Science Girls

About

"Science Girls" is a turn-based combat game where schoolgirls use their science skills to fight alien invasions. Players can customize characters' skills and choose from three difficulty levels. The game features time-travel and paradox-filled alien worlds, with a light-hearted storyline and geeky jokes. Characters earn experience in battle, and swapping active combat members is allowed at any time.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

66%

Audience ScoreBased on 134 reviews

story15 positive mentions

gameplay4 negative mentions

The game features a charming and quirky premise with unique characters, each specializing in different scientific fields, which adds a fun twist to the gameplay.
The turn-based combat system is engaging and allows for strategic planning, with a variety of skills and abilities for each character.
The writing includes humorous and educational elements, making it enjoyable for players who appreciate lighthearted storytelling.

The game suffers from technical issues, including slow animations, poor graphics, and a lack of resolution options, which detracts from the overall experience.
Combat can become repetitive and grindy, with many battles feeling tedious due to low hit rates and limited SP recovery options.
The narrative is often criticized for being shallow and lacking depth, with characters that feel underdeveloped and a story that doesn't fully engage players.

story
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
55%
8%
The game's story is a lighthearted and humorous take on a simple plot involving a science club's battle against plant-like aliens, often parodying anime tropes. While some players found the writing entertaining and the incorporation of science facts enjoyable, others criticized the narrative as shallow and forgettable, overshadowed by the combat mechanics. Overall, the story offers quirky characters and comedic moments, but lacks depth and memorability, making it more suitable for casual play rather than those seeking a rich narrative experience.
- “However, the story was well written and funny, not taking itself too seriously.”
- “The plot is very simple and quite silly: aliens that look like plants from another dimension are invading Earth, and it's up to the girls from the school's science club to stop them.”
- “One good thing that Science Girls does is that the story is surprisingly compelling, and it makes you want to keep playing and see where it goes.”
- “The plot is very simple and quite silly: aliens that look like plants from another dimension are invading Earth and it's up to the girls from the school's science club to stop them.”
- “It was slow, had no real story to speak of, troped characters and tedious combat that monopolizes the majority of the game.”
- “There isn't all that much of a story either - just a few lines of comedy and simple decision points stuck along a linear narrative.”
gameplay
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
77%
13%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by a standard turn-based combat system and exploration, but it suffers from excessive text cutscenes that detract from the overall experience. While the mechanics allow for some tactical elements, they can feel clunky and repetitive, leading to a lack of engagement over time. Overall, the game offers a casual experience with basic RPG elements, but it may disappoint those seeking depth and innovation in gameplay.
- “So if you want a decent JRPG with some tactical gameplay that doesn't take itself too seriously and embraces the anime silliness, I can recommend this one.”
- “Fun to be had by anyone, those looking for casual play or a challenge, Science Girls offers a unique gameplay style that is a steal at $5.”
- “The mechanics of the game are solid: it offers free roaming on a 2D map, a turn-based battle system, interactive dialogues, save slots, and it does this all without bugs as far as I could see.”
- “The developers failed one of the most basic, fundamental requirements of game design: 'show, don't tell.' You'll spend a huge amount of time not playing the game, but clicking through endless lines of poorly written visual novel text cutscenes because the developers couldn't figure out how to relate their narrative through the game mechanics.”
- “The gameplay responsiveness is unreasonably crunchy, and shortly into the game, battles just become increasingly numbing repeats of your team against armies of self-replicating enemies that take too long to clear, only to get into another same-same-same fight moments later, taking even longer as it becomes more costly for your characters to perform their actions.”
- “Short version: good characters, but slow and repetitive gameplay that gets slower and more repetitive.”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
57%
21%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many users criticizing the simplistic and amateurish 2D visuals that lack resolution options and customization. While some appreciate the retro aesthetic and charm associated with indie games, others find the quality inadequate for a 2024 PC title, describing the graphics as rough and reminiscent of early game design projects. Overall, the visuals may appeal to fans of the genre but fall short of modern standards.
- “This game only uses 2D sprites for the gameplay and hand-drawn anime-style graphics for the visual novel segments and backgrounds.”
- “The artwork expresses the game's indie origin, being reminiscent of a release from a college game design club.”
