July 12, 2016
Cybernate

Super Mutant Alien Assault

Although it's short and unspectacular, Super Mutant Alien Assult is a fun arcade platform shooter that is worth a visit.

79%Game Brain Score

gameplay, graphics

story, grinding

85% User Score Based on 136 reviews

Critic Score 71%Based on 7 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $9.99

Buy NowGet on Steam$9.99

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About

"Super Mutant Alien Assault" is a challenging arcade-style platformer where you fend off alien attacks on a spaceship. With rapid fire levels and randomized objectives, enemies, and vending machines, each playthrough is unique. Unlock and master a variety of weapons, abilities, and perks to survive and save humanity across three galaxies.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 143 reviews

gameplay16 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

The game features vibrant pixel art and a variety of weapons, making for an engaging visual and gameplay experience.
The gameplay is fast-paced and offers a good level of challenge, with randomized elements that keep each run feeling fresh.
Local co-op mode enhances the fun, allowing players to enjoy the game together and adds to the chaotic gameplay.

The game can feel repetitive due to its limited number of levels and enemy types, leading to a lack of long-term engagement.
Technical issues, such as frame rate drops and lack of mouse support, detract from the overall experience.
The music has been criticized for being overly aggressive and not fitting the game's aesthetic, which can be off-putting for some players.

