Spectral Ascension (PC) Review

 

Spectral Ascension is a new Battle Royale game, that just released this week. It describes itself as a Brawler, but I would compare it more to other magic based BRs like Spellbreak or Valgrave.

There are 4 different combat abilities for every character. The standard attack is a magical missile spell. The side spells contain a bomb of thorns, which explodes after a few seconds and a wall of thorns, which damages players inside of it. The side spells btw can also damage the player, who casts them. And there is also an ultimate ability, which will only rarely be used, since it takes a long time to fill up (there is however a ultimate pickup). The ultimate ability summons a bunch of big mushrooms, which apparently also damage players. All 4 abilities can be upgraded till level 4, with upgrade points, that players will be rewarded by after every round.

This is also something special about Spectral Ascension. It is a round based Battle Royale game, similar to games like Bean Battles. The player, who scores the most points after 4 rounds of Battle Royale will be declared the winner of the match. The most points will be rewarded for the placement in the round, but there are also additional points for kills. The winner of the most rounds however is a lot more likely to be the Top player than the player with the most kills. Currently there is only a Solo mode and no Duo or Squad options.   

Spectral Ascension is a smaller Battle Royale game by the new indie developer Spectral Studios. This smaller scale also shows itself in the maximum amount of players per match, which is just 8. The map of the game however is adjusted to this size. In comparison to other BR games the Spirit Forest map definitely seems smaller, but it does fit rather well for 8 players in a round based BR (It could still be a little bigger, but isn't a real issue).  The map has a nice elven kingdom vibe. There is a large world tree, there are a lot of mushrooms, purple flower trees, magical crystals and particles floating through the air. It all creates a really nice vibe and I definitely like this map. Even a lot of bigger BRs have less atmospheric maps than the Spirit Forest.

The speed of the closing zones is pretty fast. It will often just take 30-45 seconds between the circles for the next zone too close and at the beginning of the match it can be difficult to see whether you are inside the next zone or outside of it, since it glows yellow from both sides. This fast pace however is fitting, if you consider, that the devs were apparently aiming for an arena like style for their BR game and with the smaller map and less players, it kind of makes sense. 

Not only is the zone fast, but so are the players. The movement speed is really fast in comparison to practically all other games. The only one that comes close is probably Hyper Scape. Funny enough your character is going to side strafe as fast as he is running forward, which just looks hilarious. Characters can also jump pretty high and there is an additional forward dash ability, which can be used up to 3 times in a row and which fully recharge in only a few seconds. Movement is therefore a key factor of the gameplay and probably as important as the different spell abilities.

There is currently only one character model in the game for all players, which is a female witch. She however looks pretty fitting to the setting. Visuals are generally pretty decent, even though the texture quality is certainly lower than in the bigger BR games. In this aspect you can certainly see, that Spectral Ascension is being developed by a smaller studio.  

The background soundtrack during gameplay is pretty decent and sound effects work okay. Sound, visuals and controls also offer some decent customizability options.

There are currently (release week) also very few players. I once managed to get into a match with 4 other players, but for the most part of the day nobody else will be queuing, which is going to make it hard for new players to stick around. Perhaps the developers should try to implement a bit more marketing for the game, since I only discovered it via an active Steam search for new BR games (alternatively the implementation of Bots could be considered to give new players a chance to try the gameplay out).

 

Pro:

- Magic based Battle Royale Game

- Great movement

- Map and setting are fitting

- Pretty decent soundtrack

 

Contra:

- Only round based BR

- Currently very few players

(- Abilities are the same for all players, no selection)

(- Only 1 character model for all players)

 

Result:

Spectral Ascension is a surprisingly decent new BR game. I am personally not the biggest fan of this round bases BR approach, but the game got a couple of things to offer. It provides a different magic BR style than Spellbreak or Valgrave, the map is really atmospheric and pretty well designed and the movement in the game is fast and feels good. I personally would have preferred to be able to choose between different spell abilities instead of all being usable by every player and a bigger player maximum would have also been nice to see (perhaps we could see something like a Duo mode with more players in the future...). The lack of players is also a big problem, since it is really hard to actually try this game out. I however recommend doing so, if you are interested in either magic or round based Battle Royale games.  

