Tag: Headup

Game Review: INDUSTRIA

LBoG: Game Overviews

There is a lot that can be said for indie gaming that can’t be said for AAA games. They’re cheaper to buy, often offer the player new and interesting gameplay and a lot of the time, they can be quite short games. There is nothing wrong with a short game as long as the gameplay and price point are worth it. From developer Bleakmill and publisher Headup comes INDUSTRIA. A title that is certainly interesting and short… but is it worth the coin?

“On the evening of the fall of the Berlin wall, a young woman plunges headlong into a parallel dimension to find her missing work colleague who has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. While the checkpoints in East Berlin are still being overrun by crowds of people, Nora escapes from this world, into unknown layers of time and into an unknown fate.”

So then, this is set in 1989 on the evening before the Berlin Wall is brought down. You play as Nora working on a project called Atlas and searching for her missing colleague/partner, Walter. At the start of the game, Nora learns that Walter had opened up a temporal anomaly using Atlas and is in another dimension. So of course, Nora goes after him. At first, INDUSTRIA really does seem like a ‘seen it all before’ FPS game… at first. Think Half-Life 2 mixed with a bit of BioShock Infinite and perhaps just a pinch of… well any FPS game in the last decade or so.

INDUSTRIA SCREEN 1

While the gameplay of INDUSTRIA is alright and perhaps just a bit too ‘simple’ at times, its story, setting and surrealism is worth experiencing. The graphics are really well done and the world in which the game takes place is a joy to be a part of. The story can be a little confusing and by the time you get to the end credits, you will have more than a couple of questions left unanswered. Then, some of the more dream-like scenes really will have you scratching your head too… but in a good way. To be honest, the story and setting are the best things about this title.

There are some niggles such as having a terribly slow turning circle. Even when messing with the control options, I couldn’t find a setting that felt right. Some puzzles will have you picking up boxes to be placed elsewhere (standard stuff). But when you pick up a box, it takes up 90% of the screen and you can’t see where you are going. I played this on the Xbox and there are loads of notes lying around to read and fill in the backstory. To pick up those notes, you have to press the B button… the B button also cancels when you pick up a note. So as soon as you press the button to pick a note up, it quits out and you can’t read it and so, have to go into the menu screen to read the note that you just picked up. Look, this is going to be a short review for a reason I am now going to cover…

INDUSTRIA SCREEN 2

£17 is what INDUSTRIA is being sold for and, getting to the point, I just don’t think it is worth it. I mean, I got to the end credits in a little over 2 hours… and that was with me getting stuck at one point for about 20 minutes or so. I did play on the normal setting and there is a hardcore one that will probably extend that time a bit, I guess. See, I don’t do review scores, I weigh up the cost of the game against the gameplay value instead and £17 for a 2-hour (or less) title is not great value in my eyes. This is why this is not a terribly in-depth or longer review, because there is very little here to actually review. Outside of the (in my opinion) high price point, INDUSTRIA is a fairly enjoyable title (niggles aside), but it really needed to be a 6-8 hour experience and not a 2-hour one for the price. I don’t recommend that you go out and grab a copy now… maybe a bit later when the price drops or if you can pick it up in a sale.

Game Review: Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield

LBoG: Game Overviews

Whenever I review games, I often overlook a very important aspect, the music. Music in games (like films) can really set a tone and help evoke feelings whilst playing a game. Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield, developed by Aerial_Knight and published by Headup, is a title where the music is a pretty important aspect.

Survive A futuristic Tokyo style Detroit in this 3D runner that tells the story of Wally who has uncovered the evidence that can change his city forever. Explore a game world with a dope-tastic soundtrack featuring the authentic sounds of Detroit Artist.

So, what is Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield all about? Well, it’s a side-scrolling runner type thing. You play as Wally, who is on the run from the authorities with some information that could change the futuristic Tokyo-styled Detroit city he lives in. In terms of plot, this game has very little. But it how it plays that is the most important part. The gameplay here is simple, Wally runs and you direct his actions with the press of a button. Various obstacles will appear and you have to do your best to avoid them. Think of this as a reflex test more than anything else. The different obstacles will require you pressing the correct button and the right time.

AERIAL KNIGHT NEVER YIELD SCREEN 1

The controls are simple. Using the D-pad, press up for a big jump, left for a low/parkour jump, down to slide and right to run faster, that’s it. The obstacles in the game are colour-coded for ease of recognition to each of the four buttons. Red = up, yellow = left, purple = down and blue = right. Getting to grips with the basics of Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield won’t take long at all, this is simple and is very ‘pick up and play’. What the game really boils down to is your speed at pressing the correct button for the correct obstacle at the correct time… and that’s it. 

You get three difficulty settings, normal gives you plenty of slow-motion before each obstacle for you to react. Hard reduces that slow-motion to make things a bit harder. While insane difficulty removes the slow-motion completely and adds more obstacles. Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield takes place over thirteen levels, with each level taking no longer than a few minutes each to finish. For instance, playing on normal, it’ll only take you about an hour and a half to get to the end. This is a very short game but one that will definitely take longer to get through in the harder settings if you want to challenge yourself.

AERIAL KNIGHT NEVER YIELD SCREEN 2

The big issue with Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield is just how repetitive it is. There are only a few obstacles and the assets are used and reused many, many, many times. The game and levels may be short, but you will see the same things over and over again. The levels rarely offer any variety, save a couple of minor instances towards the end. What Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield lacks in gameplay, it makes up for in presentation. The graphics are furitrusic, cel-shaded comic-like and they really do look rather nice. The aforementioned music is amazing. There is this funky, hip-hop, jazz, rock fusion soundtrack that is sublime, easily the best thing about the game. Criminally, there’s no option to just listen to the soundtrack though.

AERIAL KNIGHT NEVER YIELD SCREEN 3

£10 is how much you’ll have to pay for this one (though I believe it is currently ‘free’ on Xbox for Gold members). I can tell that Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield is a real passion project and that passion does shine through… in terms of how the game looks and sounds. The gameplay is just a bit dull and repetitive and the shortness of the game doesn’t really help either. For £10, there are better indie games out there. Style of substance is the perfect way to describe Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield and while I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy playing it, I’d also be lying if I suggest you pay £10 for it. Though it is currently 40% off on Steam.