Synthetik

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Synthetik is a top-down shooter offering challenging robot-infused combat. Craft your own loadouts with an arsenal of weapons, perks, and grenades. Explore a dynamic world, defeat bosses, and defeat the machine legion in a gritty sci-fi setting. Cooperative multiplayer mode enhances the experience with a friend.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Reviews

75%

Audience ScoreBased on 7,435 reviews

gameplay481 positive mentions

story20 negative mentions

Fast-paced, challenging gameplay that keeps players engaged and coming back for more.
Satisfying gunplay with a wide variety of weapons and unique classes that offer different playstyles.
Great sound design and visuals that enhance the overall experience.

Frequent crashes and bugs, especially in multiplayer, can disrupt gameplay.
The reload mechanic can be cumbersome and frustrating, leading to unnecessary deaths.
Some players find the UI confusing and lacking in clarity, making it hard to understand certain mechanics.

gameplay
1,168 mentions
41 % positive mentions
55 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Synthetik is characterized by its fast-paced, tactical mechanics that blend roguelike elements with a unique reloading system, requiring players to eject magazines before reloading, which adds a layer of strategy and challenge. While the game offers a variety of classes, weapons, and customizable difficulty settings, some players find the complexity of its mechanics overwhelming, particularly the manual reload and jamming features. Overall, the game is praised for its satisfying gunplay, engaging combat, and high replayability, making it a standout title for fans of the genre.
- “Synthetik is an absolute gem for anyone seeking an intense and strategic gameplay experience.”
- “The gameplay loop is simple but mastering the game and trying to beat your best run is what will keep you playing.”
- “The mechanics are great, the possibilities with the different characters and classes will keep you interested, and your desire to utterly dominate the game will keep you engrossed for hours.”
- “The reload mechanics and overall controls are messy, and not too intuitive for such an intense game.”
- “The game also does a terrible job at explaining things, from the main menu to important gameplay mechanics, so be prepared to look at forums or wikis, or to ask questions on the global chat in-game and hope for the best, since misinterpreting or not knowing something can lead to a restart.”
- “The gameplay is solid, but has visual and audio clarity problems.”
graphics
298 mentions
46 % positive mentions
51 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received a mix of praise and criticism, with many players appreciating the crisp, colorful, and unique art style that enhances the overall aesthetic experience. While some noted that the visuals are clean and easily readable, allowing for enjoyable gameplay, others pointed out issues with cluttered screens and occasional graphical glitches. Overall, the game's visuals are generally regarded as appealing and well-suited to its fast-paced, action-oriented gameplay, though some players feel they could be improved further.
- “Amazing game, crisp graphics and tight design makes this game as close to perfect as they come.”
- “Insanely fun, super underrated, the soundtrack will have you dancing in your seat, and the visuals are drool-inducing.”
- “The graphics are excellent and smooth, my crappy PC can run this gem at 60 fps and lowering the graphics settings barely actually changes the look of the game, honestly for that alone these devs deserve a major raise for such skill in graphics design.”
- “The game's tutorial and interface are some of the worst I've ever seen, and combined with the terrible graphical effects I couldn't force myself to play this for more than a few minutes.”
- “Another issue with this game is its graphics; even though it looks basic, it is actually pretty demanding for some reason.”
- “Sometimes the graphics make it seem you are behind cover when you are clearly not, although as you play you can recognize that.”
music
287 mentions
43 % positive mentions
55 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The music in Synthetik is widely praised for its energetic and fitting soundtrack, which enhances the game's chaotic atmosphere and complements the intense gunplay. Many players describe the soundtrack as a blend of electronic, synthwave, and techno, creating an adrenaline-pumping backdrop that elevates the gameplay experience. However, some critiques mention that the music can become repetitive over time, and a few players prefer to substitute it with their own playlists for a more enjoyable experience.
- “The soundtrack pumps you up and boom boxes found in the world keep playing even after death.”
- “When you reach the point you're dancing through a hail of bullets to a stellar soundtrack, you realize you're onto something really special.”
- “The music expands on that already immense dosage of adrenaline when you're in the middle of a heated firefight, surrounded on all sides by a legion of psychotic murder bots who are there, solely, to stop you.”
- “The music is a bit too random and noisy to me though, in my opinion.”
- “Only real complaint is that the music is just kind of okay; it's not great, but it's not bad.”
- “The soundtrack is definitely special too, but it can feel a bit bland and subdued overall, which is a damn shame and possibly the only weak point of the game.”
replayability
189 mentions
51 % positive mentions
48 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
Synthetik offers exceptional replayability, driven by its diverse classes, unique abilities, and a vast array of weapons and items. Players can enjoy countless runs with different character builds and randomized elements, ensuring that each playthrough feels fresh and engaging. The game's mechanics and progression systems further enhance its replay value, making it a standout title in the roguelike genre.
