Wall World
- April 4, 2023
- Alawar Premium
- 14h median play time
If you're not put off by an initial slow start and can get through the first few levels of upgrades, Wall World does become pretty enjoyable.
Get on Steam"Wall World" is a mining rogue-lite with tower defense elements, where you explore procedurally generated mines filled with aggressive monsters and valuable resources. Use your mobile base to fight off creatures and travel between biomes, day and night, in various weather conditions. Upgrade your character and weapons to survive and uncover traces of "the others" in this unique mining experience . No information available on the release date or developer/publisher.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 5
Steam Deck
Windows
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- Engaging gameplay loop with satisfying progression and upgrades.
- Beautiful pixel art and atmospheric music enhance the experience.
- Unique concept of a vertical wall world adds a fresh twist to the mining genre.
- Repetitive gameplay can lead to a lack of long-term replayability.
- RNG elements can make progression frustrating, especially with key drops.
- The ending feels anticlimactic and lacks a satisfying conclusion.
- gameplay1,044 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Wall World" is characterized by a simple yet addictive loop of mining resources, upgrading equipment, and defending against waves of enemies, reminiscent of "Dome Keeper." While the core mechanics are engaging and the progression feels rewarding, many players find the gameplay repetitive and grindy, especially after completing the main objectives. The game offers a mix of exploration and combat, but lacks depth and variety in its mechanics, leading to a decline in replayability once the initial excitement wears off.
“The gameplay is a perfect blend of relentless exploration and strategic resource management, with just the right dash of rogue-like chaos to keep you teetering on the edge of your seat.”
“Its addictive gameplay loop, beautiful visuals, and challenging mechanics make it a must-play for roguelite fans.”
“The gameplay loop is satisfying, especially after you unlock some of the advanced upgrades.”
“Several massively-important game mechanics are permanently removed from your save for 'story', and cannot be toggled in any form, requiring a new game and grind.”
“Wall World has one of the worst gameplay loops I've ever experienced with a rogue title (if not the worst).”
“Excessively repetitive gameplay, little-to-no story (and what's there is quite dull), jokes that never seem to land, after-thought combat, and timed events key to the story that make you wait for up to an hour.”
- story514 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally perceived as underwhelming, with many players noting its simplicity and lack of depth, often describing it as bland or shallow. While some appreciate the environmental storytelling and intriguing lore fragments scattered throughout the gameplay, others express frustration over the lack of resolution and the need for additional DLC to continue the narrative. Overall, the story serves more as a backdrop to the gameplay rather than a central focus, leaving players wanting more substantial content and closure.
“I love this game in its entirety; the originality of ideas, the graphics, the upgrade system, the environmental and direct storytelling, it's just so good.”
“The story is simple but interesting enough to make what you do feel important, even if you don't always know why.”
“There is a compelling underlying story that makes you want to just get one more run in before you stop.”
“The overall story is unfortunately pretty bland and shallow and the ending is very anti-climactic.”
“There is no resolution to the story, and that did piss me off that I spent hours finding such interesting information that goes nowhere.”
“Story: the game's weakest point by far.”
- grinding430 mentions
- 2 % positive mentions
- 2 % neutral mentions
- 95 % negative mentions
The game's grinding aspect has received mixed feedback, with many players noting it as excessively tedious and repetitive, particularly in the late game where progress often hinges on random chance and meta upgrades. While some find the grind rewarding and enjoyable, contributing to a sense of progression, others feel it detracts from the overall experience, making the gameplay feel more like a chore than a challenge. Overall, the grinding is a significant element of the game, appealing primarily to those who enjoy such mechanics in roguelike titles.
“Great little rogue lite, not really grindy, even though you need to find random blueprints for upgrades if you really want to go far.”
“Can feel repetitive but not tedious, and is satisfyingly completable.”
“Also very critically - I found unlocks to be really well balanced cost-wise, not too grindy to inflate artificial hours, so I finished the game (after 18 hours of play time) on a very positive note.”