 

5.75/10

Element Battle Royale (PC) Update Review

 

Element Battle Royale has recently been receiving an overhaul update and we are going to give it a short inspection today, after the servers weren't playable at my last attempt in march (https://gamereviewnation.blogspot.com/2021/03/mediocre-br-games-without-players.html).

The most important changes are, that the servers of the game are no longer broken, Bots have been added to the game, to make it playable again and the map has been changed a bit as well.

The fixing of the servers was long overdue and absolutely necessary. The integration of the Bots was also definitely a good idea, even though they are unfortunately not the best Bots around. Bots either have movement problems and behave a little retarded or they laser you from 100 meters plus. At the end it isn't a problem to outplay them, but the AI is definitely not working as intended.

The map changes sounded promising, but I was once more being left disappointed. The old map got replaced with a bigger, even duller one. The new map also has a hill in the middle of it, but there is nothing interesting aside from this hill. The hill only has 3 small huts with a couple of chests and outside of the hill there are only generic trees and empty spaces till the ocean as a natural limitation of the map. Sure the ocean is new, but the factory halls got removed and the map actually manages to look and feel even worse than the previous one. I didn't think this was possible.

The unique wall feature of the game btw only starts after 5 minutes, but since all players still start at the same location in the middle of the map, it is far from guaranteed to even see them during the match.

Most of the other negative aspects have however unfortunately not improved. The gunplay is still as bad and imprecise as it used to be (after finally trying it out myself, I am horrified by this gunplay and the awful recoil patterns), there is still the problem of all players starting right next to each other and there are barely any visual improvements being made (texture quality might have improved minimally, but the game still looks atrocious overall).

Sound is another critical area. The well done main menu soundtrack was sadly replaced, but the new one is also okay. The issue in the sound area are footstep and gunshot sounds, which are all over the place. You will hear your own footsteps 2-3 seconds after you stopped walking, which is more than just irritating and gunshots don't match the position of the enemies at all. This really needs to be fixed.

According to the steam store page, the dev of Element BR is considering to move his game from being F2P to a B2P model in the future. Given the status of the game nearly 1 year after its initial launch, that seems completly insane to me. This game isn't worth playing for free, who on earth is supposed to pay for it???

 

Pro:

(- Main menu soundtrack is okay, but not as good as the old one)

- System of killing walls as a circle is still interesting

- Addition of Bots makes the game playable again

 

Contra:

- All players still spawn at the same location

- Visuals are still hideous (very little, nearly not noticeable improvements)

- The new map is probably even worse than the old one

- Gunplay and recoil are absolutely awful

- Bots are either retarded or master snipers

- Sound synchronization is often broken (you hear footsteps and gunshot sounds too late and completely out of place)

 

Result:

I was actually expecting to be able to at least upgrade the score of Element Battle Royale to a 2.5/10 or 3/10, after the servers were fixed, Bots got added and a new map replaced the bad old one. But somehow the new Element Battle Royale managed to not get any better. Visuals look nearly unchanged, which equals very bad. Gunplay is still a nightmare, the new map isn't an improvement, sound effects are often broken and the new Bots are either brainless or trick shooters. It doesn't get more than 2 Points, because it simply doesn't offer anything that would justify it. I strongly recommend to not play this game. There are very few games, who are worse than Element Battle Royale.

 

2/10

Soulcaster (PC) Review

 

Soulcaster is a project of the DigiPen Institute of Technology, who regularly release games of their students for free on Steam. Soulcaster's story features a little girl, that got trapped inside of a Pyramid and has to find her way out of that maze of rooms through solving platform puzzles.

