Infinity: Battlescape
- September 26, 2019
- I-Novae Studios, LLC
- 14h median play time
Infinity: Battlescape is a large-scale space combat simulator set in a sprawling procedural universe. Players engage in strategic battles across multiple fronts, with the outcome influencing the dynamic, player-driven narrative. Gameplay features fast-paced dogfighting, epic fleet battles, and resource management.
Reviews
- Stunning graphics and immersive gameplay with seamless transitions between space and planetary combat.
- Engaging dogfighting mechanics with a variety of ship classes that feel distinct and balanced.
- Active development and community support, with regular updates and responsive developers.
- Low player count, making multiplayer experiences feel empty and reliant on AI battles.
- Lack of tutorials and clear instructions, leading to a steep learning curve for new players.
- Current content feels repetitive and limited, with a need for more diverse gameplay options and objectives.
- gameplay208 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by intense and satisfying space combat, featuring a mix of quick engagement and strategic mechanics reminiscent of titles like Elite Dangerous and Homeworld. While the flight mechanics are praised for their depth and realism, many players note a repetitive gameplay loop that can become tedious after a couple of hours, especially due to a lack of content and a small player base. Overall, the game shows promise with solid foundations and enjoyable mechanics, but it requires further development and community engagement to reach its full potential.
“The gameplay is great for those that like in-depth space combat that's quick at getting you into the fray.”
“5 hours in and I'm already in love with the game, the graphics are amazing, the sound design is almost perfect, and the gameplay causes intense cinematic battles left and right.”
“The space battles feel big and engaging and the gameplay is easier to learn, hard to master, which is exactly how a dogfighting game should be.”
“The game is definitely not perfect, there's no story or other gameplay besides combat and the gameplay loop is a bit stale with a lack of a large number of players concurrently.”
“The gameplay loop is fun, but it gets pretty boring after a while playing solo.”
“There is little depth to the gameplay at the moment, but the sense of satisfaction at achieving ship-kills using flight and aiming skills is good. It's enjoyable enough in short bursts and has that 'one more go' feel.”
- graphics152 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim, with many users praising the stunning visuals, particularly the lighting, smoke effects, and detailed ship designs. Players appreciate the game's optimization, allowing it to run smoothly even on midrange systems, and the stylized art direction reminiscent of classic space games. While some critiques mention that the visuals may feel dated compared to modern standards, the overall consensus is that the graphics are impressive and contribute significantly to the immersive gameplay experience.
“Graphics: the graphics are stunning, particularly the lighting and smoke effects.”
“Oh yeah, and the graphics are amazing, fires/explosions are fantastic, models are good, lighting is out of this world.”
“The graphics are awesome, it's hard to find a game that makes you stop mid-battle and just admire the chaos around you, but this one did it for me.”
“An online shooter with a 20 player playerbase, clunky controls and bad graphics.”
“The visuals are rather mediocre.”
“The graphics are lagging on maxed out settings, moderately good at medium settings.”
- story68 mentions
- 6 % positive mentions
- 85 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its absence, with players noting that there is no overarching narrative or campaign to engage with. The gameplay primarily revolves around repetitive combat missions without significant progression or variety, leading to a stale experience. Many reviewers express a desire for more mission types and a structured storyline to enhance the overall gameplay experience.
“I don't know the final intent for this game, but it lays a good foundation for a freelancer style of gameplay, with a basic storyline to showcase the locations.”
“I'm definitely hoping that Infinity: Quest for Earth gets made someday, but for now I am content with this!”
“Ai battlefleets clash over current mission objectives while players lend their skill and strength where they choose...”
“The game is definitely not perfect; there's no story or other gameplay besides combat, and the gameplay loop is a bit stale with a lack of a large number of players concurrently.”
“The game was clunky, and even after 2 hours of play, I could only see one part that was playable and could not see any story or quests that allowed advancement.”
“A story for your game, at least a PDF if not a single-player campaign.”
- atmosphere36 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is praised for its visually stunning planets and seamless transitions between atmospheric and space flight, creating an immersive experience. However, players criticize the lack of a proper atmospheric flight model, awkward physics, and a dead playerbase, which detracts from the overall enjoyment. While the sound effects are standard, the controls and UI need improvement to enhance the immersive quality of the gameplay.
“I wanted to try this game based on the videos about it, the generally positive reviews, and the atmospheric planets simulation.”
“Transitioning seamlessly from atmospheric flight to zero-g physics models as you climb into space is pretty cool.”
“I love the feeling of taking off from a land base, shooting up into the atmosphere at warp, and then dropping out of warp right on top of an enemy base to engage right into the middle of a giant space battle.”
“The physics don't feel right in the atmosphere; your ship ignores thrust and just falls to the ground. The player base is dead, and the biggest issue is that the controls are way too hard to map properly.”
“The drifting in the atmosphere needs some tweaking done.”
“Planets in the game are really something, with a completely seamless transition into the atmosphere, but seeing as you're only fighting over a couple of plots of airspace for each of these (seemingly) full-scale, detailed planets, they seem underutilized.”
- music30 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its epic quality and ability to enhance the gameplay experience, setting the mood during intense battles and complementing the stunning visuals. While many players find the soundtrack engaging and well-executed, some note that it can become repetitive over time. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's immersive atmosphere, making it a standout feature.
