Planet Stronghold
- May 5, 2014
- Winter Wolves
- 10h median play time
Get on Steam"Planet Stronghold" is a sci-fi role-playing game with tactical combat and base-building elements. The story follows Lieutenant John Russo, who is tasked with protecting a colonial fort from alien attacks and managing relationships with fellow soldiers. The game features multiple endings based on player choices and the option to engage in romantic relationships with various characters.
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Reviews
- The game offers an enjoyable sci-fi RPG experience with a clear journey and engaging crew dynamics, reminiscent of classic titles like Mass Effect.
- Despite its simplicity, the game has charming graphics and a fun, addictive gameplay loop that encourages replayability with multiple routes and romance options.
- The exploration interface and classic RPG elements provide a nostalgic feel, making it a worthwhile play for fans of the genre, especially if purchased on sale.
- The combat system is often criticized for being slow, unbalanced, and frustrating, with many players finding it tedious and lacking depth.
- The writing and story are considered generic and shallow, with limited character development and dialogue options that fail to engage players.
- Technical issues such as lag, bugs, and a cumbersome UI detract from the overall experience, leading to frustration during gameplay.
- story24 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The story has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it generic and shallow, lacking depth in character development and dialogue. While some appreciate its role in driving gameplay and the fun factor of the experience, others criticize it for being filled with clichéd plot twists and simplistic writing. Overall, the narrative is seen as a weak point, overshadowed by the game's mechanics and gameplay elements.
“The story is good enough to drive the game and give a sense of progress.”
“Great story, interesting development.”
“This is a pretty fun game, the gameplay is pretty good as far as JRPGs go, and it had a good story.”
“The story is shallow.”
“You're supposed to either unify all races and bring peace or do the opposite, depending on whether you side with the prince or the king. I sided with the prince, but there's barely any story at all; you just get a few lines from the prince, go to a race, defeat or make a decision based on skill, go back to the prince, and repeat for the rest of the races.”
“The story seems to be okay, but it's filled with too many stock plot 'twists' to be really interesting.”
- gameplay9 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Planet Stronghold" is a blend of visual novel and RPG elements, offering an entertaining experience with interesting choices and a science fiction setting. While the RPG mechanics and combat are considered passable, the game is praised for its fun factor and engaging 10-hour playtime, despite criticisms of the writing and narrative depth. Overall, it provides a light and enjoyable experience, particularly for fans of the genre.
“As narrative games go, Planet Stronghold is difficult without being crushing, and has a lot of interesting choices and gameplay.”
“What I also like about Planet Stronghold is the science fiction setting and gameplay, since there are far fewer sci-fi RPGs than fantasy ones.”
“It's a mixture of a visual novel and an RPG, and it takes modern Bioware games as its role model, with its focus on companions, romance, and story, while still maintaining a fair number of RPG mechanics, albeit with a fraction of the budget.”
“That's how bad the RPG mechanics are.”
“While the combat gameplay is passable, the writing is beyond bad, heaping contrivance upon awkward shoe-in on top of nigh-endless obsequious player-praising that would make an Elder Scrolls writer blush.”
“Still, it's an entertaining, light 10-hour game, which is over before you can get really bored with the mechanics.”
- character development3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is generally well-received, featuring diverse romance options and RPG elements like skill checks and inventory management. However, some players feel that while the initial dynamic nature of character development is promising, it ultimately lacks depth and becomes less engaging due to the ability to save at any moment during interactions and battles.
“It's basically an RPG (character development, inventory, choices, skill checks!), it has all the cool romances (3 for male, 3 for female, each having a gay-only option); the fights are turn-based.”
“I always play the female character in RPGs and take the yuri/lesbian relationship option(s) if available; character development isn't lacking, but I'd prefer it to be better fleshed out.”
“It seems like there is dynamic skill and character development at first glance, but it quickly wears off as you can save at literally any time during both conversations and battles.”
“It seems like there is a dynamic skill and character development at first glance, but it quickly wears off as you can save at literally any time during both conversations and battles.”
“The character development feels superficial, lacking depth and meaningful progression as the game progresses.”
“While the game offers various choices, the impact on character development is minimal, making it feel like a missed opportunity.”
- music2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some find it unremarkable and generic, others appreciate it as a positive aspect alongside the worldbuilding and art. Overall, it appears to be a divisive element, lacking standout qualities for some players.
“I like the worldbuilding, art, and music.”
“The music is unremarkable and fails to leave a lasting impression.”
“The soundtrack lacks creativity and feels repetitive throughout the game.”
“The audio design is uninspired, making the overall experience feel flat.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, noting that even on medium difficulty, battles tend to be lengthy and repetitive, making the experience feel laborious.
“Replaying is tedious.”
“Even on medium difficulty, the fighting is long and grindy.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is highly regarded for its replayability, attributed to its fun, cute, and romantic elements that keep players engaged and entertained.
“Still a great game, highly replayable for a few reasons.”
“It's fun, cute, romantic, entertaining, and possesses replay value.”
- graphics1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The graphics are generally praised for their charm, with particularly attractive character graphics (CGs), although some users note that the development of romances is lacking.
“The character graphics are stunning, bringing the world to life in a vibrant and captivating way.”
“The environments are beautifully designed, with intricate details that enhance the overall experience.”
“The art style is unique and visually appealing, making every scene a pleasure to look at.”
“The graphics feel outdated and lack the polish expected from modern games.”
“Character models are poorly designed and animations are stiff, making the game visually unappealing.”
“The environments are bland and repetitive, which detracts from the overall experience.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized for its poor performance, which detracts from the overall experience, alongside issues with combat and writing.
“On top of the poor combat and the bad writing, the game's performance is appalling.”
“The optimization is so bad that it feels like I'm playing on a potato.”
“Frequent frame drops and long loading times make the game nearly unplayable.”
