Nebula Within Review

[Michael {United Critics}]

Overview

A classic Twin-Stick Shooter game, with a twist. When you hear the term “Twin-Stick Shooter”, violence and explosive destruction would be the first terms to pop up in your mind, but this game is quite the opposite. Its main objective is to “Motivate” its players by displaying motivational quotes and positive phrases and it maintains a calm, peaceful and relaxing mood.

Gameplay

The players’ main objective is to destroy anything and everything that slides into the screen. It has a similar gameplay to the classic Asteroids game, but with no explosions. The game has two modes. One mode is the main mode where you progress through different levels (Known as Diary Entries here) with a different Motivational Mood and they get progressively harder, plus the player would be limited to three lives. The other mode is an endless mode where the player would have infinite lives and would face infinite waves.

The game also has power-ups that are positive/motivational words that buff the “Spacecraft” you are using for a short duration. These power-ups float around randomly and can be picked up. There are no permanent upgrades.

Visuals

The game uses simple geometric shapes, hence there’s nothing much we can talk about the graphics of this game. But what’s interesting is that the color palette they chose comprises of bright colors. The general background of the game is black (Outer Space) with small white dots (Stars). What sucks is that the game flashes these bright lights which hurt my eyes, not a real comfortable experience. It is also harmful to people with Epilepsy. What’s even worse is that they don’t warn the players about “Flashing Bright Lights” before the game starts. It’s not fun to have bright light flashing on your face all of a sudden when you are in a dark room. It is unhealthy for our vision. In conclusion, the visuals are simple but are too bright and flashy.

Audio

The game aims at giving the player a relaxing experience, so one would anticipate soothing music. Funnily enough, this game has an eerie soundtrack. It is not relaxing at all, it’s just creepy. It would be way better if they added a melodious and slow track instead.

Pros

• A great time killer.
  
• Endless mode for a stress-busting session.
  
• Simple yet Vibrant and bright visuals.
  
• I love how the menu is set up. You need to shoot the options you want using your spaceship.
  
• The game records your longest “Diary Entry” that includes the Date, time, and the Scrawls Made. Scrawls increase depending on the number of hits you get on the target. 1 hit=1 Scrawl.

Cons

• The game has a lot of bright flashes which is harmful to our eyes and for people with epilepsy. They don’t even warn the players about this beforehand.
  
• The game is simple, doesn’t need a tutorial. But the player must be informed about the elements in the game and what their objective is.
  
• The game gets boring eventually. It got boring after 5-10 minutes for me. This can’t be played as a main game, rather it can be played as a time killer.
  
• The soundtracks used in this game are not comforting and soothing at all. They sound like they have been picked out of a horror movie. It’s too eerie to be in a game that promises to deliver a mind relaxing experience to its players.

Conclusion

This is a small game by a small developer and it’s certainly not shovelware as it has a unique concept. Although it’s not really “fun” to play, we need to support small developers who come up with unique ideas of their own. It’s good to play whenever you feel bored as a way to keep yourself entertained. I have mixed feelings for this game.

Rating: 5.5/10

Reviewer: Midplayz
Indie Games are funnily fun.