Voltage High Society
- July 27, 2022
- Platonic Partnership
- 1h median play time
Get on Steam"Voltage High Society" is a first-person fighting game with Metroidvania exploration, set in a retro-futuristic, cyberpunk world. Engage in dynamic combat against menacing cybernetic monsters, uncover secrets, and upgrade your abilities to escape the island. The game promises a horror-infused experience with deep exploration and progression systems.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique and engaging atmosphere, combining retro aesthetics with a compelling cyberpunk theme.
- Combat mechanics are satisfying and impactful, providing a fun and unique experience despite some jankiness.
- The developers are responsive to community feedback and show promise for future updates, indicating a commitment to improving the game.
- The combat and movement mechanics can feel clunky and unrefined, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- The game currently lacks depth in its exploration and enemy design, making encounters feel repetitive and uninspired.
- As an early access title, it suffers from bugs and performance issues that detract from the overall experience.
- atmosphere44 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 34 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unique blend of futuristic dystopia and lo-fi aesthetics, creating an engaging and immersive experience. Players appreciate the compelling art direction, atmospheric audio, and the intriguing lore conveyed through environmental storytelling. Despite some rough gameplay elements, the overall atmosphere captivates players, making exploration enjoyable and enhancing their connection to the game world.
“Great atmosphere and design; the short dialogues and notes nicely convey bits of information about the current situation of the place.”
“The environments and atmosphere are what really sold VHS for me; it's such a well-executed blend of futuristic dystopia and lo-fi 90s aesthetic that I was enraptured the entire time.”
“The atmosphere is immaculate, the movement is tight and lends itself to breaking the game (in a good way), and the world itself is compelling for exploration and discovering the lore and story beyond the prologue.”
“The game is absolutely dripping with atmosphere.”
“There is also some nice moments in the game such as the underground area of the map; the atmosphere and the sound effects are definitely spooky.”
“This game just oozes style and atmosphere with immaculate PS1 graphics design.”
- graphics40 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are a standout feature, blending nostalgic PS1 aesthetics with striking visual design and a compelling atmosphere that captures a futuristic dystopia and lo-fi 90s vibe. While the art style is praised for its creativity and use of lighting, some players find it janky and difficult to navigate, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the game's unique aesthetic and potential for memorable moments have garnered positive attention from users.
“In all honesty, I have rarely seen in my whole life a single game that mixes in such a sublime way old nostalgic PS1 graphics, astonishing visual and art design, and innovative gameplay mechanics.”
“The environments and atmosphere are what really sold VHS for me; it's such a well-executed blend of futuristic dystopia and lo-fi 90s aesthetic that I was enraptured the entire time.”
“This game just oozes style and atmosphere with immaculate PS1 graphics design.”
“The options menu is a bit lacking; there are no controls to rebind, and the only graphics option you can manipulate is the resolution and a pixelated filter.”
“It's still a bit janky - combat doesn't really feel as good, movement is a bit floaty, and it's really difficult to read telegraphed moves because of the weird art style.”
“Lamp or two at you, but it doesn't prevent it from being pretty stale art direction-wise. Whether it was intended for the 'gritty retro aesthetics' or horror, it gets the job done, however, with no clear identity.”
- gameplay34 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews are mixed, with some players praising the innovative mechanics and satisfying movement, while others find the core gameplay lacking and not particularly fun. The game's nostalgic visuals and strong audio design are highlighted as standout features, contributing to an engaging atmosphere, though issues like jumping fluidity and visual clarity have been noted. Overall, while some enjoy the gameplay experience, others feel it falls short of expectations, particularly given its long development period.
“In all honesty, I have rarely seen in my whole life a single game that mixes in such a sublime way old nostalgic PS1 graphics, astonishing visual and art design, and innovative gameplay mechanics.”
“Gameplay feels good, movement feels good, hope to see it continue to get support.”
“The presentation works wonderfully: low-poly models, a simple, glitched-out UI, sparse/selective use of color and lighting effects, and a futuristic ambient soundtrack all come together to create what I found to be a truly compelling gameplay experience.”
“I understand that it is EA, but it has been for the past 2 years, so what I am complaining about will probably never change, as it is the core gameplay.”
