Invaxion
- December 19, 2018
- Nanjing AQUATRAX
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"Invaxion" is a single-player musical game with outstanding gameplay and perfect visuals. Set in a dystopian future where AI has taken over Earth, the player, as part of the mercenary army INVAXION, must collect fragmented music and art to lead a revolution against the AI and reshape civilization. With classic scrolling gameplay and a fantastic soundtrack, players feel the beat under their fingertips in this immersive experience.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a great selection of songs, particularly for fans of electronic music.
- The gameplay is engaging and offers multiple modes and difficulties, making it accessible for both casual and hardcore rhythm game players.
- The developers are responsive to feedback and have made significant improvements since launch, enhancing the overall experience.
- The game requires an online connection to play, and with the servers shut down, it is essentially unplayable.
- The UI feels like a mobile port and is not optimized for PC, leading to a frustrating navigation experience.
- The judgment system can be overly strict, causing players to fail songs even when they feel they are hitting notes accurately.
- music212 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, featuring a solid selection of around 110-118 tracks primarily in the electronic genre, with some Asian influences. While many players appreciate the variety and quality of the songs, some express frustration over the difficulty curve and the need to unlock content through gameplay, which can feel tedious. Additionally, the lack of a downloadable soundtrack and issues with note accuracy have been noted as drawbacks, but overall, the music is considered a highlight of the game.
“The music selection is great, however unlocking seems to be a bit of a pain, requiring a story mode to play through.”
“Awesome music, gorgeous graphics and nice ranking modes, also waifus and several themes/noteskins.”
“It's got solid music, the character designs are good and the general aesthetic is nice, and I'll be damned if it's not the most fun I've had with a new music game in a bit.”
“The song selection is pretty big, yet it still bores me.”
“Unfortunately, I can't seem to improve enough to get past the level 7 difficulty songs and the level 8 story mode songs, so I won't be able to play maybe half the songs on a manageable difficulty.”
“The rating of songs and the difficulty curve of world mode is very off though.”
- gameplay42 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally well-received, characterized by smooth and responsive mechanics, engaging rhythm elements, and a variety of modes that enhance the experience. However, some players have noted issues with camera controls, long note timing, and a UI that feels reminiscent of mobile games, which can detract from the overall enjoyment. Despite these criticisms, many find the core gameplay enjoyable and challenging, with a solid mix of mechanics reminiscent of other popular rhythm games.
“Pretty nice rhythm game with smooth gameplay and nice music.”
“The gameplay feels very great, it's responsive and the hit windows are fair.”
“Overall I found it to be a pretty solid rhythm game with traditional gameplay, engaging additional modes and (as of yet) no microtransactions.”
“The gameplay can sometimes get really uncomfortable, or just plain bad.”
“Core game mechanics are okay with the exception of long notes causing misses if you release even a fraction too early.”
“However, the entire UI design and game mechanics feel too eerily similar to a mobile game.”
- story22 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 77 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The game's story mode primarily serves as a tutorial and mission-based progression system, allowing players to unlock songs and earn in-game currency through various challenges. While the missions can be tedious and lack a compelling narrative, they are essential for accessing a broader range of content. Overall, players find the story mode functional but often frustrating, as it can hinder casual play and song accessibility.
“Some of the coolest songs are only unlockable by going through the tutorial-type 'story mode'.”
“The mission mode does a good job at getting you the hang of the game; they're at first tutorials that aim to get you to learn the key layout right, then they become regular songs with goals like accuracy and combo count.”
“The story was fun, I suppose, though sometimes the phrasing was indecipherable.”
“The campaign has some of the stupidest missions (get between 70%-80% accuracy on a chart).”
“You can get stars (the currency of the game) in the story mode of the game which has no story, but you just play songs to a certain condition of the song.”
“The music selection is great; however, unlocking seems to be a bit of a pain, requiring a story mode to play through.”
- graphics20 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty and solid presentation, with many users highlighting the character designs and general aesthetic as standout features. However, some players noted issues with visibility and clarity, suggesting that certain visual elements can appear blurry or less engaging during gameplay. Despite these criticisms, the graphics are generally considered a strong point, contributing to the game's appeal in the rhythm game genre.
“The visuals are great, both the character art and in-game elements.”
“Awesome music, gorgeous graphics, and nice ranking modes, also waifus and several themes/noteskins.”
“It's got solid music, the character designs are good, and the general aesthetic is nice; it's the most fun I've had with a new music game in a while.”
“The visuals are boring; sometimes you can barely see the notes.”
“Many visual components still feel blurry even when I chose 2K and ultra in graphics options.”
“I've had no issues with graphics or had any reason to think it's a mobile port apart from the UI outside of the songs themselves, but the gameplay is fine.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its smooth performance and visual appeal, while others criticize significant lag and a user interface poorly suited for PC. Many users report that the game's code appears unoptimized, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences, particularly when combined with dynamic lane effects that hinder accurate note hitting. Overall, the optimization issues detract from the intended gameplay experience, especially for skilled players.
“The game runs smoothly, and looks amazing.”
“The game runs smoothly, and the customizability of everything is definitely refreshing.”
“I think what this game tries to do may be mixing sensational lane performance (like SDVX) with a strict and hardcore playing experience (like IIDX).”
“Very poorly optimized; songs and difficulties are okay, nothing really hard. If only I could play the game without it being ridiculously laggy.”
“Everything is so slow, and the UI is designed for phones and not optimized for PC.”
“I think this is due to the code not being optimized.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be quite pronounced, often feeling penalized for not utilizing specific characters that offer increased experience. The progression system is seen as overly grindy, reflecting a mobile game design philosophy, requiring significant effort to advance, though it deviates from traditional grinding methods found in similar titles.
“The progression system is grindy, again a clear product of mobile ambitions.”
“Similarly, there are two other characters that give you more experience for using them, which makes you feel punished for not using them given how grindy gaining levels is.”
“On one hand, it's not the standard unlock methods of either grinding a bunch of levels or playing through every song on standard, then hard, then expert; on the other hand, you've got to put some work in.”
- monetization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game currently features no microtransactions, which has been positively noted by users, contributing to a solid overall experience in its traditional rhythm gameplay and engaging modes.
“Overall, I found it to be a pretty solid rhythm game with traditional gameplay, engaging additional modes, and (as of yet) no microtransactions.”
“With that said, there are no microtransactions.”
“No microtransactions (as of writing).”
“Overall, I found it to be a pretty solid rhythm game with traditional gameplay, engaging additional modes, and (as of yet) no microtransactions.”
“With that said, there are no microtransactions.”
- character development2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The character development in the game is generally well-received, with solid designs and a pleasing aesthetic, although some users find the main menu UI lacking. Overall, while the character designs contribute positively to the experience, they may not be enough to overshadow the game's other shortcomings.
“Overall, I recommend this game as a rhythm game only if you can get past the awful main menu UI and character designs.”
“The character development feels shallow and uninspired, making it hard to connect with anyone in the game.”
“I was really disappointed with how the characters evolved; their arcs were predictable and lacked depth.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users report that certain camera movements in the game can induce feelings of motion sickness, which detracts from the overall emotional experience, despite having no issues with other first-person or VR games.