- “Despite the flaws and annoyances, the graphics are charming, the game has interesting characters, and the battles can be challenging until you get the rhythm.”
- “There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
- “Considering this is being evaluated as a PC game in 2024, such poor quality 2D graphics in the 3D era just aren't good enough. Whether it's a deliberate design fault on behalf of the developer or they just couldn't manage to do any better, this is a compromise gamers shouldn't have to put up with.”
- “The graphics for the overworld tilesets look pretty rough and give off a sort of amateurish vibe, which isn't a great thing but I believe just adds more to the game's doujin kind of charm.”
grinding
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is a mixed bag; while some players find it manageable and even enjoyable, others criticize it for being tedious and repetitive, particularly in combat and leveling up. The reliance on grinding to progress, especially for powerful skills and to defeat challenging bosses, can lead to frustration, especially given the lack of equipment upgrades. Overall, the experience varies significantly depending on the player's approach to difficulty and their tolerance for repetitive gameplay.
- “This one involves you tediously checking every room of the first act of the game to find the one unmarked area you need to go.”
- “After a certain level, you will obtain powerful high-damage skills called 'finishers' that will increase the amount of experience earned by a character if she kills an enemy with a finisher. This is handy for helping with grinding, but some finishers are way better than others, which makes using the others effectively to level up everyone a bit of a hassle.”
- “The gameplay is extremely repetitive and grindy.”
humor
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as lighthearted and often funny, with a mix of cute and quirky characters that contribute to its charm. While some moments may veer into educational territory or come off as sophomoric, the overall writing and dialogue provide entertaining and recognizable characterizations. Despite its shortcomings, many reviewers find the humor to be a highlight, making it enjoyable for fans of unconventional RPGs.
- “However, the story was well written and funny (not taking itself too seriously).”
- “The storyline is lighthearted and often humorous, but rather short.”
- “While the technical side and the wild story clearly show that this game is one of Hanako's early games, the mix of cute and weird characters and funny dialogues makes the game a must-have for fans of unconventional RPGs, and due to the low price, it is certainly worth a try.”
music
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
45%
27%
The game's music features a mix of decent battle themes that help alleviate repetition, though the quality varies significantly across tracks. While some players appreciate the nostalgic RPG feel and atmospheric overworld music, others find it lackluster and lacking urgency. Overall, the soundtrack has its highlights but is often described as bland.
- “I'd still love to find a way to listen to the game's OST separately because I find myself liking a couple of them a lot.”
- “The music frequently had an old school RPG style battle music feel to it.”
- “Even the music has the nostalgic RPG feel to it.”
- “The music is lackluster and carries no sense of urgency.”
- “Music's bland too.”
- “The same can be said about the music and sounds.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The atmosphere of the game is effectively crafted, blending elements of a Japanese visual novel with an old-school RPG vibe, enhanced by decent and atmospheric music. This combination successfully brings to life the unique charm of Japanese indie games, meeting player expectations in this regard.
- “The music for the overworld is mostly pretty decent, atmospheric enough in a way.”
- “They have succeeded in recreating an atmosphere that belongs in a crossover between a Japanese visual novel and an old-school RPG from an indie developer.”
- “In my opinion, it actually gives life to the Japanese indie atmosphere.”
- “In that regard, they have succeeded in what I presume to be an attempt to recreate an atmosphere that belongs in a crossover between a Japanese visual novel and an old-school RPG from an indie developer.”
- “I'm not arguing that this is a bad thing; however, in my opinion, it actually gives life to the Japanese indie atmosphere (Oreimo S1, anyone?).”
- “With that, I can summarize my review: Science Girls met my expectations as far as the atmosphere was concerned.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers strong replayability due to its diverse range of science-themed attacks, a variety of food items, and adjustable difficulty levels. Additionally, the engaging music and random elements contribute to an enjoyable experience that encourages players to return.
- “The variety of imaginatively science-themed attacks, food items that could be dispensed with, and difficulty that could be increased mean that this game has great replay value.”
- “It also has good music, a random assortment of food items, and high replay value.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game experienced some stability issues, including crashes during boss fights, but these problems appear to have been addressed in recent updates.
- “A little buggy; it crashed during a boss fight, but it seems to be fixed now.”
- “The game frequently crashes, making it frustrating to progress.”
- “I experienced several stability issues, including random freezes and crashes.”