- “With its diverse classes, each possessing unique abilities and playstyles, unlockable augmentations that further enhance your capabilities, and a seemingly boundless profusion of weapons and items to unearth, Synthetik bestows innumerable hours of replay value.”
- “Thanks to the variety of weapons and items, as well as the amount of possible classes and their loadouts, the game's replayability value is absolutely sky-high, not even mentioning the fact that you'll probably play at least 20 runs before reaching the final boss.”
- “The amount of classes to master, variety in each run, and numerous unlocks provide near unlimited replay value all for a relatively low entry price (especially if you get this on sale).”
- “Coupled with the game's RNG system making it unlikely to see the same gun twice within a 24-hour period, it keeps what could've easily been a repetitive gameplay loop exciting, adding immense replayability.”
- “If you look at mine and other playtime you will notice that they are rarely above 10-20 hours, this is because unfortunately the game offers extremely little in replayability.”
- “Having something be the same over and over may hurt replay value at a point, but so will making everything so random, there is no room for strategy.”
story
124 mentions
10 % positive mentions
73 % neutral mentions
16 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely minimal and often described as non-existent, with players emphasizing that it doesn't detract from the overall experience. The narrative primarily revolves around a simple premise of battling rogue AI and robotic enemies, which serves as a backdrop for the fast-paced gameplay rather than a focal point. Many reviewers agree that while the lack of a deep story may disappoint some, the engaging mechanics and adrenaline-fueled action more than compensate for it.
- “The story is there: an alternate timeline in the 80s, AI takeover, rogue android.”
- “Synthetik is an action roguelike top-down shooter that's not so much about story as it is about violence.”
- “The game has little to do with a story; an AI legion has gained awareness and threatens to destroy humanity with the 'heart of armageddon'.”
- “There's barely any story, reason, or words in this game.”
- “Story: non-existent and not necessary.”
- “The story is basically non-existent, which is fine because you don't play roguelikes for the lore; you play them to claw at impossible odds.”
stability
80 mentions
4 % positive mentions
-2 % neutral mentions
99 % negative mentions
The game's stability is frequently criticized, with many players reporting significant bugs, glitches, and random freezes, particularly in multiplayer mode. While some users find the gameplay enjoyable despite these issues, others describe the experience as chaotic and frustrating, with crashes and memory leaks detracting from overall enjoyment. Overall, while the game is playable, its stability remains a major concern for many players.
- “Runs great on less-than-cutting-edge tech, which is nice.”
- “The game maintains a steady frame rate, even during intense action sequences.”
- “I haven't experienced any crashes or bugs, making for a smooth gaming experience.”
- “The cherry on top are the recently-introduced random 1 second screen freezes that can lead you to die and have your entire time wasted, bundled together with your cursor not being made exclusive into the game's screen, allowing you to accidentally click out of the game and lose control of your character, once again leading to death and having your time wasted.”
- “The game has a severe memory leak issue that will make your game freeze and stutter a lot of times; there is no fix for this, and the troubleshooting on the discussions page won't work.”
- “This game is just a buggy mess, with weapon shops and item shops not appearing, crashes, rooms so dark they are pitch black until you disable 'high quality lighting', and so many random desync and disconnect issues I can't even count them all.”
humor
38 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its lightheartedness and community engagement, with players enjoying funny achievements, quirky mechanics, and hilarious interactions in both solo and co-op modes. The game features a variety of comedic elements, from absurd scenarios to amusing in-game events, creating a fun atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. While some players note a lack of imaginative content compared to other titles, the humor remains a standout aspect that contributes to the game's charm.
- “However, most importantly, it has a game-wide general chat which is hilarious.”
- “Community-wise, this game has one of the comfiest communities I've had the pleasure of engaging with; they're either very funny or very nice, sometimes both.”
- “In this game, you could become the embodiment of Zeus and smite everyone with holy lightning but still die because some funny bowling ball rolls over your toe.”
optimization
34 mentions
12 % positive mentions
71 % neutral mentions
18 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it runs smoothly on decent hardware, players report significant performance issues, including stuttering and frame drops on lower-end machines. Some users find the experience frustrating due to these performance spikes, particularly in specific levels, while others appreciate the overall smoothness and improvements from recent updates. Overall, the game is deemed well-optimized for capable systems but struggles on older or underpowered devices.
- “Performance-wise, it runs very well on decent machines, but performance on old laptops and underpowered computers is lacking, with many people reporting 50-60 fps and lower.”
