Osteya
- November 20, 2015
- Volens Nolens Games
Get on Steam"Osteya is a 2D indie pixel art platformer set in the legend-bound city of Osteya, offering a family-friendly experience with 40 levels, challenging gameplay, and innovative teleportation mechanics. Immerse in its stunning graphics, accompanied by amazing music, while facing dangerous enemies and hardcore levels. With more levels on the way, Osteya promises a thrilling adventure for players of all ages."
Reviews
- The game has solid controls, allowing for precise character movement.
- The teleport mechanic offers a unique way to navigate levels, providing some fun and efficiency.
- The simplistic graphics and design can be charming, reminiscent of retro platformers.
- The game lacks a story, dialogue, and meaningful progression, making it feel empty.
- There are significant camera issues that hinder gameplay, especially in taller levels.
- The game is very short, with repetitive levels and minimal content, leading to a poor value for the price.
- graphics8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The graphics of the platformer have been widely criticized for their poor quality and outdated retro pixel art style, which many reviewers feel is a lazy choice by the developers. There are no options for resolution or customization, leading to a lack of diversity in visual presentation across levels. While some players find the graphics acceptable, they generally agree that they do not stand out or evoke excitement.
“The game impresses with its simplicity and pleasant graphic performance.”
“The graphics are pretty alright but nothing to get hyped for.”
“It's a sort of industrial, dark tune, which I do not believe fits the lighthearted graphics at all.”
“The platformer is extremely poor quality, single screen, terrible controls, awful graphics... it's just shovelware trash that's been dumped on Steam as a cash grab by morally defunct developers.”
“A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel art as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
“There's no options to change the resolution for the game or customize the graphics settings.”
- music7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as repetitive and forgettable, featuring a single short tune that loops continuously. Players express frustration over the lack of audio controls, making it difficult to turn off the background music. Overall, the music fails to enhance the gaming experience and can become annoying over time.
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“No closure after you beat the 40 levels, you just get in a room in the clouds where the music is the same and there's nothing to do but jump around.”
“Bewilderingly, the game doesn't include proper audio controls, so you can't turn off the annoying background music; you'll need to alt+tab out and stop the music using the Windows sound mixer.”
“The music is forgettable.”
“The music consists of one short little tune that repeats over and over again ad infinitum.”
- gameplay5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The gameplay is centered around a teleport mechanic that allows for varied routes through levels, but it is limited by arbitrary restrictions in certain areas. While the controls are generally good, the overall experience is considered short and lacking depth, leading some players to question its value for the price.
“Controls well, the teleport mechanic allows for different, sometimes much more efficient routes through levels.”
“The gameplay is cool, although there is no menu whatsoever!”
“I love platformers and this one is pretty okay but... why spend 8 bucks on 45 minutes of 'eh' gameplay when you can just buy something better?”
“Gameplay... you only get one mechanic--the ability to teleport, which for no given reason you're not allowed to use in certain parts of some levels.”
“Gameplay... you only get one mechanic--the ability to teleport, which for no given reason you're not allowed to use in certain parts of some levels.”
- story3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely criticized for its absence, with players noting a lack of dialogue and narrative progression despite hints of a deeper theme. The only semblance of a moral is a vague reflection on perseverance in life, but overall, the storytelling is deemed nonexistent.
“The moral of the story is that you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“There is no dialogue or progression - the description suggests there's a story, but it is completely absent from the actual game.”
“No story”
- monetization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of this game has been criticized as exploitative, with reviewers labeling it as a cash grab that relies on low-quality, asset-flipped content and pre-made templates. Many consider it shovelware, suggesting that the developers prioritize profit over quality, resulting in a subpar gaming experience.
“These guys do nothing but copy premade game templates and game tutorials, fill out a few things, stamp out basic levels using the construction kit templates, slap on an asset-flipped set of sprites/assets, and dump them on Steam and into cheap nasty shovelware game bundles as cash grabs.”
“Trying to get paid for someone else's game templates and assets... at best, this is shovelware; at worst, it's a scam/cash grab.”
“The platformer is extremely poor quality, single screen, terrible controls, awful graphics... it's just shovelware trash that's been dumped on Steam as a cash grab by morally defunct 'developers'.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game's initial optimization was hindered by the limitations of the 'Construct 2' engine, affecting features like achievements. However, a remaster using the 'Game Maker' engine is planned, promising improved performance and optimization in a future Steam update that players are eagerly anticipating.
“The game impresses with its simplicity and pleasant graphic performance.”
“The developers are committed to optimizing the game, ensuring a smoother experience for players.”
“The use of the 'Construct 2' game engine in Osteya severely hindered optimization, leading to issues with achievements and overall performance. The developers have announced plans to remaster the game using Game Maker, but players are still waiting for this update on Steam.”
“Optimization in this game is a major issue, as the initial engine choice has left many features underdeveloped and unpolished. The promised remaster using a different engine has yet to materialize, leaving players frustrated.”
“Players are disappointed with the lack of optimization in Osteya, which has been attributed to the limitations of the 'Construct 2' engine. The anticipated remaster with Game Maker is still pending, and the community is growing impatient.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users report stability issues, including audio glitches where tracks overlap and an unusual ending that detracts from the overall experience.
“The sound has some glitches where tracks play over each other, and the ending is just odd.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable at times.”
“I experienced constant lag and frame drops, which ruined the overall experience.”
