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LUFTRAUSERS

LUFTRAUSERS Game Cover
89%Game Brain Score
music, gameplay
story, grinding
91% User Score Based on 3,363 reviews
Critic Score 80%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

Playstation 3LinuxPCTabletAndroidMac OSPhoneMobile PlatformWindowsPlayStationPlaystation Vita
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LUFTRAUSERS Game Cover

About

LUFTRAUSERS is a single player arcade simulation game. It was developed by Vlambeer and was released on March 18, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

"LUFTRAUSERS" is a single-player arcade game with awesome gameplay, ingenious graphics, and a perfect soundtrack. Customize your Rauser with over 125 deadly combinations, and take to the skies for epic battles against enemy planes and ships. With hilarious moments, lots of grinding, and high replayability, this game will keep you entertained for hours. Be aware of some bugs, but they don't detract from the overall experience.

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LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
LUFTRAUSERS screenshot
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91%
Audience ScoreBased on 3,363 reviews
music393 positive mentions
grinding31 negative mentions
  • Addictive gameplay with a simple yet challenging mechanics that keeps players engaged.
  • Dynamic soundtrack that changes based on the plane parts used, enhancing the overall experience.
  • Variety of customization options for planes, allowing for different playstyles and strategies.
  • Frustrating difficulty spikes, especially in hard mode, which can feel unfair and reliant on RNG.
  • Confusing and unintuitive menu navigation, making it difficult to change controls or exit the game.
  • Limited content and repetitive gameplay after a few hours, leading to a lack of long-term engagement.
  • music
    762 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in "Luftrausers" is widely praised for its dynamic and adaptive nature, changing based on the player's aircraft customization, which enhances the gameplay experience. Reviewers highlight the soundtrack's ability to create an engaging atmosphere, with each combination of plane parts producing unique musical layers that contribute to the game's intensity. While some note that the limited number of core tracks can lead to repetitiveness, the overall consensus is that the music is a standout feature that significantly elevates the game's appeal.

    • “The adaptive soundtrack is a memorable feature.”
    • “The music consists of three overlapping tracks, which change depending on your loadout.”
    • “The music is a relentless, driving soundtrack that matches the intensity of the gameplay, and keeps you pushing for higher scores and bigger explosions.”
    • “The soundtrack is barebones; there's one song which is 'remixed' depending on which plane parts you're using, which is a lazy, albeit creative way of getting around making an actual soundtrack.”
    • “The music is made up of a universal part and three parts that are assigned to each part of your ship-- in other words the music has a very large chance of being disjointed and offputting, not around long enough to stick in your head, and, worst of all, gimmicky.”
    • “The music that blares through the speakers every time you die is ridiculously repetitive, almost unbearable.”
  • gameplay
    638 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of *Luftrausers* is characterized by its fast-paced, addictive arcade-style mechanics that emphasize dogfighting and customization. Players can experiment with various combinations of plane parts, which significantly alter gameplay dynamics, while the unique stalling mechanic adds depth to aerial maneuvers. Although the core gameplay is simple and easy to grasp, it presents a challenging experience that encourages skill mastery, making it both engaging and replayable, despite some criticisms regarding content variety and grindy missions.

    • “Once you get used to the controls and the gameplay loop, it's a blast.”
    • “The gameplay loop is super simple, but also super satisfying to get good at.”
    • “The gameplay is incredibly smooth and the aesthetic of the game is very pleasing.”
    • “The gameplay is rather simple but effective, and the different plane parts add a lot of replayability.”
    • “Gameplay and controls are tight, art and sound design are neat, losing makes you want to win more and winning is satisfying.”
    • “The gameplay gets stale after about 20 minutes though.”
  • story
    372 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is minimal to non-existent, with players noting a lack of narrative depth and character development. Instead, the focus is on completing various missions tied to aircraft customization, which can range from simple to frustratingly difficult, often relying on random enemy spawns. While the gameplay is engaging and offers a variety of challenges, many reviewers express a desire for a more substantial storyline or campaign to enhance the overall experience.

