MIDNIGHT ULTRA

About

MIDNIGHT ULTRA is a single player platformer game with a horror theme. It was developed by Forward Instinct and was released on October 31, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Midnight Ultra is a fast-paced, pixelated FPS set in a neon-dripped, nightmareish American Southwest. The game features high-speed action, a variety of enemies and weapons, and no recharging shields, requiring players to constantly stay on the move. The free Devil's Path Update adds new weapons, enemies, maps, a boss battle, audio improvements, and more .

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

66%

Audience ScoreBased on 73 reviews

graphics10 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game features a unique and striking visual aesthetic that creates an immersive atmosphere, reminiscent of classic FPS titles.
The gameplay offers a variety of weapon choices and allows for different play styles, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre.
The soundtrack is well-received, enhancing the overall experience and complementing the game's surreal vibe.

Gameplay mechanics are often unresponsive, with issues in hit detection for both ranged and melee attacks, leading to frustrating combat experiences.
The color scheme and visual design can be overwhelming and disorienting, making it difficult to navigate levels and discern enemies.
The game is short and lacks depth, with many players feeling it doesn't offer enough content or replayability to justify its purchase.

graphics
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
70%
7%
The graphics of the game are polarizing, featuring a unique and bizarre aesthetic that blends low-poly designs with a grainy, washed-out style reminiscent of retro shooters. While some players appreciate the artistic vision and atmosphere, many find the visuals confusing and difficult to navigate, often detracting from gameplay due to poor visibility and lack of depth. Overall, the graphics are seen as a double-edged sword: intriguing and stylish, yet potentially overwhelming and frustrating for players.
- “The gameplay is pretty bad, but the visuals and atmosphere are pretty good.”
- “Midnight Ultra is a quick, fun run-and-gun love letter to old-school FPSs that's light on mechanics and goes all-in on aesthetic.”
- “The visuals and color blend together and create an anxious feeling that forces you to concentrate and see through the haze in order to successfully explore the environments and surprisingly scary enemies.”
- “The graphics and shifty, drifty aim/control/visual acuity bung up what should have been the game's best features.”
- “The game is almost unplayable with how over the top the graphical style is.”
- “Aside from the fact that the game's visuals made my head spin, the game just isn't very fun to begin with.”
gameplay
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
62%
17%
The gameplay of *Midnight Ultra* is characterized as simplistic and often frustrating, with basic first-person shooter mechanics that include limited weapon choices and mediocre enemy AI. While the game features a visually striking aesthetic and surreal level design, many players find the gameplay lacking depth and excitement, leading to a mixed reception overall. Despite its potential, the combination of wonky mechanics and poor sound design detracts from the experience, making it more of a visual treat than a compelling gameplay experience.
- “As midnight ultra is a first-person shooter, its gameplay is simple: you have one ranged and one melee weapon, either of which you'll choose out of a set of four available per type whenever starting a new game, on a game over, or when loading a level.”
- “Midnight ultra is a quick, fun run-and-gun love letter to old-school FPSs that's light on mechanics and goes all-in on aesthetic.”
- “I don't play many neon games, so the visuals took a little bit for me to get used to, but the gameplay is fun, and the availability of different weapon sets makes for entertaining combinations.”
- “Midnight Ultra falls short, and it's a shame because with more polish to the gameplay and presentation, this could have been a good one.”
- “It has potential, but between the wonky visuals, the stunted gameplay, including the nigh non-existent melee, and generally unpleasant sound design, I cannot fathom how I or anyone else paid money for this.”
- “Given that there's no 'save' feature, this meant I kept having to replay the level after making the wrong guess, which quickly grew tiresome given the unexciting gameplay.”
music
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
46%
23%
The music in the game is widely praised for its moody and engaging soundtrack, which blends elements of electronic and guitar sounds to enhance the overall atmosphere. Reviewers appreciate the deliberate design choices that create a coherent aesthetic, although opinions on the sound design vary, with some noting inconsistencies in sound effects. Overall, the soundtrack stands out as one of the game's strongest features, contributing significantly to the immersive experience.
- “Bored, not wanting to have to think that hard but wanna kick some ass and chill to an amazing soundtrack.”
- “The soundtrack is one of the strongest points here: while retaining the original burned-out guitar sound, it takes a more electronic turn to complement the murderous darkness of the setting.”
- “Every aspect of this game from the coloring to the soundtrack feels deliberate and creates a very coherent style.”
- “Like a bad acid trip through a metalhead's mind, with a sick soundtrack to boot.”
- “Coupled with the sparse, twanging guitar soundtrack and knowingly corny use of occult symbols (the melee crosshair, for example, is shaped like a pentagram for no other reason except that it looks totally awesome, dude), there's a uniquely gutbucket sensibility to the game that makes the first thirty minutes or so a memorable dive into the bowels of the steam bargain bin.”
- “The soundtrack is one of the strongest planes here: while retaining the original burned-out guitar sound, it takes a more electronic turn to complement the murderous darkness of the setting.”
story
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
58%
25%
The story is primarily conveyed through text between missions, serving mainly to connect levels rather than develop a deep plot. While the narrative features a unique blend of occult themes and surreal visuals, its presentation is often criticized for being pixelated and difficult to decipher. Overall, the storyline is described as a distinctive and challenging experience that complements the game's wild visuals and action.
- “The story is just text between missions, but it does a good job of selling the wild visuals and action.”
- “The devil's path update takes off right after the events of the main story, diving headfirst into a colder, darker setting.”
- “The story is there, but it's told like in Doom, on screens between levels, and it's mostly used to connect levels; it doesn't really create too much 'plot'.”
- “It's really pixelated, everything is different shades of maroon, the story is almost indecipherable, and there are all these weird VHS effects.”
- “Three-color blinding noir palette, obscure visuals, western riffs playing in the background, occult symbolism, witchcraft, horror, over-exaggerated American feel, mad dream-like storyline.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised, described as incredible and immersive, contributing significantly to the overall experience despite some criticisms of the gameplay. The visuals enhance this atmospheric quality, making it a standout feature that keeps players engaged.
- “Got through this in about an hour (including the freely added expansion [i]Devil's Path[/i]) and the atmosphere is incredible, if not literally [i]killer[/i].”
- “And for me, the atmosphere is strong enough that I still blasted through all those cultists and enjoyed it all the same.”
- “Midnight Ultra is an atmospheric treat.”
- “The gameplay is pretty bad, but the visuals and atmosphere are pretty good.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The game lacks built-in framerate limiting and v-sync options, leading to potential performance issues as it can excessively utilize system resources. Users recommend setting a framerate limiter through graphics card drivers to mitigate this problem.
- “Consider setting a framerate limiter through your graphics card drivers, as the game lacks this feature (along with v-sync) and will utilize all available performance your computer can provide.”
- “The game doesn't have a framerate limiter, so it will use all available performance from your computer, which can lead to overheating issues.”
- “There is no v-sync option, making the game prone to screen tearing and other visual artifacts.”
- “Optimization is severely lacking; the game runs poorly even on high-end hardware.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find that grinding can become tedious and stale, especially when they are forced to repeatedly tackle the same levels after getting stuck.
- “If you get stuck on some levels and have to repeat them, it starts to feel a little stale and tedious.”
- “The grinding feels endless, and it often detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
- “After a while, the repetitive nature of grinding makes the game feel more like a chore than a fun experience.”