Machina of the Planet Tree -Unity Unions-
- May 15, 2020
- Denneko Yuugi
Get on Steam"Machina of the Planet Tree -Unity Unions-" is the sequel to "Planet Ruler," following Corona Megistus, a gemstone magician in training. After encountering the core of the Machina, Arcturus, she embarks on a journey to hone her powers and prevent the return of the great evil, Nova. As an impulsive young girl with a headstrong personality, Corona's adventures with Arcturus promise action and growth in this RPG.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a cute protagonist and vibrant graphics that appeal to fans of anime aesthetics.
- The gameplay mechanics, including the summoning of minions and a variety of weapons, provide a fun and engaging experience for casual play.
- The game offers replayability through multiple difficulty levels and a gear-based progression system that allows for experimentation with different builds.
- The game is very short, with a main story that can be completed in under three hours, making it feel overpriced for its content.
- Combat is overly simplistic and repetitive, lacking depth and strategy, which may disappoint players looking for a more challenging experience.
- The story and character development are weak, with a linear progression that leaves the world feeling empty and uninteresting.
- story10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as weak and linear, with a lack of depth and characterization that makes it feel inconsequential to the overall experience. Players note that while there are some fun mechanics tied to the story, it ultimately fails to engage, leading many to view it as unimportant and skippable. Overall, the narrative does not significantly enhance the gameplay, leaving it feeling basic and uninspired.
“+ minions are a fun mechanic that ties into the story somewhat”
“* Story is simple, path looks like you can go exploring side areas but you cannot; it is actually very linear - just follow the line of monsters until you reach the end of the level.”
“* Bottom line: combat is different from other games but controls are still nice and simple, graphics are 'meh', sound/music are not very good, enemy variety is not so great, story is lackluster.”
“Story is simple; the path looks like you can go exploring side areas, but you cannot. It is actually very linear - just follow the line of monsters until you reach the end of the level.”
“Bottom line: combat is different from other games, but controls are still nice and simple. Graphics are 'meh', sound/music are not very good, enemy variety is not so great, and the story is lackluster.”
“The story is extremely inconsequential and can be ignored or skipped entirely.”
- gameplay7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by solid mechanics but suffers from repetitiveness and a lack of depth, resembling a simplified musou-style experience. Players can easily master the controls, but the overall experience feels generic and overly simplistic, with limited variety in combat and environments. While the minion mechanic adds some enjoyment, the gameplay ultimately lacks challenge and innovation.
“Game play mechanics are solid.”
“Mechanically, the game features a standard EDF-style weapon loadout in a fantasy form: machine guns, grenade launchers, rocket launchers, snipers, all represented as magic spells that only reload when you run out of ammo.”
“Gameplay is pretty simple to understand and master quickly.”
“Mechanically, the game is a little all over the place - you have your standard EDF-style weapon loadout in fantasy form: machine guns, grenade launchers, rocket launchers, snipers, all in the form of magic spells that only reload when you run out of ammo.”
“Gameplay-wise, it's a poorly done musou (Dynasty Warriors style game) where the gameplay is repetitive. You can't run or jump, bringing back flashbacks of Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue for the Nintendo 64. All the backgrounds/settings, whilst nicely detailed and rendered, are just generic forest/castle backgrounds that eventually take place indoors and look the same. There's not much in terms of the game; you just run forward, shoot, occasionally reload, and press a button to do an ultimate special attack or use other buttons to summon minions. The controls respond well, but once you know how to do it, it all becomes way too easy to the point where you don't even need the amulet special attack. Once, I easily killed a dragon boss while summoning one of four minions (for defense, long-range attacks, healing, and close-up attacks), and I didn't even notice I had killed it.”
“Machina of the Planet Tree - Unity Unions - is definitely not the greatest game of all time, and while the somewhat obvious lack of variety in gameplay does make you wonder how the game came to fruition, I do think this is an enjoyable game if you're into PvE with a Diablo-esque style of shuffling weapons/equipment around constantly.”
- graphics7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the vibrant 2D artwork and decent character models, while others criticize the outdated GameCube-era 3D graphics and describe them as chunky and crude. Overall, the visuals are seen as a highlight, but they are overshadowed by the game's lackluster sound and gameplay elements.
“Graphics are nice and vibrant.”
“Nice 2D artwork.”
“The only decent thing is the graphics and models, and the cutscene stills of the characters.”
“Graphics are chunky and crude - not ugly, just very, very dated.”
“GameCube-era 3D graphics... in a game released in 2020.”
“It might as well just take place in one spot, and shows a waste of graphics.”
- music4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising it as well-made and cute, while others find it annoyingly bad and recommend playing with the sound off. Overall, the sound and music aspects are generally considered subpar compared to other elements of the game.
“The music is well made.”
“The music is cute!”
“Music is annoyingly bad; I recommend playing with the sound off.”
“Bottom line: combat is different from other games, but controls are still nice and simple. Graphics are 'meh', sound/music are not very good, enemy variety is not so great, and the story is lackluster.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly on harder difficulties where enemies become bullet sponges, requiring excessive effort to defeat. The reliance on specific skills to expedite combat can make the experience feel less engaging and more about exploiting mechanics than skillful play.
“My only real problem with the game is that the harder difficulties feel a lot like the harder difficulties in the original Global Defense Force - the enemies become bullet sponges that aren't particularly hard to dodge, but are kind of tedious to kill without really abusing the way the magic attacks work: there's a particular laser that has incredibly high damage but takes something like a minute and a half to reload, unless you have a skill that instantly reloads it and another that automatically refills the ammo even if it's not entirely out, at which point you can switch to it to speed things up a lot.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is primarily tailored for gamepad users, leading to a less intuitive experience for those using a keyboard and mouse setup.
“The UI feels like it is optimized for gamepads, making it more accessible for console players.”
“The game's performance is impressive, with smooth frame rates and quick load times, showcasing excellent optimization.”
“I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the mechanics to ensure a seamless experience, reflecting their commitment to optimization.”
“The UI feels like it is optimized for gamepads, and not for keyboard and mouse.”
“The game suffers from severe performance issues, making it frustrating to play.”
“Loading times are excessively long, which disrupts the overall gaming experience.”