    • “Luftrausers is a surprisingly addictive game, for how simple it is: fly superpowered airplanes, kill lots of enemies, hope to complete mission objectives, die, unlock new parts, repeat.”
    • “The missions keep things fresh as you advance through the game, but overall the concept is simple - shoot everything in sight and achieve the high score.”
    • “There is use of a mission system which gives a little more meaning behind the carnage, and completing these allows you to unlock new features for your plane, and each of these features does a good job of changing the feel, without causing you to relearn the game.”
    • “The story doesn't progress, so we can only imagine the details and personalities of the charming pixel art portraits wishing us luck on our next suicide mission.”
    • “Aside from that, there is no story or hub world, not much worldbuilding, and it doesn't really feel like you're doing this for any meaningful end.”
    • “The 'story' is extremely limited.”
  • graphics
    333 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of "Luftrausers" are characterized by a minimalist, retro aesthetic that effectively complements its fast-paced gameplay. The sepia-toned visuals and pixel art style are praised for their clarity and distinctiveness, enhancing the overall arcade experience while evoking nostalgia for classic games. While some players find the graphics simplistic, many appreciate their charm and how they contribute to the game's unique atmosphere and engaging mechanics.

    • “It's got a gorgeous art style, an awesome soundtrack, and incredibly fun gameplay.”
    • “The sepia-toned graphics give it a unique, vintage look that stands out in the sea of modern, overly-polished games.”
    • “The graphics are simple, yet suit the game perfectly, displaying all the information you need to know without cluttering the onscreen spectacle.”
    • “The graphics are very poor.”
    • “The monotone graphics while supposedly a feature just make it harder to see what's going on and do little to disguise the poor graphics hiding under the excuse of 'retro'.”
    • “It's like they made this at some code day in about 24 hours, then slapped a very basic UI and some hired-gun graphics on it and then called it done, frankly, with no further follow-through to improve the core balance of the design, a very limited selection of enemy types, and game mechanics that basically just punish you for making progress.”
  • replayability
    95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers high replayability through its extensive customization options, allowing players to experiment with various combinations of plane parts that significantly alter gameplay. While many players find the initial hours engaging, some note that the excitement may wane after repeated play, with a few suggesting that the game could benefit from additional content to sustain long-term interest. Overall, it is praised for its addictive arcade-style mechanics and numerous challenges, making it a fun choice for quick, repeated sessions.

    • “The replayability of the game is also high, with various achievements and challenges to complete, and different planes to unlock and customize, and a multiplayer mode to compete against others.”
    • “The interchanging possible segments of your ship (the weapon, the body, and the propulsion) along with the unique names, themes, and benchmark goals for each combination, gives the game a sort of infinite replayability.”
    • “This game is tremendously fun, and replayable!”
    • “While I have a lot of praise for this game, it does lack in long-term replayability due to the nature of some of the harder enemies being a bit of a chore to deal with, like the blimp.”
    • “The gameplay is tight and quite fun, but it unfortunately gets old pretty quickly, and 'challenges' such as destroying a set number of planes or ships do little to add to replayability.”
    • “Complaint 2: the game loses its replay value very quickly.”
  • grinding
    31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often leading to a frustrating gameplay loop where progression feels overly restrictive and reliant on luck. While some enjoy the initial fun and addictive nature of the game, many express that the grind for upgrades and completion can quickly become boring and unenjoyable, particularly for those aiming for 100% completion. Overall, the grinding mechanics detract from the experience, making it less appealing for hardcore players and completionists.

    • “To kill a blimp, for example, you need to do the same tedious fly-by maneuver like 50 times to destroy it since it has an extreme amount of health.”
    • “You have to kill certain enemies for some missions, so it's unavoidable and pipes you into an unfun gameplay loop where the way forward gets increasingly restrictive in a very tedious and grindy way.”
    • “The missions (i.e. subquests that unlock parts for your luftrauser) start out simple, but quickly get tedious, annoying, and often luck-based; as such, I would not recommend this game for hardcore completionists.”
  • humor
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players noting its clever and funny names for various plane configurations and the overall absurdity of gameplay mechanics, such as flying through battleships. While some find the humor hit-or-miss, many agree that the game's lighthearted tone and quirky design contribute to a fun and engaging experience, making it a recommended choice for those seeking a humorous twist in a shoot'em up format. Overall, the combination of challenging gameplay and comedic elements creates an entertaining atmosphere that resonates with players.

