Review NeuroVoider | Flying Oak Games brings us a “Futuristic Twin-Stick Shooter RPG” to the Xbox One. This is the studio’s second title ever and their first for the console. Is this a worthy entry into the console market and should you consider buying this game? Let’s take a look.
THE GOOD
- The controls are easy as you would expect from a twin stick shooter.
- Great sound track from Dan Terminus. The music really fits the style of the game.
- Offers single player and local co-op for up to 4 players.
- Daily runs offer a nice challenge for those who wish to score themselves against a daily leaderboard. Everyone gets one try at the same run.
- If you “finish” the game by fighting and defeating all 4 bosses, you can actually loop around and keep playing. You will still have your gear but start from the first level again and enemies are a bit tougher.
- There’s a lot of loot dropping and it’s all procedurally generated so you’ll have fun comparing a “Protonic Gatling Of Dark Danger” to a “Cucumber Free Nuke of Doomed Bending”. You can also spend scrap to boost a piece of equipment up to five times.
- The graphics offer a simple retro look but they do the job. On the whole they have a strong consistent theme to them.
MIXED FEELINGS
- The RPG part of “Futuristic Twin-Stick Shooter RPG” is completely missing if you ask me. Upgrading your gear does not make the game an RPG. There’s no story line to speak of and you don’t really play a character you can develop over time.
- It’s great to have several weapon types with a lot of randomized stats but I’ve found myself returning to the same type of weapon over and over as they fit my playstyle the best. Other players might prefer different setups but most people will gravitate towards a certain combination.
- The three robotic frames make very little difference, while they have different starting weapons you can swap those as soon as you get new gear and the ability for that frame isn’t all that useful. Except maybe when playing melee, in that case you want to pick Dash for sure.
THE BAD
- Sometimes, most noticeably on the subway maps, it’s all too hard to see where you can walk and where you are blocked. The same with shooting, some barriers you can shoot through, others you can’t. Visually it’s hard to tell the difference and is only something I have learned through repeated plays on those levels.
- Playing in co-op actually seems to make this game harder as loot is not shared and more often than not you will accidentally or unknowingly pick up gear that your friend really needs and there is no way to trade loot between players. I have ended up preferring solo play which is a first for me when it comes to twin stick shooters.
- Weapons have a rarity but apparently also a hidden level. As I progressed I found that a common weapon might be more powerful than a legendary one. With only the rarity as indicator this means you have to spend more time comparing stats than should be the case.
Score: 78% | NeuroVoider is an addicting little twin stick shooter. It’s definitely not easy, but it’s not impossible either. Flying Oak Games have done a great job and if you are in the market for a twin stick shooter and enjoy collecting loot and challenging yourself by improving your runs and mastering the game over time you can definitely do worse than picking this one up.
Patrick spent fourteen hours on the game before writing the review, earning 440 Gamerscore. Thanks developer Flying Oak for providing the review code!