Sky Mercenaries

About

Sky Mercenaries is a single player and multiplayer action game. It was developed by PolarityFlow, Adrian Zingg and was released on December 16, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Sky Mercenaries" is a 2D shoot 'em up released on Steam featuring 8 worlds, over 32 story missions, and endless random content. Choose your pilot, fighter, and loadout to battle over 50 enemy types and challenging boss fights. Upgrade your pilots, drones, and fighters, and unlock abilities in 3 skill trees for increased customization and firepower. Get ready for an epic sky battle!

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61%

Audience ScoreBased on 67 reviews

music8 positive mentions

grinding8 negative mentions

The game features an interesting color-switching mechanic that allows players to absorb enemy bullets and adds a layer of strategy to gameplay.
There are RPG elements that allow for ship and pilot upgrades, providing a sense of progression and customization.
The game has a decent variety of levels and enemies, with some players appreciating the nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic arcade shooters.

The graphics and visuals are often described as blurry and muddy, making it difficult to see enemy projectiles and navigate the screen.
The user interface is confusing and poorly designed, with little explanation of game mechanics, leading to frustration for players trying to understand how to progress.
Many players found the gameplay repetitive and grindy, requiring excessive replaying of levels to earn upgrades, which detracts from the overall enjoyment.

music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
57%
12%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the unique themes and solid compositions that enhance the gameplay experience, while others find it bland, annoying, or poorly integrated with the game's levels. While a few tracks evoke nostalgia and fit well with the retro aesthetic, many users feel the overall soundtrack lacks cohesion and fails to distinguish between stages, leading to a forgettable experience. Overall, the music is seen as adequate by some, but disappointing by others, with a notable divide in personal taste influencing opinions.
- “One thing that stood out for me was the soundtrack.”
- “A few of the levels had ambient and subtle music that reminded me of the original 8-bit NES Metroid, others had a more upbeat musical theme, but all of them unique and interesting.”
- “It's a nice electronic soundtrack that reminds me of classic arcade shmups but with a kind of dubstep feeling (but without its by-the-numbers drops, and nothing obnoxious or distracting).”
- “Annoying electro dubstep music.”
- “Sound, music and graphics in this game try to be retro (I guess?!) but it's really subpar across the board.”
- “The UI is lifeless, the music is horrible (really poor quality on the menus and in-game) and doesn't feel inspired or interesting in any way.”
story
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
74%
13%
The game's story is largely criticized for its lack of depth and character development, with many players noting that it feels minimal or non-existent. While there are numerous missions and some progression elements, the repetitive nature of gameplay and the focus on upgrades overshadow any narrative elements, leaving players feeling disconnected from the story. Overall, the game prioritizes action and mechanics over a compelling storyline.
- “Fight over 50 enemy types on 8 worlds in over 32 story missions.”
- “Despite not having a very large number of areas (24 missions and 8 bonus), each feels different enough to not get old even when replaying the early levels to train a new pilot or when grinding to upgrade a plane.”
- “Between levels, you can upgrade your stats and enhance the story a little.”
- “This game has no real story and characters have nearly no background information.”
- “Your required to unlock all the upgrades and ship parts for each character separately which takes forever and is tedious because you find yourself having to replay the same missions over and over again to finally have the money to upgrade your ship.”
- “The biggest problem with this is that there's only one set of missions so once you've chosen one of the characters, it's very unlikely that you will bother to play with the other two unless you're going for 100%.”
graphics
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
74%
13%
The graphics in "Sky Mercenaries" have received largely negative feedback, with many users describing them as blurry, muddy, and lacking detail, making it difficult to discern gameplay elements. While some appreciate the attempt at retro aesthetics, the overall execution is considered subpar, with no 4K support and limited graphical options contributing to a cheap appearance. Despite a few positive notes on the artwork, the consensus is that the visuals need significant improvement to enhance the gaming experience.
- “It's not lazy retro pixel graphics, so that is commendable.”
- “There are 8 levels with three stages per level, and each level has a unique theme, both in music and aesthetic.”
- “Upgrades are nice, graphics are good, so I kind of liked it nonetheless but I was hoping for more.”
- “The in-game visuals are muddy and make it very difficult to see what is actually going on.”
- “Also, there's no 4K support, just HD, so the graphics look a little muddy on a UHD display.”
- “Sky Mercenaries is a 'fast-paced' action game with RPG elements. I hated the game because of the graphics; first of all, I hate this graphic style because it looks cheap.”
gameplay
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
63%
16%
The gameplay is a blend of traditional bullet hell mechanics with a color-switching absorption system reminiscent of Ikaruga, which adds strategic depth but is criticized for being poorly executed and frustrating due to a large hitbox and confusing enemy fire. While the game offers a decent challenge and RPG elements, many players find it lacks polish and can feel limited or generic despite its potential. Recent updates have introduced new features, but some aspects, like unnecessary screen movement, detract from the overall experience.
- “The mechanic with differently-colored weapons and how you deal with them by switching schemes adds a little extra layer of strategic combat you probably won't really expect from a regular shoot-'em-up title, and at higher difficulties, it can heighten tension as you either need to switch more frequently or choose not to in order to get through safely.”
- “First off, it would largely be a generic shmup if not for the polarization/bullet-absorption mechanic a la 'Ikaruga' or the latter 'Exceed' games. It's well-implemented here, for a fun and satisfying level of challenge -- and the 'overloads' take the mechanic to its (super fun) logical conclusion.”
- “Nice RPG elements mixed with a cool soundtrack and nice old school arcade gameplay.”
- “Gameplay is pretty fluid, but not perfect. Your ship has a huge hitbox and the enemy fire is often the same color as your own, making it hard to know where to dodge on the typically busy shmup screen. This is frustrating.”
- “It is really hard to avoid getting hit, which makes the Ikaruga-like color swapping mechanic useful, but things just feel really unpolished.”
- “The recent 1.1 update added a lot of new features that extend gameplay, but it adds a bit more grinding.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have mixed feelings about grinding in the game; while some find it excessive and tedious, particularly when upgrading ships and unlocking parts for each character, others appreciate the balance that keeps it from becoming overly repetitive. The need to replay missions for resources can be frustrating, but the variety in missions helps maintain some level of engagement. Recent updates have added features that, while enhancing gameplay, also increase the grinding aspect.
- “Upgrading even one ship requires excessive grinding.”
- “I'm not saying it's too difficult because it's not (at regular difficulty at least), but it plays out in a way that's needlessly annoying, frustrating, and grindy.”
- “You're required to unlock all the upgrades and ship parts for each character separately, which takes forever and is tedious because you find yourself having to replay the same missions over and over again to finally have the money to upgrade your ship.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The addition of Steam Workshop functionality significantly enhances the game's replayability, allowing players to create and download custom levels, resulting in virtually limitless gameplay experiences.
- “A huge addition in one of the most recent updates is the Steam Workshop functionality. You can create and download levels for the game, which means endless replayability.”
- “The variety of choices and paths you can take in each playthrough keeps the game fresh and exciting, encouraging you to come back for more.”
- “With multiple endings and character builds, every playthrough feels unique, making it hard to put the game down.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is reported to be marginally buggy, with occasional crashes primarily occurring at the start of missions. However, the short duration of missions mitigates the impact of these stability issues for most players.
- “The game is marginally buggy and still suffers from infrequent crashes. Generally, this only happens right when I'm launching a mission, and the missions are short enough that it doesn't bother me too much.”