“I usually like retro games, but I found the lack of visual clarity really tough here along with the actual mechanics.”
“Gameplay-wise, the game is very 'normal'; some may argue it's even bad.”
- story24 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story is set in a captivating cyberpunk universe, featuring a unique narrative that combines environmental storytelling with intriguing lore elements. While some players appreciate the atmospheric depth and small story tidbits, others criticize the overall lack of a coherent plot, suggesting that the narrative may be underdeveloped or intentionally vague. Despite these mixed feelings, the engaging world and rewarding exploration keep players invested.
“It tells in a unique and original way an engaging story set in an incredibly fascinating decadent cyberpunk universe, all while entertaining the player with fun and thrilling fights, as well as a deliciously rewarding exploration that will keep their attention up and running the whole time.”
“The story is deliberately inscrutable, but there feels like so much going on beneath the surface.”
“The atmosphere is immaculate, the movement is tight and lends itself to breaking the game (in a good way), and the world itself is compelling for exploration and discovering the lore and story beyond the prologue.”
“However, the lack of story is to this game's detriment. I'm unsure if it's just not written in yet or if they want to keep it to just environmental storytelling, but I would have dropped this game if it wasn't for me just wanting to mess around.”
“There wasn't a clear indication of where the story might be going in the first location, so it really starts to matter this time.”
“When you combine all of these, these monsters are like Minecraft's zombies stuck in a cave: I cannot remember or think about them or their backstory, if they even have one, because they don't have much going on.”
- music10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as a beautiful and haunting synth ambient soundtrack that enhances the overall presentation, evoking a John Carpenter vibe. However, some reviewers find the music design to be serviceable and somewhat bland or forgettable, despite its intensity and heavy feel contributing to an engaging gameplay experience. Overall, while the music complements the visuals well, opinions on its memorability vary.
“The presentation works wonderfully: low-poly models, a simple, glitched-out UI, sparse/selective use of color and lighting effects, and a futuristic ambient soundtrack all come together to create what I found to be a truly compelling gameplay experience.”
“The music is also beautiful and haunting, with a synth ambience that conjures John Carpenter.”
“Art design and modeling is on point, the music is intense and heavy, and gameplay takes a moment to get used to, but is incredibly satisfying to pull off successfully and offers enjoyable tactile feedback on your actions.”
“However, the music design is serviceable, and I believe it to be pretty bland and forgettable.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization appears to be inconsistent, with some players experiencing significant performance issues even on capable hardware, resulting in low frame rates and frustrating gameplay. Additionally, bugs such as random respawns further detract from the overall experience, making it challenging to progress. While some users noted improvements after performance fixes, the optimization still seems to require further refinement.
“After the performance fix, I can finally play this game :)”
“For some reason, I get really bad performance on my 2nd gen i5-2400, 16GB DDR3 RAM with a manually overclocked GT-1030. Even at 1280x720, it barely goes past 30fps with all settings off or low. I don't get it; my rig is more than enough for this game, but it just doesn't run well.”
“There's a lot of bugs to contend with. I continually kept getting respawned over and over for seemingly no reason, culminating in the underground area where I legitimately could not progress due to how frequent and random the respawns would be. The performance seems somewhat spotty, and combined with the still awkward feeling of the movement and platforming, it can be difficult to get through.”
“After the performance fix, I can finally play this game.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game exhibits several stability issues, including minor glitches in audio playback and respawn logic, as well as the need for adjustments in enemy attacks and map clarity. As it is currently in early access, players anticipate that these bugs will be addressed in future updates.
“It's not without faults: enemy attacks and damage need some tweaking, the map could stand to be clearer via use of landmarks or additional visual effects, and there are various minor glitches related to audio playback and the respawn logic.”
“This is still an early access title, so I expect the various bugs and glitches to be straightened out in time.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by a blend of cynically edgy and childishly silly elements, effectively balancing the overall tone and preventing it from becoming too grim. Notably, the lizard vendor is highlighted as a particularly amusing character, contributing to the game's comedic appeal.
“The latter indicates the humorous part of the game; it can be both cynically edgy and childishly dumb - fits the tone quite nicely, otherwise it could have ended up too dreadful.”
“Plus, the lizard vendor is funny.”
