Overload

released on May 31, 2018

A new six-degree-of-freedom shooter from the creators of Descent with intuitive controls, amazing lighting and graphics, and the best zero-G robot-blasting combat ever devised.


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In short, this game wore out its welcome at about halfway through the campaign. Don't get me wrong, it's technically-competent as hell, and exists as a excellent throwback to the Descent games. However, as the levels got larger and more complex, and the enemies more diverse, I started to burn-out, largely in part due to the gameplay itself not really evolving beyond "fly through level, destroy enemies, get cryotubes, destroy reactor." The story shows promise, but is cheaply executed.

Wazzup my fellow böömerchewter enjoyers, played anything gud lately??

Simple and straightforward shooting and flying, with six-degree-of-freedom being fun to play around with, but it does not really put up a challenge at any point, except the navigation itself.

A rather aesthetically and creatively conservative game propped up by extremely satisfying zero-g navigation and flight with the "six-degrees-of-freedom" control scheme. Some of the juiciest game-feel out there, really kinematic.

Superb mechanical interweaving. Not simply incredible for actually mastering the idea of six degrees of freedom but also constantly introducing new dynamics both in how your fire travels through space and how to avoid enemy fire through space. Sure, your fps retro staples are all here, from Lost Souls to Pinkies, but almost all of them have additional variants or similar copies that each bring their own dangerous and ridiculously engaging way to deal with them. Reavers and Scorpions especially end up being terrifying hounding enemies that constantly limit your space. Like you can move in so many directions to avoid attacks but your degree of consideration is always getting narrowed down and that forces you to make strong decisions. In general it's the best enemy roster I can even think of in a fps? They use everything you have as much as they test everything you can feasibly do.

I also really love the massive amount of clarity a game like this has, as well as the spectacular auto-correction so that you're generally moving through areas without getting super dizzy (and is also adjustable!). The maps themselves do not compromise either, getting progressively large and huge and demanding a good deal attention by the end of things. My favorite level is just one huge cavern structure that moves like a meticulous maze of passages and discriminates against anyone who thinks that the best way of avoidance is to Keep Running, as you'll just inundate yourself with 10+ enemies that you introduced your face to.

Really the only disappointment of Overload overall is its pretty in-one-eye/ear-out-the-other aesthetic. Granted it's a heavy challenge to try to do That much with this foundation without making someone nauseous, but it's a shame that so much of the levels bleed into each other. The music is simply just whatever too, and the final quarter feels like it just pulled back punches. Ironic due to what happens there but it was very disappointing when I finished off what amounts to a final boss and went "really?"

These are still small to me though, although worth acknowledging because they were always on my mind to some extent. Mostly the intrinsic feeling of spacecraft gameplay mastery under constant fire of several different types of weaponry that move 6dof is way way way more than enough to enjoy. One of the best fps games in recent memory if not in general.

This Decsent clone cribs so hard from its inspiration that anyone could mistake it for an official sequel. Depending on your appetites, that could be a very good thing.

The topsy-turvy levels and convincing vehicle control make for a good time for old hands and newcomers alike.