Heavy Storm Shadow
- April 26, 2024
- SmokingBear Studio
Get on Steam"Heavy Storm Shadow" is a mech-based shooter game where players can constantly upgrade and grow their mech through battles against waves of enemies. Gather resources to enhance weapons and armor, unlock new skills, and form unique fighting styles. Survive against overwhelming numbers of enemies in various environments, and experience powerful combat possibilities.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features enjoyable mech combat with a satisfying gameplay loop, especially for fans of the genre.
- Graphics and art style are appealing, with a decent variety of mechs and customization options.
- The game has potential for fun builds and progression, especially as players unlock more content.
- Performance issues are prevalent, with frequent frame drops and stuttering, making it difficult to play smoothly.
- The game suffers from a lack of content and variety, with repetitive maps and enemy types that diminish long-term engagement.
- Balancing issues exist, as certain mechs and abilities overshadow others, leading to a feeling of limited playstyle diversity.
- gameplay20 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
Gameplay is generally enjoyable with responsive controls and a fun loop, particularly for fans of the genre, but it suffers from slow pacing and a lack of meaningful progression. While customization and unique character abilities add variety, many mechs feel similar, and the reliance on clunky mechanics can limit build options. Additionally, performance issues, such as frame drops, detract from the overall experience.
“Entertaining gameplay with customization, an upgrade system, and four waifus to choose from.”
“If you like vampire survivors or the genre and you're a fan of mecha/gundams, give it a try. Overall, I like the experience so far and the gameplay loop is good enough to make me open the game again and again for a bit.”
“The basic gameplay is pretty good, controls are responsive, and there are a fair few weapons and tools to be used to decimate the hordes of enemies.”
“Gameplay is slow; different mechs are largely identical except for their single ability.”
“Gameplay-wise it's decent, but performance-wise it's kind of bad as it still has lots of frame drop issues.”
“While it feels fairly unique, it's just such a weird and clunky mechanic to have as one of the core functions. A lot of the skills and functions seem to revolve around this boost, and it's very hard to utilize in a satisfactory way. If you choose not to use these skills, your build choices are significantly reduced.”
- graphics18 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their neat art style and cool mech designs, with many players appreciating the visual effects and customization options. However, some users have reported performance issues, such as frame drops during high enemy density and a desire for adjustable graphics settings to enhance performance. Additionally, a few players noted that the visuals can appear blurry at times.
“I love the art style, the mechs look cool, each one plays a little differently, and there's enough customization to feel like you could play around with it for a while.”
“On the plus side, it has nice graphics and visual effects.”
“There aren't too many contents as of now if we compare to other bullet hell roguelites but it's good enough if you want mecha-based with great graphics.”
“I do wish there were graphics settings you could change for better performance.”
“Please add changeable graphics settings.”
“- graphics are serviceable, though Unity starts to cry as enemy density peaks and drops frames.”
- optimization14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with players reporting frequent frame drops and stuttering, particularly during cluttered scenes and on the Steam Deck. While the core gameplay is enjoyable, the performance issues detract from the overall experience, leading many to hope for future patches and the addition of adjustable graphics settings to improve performance.
“I do wish there were graphics settings you could change for better performance.”
“Right now it's not that well optimized-- it's pretty choppy on the Steam Deck once you are later in the level with more enemies, so I hope they can improve performance with some patches.”
“Performance is struggling sometimes; it's mostly smooth, but when the screen is cluttered, the FPS may stutter and it shouldn't.”
“Gameplay wise it's decent, performance wise it's kinda bad as it still has lots of frame drop issues.”
“The game would be very average, even bland compared to others, even if we get past the fact that at 60% of the missions it starts to become unplayable due to performance.”
“A fun game at its core, however it does not run well on the Steam Deck, with constant FPS drops and stuttering.”
- music10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with players criticizing the low quality and generic nature of the soundtrack, which appears to be sourced from royalty-free websites. Many reviewers noted that there is a lack of variety, with repetitive rock tracks that fail to enhance the gaming experience. Overall, the music is seen as a significant drawback, overshadowing the otherwise enjoyable gameplay.
“The soundtrack is frankly terrible with the same bad loop of some random rock track taken from a royalty free website on each map.”
“Pretty sure the soundtrack is taken from a royalty free website because it sounds like super generic rock music.”
“Music is terrible, combat is great.”
- story4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is perceived as average and somewhat bland, with players expressing a desire for a more developed campaign or story mode in the future. Additionally, performance issues significantly detract from the experience, particularly in the latter stages of missions.
“The story is incredibly generic and fails to engage the player, making the overall experience feel bland.”
“The narrative lacks depth and originality, leaving players feeling disconnected from the characters and plot.”
“Despite some interesting concepts, the execution of the story is poor, resulting in a forgettable experience.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, as the meta progression is perceived as shallow and requires significant time investment to unlock upgrades. Additionally, the need for trial and error to identify effective boosts further exacerbates the grinding experience.
“The meta progression feels very shallow; you need to grind for quite a while to get any upgrades at all. A lot of them revolve around the boost, so you might need some trial and error before you find the right ones for you, which means more grinding.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the "Diablo-like" loot and gear system in "Death Must Die," which significantly enhances its replayability by encouraging exploration and experimentation with different builds.
“Death Must Die has a 'Diablo-like' loot and gear system, and I feel like it really enhances the replayability.”
“Death Must Die features a 'Diablo-like' loot and gear system that significantly boosts its replayability.”
“The 'Diablo-like' loot and gear system in Death Must Die greatly contributes to its replayability.”