“The game starts to feel extremely grindy and repetitive due to limited biomes, enemy types, weapons, and items.”
“Almost all progress is locked behind slow meta progression, too grindy for me.”
“The game's biggest problem is that it feels slow and lethargic almost to the point of feeling grindy.”
- graphics322 mentions
- 68 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim, particularly for their stunning pixel art style and charming animations, which many players find visually appealing and evocative. Reviewers highlight the game's beautiful artwork, engaging atmosphere, and effective use of color and detail, making it a standout feature that enhances the overall gameplay experience. While some critiques mention simplicity in design, the consensus is that the visuals are a significant strength, contributing to the game's charm and replayability.
“The visuals are stunning in simplicity, the soundtrack is a perfect companion to your high-altitude adventures, and the sense of discovery is as vast as the wall itself.”
“The pixel art style is great and the animations are good.”
“The graphics are gorgeous for pixel art, the animations are clean and everything is very coherent.”
“You'll be 45 minutes into a run and suddenly your missile attack will get stuck on permanent cooldown, or your spider will clip into something and can't move, or the graphics or physics will freak out in the caves.”
“There's nothing much here but a half-assed demonstration of incompetent game design; extremely repetitive, frustrating boss fights and boring regular enemy waves, lots of pointless upgrades and weapons to get unlucky with, tiny graphics, samey gameplay, tedious grind to grow stronger and do more tedious grinding until the game just sort of ends.”
“The visuals are far too small, and it uses mouse aiming when it's unnecessary.”
- music210 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its quality and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, with many players describing it as relaxing, chill, and a perfect complement to the gameplay. While some noted that the soundtrack can become repetitive, it is generally considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's aesthetic and emotional tone. Overall, the combination of music and visuals creates a captivating experience that many players highly recommend.
“The visuals are stunning in simplicity, the soundtrack is a perfect companion to your high-altitude adventures, and the sense of discovery is as vast as the wall itself.”
“I had a very fun time playing Wall World; the soundtrack is absolutely stellar.”
“The music is great and perfectly goes along with the gameplay.”
“The music is serviceable in that it never distracted me, but I also didn't find it memorable.”
“There's a lot of pretty art and music, but there are so many things that scream 'amateur'.”
“And for the music, my girlfriend actually fell asleep a few times while I played, and that's not an insult in any way.”
- replayability136 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is a significant point of contention among players. While some appreciate the engaging mechanics and initial fun, many reviewers note that once the main campaign is completed, the replay value diminishes considerably, often feeling finite or lacking compared to other roguelikes. Despite its low price and entertaining gameplay, most players agree that it does not offer enough incentive for repeated playthroughs after the first experience.
“One of the game's biggest strengths is its replayability.”
“Great game with lots of variety and a high level of replayability and an absolutely superb art style.”
“So much play and replay value !!”
“Solid gameplay, but it doesn't offer much replay value after the first playthrough.”
“Once you are done with the story, there is barely any replayability.”
“The worse issue of all, the base game has no replayability which for a game that sells itself as a roguelite it's not good; once you finish the campaign, the boss is gone for good until you buy the DLC.”
- stability48 mentions
- 4 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 96 % negative mentions
The game has been widely criticized for its instability, with numerous reports of bugs, crashes, and glitches affecting gameplay, particularly during boss fights and late-game scenarios. While some players found the game enjoyable despite these issues, many noted that it feels unfinished and lacking in refinement, with ongoing problems that detract from the overall experience. Despite recent patches, stability remains a significant concern for users.
“Runs great on the deck.”
“Despite two recent quick patches, it is still buggy and crashes often.”
“The other major downside is the stability and glitches.”
“It's a decent game at its core, but feels unfinished and buggy.”