- “The game is well-optimized, although there are a few glitches; honestly, these glitches add to the experience and feel more like a reward than just an annoying bug, as if you accomplished something amazing.”
- “A beautiful combination of shoot-em-up roguelike with intricate and unique gun handling mechanics that put a fresh spin on the formula, smooth performance, and a massive array of weapons, making it a top-notch action roguelike game.”
- “Sadly, the satisfying effects can really slow the game's performance if you're playing on a PC with lower-end specs.”
- “The game stuttering on Sythetik is more severe than Elden Ring at this point; it is truly unplayable at times.”
- “Performance-wise, it runs very well on decent machines, but performance on old laptops and underpowered computers is very lacking, with many people reporting 50-60 fps and lower.”
grinding
31 mentions
3 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
97 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is a mixed bag; while many players find the extensive leveling and class progression rewarding and engaging, others feel it can become tedious, especially with time constraints. The grind is often described as necessary for mastering the game and unlocking valuable skills, but it can lead to frustration due to its repetitive nature and the high difficulty level. Overall, those who enjoy grinding and roguelike mechanics may appreciate the depth it adds, while others might find it overwhelming and aimless.
- “Really entertaining till you notice each class takes 20 hours to max, just so you have to reset its progression and go back to level 1 in order to unlock the final skill, before grinding it all up again.”
- “The game feels much slower paced, grindy, and is even more punishing.”
- “But the game seems to be more about grinding for XP/data rather than beating the actual game at specific difficulties, which I don't think is nearly as interesting and can make the whole thing feel a little aimless.”
emotional
10 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players express a mix of emotional experiences, highlighting both frustration and camaraderie. While some find the game's difficulty and mechanics disheartening, leading to feelings of heartbreak over unexpected losses, others appreciate the wholesome connections formed during gameplay, likening the experience to nostalgic buddy cop films. Overall, the emotional impact ranges from disappointment in gameplay design to joy in shared experiences with friends.
- “The dark souls of emotional damage.”
- “Playing this with my best friend and it totally made me feel like we were in an 80s cyber buddy cop film.”
- “Need I say anymore after touching all these topics?”
monetization
10 mentions
30 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
30 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its lack of microtransactions, providing a fair XP and skill unlock system that enhances gameplay without the pressure of monetization. However, some players feel overwhelmed by the variety of in-game mechanics and rewards, which can complicate the experience. While the absence of scummy monetization is appreciated, there are concerns about excessive advertisements for future titles and the introduction of unnecessary "freemium" elements.
- “No microtransactions of any kind.”
- “Unique characters and loads of weapons to get, and no microtransactions.”
- “There are no microtransactions or anything like that, and the XP/skill unlock system is very fair and allows you to learn as you go, so it actually serves a gameplay purpose.”
- “All of that would be... a 'they may fix it' variable, if they didn't flood this 1st game with microtransactions on a game you already purchased, and ads for the 2nd game. The 2nd game looks like a copy/paste of this game, but with better UI.”
- “Great game but I think developers are trying a bit too hard for advertisement.”
- “Despite not having gacha monetization, this game overwhelms you with a crazy variety of weapons, items, upgrades, penalties, boosts and bonuses, curses, ammo types, research, levels and prestige(?), daily modifications, log-in rewards, drop rate manipulation, luck mechanics, 'refer a friend' rewards, 'quests' that seem to inexplicably fail either due to some hidden condition or expire after a period of time without any apparent reason or letting you know, etc. Many would appreciate this variety, I'm sure, but I was very confused by the choice and all the stats involved.”
atmosphere
8 mentions
75 % positive mentions
13 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in Synthetik is enhanced by its electronic soundtrack and unique graphic style, creating a captivating environment that complements the intense gameplay. Players appreciate the combination of challenging mechanics and immersive sound design, which together foster a compelling and memorable experience, even in the absence of a strong narrative focus. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as fun, satisfying, and engaging, encouraging players to keep trying despite difficulties.
- “Synthetik's electronic beats and synth-heavy tunes add an atmospheric layer to the chaos.”
- “A fascinating game with a very unique atmosphere.”
- “The mechanics can be difficult to adjust to, such as ejecting a spent magazine before reloading or gun jamming, but they combine well into an atmosphere that has you considering your approach in every gunfight.”
character development
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that some players prefer a straightforward gameplay experience focused on action rather than intricate character development or plot, suggesting a divide in player expectations regarding narrative depth.
- “Do you want to just kill things without caring for complicated elements like plot and character development?”