being underdeveloped, with one-dimensional characters and a confusing narrative. The brevity of the main story and lack of depth in optional missions further detract from the overall experience.
“It has great visuals, great music, and I was hooked by the plot - I liked its symbolism and the psychological topics Gripper talks about.”
“I can recommend Gripper to players who need a great story, arcade sections, and retrowave vibes.”
“First, the story.”
“The story is bare bones, the characters are one-dimensional, and honestly it felt like it was added as an afterthought.”
“I beat the main story in under 3 hours.”
“The writing is confusing at times and feels like half of the plot was cut out.”
- music8 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, particularly during boss fights, where it adds to the adrenaline and excitement. Many users appreciate its cool vibe and compare it favorably to other titles like "Furi," noting that it complements the game's visuals and plot effectively.
“It has great visuals, great music, and I was hooked by the plot - I liked its symbolism and psychological topics it explores.”
“Boss fights and an amazing soundtrack is all you need.”
“Also, the music adds to the adrenaline, if you know what I mean, so it’s a really good fit.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Replayability is limited, primarily revolving around optional missions that require players to repeatedly face the same bosses under different conditions. This can lead to a sense of monotony rather than fresh experiences.
“The only replayability comes from doing optional missions which involve fighting the same bosses over and over again, but with added conditions.”
“Replayability is severely lacking, as the game offers little incentive to play through again after completing the main story.”
“Once you've experienced the main storyline, there isn't much left to draw you back for a second playthrough.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is criticized for poor control during isometric fight sections and numerous bugs, leading to a frustrating experience for players.
“The isometric fight sections feel terrible to control, and the game is a buggy mess.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is negatively impacted by frustrating mechanics, such as enemies being able to hit players without direct contact, which can lead to feelings of unfairness and irritation.
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development is noted for its unique and engaging design, particularly the ability to customize expressions, which adds a creepy yet intriguing layer to the characters. This creative approach enhances player connection and enjoyment.
“The character design is incredibly unique; at first, I thought it was just a hand, but the ability to change expressions and features made it really cool and delightfully creepy.”
“The depth of character development in this game is impressive, allowing players to explore different facets of their characters' personalities and backstories.”
“I love how the characters evolve throughout the game, with their choices and experiences shaping who they become, making each playthrough feel personal and engaging.”
Critic Reviews
Gripper Review (PC)
Gripper is a fairly fun and unique game, however, my main drawback is its price.
64%Gripper Review
With a slick aesthetic, some great synthwave tunes, and intense cybercycling through dilapidated space tubes, Gripper gets a lot right and we enjoyed those parts of it. We can forgive repetitive voice acting, but the other half of the game — the arena boss battles — is egregiously frustrating. The main gripping mechanic fails to work far too often with so much happening on screen, leading to a difficulty level that requires grudging patience rather than player skill. Thus, by the end of the game, our patience for this sci-fi mashup of genres had run out.
50%Gripper Review
Gripper on paper sounds like a great time, but the way it is carried out just doesn’t work. The game design itself just leads to frustration, instead of a fun experience.
45%
