UPPERS

78%
Game Brain Score Based on 91 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • optimization
UPPERS Game Cover
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Uppers is a digital deluxe edition of a hack and slash game, originally released for PlayStation®Vita, that takes place on Last Resort Island, a city driven by violence and strength. The game follows the journey of two young men, Ranma and Michiru, as they fight their way to the top, with 12 playable characters and 8 supports, each with their own compelling backstory. This edition includes a digital soundtrack and art book.

  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Windows
  • Play​Station
  • Play​station Vita
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

78%
Audience ScoreBased on 91 reviews
story11 positive mentions
grinding5 negative mentions
  • The game features enjoyable combat mechanics with over-the-top action and environmental interactions, providing a fun experience for players.
  • The art style and character designs are appealing, with professional voice acting and well-executed animated cutscenes that enhance the overall presentation.
  • The light fanservice and humorous elements add a quirky charm to the game, making it entertaining for those who appreciate its unique style.
  • The PC port is plagued with performance issues, including frame rate drops and bugs, leading to a frustrating gaming experience.
  • Gameplay becomes repetitive quickly, with a lack of depth in combat mechanics and limited character variety, making it feel monotonous after a few hours.
  • The mission design forces players to complete specific tasks to progress, which can disrupt the flow of combat and detract from the overall enjoyment.
  • story60 mentions

    The story of the game revolves around two protagonists striving to become the strongest on an island where masculinity reigns, aiming to impress women through combat. While the premise is considered cheesy and generic, with a straightforward plot and basic character interactions, some players find it oddly compelling and humorous despite its flaws. Overall, the narrative serves as a backdrop for gameplay rather than a focal point, with many players noting that the story is not the main draw of the game.

    • “The story is oddly compelling despite the absolutely ridiculous premise at the start, and you have a shockingly diverse cast personality and looks-wise too. It's simple yet oddly fun enough to keep the attention span on what's going on and want to know more.”
    • “The good: stupid but fun storyline, combat mechanics are pretty dank.”
    • “Overall it looks simple, play simply, and has a simple plot of tough dudes fighting each other to impress girls.”
    • “The story is about two bros becoming the most powerful dudes on an island to get a girl.”
    • “Very generic anime plot development.”
    • “There’s barely a story to speak of anyway.”
  • gameplay34 mentions

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive and lacking depth, often feeling like a simple button-masher with frustrating mechanics such as dodging and enemy interactions. While some appreciate the quirky charm and fun storyline, others criticize the janky mechanics and AI, leading to a sense of boredom and irritation during play. Overall, the game offers a blend of silly fun and frustrating gameplay elements, making it appealing to some but disappointing to others.

    • “The fast, frenetic gameplay is over the top, the visuals suit the style of the game perfectly, and it has a fun-loving appeal that makes you want to keep playing to see what is next.”
    • “When you press ZL (using a Switch Pro controller), your character will start dodging automatically from enemy attacks. You can counter the attacks, and despite being a very simple mechanic, it became a bit addictive to me once I needed to handle multiple enemies at once.”
    • “The 'audience request' mechanic is a cool idea that should be explored more often in action games.”
    • “When you completely finish act 4 (which is the halfway point of the game), you have seen everything the game has to offer gameplay-wise.”
    • “Gameplay is boring; at some point, I felt like I wasn't fighting but just doing challenges.”
    • “My problem with the game is the shallow and repetitive gameplay. The basic combat system is uninspired, the AI is braindead and barely does anything. It's a little better in hard mode, but it goes from boring to annoying.”
  • optimization9 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including frame drops and bugs, particularly on the PS Vita port. Despite claims of extensive polishing for the PC release, recent patches have reportedly worsened performance for some users, while others have experienced fewer issues. Overall, optimization appears to vary widely depending on individual hardware and specific updates.

    • “The only complaint I have is that the optimization may vary on your hardware.”
    • “Wished the optimization was a little bit better.”
    • “Mercifully, this port is quite good, at least from my experience, though I have heard others report performance issues.”
    • “Not only that, the game's performance is also questionable for a PS Vita port, running at 59 FPS in-game and dropping frames when things get busy even on the lowest settings.”
    • “What we have right now is the result of years of delays to polish up the PC release (as stated by the publisher themselves), and the last patch they put out not only did nothing to fix the performance, but also broke the game for some users.”
    • “The game itself is okay, the port isn't - too many bugs, bad performance; I have to play windowed with V-Sync and Steam overlay off, else the game won't pass the loading screen.”
  • graphics9 mentions

    The graphics of the game showcase a blend of crisp 2D artwork and animated cinematics, reflecting a consistent and appealing aesthetic reminiscent of classic anime and cell shading. While the visuals are well-executed and suit the game's frenetic gameplay, the porting quality is criticized, as it fails to enhance the graphics beyond the original PSVita version. Overall, the art style is praised for its charm and fun-loving appeal, despite the limitations in character and object detail.