The gameplay of Soulcaster consists of a mix of Platforming and Puzzle elements (it uses a 2D side perspective). The special feature of the game is its clone gauntlet, which allows the player to create a duplicate shadow version of the protagonist. The shadow clone can be positioned via the gauntlet on any point within the view perspective of the player and he can switch positions with his clone through the gauntlet as well, as long as they keep the eye contact. The clone will move in the same direction as the player, so that he can be used for example to access a switch on the other side of the room and so on. During the later levels there are also areas, which can only be entered by the shadow version and areas, that do not permit the usage of the gauntlet at all. The levels throughout the game get progressively more challenging, but never really strain your nerves and should also be accessible to people, who are not really into puzzle games.  

Sadly the levels and the game are a bit short (every room is a level), so that one should be able to beat it in around 30 mins. Thankfully the game has a bit of replay value through its achievements, which motivate players to complete the game quicker and through less interaction with the clone (There is also a secret ending to be discovered).

I liked the gameplay and the clone mechanic and I also appreciated the scenario of being trapped inside of a pyramid and having to solve puzzles in order to find your way out. The background visuals also fitted that scenario well, even though the overall visuals were certainly nothing majorly impressive. The soundtrack consists of only 1 theme, that loops throughout the game, but it does catch the atmosphere quite well. The movement in the game was ok for a puzzle game, but would have definitely been too clunky to satisfy in a pure platforming game.

Soulcaster may only be a student project and a short game, but it is a good game nonetheless. The gauntlet works well and the gameplay is generally fun. It would have just been appreciated, if the levels were bigger and there were just a lot more of them.

6.5/10

Let It Flow (PC) Review

 

Let It Flow is a game about shit, toilets and farts. The gameplay resembles a weird mix of Fall Guys and Bean Battles. The development of the game is actually rather hilarious. A streamer asked his audience to suggest him content to implement into a new game and Let It Flow is the product of this insanity.

There are 17 different maps in total and 6 different game modes. So contentwise it isn't that bad. The general theme of the game are toilets. There are often toilet bowls and plumbing tools in the background of the levels and crap objects play an important gameplay part (some crap for example slows you down and other crap replenishes ammunition). The ability to fart (which is a bit like smoke gas) and make your own farts explode (which gives you an extra speed boost) are also a part of the experience. Alternatively players can dab, which has no gameplay point. Every jump also produces a fart sound, which is pretty funny. If you don't like toilet humour, than Let it Flow is definitely not going to be the game for you.

My favourite game mode is Trophy Hunt. Those are obstacle based parkour levels, which reminded me very much of the racing levels in Fall Guys. The only difference is, that these levels are shorter and have a trophy to grab at the end (so that only 1 player can win), similar to Fall Mountain and they have quite different bouncing physics than Fall Guys. Hitting an object (like rotating toilet paper rolls or bounce pads) will make players bounce uncontrollably into the nowhere, which in most cases will lead to an elimination. Players however can infinitely retry till somebody catches the trophy. There are also crap obstacles and players who step into them will be slowed down temporarily. What gives the Trophy Hunt levels a special twist is the fact, that players can also shoot at each other during the race, which makes it even more chaotic. Even though I did find the bouncing quite frustrating a lot of the times, it can't be denied, that it is also a lot of fun.    

All 4 Trophy Hunt maps are quite well designed. Fail Guys 1 is a good starting point and probably the easiest of the maps. Fail Guys 2 on the other hand is the longest and toughest and offers quite a challenge. Fail Guys 3 is again a lot simpler designed and reminded me of Fail Guys 1, with the difference, that Fail Guys 3 is a night level and all objects glow with neon colours. Bathroom Scramble is differently designed than the three Fail Guys Levels and plays like a mix of a regular level and a Trophy Hunt map. Fighting with other players while jumping on moving platforms are the essential parts of this map.

