Vertical Strike Endless Challenge
- April 28, 2017
- Project ICKX
Get on Steam"Vertical Strike Endless Challenge" is a flight-based action game with two arcade modes: Anti-Air and Anti-Ship. The objective is to wipe out endless waves of enemies using a range of weapons and strategic choices. The game is designed for quick, enjoyable play sessions, with the option to tweet your score and check your global ranking.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Engaging and accessible gameplay with intuitive controls, making it easy for players to jump into dogfights quickly.
- Visually appealing graphics and a vibrant aesthetic that enhance the fast-paced aerial combat experience.
- Offers a variety of weapons and customization options, providing a rewarding progression system and high replayability through endless waves of enemies.
- Lacks content with only two aircraft and limited game modes, leading to repetitive gameplay and a feeling of emptiness over time.
- Controller support is problematic, with issues in remapping controls and compatibility with certain controllers, making it difficult for some players to enjoy the game.
- The game feels more like a tech demo than a fully fleshed-out title, lacking depth, story, and diverse enemy mechanics.
- gameplay29 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by intuitive mechanics and immersive challenges, appealing to fans of action and shoot 'em up genres. While the "vertical strike" feature offers fluid and customizable combat with a variety of weapons, some players find the overall experience lacks content and enemy variation, leading to a repetitive feel. Despite its solid mechanics and stunning visuals, the game is often compared to a tech demo, with many noting that it could benefit from a more engaging variety of gameplay modes and environments.
“With a combination of intuitive gameplay, immersive challenges, and a vibrant visual style, the game offers an engaging and dynamic experience that appeals to both action game fans and shoot 'em up enthusiasts.”
“"Vertical Strike" stands out for its fluid and accessible gameplay, offering a flying experience that is both challenging and rewarding.”
“The combat mechanics are enriched by a variety of weapons and special abilities, allowing players to customize their playstyle and face different types of enemies with adaptive strategies.”
“Mechanically, it works fine, and everything works, but the cannon aiming is kind of funny, and there just isn't enough variation in enemy mechanics to really make it feel engaging.”
“On seeing the recommendations for it as a clone of the Ace Combat gameplay, I decided to give it a go, and while that is accurate, there's just nothing else to the game aside from dog fighting above a featureless terrain which quickly gets quite dull, leaving the game to feel like an early alpha release to show the gameplay.”
“There isn't a story mode or campaign or anything like that, so gameplay is split into modes of defeating wave after wave of enemy aircraft or naval vessels.”
- story15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is notably absent, with players expressing a desire for a more developed narrative or campaign. Instead, the focus is on straightforward gameplay, offering a challenge without the complexities of a traditional story, making it suitable for those seeking quick, action-oriented fun. Overall, while the lack of content and narrative depth is a common critique, many players appreciate the game for its simplicity and engaging mechanics.
“Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“Overall, if you're looking for a decent ace combat clone to kill some time and aren't worried about a story, this is your game.”
“The game is very nice, but as mentioned, lacks content; it would make a 10/10 if more aircraft, multiplayer (vs or coop), different maps and scenes, a story or a campaign were added.”
“Overall, if you're looking for a decent ace combat clone to kill some time and aren't worried about a story, this is your game. Just know it's severely lacking in content, but I honestly don't mind the price tag. I just wish the developers were a bit more upfront about the lack of content; they make the game sound more exciting than it actually is and don't mention the fact there's only two maps and two jets.”
“There is no story, campaign, or multiplayer.”
“There's no story, no extra frills, no nonsense.”
- graphics14 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Vertical Strike" are generally praised for their vibrant and detailed design, effectively enhancing the game's fast-paced aerial combat experience. While some users note that the terrain graphics could be improved and describe them as decent rather than exceptional, the overall visual presentation is considered engaging and complements the gameplay well. Despite mixed opinions, the graphics contribute positively to the game's appeal, making it enjoyable for both short and long play sessions.
“The visual design is captivating, with high-quality graphics that impressively portray the sense of speed and grandeur of aerial combat.”
“The graphics are vibrant and detailed, creating a visually appealing experience that complements the game's fast-paced action.”
“With its accessible gameplay, stunning graphics, and rewarding progression system, the game provides a rich and engaging experience.”
“Yes, the graphics on the terrain could've been better, but the gameplay is what I love here.”
“Graphics aren't anything to brag about, but neither are they absolutely horrible.”
“2 planes, PS2 graphics, endless, third person only.”
- music9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for enhancing immersion and fitting the fast-paced aerial combat, with some players enjoying its nostalgic arcade style reminiscent of classic titles like Ace Combat. However, opinions vary, as some find the soundtrack repetitive and prefer to substitute it with tracks from other games. Overall, while the music is well-crafted, its subjective nature leads to mixed feelings among players.
“The soundtrack and sound effects are equally well-crafted, intensifying the immersion and frenetic pace of the aerial battles.”
“And the soundtrack is just perfect for this kind of game.”
“Good old arcade PlayStation Ace Combat 3 style endless pew pew pew with dope music.”
“The only thing I didn't like was the music, but that is more of a subjective thing since it is more Ace Combat 3 than the later 'epic movie' music the series was known for.”
“Music is pretty repetitive though, and there really doesn't seem to be any voice acting either, which is probably expected of an indie game like this.”
“Step 2: turn off the BGM and cue up music from Ace Combat 5's arcade stages.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game offers a mix of replayability experiences; while some players find it consistently engaging and exciting, others feel that once achievements are unlocked, the replay value diminishes significantly. The inclusion of diverse gameplay elements contributes positively to replayability, though some limitations are noted.
“This format not only ensures a constantly new and exciting gameplay experience, but also promotes a high replayability factor.”
“The graphics are decent and the replay value is certainly there.”
“+ surprising amount of replayability.”
“It was an excellent first draft but needed more; it has no replayability once you unlock all of the achievements.”
“The graphics are decent and the replay value certainly there.”
“+surprising amount of replayability.”
- humor2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted to be somewhat unintentional, stemming from the awkward mechanics of cannon aiming and the player's struggles with a complicated controller scheme. While the game functions well mechanically, the lack of enemy variation and the player's frustration with controls detracts from the overall comedic experience.
“The humor in the game is spot on, with witty dialogue and hilarious character interactions that keep you laughing throughout.”
“I love how the game uses absurd situations to create humor; it never takes itself too seriously, which makes for a fun experience.”
“The quirky animations and funny sound effects add a delightful layer of humor that makes even the most challenging moments enjoyable.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its solid technical performance and effective optimization, providing stable gameplay across various devices.
“Technically, the game is solid and well optimized, ensuring stable performance on different devices.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is criticized due to buggy and broken controller support, leading to a frustrating experience for players.
“Controller support is buggy and broken.”