    • “The graphics are crisp and clean, and especially good if you do some fiddling in your graphics card settings on top of the game’s load menu.”
    • “The fast, frenetic gameplay is over the top, the visuals suit the style of the game perfectly, and it has a fun-loving appeal that makes you want to keep playing to see what is next.”
    • “Simple, but very fun brawler with some really nice aesthetics and an awesome art style.”
    • “If you were expecting better graphics than the PS Vita with upgraded assets, then forget about it. This game, rather than being a remaster, is just a simple port and it doesn't look any better... and sadly, as a port, it's not a very good one.”
    • “The graphical style isn't crazy either; we're in classic anime/cell shading territory, reminiscent of the PSP era with Kenka Bancho. There are very limited objects and characters shown on screen, but they are still colored and varied enough between story modes to keep us interested.”
  • humor7 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by a mix of pervy Japanese elements and entertaining character interactions, with players noting that the comedic cutscenes and quirky mechanics add a lighthearted touch. While some found the humor amusing and the characters varied and funny, others felt that the overall plot and character depth were lacking, diminishing the game's appeal. Despite its comedic moments, the humor is often overshadowed by issues in mission design and a lack of challenge in gameplay.

    • “The game also has a lot of things to use in the environment that you can throw or use for different kinds of combos, most of which work great. One mechanic, like the wall run, has its issues, but it can make some of the fights crazy and hilarious too. I won't spoil how, because where's the fun in that? ^-^”
    • “The second mechanic girls have outside of the panty slots are challenges/requests. In return for doing as they ask, you will get one of three things: a charm animation that leads into a hilarious cutscene and puts you into your boosted mode while healing half health, one of two buffs (attack or defense), or a heal. Finally, the coveted and most difficult to get, a love letter, which heals you for half health but also allows you to check out the specific girl at the home base as well as change what panties she's wearing. Sounds like a fun mechanic?”
    • “The story and humor are fun; I chuckled a couple of times.”
  • grinding5 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often requiring repetitive actions to obtain collectibles like love letters, which can be inconsistent and reliant on RNG. The character selection and power disparities further complicate the experience, forcing players to use specific characters for efficiency rather than their favorites. Overall, the grinding feels like a copy-pasted chore rather than an engaging part of the gameplay.

    • “The jank could be excusable if there was enough of the silly over-the-top content, but what is there is a grindy, copy-pasted mess.”
    • “What I don't like much is the fact that you won't always get 'love letters' (collectible item). These are letters that the girls give to you when you fight as they request, but sometimes you won't get them. You need to replay the level and repeat the action until you do, and it's a bit tedious.”
    • “But this was just an extremely unpleasant and tedious game to play, as crap as I expect from the team that gives us the Senran games.”
  • music5 mentions

    The music in the game is highly praised, with reviewers noting that the soundtrack and voice acting are well-executed and enhance the overall experience. The original soundtrack (OST) complements the action effectively, creating an engaging atmosphere during combat. Players recommend getting the deluxe edition for the OST, as it is not widely available online.

    • “The music is also very well done.”
    • “Pretty good OST to accompany the action.”
    • “The music was rad, and the mix of the combat with fighter quotes and punch sound effects lent itself to a very fun experience.”
  • character development3 mentions

    Character development is positively received, with users appreciating the refreshing art style and character designs, which, while not top tier, contribute to an engaging experience. The inclusion of diverse maps and environments, along with additional story content, enhances the overall narrative and character depth.

    • “There's a decent set of maps, environments, character designs, and some extra content complete with more story bits, and I actually liked most of the story.”
    • “The shading and ink style they've used for the character designs and the environments look great.”
    • “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the protagonists.”
    • “I found the character arcs to be predictable and uninspired, leaving me disappointed with their growth.”
    • “The lack of meaningful choices in character development made the experience feel linear and unengaging.”
  • replayability1 mentions

    The game offers significant replayability through numerous levels that encourage players to refine their skills and compete for better results, though the story mode lacks dramatic cliffhangers.

    • “Don't go expecting anime-style cliffhangers in the story mode, but do expect a lot of replayable levels as you try to stomp the competition into the dust.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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