Solace Inc.
- September 30, 2023
- aplovestudio
Solace Inc. is a survival game where you recruit a team of employees to fight against endless hordes of enemies. Unlock and recruit over 100 characters, complete unique missions, and enjoy charming dialogue from a vast cast. Upgrade your team and take on alternate game modes, or play in local co-op with cameos from other games. Join Solace Inc. and become an unstoppable force!
Reviews
- The game features a large cast of colorful characters with unique abilities, providing a refreshing take on the survivors genre.
- Gameplay is varied and includes unique missions beyond just combat, such as racing and mini-golf, keeping the experience engaging.
- The art style is charming and the writing is humorous, making for an entertaining overall experience.
- The game suffers from performance issues, particularly with the 'enable steam' setting affecting frame rates.
- Balancing is a concern, as some characters are significantly stronger than others, leading to repetitive gameplay.
- Controls can be inconsistent, and the game lacks polish and quality of life features that would enhance the user experience.
- story28 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as cute and humorous, featuring a mix of references and mini-stories that revolve around the central theme of "we get paid to shoot things." Players appreciate the unexpected twists throughout the campaign and the rich backstories of the diverse cast of characters, which contribute to engaging world-building and snarky dialogue. However, some players noted that technical issues can obscure the narrative experience, particularly during hectic missions.
“The story is pretty cute, and the 18+ patch has fun scenes.”
“Story is fine, writing is funny, and the game has a few completely unexpected changeups throughout the main campaign.”
“There are a lot of characters in this game, and they are all very funny and interesting; some even have a very rich backstory.”
“Is a collection of references and mini-stories all welded together with the main story of 'we get paid to shoot things'.”
“I have no idea what's going on though as the font size is so small that if there is a story, it's lost on me.”
“The story is pretty cute, but it feels overshadowed by the gameplay mechanics.”
- gameplay22 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The gameplay is engaging and fun, drawing inspiration from the vampire survivors loop while introducing unique mechanics like party management and character synergies. Players appreciate the variety of characters and genre mashup missions, although some elements can feel repetitive and janky. Overall, the game offers a refreshing take on the genre with hours of content and diverse gameplay experiences.
“The sheer quantity and diversity of playable characters is truly staggering, and the various genre mashup missions also do a lot to keep the gameplay varied, though some of them can be a little hit or miss.”
“Fun little game that feels really good to play, with its simple to understand mechanics (just walking, like Vampire Survivors) but having neat strategies like different synergies with your team members.”
“The party management take on a survivors-like is pretty refreshing; regrouping is a simple mechanic for controlling your party in real time, but with all the different ways your party can split itself over the course of a mission, it adds just that little extra bit of interactivity that the survivors genre usually lacks.”
“The gameplay loop is fine and the recruit and synergy systems are neat, but it still gets repetitive quickly.”
“The sheer quantity and diversity of playable characters is truly staggering and the various genre mashup missions also do a lot to keep the gameplay varied, though some of them can be a little hit or miss.”
“Alongside the main gameplay loop comes its extra few things, like a (janky) but surprisingly fun little kart racer level, alongside minigolf, and shopping.”
- humor10 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its humorous writing and unexpected plot twists, making it a standout in the survivors-like genre. While the humor is often crude and raunchy, it is generally well-received and adds to the entertainment value without becoming overly annoying. The diverse cast of characters, each with their own funny and interesting backstories, contributes significantly to the game's comedic appeal.
“A truly funny and unique survivors-like game.”
“There are a lot of characters in this game and they are all very funny and interesting; some even have a very rich backstory.”
“Even more to that, while the game is unapologetically raunchy, it honestly doesn't get on your nerves too much about it. Sure, most of the breakroom dialogues are 'this, somehow, someway, will lead to offscreen gay sex', but it's pretty entertaining to see how it gets to that point... or maybe my humor is broken, but that's not new.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are praised for their vibrant art style and charming character designs, featuring both simplistic sprites and more detailed representations in different contexts. Reviewers appreciate the iconic aplove aesthetic, which enhances the overall experience with its colorful and engaging visuals, complemented by witty dialogue and effective world-building.
“A fun game with a great art style and a cast of colorful characters, what’s not to love?”
“The iconic Aplove art style looks better than ever, and the water-cooler dialogue between missions is predictably snarky, with some cool world-building.”
“Plus another thing in its favor is its simplistic yet pleasing art style, be it the smaller sprites for the characters in the levels or their much more detailed breakroom sprites; either way, they just have a nice charm to them.”
- music2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally considered decent, but some players feel it becomes repetitive, as they often hear the same track on loop more frequently than they would prefer.
“My only real issue I've had is the music; not to say it's bad or anything like that, but I felt that I ended up hearing the same song on loop a lot more than I'd care to.”
- character development2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Character development in the game has received mixed feedback, particularly regarding its representation of queer women, with some players feeling vulnerable to certain content and design tropes. This suggests that while the game attempts to address diverse identities, it may not fully resonate with or support all players in its portrayal.
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its heartwarming narrative, offering an emotionally engaging rogue-like adventure that resonates with players. Its charm is further enhanced by an appealing price point, making it an attractive choice for those seeking a touching experience.
“It's a heartwarming rogue-like adventure, all for a price that's sweeter than honey.”