    • “The different weapon/engine/body options keep the gameplay more than fresh, and each combination even gets its own funny little name.”
    • “Luftrauser is a very funny game that I would recommend to anyone.”
    • “The different loadouts make it hilariously fun, and the random mode can lead you to fun or heartbreaking surprises.”
  • stability
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, including issues with the spawn editor, controller support, and frequent mini freezes that disrupt gameplay. Many players experience glitches that hinder progress, such as challenges not registering correctly and performance issues on different platforms, particularly Mac. While some users report no significant problems, the overall consensus highlights a frustrating and unstable gaming experience.

    • “However on the store page it says 'full controller support' but it is buggy and the developer does not seem to either care or be aware of it, despite there being some community threads about this issue.”
    • “The last few missions in the game you'll be doing are akin to playing a really frustrating, untested, confusing and buggy slot machine.”
    • “Great game, until you go into the menu, gets buggy and makes the game unplayable.”
  • atmosphere
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its unique blend of early-20th century dieselpunk aesthetics, sepia-toned graphics, and an engaging soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. While some players appreciate the nostalgic 8-bit sounds and polished audiovisual design, others feel that the atmosphere can be overwhelming or spiteful at times. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to its appeal despite mixed feelings about its gameplay depth.

    • “A high-octane, adrenaline-fuelled arcade game with an early-20th century dieselpunk atmosphere in which you build insanely impractical planes, and take to the sepia skies!”
    • “Between the old-timey, sepia-coloured graphics, and the grimy sounding industrial music, Luftrausers boasts one very unique atmosphere that I've never seen elsewhere.”
    • “The music is amazing and adds so much to the feel and atmosphere; you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't have it blaring through headphones while playing.”
    • “I wouldn't advise spending too much time in Luftrausers' spiteful atmosphere, but it's certainly worth a tour.”
    • “Soundtrack is almost entirely made of 8-bit style noises, which increases the nostalgic atmosphere from 80's arcade games.”
    • “My philosophy on this is that there are some instances in which a game may not necessarily have that much in the way of gameplay (take Amnesia for example), but the story/atmosphere/whatever it may be is reason enough to pick it up.”
  • optimization
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant performance issues such as stuttering and freeze-frame effects, which detract from the overall experience. While a few users report smooth gameplay without glitches, the intentional stuttering during damage events has been criticized for being frustrating and lacking an option to disable it. Despite these issues, the game offers depth through its customizable components that can enhance performance in combat.

    • “And major-minor props to the developers for adding performance statistics.”
    • “However, it has more depth than most games of that type thanks to a range of interchangeable parts that greatly affect your rauser's performance in combat.”
    • “- I have personally never experienced any glitches or performance issues.”
    • “The exaggerated freeze-frame effect occasionally leads to stuttering gameplay.”
    • “Fun enough game, but the intentionally stuttery performance (read: the game literally stops for a short moment when things damage you) is absolutely unjolly and there's no option to turn it off.”
    • “Just stick to the creamy tan of paper folders and stark red of dried blood-- your performance in this bullet hell will both be better in most cases and will give you a lot less eye strain.”
  • emotional
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional responses to the game are mixed; while some players experienced disappointment and a lack of narrative depth, others found moments of joy and surprise, leading to a range of feelings from hilarity to heartbreak. Notably, certain challenges evoked strong emotional reactions, including tears of frustration and terror, highlighting the game's ability to engage players on an emotional level despite its simplistic design. Overall, the emotional impact varies significantly among players, with some finding it deeply engaging and others feeling disconnected.

    • “(but Vlambeer made me cry with the 25,000 points mission.)”
    • “The different loadouts make it hilariously fun and the random mode can lead you to fun, or heartbreaking surprises.”
    • “Also, Sfmt mode made me cry in the corner out of sheer terror.”
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80%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
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5h Median play time
10h Average play time
3-18h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 14 analyzed playthroughs
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LUFTRAUSERS is a arcade simulation game.

LUFTRAUSERS is available on PC, Mac OS, Phone, Windows and others.

On average players spend around 10 hours playing LUFTRAUSERS.

LUFTRAUSERS was released on March 18, 2014.

LUFTRAUSERS was developed by Vlambeer.

LUFTRAUSERS has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its music but disliked it for its story.

LUFTRAUSERS is a single player game.

Similar games include Jet Lancer, Downwell, Nova Drift, Furious Angels, Bit Blaster XL and others.