Otherwar

About

Otherwar is a single player arcade shooter game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by kantal collective and was released on February 27, 2023. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Otherwar" is a unique blend of Tower Defense and Bullet Hell gameplay, with pixel art aesthetics and the theme of defending against an encroaching hell horde. As the defender angel, you must strategically plan out defenses while facing off against formidable adversaries. The game offers a challenging and engaging experience, combining strategic planning with fast-paced action.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

66%

Audience ScoreBased on 71 reviews

graphics4 positive mentions

grinding4 negative mentions

Otherwar offers a unique blend of tower defense and bullet hell gameplay, providing an engaging and challenging experience.
The pixel art visuals and atmospheric soundtrack enhance the game's dark fantasy theme, making it visually appealing and immersive.
The game features a rewarding progression system that encourages players to experiment with different strategies and tower placements.

The game suffers from balance issues, with early levels being overly difficult and later levels becoming trivially easy due to meta progression.
Gameplay can feel repetitive and slow, with long periods of waiting for enemies to spawn and waves to complete, leading to a tedious experience.
The lack of customization options for controls and the requirement to hold down the fire button can lead to discomfort during extended play sessions.

graphics
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
70%
13%
The graphics of Otherwar are a polarizing aspect among reviewers, with some praising the vibrant pixel art and atmospheric dark fantasy settings that evoke a nostalgic feel, while others criticize the visuals as simplistic and poorly executed, likening them to a lack of effort in modern game design. Despite the appealing character animations and detailed environments, detractors argue that the retro aesthetic feels inauthentic and fails to meet contemporary standards, leading to a mixed reception overall.
- “Otherwar is a creative and exciting indie game that perfectly blends tower defense with bullet-hell action; the pixel art visuals and dark fantasy atmosphere are stunning, making each level a visual treat.”
- “Visually, Otherwar embraces a pixel art style that feels both nostalgic and vibrant.”
- “The detailed environments evoke mythological settings with a fantastical flair, and the character sprites are carefully animated to convey personality and intensity despite the retro aesthetic.”
- “The chief problem is the developer phoned in the graphics instead of doing their job properly.”
- “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
- “Visually, this is a hamfisted mess, a dog's breakfast of bad visuals, and this kind of laziness and poor quality should never be foisted on gamers.”
gameplay
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
53%
14%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it slow and tedious, while others appreciate its tactical depth and engaging mechanics. The unique blend of bullet-hell action and tower defense offers a challenging experience, though the learning curve can be steep and the pacing may lead to moments of boredom. Overall, the game is praised for its variety and strategic elements, making it appealing to fans of both genres, despite some criticisms regarding repetitiveness and soundtrack impact.
- “The gameplay is tactical and engaging — every decision matters, and you can’t just click your way through.”
- “The learning curve is challenging but rewarding, offering depth for those who enjoy mastering both strategy and skill-based gameplay.”
- “The unique combination of managing defenses while engaging in heart-pounding battles creates an addictive gameplay loop that keeps you on the edge of your seat.”
- “Slow, repetitive gameplay that quickly becomes tedious as your skill is tested less than your mental fortitude to keep from boredom or making mistakes from mental disengagement.”
- “I feel at least part of the reason was due to the dull, slow soundtrack that makes the gameplay feel tedious at best and sometimes a bit monotonous when there aren't any projectiles on screen, making it feel like I'm doing a job instead of having fun.”
- “The gameplay idea is a very unique combination of arcade, tower defense, and roguelike, but it ultimately falls short in execution.”
music
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
16%
17%
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the darker themes and atmosphere, blending orchestral and choral elements to create a tense and immersive experience. While most reviews highlight the soundtrack's effectiveness in setting the mood and complementing the visuals, some players feel that certain tracks can be dull or monotonous, detracting from the overall enjoyment. Overall, the music is considered a significant asset, contributing to the game's epic and horror-inspired ambiance.
- “This visual approach is complemented by a soundtrack that blends orchestral and choral elements, enhancing the epic and divine atmosphere.”
- “The music is dark, and perfectly suited to the game’s tone, adding a layer of tension and immersion that keeps you hooked through every wave of enemies.”