gameplay
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
67%
5%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by tight controls and a dynamic, challenging experience that evolves as players master its mechanics. While some players find the complexity and tutorial-like unlocks frustrating, many appreciate the variety of weapons and enemy interactions that keep the gameplay engaging. Overall, it offers a polished arcade-style experience with a blend of retro aesthetics and modern mechanics, appealing particularly to fans of roguelike platformers.
- “The gameplay is tight, challenging, and intense.”
- “Simple, yet stylish, a very well-crafted and polished arcade-style game with engaging gameplay.”
- “Tight controls, a beautiful pixel art aesthetic, and intense and challenging gameplay make this a buy in my opinion.”
- “Any criticism I have for this game mostly stems from a few technical issues - there's no Steam cloud saving support, its performance is weirdly bad for a 2D game, and if you dip below 60 fps, you'll notice that gameplay speed is tied to the framerate.”
- “Needlessly complex with a lot of different objectives and machines every level, or a mix of them per level, which makes the gameplay unfocused and unintuitive.”
- “Poor gameplay with limited influence into gameplay, and for children by far too much difficult -----> frustration.”
graphics
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
43%
7%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the colorful pixel art style and nostalgic retro aesthetics that evoke classic arcade visuals. However, some critics highlight issues such as locked resolution, poor quality visuals, and a lack of innovation in the art design, describing it as "soulless" and a "copout." Overall, while the pixel art is celebrated by many for its beauty and charm, there are significant concerns regarding its execution and the game's visual quality.
- “Oh, at least the graphics are pretty much as promised, retro, colorful, it's great.”
- “The game has some really beautiful environments and the graphics are really well designed and laid out.”
- “The pixel art style is beyond awesome with the environments and the enemy designs being really cool.”
- “The nondescript grimness of Assault’s aesthetics and backdrops do it no favors...and its musical score is more scratchy than catchy.”
- “Controls can be customized, but the game resolution is locked, and can't be changed or customized to improve the poor quality visuals.”
- “A choice was made to use obsolete retro pixel 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
music
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
63%
9%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players expressing a strong dislike for the aggressive dubstep soundtrack, describing it as overwhelming or mismatched with the gameplay. However, some players appreciate the energetic and fitting nature of the music, noting that it enhances the action and overall experience. Ultimately, the soundtrack seems to cater primarily to fans of electronic music, while others may find it off-putting.
- “Special thanks for the cool soundtracks.”
- “The music is my favorite aspect of the game because it really fits the action and theme of the game, but if you're not a fan of electro/dubstep music, I wouldn't recommend the game because this type of music is basically 100% of the soundtrack and without music, the game might feel pretty boring.”
- “The soundtrack is great, the art is beyond amazing, I'm gonna be playing this all week.”
- “The nondescript grimness of the aesthetics and backdrops do it no favors... and its musical score is more scratchy than catchy.”
- “Music does not match the gameplay or feeling; it is much faster and more intense, which the gameplay is not.”
- “My ears started to bleed, so I muted the music completely.”
story
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
The game's story mode is characterized by short play sessions, typically under 45 minutes, which some players appreciate as a positive feature, while others view it as a drawback. The narrative is described as minimal and somewhat repetitive, serving primarily as a backdrop for gameplay rather than a focal point, with players expressing a desire for more depth and variety in the story and mission objectives. Overall, while the story is not the main attraction, it adds a nice touch to the gameplay experience.
- “The game features improved graphics, new modes, an actual storyline, more weapons and enemies, even bosses!”
- “You can play either the endless mode, once you unlock it, or the 'story mode' which is divided into 3 different galaxies, each corresponding to one of the 3 different fleets, and each galaxy consists of 4 levels with the last level having a boss.”
- “While the story wasn't needed, it was certainly a very nice addition to an already pretty good game.”
- “The game features no proper level design or game/story flow/plot, as they opted to try to use samey repetitive procgen algorithms as a substitute for adding such content to the game.”
- “Straight to the point, no in-depth story here.”
- “The story in the game is pretty barebones and while I feel like it is there for the sake of it, it’s a nice addition nonetheless.”
replayability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
8%
25%
Overall, users highlight a strong sense of replayability across various games, often attributed to randomized levels, unlockable content, and challenging gameplay. Many titles offer additional modes, such as endless runs and leaderboards, enhancing their replay value. Despite some criticisms regarding soundtracks or pricing, the consensus is that these games provide engaging experiences that encourage repeated play.
- “It's pretty short but still challenging and has great replay value like any great arcade game.”
- “The campaign is not very long, but due to the randomized levels (including weapon drops and special abilities), the game offers a high replayability.”
- “Add in an endless mode that has a leaderboard, and you have a great game with some awesome graphics and tons of replayability.”
- “To unlock the higher difficulties, you will have to play through the game without dying once (which I wasn't able to do), so people who want replay value will have a lot to go through.”
- “The game has a pretty decent replayability otherwise because of the numerous strategies you can build up around the power-ups, and it's pretty challenging.”
- “All in all, a great well-polished explosive romp, with heaps of replay value.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its chaotic multiplayer interactions, particularly through friendly fire, which leads to hilarious moments. The combination of quirky items and unexpected scenarios enhances the overall comedic experience, making it both intense and entertaining.
- “I highly recommend playing it with someone else; friendly fire makes it hilarious.”
- “Combined with the aforementioned abundance of strange and novel items, this feature makes for some intense and hilarious moments that really amplify the game's crazier side.”
- “It's very funny.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unfulfilling, as the slow pace of unlocks and repetitive tasks detract from the overall experience. The shallow combat and enemy designs exacerbate the feeling of monotony, making the grind feel more like a chore than an engaging part of gameplay.
- “The roguelite formula doesn’t gel too well with the game’s pace, as the drip feed of unlocks does it no favors in complementing the rather shallow combat and enemy compositions, and only serves to prolong the runtime by gating new toys behind its tedious grinds.”
- “You can sprint around the rock smashing it all you want, but at the end of the day, you're doing long tedious work and have to keep running around in circles to get the job done.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization has received criticism due to several technical issues, including a lack of Steam Cloud saving support and subpar performance for a 2D title. Additionally, players have noted that gameplay speed is affected by frame rate drops, particularly when falling below 60 fps.
- “Any criticism I have for this game mostly stems from a few technical issues - there's no Steam Cloud saving support, its performance is weirdly bad for a 2D game, and if you dip below 60 fps, you'll notice that gameplay speed is tied to the framerate.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users appreciate the emotional aspect of the game for its engaging and concise storytelling, avoiding lengthy narratives that can detract from the overall experience.

71%Critics’ scoreBased on 7 critic reviews

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