Manus Dei
- November 10, 2023
- Lateralis Heavy Industries
- 2h median play time
Get on SteamIn "Manus Dei," once every 100 years, a sacrifice from the Holy Order is chosen to wield the powerful Manus Dei and enter the Gate to fend off fiends. Experience tight shooting mechanics, boost yourself around the map using your weapon for wall jumping and bunny hopping, and see how your high score ranks against others on Steam leaderboards .
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The movement mechanics are smooth and engaging, allowing for creative gameplay and boosting across the arena.
- The sound design is excellent, with satisfying gun sounds and a dark, immersive atmosphere.
- It's a fun and addictive arena shooter with a simple yet enjoyable gameplay loop, especially for the price.
- The game suffers from performance issues, including FPS drops and crashes, particularly during boss fights.
- Gameplay can become repetitive quickly, with limited mechanics and only one weapon available throughout.
- There is a lack of content and polish, including missing features like a tutorial, achievements, and varied music.
- gameplay11 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Manus Dei is straightforward, focusing on fast-paced action with a shotgun in a hellish arena, where players face waves of enemies. The movement mechanics are notably smooth and responsive, allowing for creative maneuvers, though the simplicity may lack depth compared to similar games. While the sound design enhances the experience, the repetitive shotgun noise can become grating over time.
“What makes Manus Dei's simple gameplay so satisfying for me is the movement: not only is the playable character's movement satisfyingly smooth and responsive, but you can also use your weapon to perform impressive moves: for example, you are able to boost yourself off the ground by jumping and firing at the ground, boost yourself away from enemies or walls, and so on.”
“Manus Dei is very good; it’s got a strong atmosphere and solid FPS mechanics which really impressed me.”
“These mechanics really add some complexity and skill to the game.”
“The gameplay of Manus Dei is essentially as simple as it gets: you get a shotgun, before proceeding to jump down into a hellish arena.”
“The gameplay is very simple: you enter an area with a single weapon and kill waves of enemies until you die.”
“Gameplay impressions: https://youtu.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are praised for their nice art style and retro aesthetic, contributing to an enjoyable visual experience. However, optimization issues lead to significant frame rate drops during intense action, even on minimum-spec hardware, which detracts from the overall experience. While the sound design is noted as high quality, it suffers from poor mixing that overshadows the music, further impacting immersion.
“I especially like the fun movement mechanics, low price and nice art style.”
“The gunplay is smooth and I enjoy the retro aesthetic.”
“Sound design and visuals are S tier.”
“The optimization is bad; whenever there are many enemies and I start shooting at them, the FPS drops significantly. I know I'm playing on a laptop that is the bare minimum, but this is a simple game with simple models, and it consumes a lot of resources for no reason. Even at low graphics settings, I don't know if there is supposed to be music because all I can hear is a hum and maybe some music when I'm using the alternative weapon mode, but it is drowned out by the gunshots and splash sounds. This makes me sad because the music in the trailer sounds really good.”
- music5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with some users expressing disappointment that it is often overshadowed by sound effects like gunshots, making it difficult to appreciate. While the existing tracks are praised, players desire a greater variety of music to enhance the overall experience. The optimization issues further detract from the music's presence, as performance drops can limit the audio experience during intense gameplay.
“Only wish there was more music and guns.”
“I don't know if there is supposed to be music because all I can hear is a hum and maybe some music when I'm shooting in alternative weapon mode, but it is deafened by the gunshots and splash sounds, which makes me sad because the music in the trailer sounds really good.”
“There aren't many music tracks by the sounds of it, but what exists is great. I would love to see more added to the game.”
“I only wish there was more music and guns.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in "Manus Dei" is characterized by a dark and gritty aesthetic, featuring a predominantly black-red color palette that creates an eerie and foreboding environment. The combination of strong visual art and immersive sound design, including a persistent droning noise, enhances the overall intensity of the gameplay experience.
“The art is great, gritty and retro with a really good atmosphere that is grungy and dark.”
“The atmosphere that Manus Dei provides is quite eerie and foreboding when you're in the arena; a dark droning noise is heard throughout the fight while the gun does the talking.”
“The arena itself carries a rather dark atmosphere, with its color palette mostly consisting of a dark, almost black red.”
“The atmosphere that 'Manus Dei' provides is quite eerie and foreboding when you're in the arena; a dark droning noise is heard throughout the fight while the gun does the talking.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is inconsistent; while some users report smooth performance on a range of PCs, others experience significant FPS drops during intense combat, even on lower settings. Additionally, the audio balance is criticized, with music being overshadowed by sound effects. Adjusting shadow quality appears to help alleviate some performance issues.
“The performance is fine; you should have no trouble running the game on most low to high-end PCs.”
“The optimization is bad. Whenever there are many enemies and you start shooting at them, the FPS drops a lot. I know I'm playing on a laptop that is the bare minimum, but this is a simple game with simple models, and it eats a lot of resources for no reason. Even at low graphics, I don't know if there is supposed to be music because all I can hear is a hum and maybe some music when I'm shooting in alternative weapon mode, but it is drowned out by the gunshots and splash sounds, which makes me sad because the music in the trailer sounds really good.”
“I'm not sure if there's actually a difference between the high and low texture quality settings (couldn't tell, or not 'low' enough), but setting the shadow quality to low really alleviated what felt like performance issues.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game lacks depth and variety, feeling repetitive and uninspired compared to similar titles. Players express frustration with the monotonous gameplay and find the sound design, particularly the shotgun noise, grating after a short period. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as tedious and unengaging.
“It feels like someone played 10 minutes of Devil Daggers and thought, 'Yeah, I could make this,' while omitting all of the interesting mechanical depth, e.g., shotgun tech, farming, etc. You literally have no reason to not shoot in this game (unlike Devil Daggers/High Definition), and the shotgun noise gets unbelievably annoying to the ears past 10 minutes.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by a particularly hilarious opening, setting a comedic tone that resonates with players.
“The opening is hilarious!”
“The humor in this game is top-notch and keeps you laughing throughout.”
“I love how the game uses clever jokes and puns to enhance the experience.”