- “Complementing the intense visuals is a masterfully crafted soundtrack.”
- “I feel at least part of the reason was due to the dull, slow soundtrack that makes the gameplay feel tedious at best and sometimes a bit monotonous when there aren't any projectiles on screen, making it feel like I'm doing a job instead of having fun.”
- “The screenshots perfectly capture how good the pixel art in this game is, but the special atmosphere it creates with the sound effects and ambient music is hard to describe with words.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
20%
30%
Otherwar excels in creating a captivating atmosphere through its stunning pixel art visuals and a haunting dark fantasy theme. The combination of an orchestral and choral soundtrack enhances the game's intensity, while effective sound design immerses players in its cursed world. Overall, the game's atmosphere is a standout feature, drawing players into its challenging and visually striking environment.
- “Otherwar is a creative and exciting indie game that perfectly blends tower defense with bullet-hell action; the pixel art visuals and dark fantasy atmosphere are stunning, making each level a visual treat.”
- “This visual approach is complemented by a soundtrack that blends orchestral and choral elements, enhancing the epic and divine atmosphere.”
- “The dark, demonic theme sets the game apart, with its haunting atmosphere pulling you deeper into its cursed world.”
- “It’s not just the visuals or gameplay that pull you in—the sound design plays a massive role in building the game's intense atmosphere.”
- “The screenshots perfectly capture how good the pixel art in this game is, but the special atmosphere it creates with the sound effects, ambient music, and dozens of projectiles flying around on the screen is hard to describe with words.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The game's story is well-integrated into its setting, portraying the player as an "angel at hard work," which resonates with the overall theme. However, players have expressed frustration with certain gameplay mechanics, such as time constraints in bonus missions and the need to replay older maps for experience points, which can detract from the narrative experience. Despite these issues, the progression system allows players to enhance their character through skill improvements as they complete missions.
- “This game does not need that; it fits the game setting, topic, story, and player role as 'angel at hard work.'”
- “However, as you defeat enemies, complete quests, and earn stars per level and per difficulty, you can improve your angel with skills.”
- “Each mission typically lasts around 15 minutes if you don't hit start wave.”
- “There is one thing that yelled 'yes, this is factually bad.' In level 2, the bonus mission is 'clear this level in under 5:00', but even spamming summon waves faster at the maximum the game will allow, it took 13 minutes for the final wave to even arrive.”
- “Annoying at the start, need to redo old maps to do quests to get XP.”
- “But brother, let me tell you, I got crushed on the first mission here on normal.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be slow and repetitive, leading to feelings of tedium and mental fatigue. Despite the presence of speed boosts, the gameplay often feels monotonous, exacerbated by a dull soundtrack, making the experience feel more like a chore than enjoyable entertainment. Additionally, the requirement of multiple farming sessions on easy difficulty adds to the frustration, as success is not guaranteed.
- “Slow, repetitive gameplay that quickly becomes tedious as your skill is tested less than your mental fortitude to keep from boredom or making mistakes from mental disengagement.”
- “Without that speed boost, the game felt monotonous at best; the speed boost definitely helps, but not enough to save it from feeling tedious.”
- “I feel at least part of the reason was due to the dull, slow soundtrack that makes the gameplay feel tedious at best and sometimes a bit monotonous when there aren't any projectiles on screen, making it feel like I'm doing a job instead of having fun.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is well-optimized, featuring low system requirements that allow it to run smoothly on older PCs.
- “Thanks to its low system requirements, it runs smoothly even on older PCs.”
- “The game is incredibly well-optimized, allowing for a seamless experience across various hardware setups.”
- “I appreciate how the developers focused on optimization, making it accessible for players with different performance capabilities.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
Otherwar boasts high replayability due to its multiple difficulty levels, a variety of defensive options, and upgrade paths for the protagonist, making it a solid and enjoyable game with significant replay value.
- “Solid and fun game with a ton of replay value!”
- “Replayability is one of Otherwar’s strong suits, thanks to multiple difficulty levels, diverse defensive options, and upgrade paths for the angelic protagonist.”
- “After completing the game once, I found little incentive to play again; the story doesn't change much, and the side quests feel repetitive.”
- “While the game offers different characters to play, the core gameplay remains the same, making it hard to stay engaged after the first run.”