Marfusha
- August 26, 2021
- hinyari9
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"Marfusha" is a single-player warfare shooter game with an intriguing story and delightful mechanics. As a border guard in a dystopian world, upgrades are crucial to facing increasingly powerful enemies, through cards purchased with heavily-taxed salary. With exceptional graphics, a good soundtrack, and a score attack ranking, Marfusha offers high-tempo action and is highly replayable, including 8 unique characters and various cards for weapons, power-ups, and chance events.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Playstation 5
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features cute characters and engaging pixel art, making it visually appealing.
- Gameplay is simple yet addictive, with a fun tower defense mechanic and multiple endings to explore.
- The dystopian setting and dark humor about taxes add a unique twist to the overall experience.
- The main story is quite short, typically completed in under an hour, which may leave players wanting more content.
- Gameplay can become repetitive after a few runs, especially due to the lack of enemy variety and challenge.
- Some balancing issues exist with weapons and upgrades, leading to certain strategies being overwhelmingly effective.
- story202 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally described as minimalist and somewhat bleak, with a main narrative that can be completed in about an hour. While some players appreciate the charm and emotional depth of the story, many express a desire for more content and character interaction, noting that the gameplay often overshadows the narrative. Overall, the story is engaging but leaves players wanting more, with multiple endings that add some replayability.
“Art style is atmospheric, gameplay is awesome, and the story sets the tone so well.”
“The story is mature, realistic, and tragic.”
“A very simple and fun game with good art style and surprisingly good story.”
“The story is very minimalist and bleak.”
“There is no meat at all behind this game, so little content to actually develop the story.”
“The gameplay is clean and polished but I wish the story could be more fleshed out.”
- gameplay138 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Marfusha: Sentinel Girls" is characterized as simple yet addictive, offering a fun roguelite side-scroller shooter experience with a charming art style and engaging mechanics. While the gameplay loop is enjoyable, it tends to become repetitive after a short duration, with some players noting a lack of depth and challenge in later stages. Overall, it provides a satisfying mix of action and strategy, appealing to those seeking casual fun with cute aesthetics.
“The roguelite side-scroller shooter gameplay loop is pretty simple but very satisfying.”
“The atmosphere and worldbuilding is nice, the art is cute, and the gameplay is simple yet addicting.”
“A very addictive action side-scroller shoot-'em-up tower-defense game with well thought out game mechanics and full of cute girls.”
“For just one hour of gameplay, you can add dozens of hours to your depression.”
“The gameplay is mind-numbingly bad, even for a flash game standard, but this is probably due to the lack of coding/game-making experience and not because it was a rushed project.”
“My main problem is just how simple the gameplay loop is; it's so extremely simple that it gets boring rather quickly.”
- graphics88 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming and atmospheric art style, featuring hand-drawn pixel art with an anime aesthetic that complements the game's darker themes. Many reviewers highlight the unique visuals and character designs, noting that the aesthetic enhances the overall experience despite some gameplay shortcomings. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong selling point, making the game visually appealing and engaging.
“Gorgeous art style of a rather depressing, bleak world which complements the story really well.”
“The game has hand-drawn pixel art style with an anime aesthetic, but it doesn’t hold back to tell the cruel side of war, tragedy, and questions of morality in a dystopian world.”
“I found the gameplay really fun and the graphics are unique, welcoming, and nice to look at.”
“The art style is neat, though the gun aiming animation is very much akin to said flash games.”
“I'd say the content itself is lacking; essentially, you are purchasing a flash game with a decent art style. There is nothing wrong with that, but there is still a lot that can be improved, like the interaction between characters and the hub/shelter, which could benefit from more lines for better world-building and storytelling.”
“In terms of graphics, as you can see, it's a 2D pixel style.”
- replayability46 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
Marfusha offers decent replayability, primarily due to its multiple endings, various characters, and challenge modes, with each run lasting about an hour. While many players find the game enjoyable and replayable, some note that the repetitiveness can set in after a few rounds. Overall, it combines accessible roguelike elements with enough variety to keep players engaged, especially for fans of its unique themes.