Deathmatch is exactly what is sounds like. Up to 20 players battle each other and the first to get 20 Kills is declared the winner of this free for all game mode. There are 5 maps for Deathmatch (Colon = Inside of a crap mountain, Sand Trap = Children sand box, Dust Poo = Let if Flow version of the CS map Dust, E1M2 = Something like a dark Horror House map, Testing Stuff is since the latest update not playable anymore and was a test map for weapons). I like Dust Poo and E1M2 for their more complex map design. Colon and Sand Trap are a bit too simple.

Top Hat is a classic objective based game mode. The object is a top hat and the player, who can hold it for 60 seconds will be the glorious 'victor'. I probably liked this mode second best after Trophy Hunt. While Deathmatch is a bit bland, top hat gets closest from the combat based level types to capture the feeling of chaotic fun. For Top Hat are 4 maps playable (Third World Toilet = Toilet bowl, Sewer, Port, Outhouse = weird wooden aviary). Sewer and Outhouse are the two better ones and Third World Toilet and Port are part of the more boring maps.

Capture the underpants is a classic Capture the Flag mode, just with underpants as flags. There are only 2 maps for this game mode (Castle Crappers = Two large castles, Eskimo Bros = Shaped like a boat with ice parts). Both maps are a bit bland, but okay designed. I also have to say, that I liked this mode probably the least. It is nice to also have a team based mode for a change, but the implementation wasn't done too well. There is friendly fire and no real option to identify, which players are on your team or on the others, if you are in the middle of the battle.

Soccer is the Let it Flow version of Rocket League. Players have to shoot the ball into the goal on the other side of the playing field. It is a lot worse than rocket league and very easy for the ball to be blocked and halted by both teams (The match takes place on a football field inside of a giant toilet bowl with giant dabbing corn people as viewers, which is in a weird sense at least quite atmospheric).

Battle Royale is the most recent gamemode, which got added with the last update. I am a big BR fan, but the Let it Flow gunplay isn't that exciting and a bit too random, so I didn't find it all that great. In fact Trophy Hunt was for me the real BR mode of this game and I enjoyed it a lot more. You can at least give the Dev credit for extending the port map to a bigger island for this mode (there are however clipping errors on some objects on the map).

The visuals of Let it Flow are pretty basic and under average cartoon graphics. For a fun game like this however they are totally sufficient. You have to give the most levels credit for at least looking quite different to each other and character models are actually quite well done. There are weird snowmen, trolls, walking corn people with moustaches, Mickey Mouse on steroids and a hotdog with a unicycle as legs. They are honestly really hilarious.

The default weapon in Let it Flow is corn, which players can shoot upon each other. There are also extra weapons like the Uzi, which shoots faster than the default weapon and has more ammo, a Grenade Launcher (which shoots crap grenades) and a classic Rocket Launcher. The weapons are okay, but the gunplay isn't too great and feels really imprecise.

Players can switch between 1st and 3rd person view for shooting. 3rd is obviously better for moving, but makes aiming really tough in this game. 1st however makes aiming easier, but dodging quite hard. At the end gunplay isn't really amazing and rather underwhelming in this game. There is worse out there, but also a lot better.

Unfortunately Let it Flow is one of these games, where nothing is customizable. Controls, sound or visuals can't be changed, but at least there is optional controller support in the game.

The matches are hosted by players on peer to peer basis, which is good so that matches can be organized quickly, but I also experienced a lot of random disconnects from matches. I can not say, whether this was because of general stability problems or because of hosts leaving randomly.

 

Pro:

-Very funny theme

-Chaotic gameplay

-Trophy Hunt is great fun

-Good variety of levels and modes

-Great character models

 

Contra:

-Not all game modes are done well

-Gunplay is underwhelming

-Occasional connection problems

(-Visuals also under average)

(-No customizability for controls, sound, visuals or anything)

 

Result:

Let it Flow is the result of a chaotic Twitch experiment. Keeping that in mind, it is actually quite a bit enjoyable. Admittedly the game isn't going to provide long-term fun, once the novelty of the funny scenario wears off. For short-term fun it is however worth a try and the Trophy Hunt mode is actually pretty good. The rest of the game modes however are mostly rather forgettable.

5.5/10