Neural Shock
- June 19, 2024
- Hardwired Studios
- 8h median play time
Get on SteamNeural Shock is an ARPG/Tower Defense hybrid where you build turrets, traps, and fight waves of enemies in a dark, futuristic world. Level up your characters and weapons, with class-based character building and specialization in weapon, turret, and trap masteries. Experience engaging gameplay that caters to both short and long play sessions.
Reviews
- The game offers a great variety of traps, turrets, and enemies, providing a rich strategic experience.
- The gameplay is fast-paced and engaging, with a fun meta progression system and adjustable difficulty levels.
- Despite its graphics, the game is highly addictive and offers a lot of content, making it well worth the price.
- The graphics are subpar and may not appeal to everyone, which can detract from the overall experience.
- Enemies lack attack animations and have unexpectedly long attack ranges, making combat feel frustrating at times.
- The soundtrack lacks variety, primarily featuring metal riffs, which may not suit all players' tastes.
- music7 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The music in the game is predominantly hard rock and heavy metal, which complements the intense atmosphere and action well, earning praise for its fitting style. While some players appreciate the energetic riffs, others note a lack of variation, suggesting that those who dislike this genre may want to mute the soundtrack. Overall, the music enhances the gameplay experience, particularly in its alignment with the game's chaotic themes.
“And kudos for the intense music.”
“The soundtrack lacks variation and it's mostly just metal riffs, so if you hate that, you're going to have to mute it.”
“The game's style reminds me of Killing Floor, with its heavy soundtrack, constant blasting of gunfire, and endless gory deaths of all manner of creepy monsters.”
“Bonus points also for the soundtrack, which is hard rock/heavy metal type grooving that suits the atmosphere very well.”
- story7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around a series of 27 missions where players must strategically place traps and defend a command center from waves of enemies, adapting their tactics as the missions progress. Players can enhance their skills and traps between missions, allowing for varied gameplay and experimentation with different loadouts. The narrative is driven by the challenge of protecting the command center while managing resources and adapting strategies to overcome increasingly difficult levels.
“In total, at the time of writing this, there are 27 missions, so there seems to be a lot of content.”
“The later levels will also have the player adapting their strategy as the level progresses, as the decisions made early on might not be effective anymore at the end of a mission.”
“Constrained tower placement options, and some limitations on how towers aim forces the player to try different things in order to complete missions.”
“The story feels disjointed and lacks a cohesive narrative, making it hard to stay engaged with the missions.”
“There are so many missions, but the plot doesn't evolve in a meaningful way, leaving players feeling like they're just going through the motions.”
“The character development is minimal, and the dialogue is often bland, which detracts from the overall experience.”
- graphics5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are polarizing, with some players finding them horrible while others appreciate the vintage aesthetic that evokes nostalgia. Despite the mixed opinions, many users suggest that the gameplay experience ultimately overshadows the visual quality, allowing players to overlook the graphics as they become immersed in the action.
“The game has very cool vintage-looking graphics that bring back nice memories.”
“Seriously, this game is fun when you get past the graphics.”
“If you can look past the admittedly horrible graphics, you will find an excellent tower defense game.”
“First the downsides: the graphics are not to everyone's taste.”
“However, after a few hours of playing, I don't even see the graphics anymore; I just see blood.”
- gameplay3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a fast-paced real-time system that includes a pausing option, allowing for diverse playing styles that can emphasize either traps or player skills. Players appreciate the interesting mechanics and constraints that enhance the overall experience.
“The gameplay is real-time (with a pausing option as well), which makes the overall flow of the game very exciting and fast-paced.”
“I feel like this mechanic has a lot of room for choosing different playing styles: one can choose to focus on the traps or the player skills, or do a little bit of both.”
“Nice little game with interesting mechanics and constraints.”
“The gameplay feels repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged for long periods.”
“The controls are clunky and unresponsive, which detracts from the overall experience.”
“There are too many bugs and glitches that disrupt the gameplay, making it frustrating to play.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its consistent quality, enhanced by a fitting hard rock and heavy metal soundtrack that complements the overall experience.
“Bonus points also for the soundtrack, which features hard rock and heavy metal grooves that suit the atmosphere very well.”
“Special bonus for the consistent and great atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking any real sense of immersion.”
“Despite the potential, the game fails to create a compelling atmosphere, leaving players feeling disconnected.”
“The environments are dull and lifeless, which detracts from the overall experience.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Players find the game surprisingly high in replayability, attributing it to engaging map challenge modifiers and a leveling system that encourages continued play beyond initial completion. The combination of appealing visuals and a controllable character further enhances the game's lasting appeal.
“At first I was hesitant about getting this, thinking it would just be a game I could beat and get bored of in an afternoon like something on Kongregate; but after I tried the demo and then bought the full game, it turns out it's more fun and replayable than any tower defense game I can recall playing.”
“The look of the game and the controllable player character are what drew me in, but the replayability from the map challenge modifiers and the leveling system has kept me playing.”
“After completing the main story, I found little incentive to replay the game. The side quests felt repetitive and didn't add much to the overall experience.”
“While the game offers multiple endings, the lack of significant changes in gameplay mechanics makes replaying feel more like a chore than an enjoyable experience.”
- character development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the innovative blend of tower defense and RPG elements, highlighting the engaging character development that enhances gameplay and encourages extended play sessions.
“I absolutely enjoy the game: smooth gameplay, an innovative combination of tower defense with RPG-esque character development, and nice level design with challenging features that keep me playing for hours.”