- optimization38 mentions
- 5 % positive mentions
- 87 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, particularly after extended play sessions, leading to frame rate drops and potential memory leaks. While some users noted improvements after recent updates, others highlighted persistent problems with controller support and the handling of in-game objects, which contribute to the overall performance decline. Despite these issues, players still find the game enjoyable, provided they are willing to overlook the technical shortcomings.
“It offers an exciting and short experience, albeit stained by those performance issues, but if you're willing to overlook that, you'll be in for a solid 20 hours set in an interesting world with soft storytelling, plenty of build combinations to explore, and treasures to uncover.”
“Once you get near the end, you have everything so optimized you're just grinding through it, but I'd buy DLC for the game if it added new content and mechanics.”
“At the end of my 18.4 hour session, the FPS tanked to 7 FPS, so there's some kind of performance/memory leak/engine limitation.”
“When I last played this game, I noticed that the performance got worse and worse the more hours I kept the game running, whereas the problem vanished after I restarted it.”
“It's been a couple of months since I played the game, which means that the problem might have been fixed, but nevertheless, I assume it has to do with the bullets that are being shot and miss flying off into infinity, and their objects never getting deleted by the program, creating tens of thousands of objects that the game has to process, which in return causes my performance issues.”
- atmosphere34 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 21 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive quality, enhanced by a captivating soundtrack and stunning visuals that create a wistful and mysterious tone. Players appreciate the combination of art, sound design, and thematic elements that contribute to a sense of loneliness and exploration in a unique world. While some find the gameplay can become repetitive, the overall ambiance remains a highlight, making it a delightful experience for those who enjoy atmospheric gaming.
“Pros: great aesthetic and atmosphere, spritework is gorgeous and the sound design and music leave very little to be desired.”
“Runs can get a bit repetitive towards the end, but the music does a good job of carrying a sort of somber atmosphere that suits the game's own attitude of loneliness and exploring a strange, almost alien world quite well.”
“The mining, the art, the atmosphere, even defending your base from enemies.”
“(so does the rest of the atmosphere - the sounds and music fit right in with the theme.)”
“Would recommend for people who like a relaxed digging atmosphere with some post-game upgrade currency system and nice varying 'rogue-lite' runs.”
- humor30 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is widely praised for its humor, featuring amusing mechanics, funny dialogues, and quirky visual glitches that add to the comedic experience. Players find joy in the chaotic interactions with the environment and enemies, often leading to hilarious moments. Overall, the humor enhances the gameplay loop, making it an entertaining experience.
“Very funny game, nice gameplay loop and interesting, new concept.”
“The 'base game' was (is?) really funny.”
“There are pieces of lore hidden in some caves, some of them pretty funny.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a mix of frustration and emotional investment in the game, highlighting the heartbreak of losing progress and items after repeated failures. While the lore and story are engaging, the overwhelming sense of futility in trying to progress can lead to feelings of wasted time, suggesting a need for more meaningful content and challenges after achieving upgrades.
“The game is fun, the lore you put together makes up the story of this world, and you will die a lot. It's rather heartbreaking to lose all the stuff you find, but at least you can try again with upgrades.”
“It doesn't even try to pretend like it's beatable, which made me feel like I'm wasting my time trying to get to some theoretical minimum required to be able to evade projectiles.”
“This made me feel pretty crappy since 75% of the game I played wasn't actually relevant to the goal - I really think this game would benefit from an update that gives you more to do once you have a decent number of upgrades rather than just handing you the game without a struggle and waving goodbye.”
- monetization4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its lack of monetization strategies such as microtransactions or subscriptions, distinguishing it from typical live-service games. Players appreciate the absence of these elements, allowing for a more straightforward gaming experience without additional costs.
“Still getting into it, but it doesn't have microtransactions and I haven't encountered any bugs.”
“And it's not like this is a live-service game, with microtransactions or subscriptions or whatever.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight that the character development is complemented by absolutely stunning artwork and design, enhancing the overall experience. However, specific details about the depth or progression of the characters themselves are not mentioned.