“Marfusha is a post-apocalyptic line defense survival roguelite featuring cute girls with guns, an authoritarian government, and lots of replay value.”
“There is a replayability factor due to the multiple endings this game has with each side character.”
“A defense game that at most will only take you an hour to complete, but since there are around 7-8 comrades/waifus to play with, and an endless mode, replayability is high.”
“There's some replay value in achieving different endings with different partners, but after 2 or 3 rounds of this, the repetitiveness really starts to kick in.”
“Challenge mode: aka endless mode, even more RNG dependent, not much replayability honestly.”
“The game presents itself as a roguelike, and roguelikes have the reputation of being the epitome of replayability, except Marfusha is anything but.”
- music38 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising its upbeat and engaging nature, though some note that the limited number of tracks can lead to repetitiveness. While the soundtrack is described as fantastic and fitting for the gameplay, it lacks variety, with only a few songs that may become tiresome after extended play. Overall, the music complements the charming visuals and enhances the gaming experience, despite its brevity.
“The gameplay is fun, the music is fantastic, the story is good, and the shower tease scenes are hot!”
“The music helps keep your energy up as you handle waves on waves of enemies.”
“There aren't that many songs but the ones that are there are great, which becomes especially noticeable when they don't get old after about 50 loops.”
“Like the first area, the music is fine because it's pretty lengthy, but in the other two stages, the music is too short.”
“The soundtrack isn't horrible, but it's no VA-11 HALL-A, that's for certain.”
“The soundtrack is decent for an indie title; I can vibe with it.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively time-consuming and tedious, especially after the initial challenge fades. As builds become more powerful, the gameplay shifts from engaging to repetitive, leading to a lack of motivation to continue grinding. Overall, the experience can feel like a chore rather than an enjoyable part of the game.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Gameplay is much more difficult and interesting at the start, but once you get the ball rolling on your build, it starts becoming too easy, which makes it feel tedious to complete runs.”
“Because there is little challenge, once you learn the game it can get repetitive and somewhat tedious.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its charming art style and effective worldbuilding, creating a captivating experience that enhances the gameplay. However, some reviewers note that the overall experience feels too short and underutilized, despite the varied and well-executed level atmospheres.
“The atmosphere and worldbuilding is nice, the art is cute, and the gameplay is simple yet addicting.”
“Art style is atmospheric, gameplay is awesome, and the story sets the tone so well.”
“The atmosphere of the levels varies vastly from one another, and I earnestly believe that the levels are great at what they want to do.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game demonstrates excellent optimization, running flawlessly on Unity engine version 2019.3.4, ensuring a smooth experience for players. Additionally, it features 10 different endings that are influenced by player performance and companion choices, adding depth to the gameplay.
“The game features 10 different endings based on your performance and current companion.”
“Marfusha runs flawlessly with solid performance in Unity engine version 2019.3.4.”
“Beyond that, the game has multiple endings which vary depending on your performance.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the humor in the game to be charming and lighthearted, often highlighting its cute and funny elements, particularly in the context of battling quirky enemies. However, some note that the humor can be overshadowed by more serious gameplay aspects, such as the IRS mechanics. Overall, the game successfully blends humor with its whimsical aesthetic.
“I originally bought this game because I thought it was a 'haha wholesome anime girl shoot funny robot thingy' type game.”
“This game is so cute and funny, but the IRS is not.”
“Lose because enemies after 100+ waves are funny.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players initially approach the game expecting a lighthearted experience, but many are surprised by its emotional depth, leading to genuine tears during certain endings. The blend of cute aesthetics with impactful storytelling creates a poignant contrast that resonates with players.
“I originally bought this game because I thought it was a 'wholesome anime girl shooting funny robots' type of game.”
“It was cute, and I cried with some endings; it was just plain shooting fun.”
“I was surprised by the emotional depth of the story, which added a layer I didn't expect.”
- character development4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features charming character design that blends pixel art with anime aesthetics, creating an appealing visual experience. However, the character development is noted to be somewhat rushed, which may impact the depth of the story.
“The game features beautiful character design, background, and settings.”
“Character design is a blend of pixel art and anime, making it really cute, although the story feels a bit rushed.”
