Recent reviews by AimAce

I don't normally post reviews- but I am posting one in fairness to some of the either misinformed, or malicious lies that were posted by some other reviews.

The game does have P2W, however it is nowhere close to the levels of Diablo Immortal. The game does NOT have PvP, and I can say from my hours played in the varying versions of the beta, that while the shop does provide some power for PvE purposes, it is limited to about 30-40% difference in strength. That difference would be someone who has whaled to the max, versus someone who has absolutely no upgrades whatsoever.

To explain the P2W a bit in this game- there is a lootbox system for "Pactspirits" or pets. Pets improve your stats, and have some custom traits that can modify your character. You are given various rarities of pets over the course of playing, however legendary pets, from my experience, seem to be limited to lootboxes.

You are given lootbox rolls as with most other lootbox games based on various achievements/battlepass/dailies. The pets have their own passive tree which becomes affixed to your character, and the difference between a legendary pet and a normal pet is 30%.

I am posting this mostly to combat the misinformation posted elsewhere in the reviews. I will note- the devs have made sweeping changes to their P2W system based on feedback, and as of my review, the only P2W that exists are these pets, as well as hero classes that are locked behind a one time fee. (The alternate classes are NOT stronger than normal classes based on beta testing).

The game adopts elements from popular ARPGS Path of Exile, keeping the complexity of support gems, customization via "passive trees", and various gameplay elements such as currency modifying gear, while reducing the overall complexity by having a more understandable UI, a less cluttered tree, and more guidance with certain traits geared towards certain builds (while not at all eliminating diversity of builds or even wacky "off build" builds).

Overall I think this is an excellent ARPG after my time spent playing, and if your concern is the cash shop, I can advise that it will have little to moderate impact at most, if at all.

Again- there is NO PvP, PvE is affected to about 30% at most if you were to completely max out a pet, and the devs have listened to player feedback and continue to do so. Do not be misinformed by other posts that seem to be based on having players not try the game.

This is an absolute gem of a game. If you're looking for a casual but enjoyable game to play with friends or alone, this is something to check out. The game is a port from a Mobile game, however the gameplay works exceptionally well on the PC, and plays smoothly on both.

Think slither.io combined with bumper car and battle royale mechanics, the gameplay focuses around you starting out as a small crab growing bigger as you "defeat" other crabs on a large beach-based map.

You fight opponents by repeatedly "crashing" into them, dealing damage based on what items you have equipped, what weapons or shields you have found from the map, and even using special abilities that are unique to each crab.

Crabs can be gotten through in-game transactions, though every crab can be earned through gameplay as well as ranking up.

All in all, each game lasts anywhere from seconds to half an hour or more. Queues are extremely quick as servers are always up, and you're dropped in against others who might be at a larger size or more established. Death comes quick though, even for the biggest crabs, with some strategy and cooperation.

Highly recommend especially if you want a game you can play both on Steam and on the go!

Severs are down so I am writing a review until servers are back up. Or until I get tired of writing whatever.

This is a solid ARPG, though there is nothing that is groundbreaking about it at the 14 hour mark. The game pace is a mix between Diablo 3 and Grim Dawn, and definitely has inspired elements from games like PoE. It seems to adopt a lot of positive/well received ideas from other ARPGs and tries to mix them into one product. My scores & ranking are below.

Combat- 7/10 or 9/10 if you you like slow paced combat, dodge is very fun though not fully responsive.
So, two scores can be pretty confusing, but I'll talk about what feels good here and what doesn't. The combat pace is a mix of D3 and Grim Dawn. Strong mobs can take a little bit of time to kill, but the combat isn't too much of a slog. Definitely a far cry from Path of Exile and Diablo 3 levelling experience where you are just flying across the map. Boss fights are fun for the most part, though I have not reached end game as of yet.
If you aren't a fan of slower combat, the pace can definitely feel slow at times.
The dodging in this game is fairly interesting, and sets itself apart from many of the other ARPG's out there. Every character starts with the ability to dodge a certain number of times (with a cooldown) which provides iframes as well as a small dash in distance. It makes boss fights feel a lot more responsive and deaths feel like something you entirely could have avoided with skill/knowledge. Very cool. However, one point of improvement is that the dodge does seem to not be always responsive, which can really take the flow out of fights.

Visuals - 8/10 Comparing this to other games in the same genre, the visuals are impressive and clean.
The look in this game is very sleek, and it tends to try it's best to give you a variety of environmental designs to play in. It does a little better than some of it's contemporary contenders, though not by so much that it warrants any big celebration. The game has some gore, and the impact of skills is quite noticeable. The monster designs can be a little same-y, but overall there are enough differences that it's still a very well visually designed game. It never feels too overbearing or too minimal.
The animations in this game feel clean and weighty too. Combat doesn't feel like I am swinging at air, and the animations don't clutter the screen either. Overall a very well done job.

Story- 7/10 I am only in act 3- enjoy the story so far.
Unlike most other ARPGs, I actually think the story in this is fairly immersive and fun in some ways. The protagonist actually has a bit of a personality, and going through the levels with your companions / NPCs isn't as dull as some of the other ARPGs out there. That being said, a lot of lore is mostly sidelined to small texts within skills/items etc, there isn't much NPC interaction, and while the story is good, it isn't an Oscar winner by any means. As expected of an ARPG.

Music - N/A - I literally haven't paid attention to the music so it's hard for me to rate it. I am not a big fan of music in ARPGs because I either A: play my own music, or B: get too pulled into the zone of grinding/staying alive. The fact that I can't recall ANY music in this game whatsoever might be a bad sign, or it might just be the genre.

Loot/Itemization- 8/10 Everyone who plays ARPG's knows that looting is half the fun. The loot in this game is about as good as any ARPG out there. Doesn't reinvent the wheel, but most people aren't looking for that. I will update as I head into end game. Resistances are back (and while I know a lot of people hate that, I love it personally) and there's always ways to chase for better gear. Uses a bit of currency system from PoE and it does it perfectly fine.

TLDR; 8/10
Very decent ARPG that will certainly fill that itch for those waiting for D4 / PoE2 and what not. It's definitely fun, dodging is a unique mechanic that I don't believe has been explored in ARPG's much, and overall is an easy recommend by me for any ARPG veterns.

For new players, it's casual enough that you can drop into it and see if it's fun.

Happy hunting Ascendant.

The game is quite fun, and while it seems simple, there's actually a lot of strategy that can go into creating good loadouts to synergize with your team.

The basic premise is this; you capture an "Inhibitor" in the center of the map to put up an invulnerability shield on your crystals, while DISABLING the shields on theirs. The first team to destroy all 3 enemy crystals wins.

What sets this game apart, is each "hero" only has two skills (left click, right click), but you switch between 3 different heroes by pressing 1/2/3. Switching to a hero happens instantenously with no delay, and will activate a "special ability" which is usually quite powerful. The cooldown is only about 2 seconds or so, and there is a lot of room to outplay someone.

The game is definitely more casual with each game lasting maybe 5-20 minutes, but has lots of fun tricks to figure out. Have fun!