“The soundtrack is amazing, the controls are responsive, and your weapon loadout makes a huge difference in what you are able to do.”
“I love warping into battle in a fighter, then the music kicks in and you zip around larger ships and stations dodging fire while you launch missiles, killing an enemy fighter or gunning down a bomber.”
“Gorgeous visuals, great music, good combat, and an intriguing procedural cosmos.”
“Oh yeah... the music is pretty repetitive.”
“The music does its job.”
“The music is soothing, the planetary scenery is beyond amazing and the sound effects are cool.”
- optimization28 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while many players report decent to great performance, especially on midrange systems, there are notable issues during large battles and with certain features that are still unimplemented. Some users experienced performance drops and bugs, typical of early access titles, but others praised the smoothness and visual quality, indicating significant potential for improvement.
“It's also well optimized, so even folks with midrange systems can enjoy the graphics shown in the trailers.”
“Performance is great and no bugs so far for me, that's more to be said than most games.”
“[b]Performance:[/b] 9/10 (surprisingly smooth, even with dozens of capital ships roaming around)”
“In terms of performance, a single-core Celeron CPU will not play this game, but overall, 4th gen Intel CPUs will run this decently, and you might have to tweak more settings on older GPUs.”
“This game has much potential, though there are some things that need optimization, such as the HUD interface.”
“Now onto the issues: they're about what you'd expect for any early access game, really; performance drops in larger battles, especially when there are more than 4 or so large ships on the scene, some features aren't actually implemented yet (often manifesting as buttons that do nothing, or things that seem to be missing, such as ship outfitting), and there's no in-game tutorial.”
- grinding20 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 10 % neutral mentions
- 70 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate a mixed sentiment regarding grinding in the game. While some players find the grinding for credits and upgrades tedious and time-consuming, others appreciate the lack of long-term grinding for items, allowing for a more immediate focus on combat. Overall, the experience of grinding varies significantly, with some players feeling it detracts from enjoyment, while others see it as a necessary part of skill development.
“No grinding, no worrying about losing your precious ship (although you might worry about losing some of the more expensive ships), just FPS style combat; you'll kill, you'll be killed, you'll respawn a lot, and you'll try to improve your K/D ratio.”
“Focus on pew pew, no grinding or mining asteroids for eons.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Game is buggy and the gameplay isn't that fun. You spend most of the time in a basic fighter grinding up the points to get into a warship, just to die shortly after and then back to grinding in a fighter again. You spend 98% of the time in a fighter; the controls are clumsy. It's not worth the price or your time.”
“Latest patch has made the game incredibly grindy to get a cruiser.”
“It gets tedious.”
- monetization18 mentions
- 6 % positive mentions
- 6 % neutral mentions
- 89 % negative mentions
The game's monetization strategy currently focuses on development funding rather than advertising, which has resulted in a low player base. Reviewers express a strong desire for increased marketing efforts to attract more players, suggesting that the game has great potential if it receives proper promotion.
“The player base is low; however, as I understand it, the developers spend the money they receive on development rather than on advertising and marketing.”
“The player base is low; however, as I understand it, the devs spend the money they get on development, not advertising and marketing.”
“Player count is low because the devs have spent no money on advertising purely because they want 1.0 to be ready first.”
“Developers are not doing any advertising at this point in time.”
- stability16 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 63 % negative mentions
Overall, the stability of the game is generally praised, with many users noting that it runs smoothly and is largely bug-free, especially in its early access version. However, some players report experiencing bugs and clumsy controls, which detracts from the gameplay experience. While it is described as a "buggy tech demo" that still requires further development, the game's performance is considered solid compared to other titles in the genre.
“The early access version is super smooth and bug free!”
“Everything works, it looks awesome, it runs great.”
“Its pretty, runs great, feels snappy, and has a unique match and ship upgrade system that rewards you for playing.”
“Game is buggy and the gameplay isn't that fun. You spend most of the time in a basic fighter grinding up points to get into a warship, just to die shortly after and then back to grinding in a fighter again. You spend 98% of the time in a fighter; the controls are clumsy. It's not worth the price or your time.”
“Yes, it's a buggy tech demo that will be developed over time, but it's totally worth it if you're looking for a big spaceship fighting game where you don't need to grind for money and reputation to be effective in a fight.”
“While it is a thumbs down, it is *not* a thumbs down because the game is bad/unpolished/buggy/glitchy, etc. because it absolutely isn't; this is important.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the humor in the game largely stems from the chaotic and exaggerated visuals, such as explosions resembling cheap sprite effects and flak rounds appearing as giant glowing soccer balls. Coordinating with friends enhances the experience, leading to memorable and funny moments during battles.
“Coordinating with friends makes the game a lot more fun, and creates some awesome and hilarious moments during battles.”
“Especially the explosions look like cheap sprite effects; there is no volume to it, they look flat. The flak rounds, for example, look hilarious like giant glowing soccer balls.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
While the game shows potential for greater scope and replayability compared to titles like Vermintide 2 and Darktide, it currently suffers from a lack of content, which affects its replayability. However, as it is still in early access, there is hope for improvements in this area.
“Games like Vermintide 2 go for around that (when not on sale), and Darktide's basic edition was 50 bucks; I would say this probably has greater scope and replayability than both those games.”
“It does currently lack in content and replayability, but it is, as stated above, very early access.”
“It currently lacks content and replayability, but it is, as stated above, very early access.”