- Rich content and high replayability
- Exceptional value for its price
- Strong and unique humor
- Engaging and fluid combat
- Good co-op experience
- Suffers from poor performance and stability
Emotions
Players felt satisfied primarily due to the game's high overall quality, value for money, and its ability to meet or exceed expectations, especially after a long wait. The engaging combat, sense of progression, and new content also contributed significantly to this positive emotion.
Excitement stemmed from the game's long-awaited release, its overall quality, and the anticipation of future content and new game modes. The chaotic and fast-paced gameplay, along with the co-op experience, also generated significant enthusiasm.
Joy was frequently experienced due to the game's fun factor, particularly its combat and upgrade systems. Playing with friends and family through local co-op, along with the game's humor and engaging nature, also brought considerable delight.
Frustration was mainly caused by technical issues such as frequent crashes, severe frame drops, and poor optimization. Players also expressed frustration with awkward controls, specific bugs preventing progression, and limitations in combat mechanics or enemy design.
Disappointment arose from performance issues, poor optimization, and the absence of expected features or content from demos or previous versions. Issues with multiplayer, lack of controller vibration, and specific non-functional mechanics also contributed to this feeling.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 90% · Negative 10%. Score: 10 / 100
Positives:
- The game offers a substantial amount of content, including diverse game modes, characters, and unlockable upgrades, ensuring high replayability. Players appreciate the satisfying progression system and the continuous addition of new features since its demo versions.
- Players consistently praise the game's exceptional value for its low price, often stating it feels like a 'steal' or that they would pay significantly more. This sentiment is reinforced by the game's high quality and extensive content, especially considering its early access status and long development wait.
- The game's humor is a significant highlight, described as funny, silly, and often incorporating memes and toilet humor. Its satirical take on corporate culture and capitalism particularly resonates with players, adding a unique comedic layer to the gameplay.
- The combat system is highly praised for being fun, satisfying, and impactful, with smooth animations and well-done physics. Players enjoy the variety of moves, the 'dial-a-combo' system, and the overall fluid feel of the action.
- Players are impressed by the significant improvements and polish from earlier demo versions to the current release. The developers are also commended for actively listening to community feedback and incorporating suggestions, fostering a positive and evolving game experience.
Negatives:
- Players frequently report significant performance issues, including lag, stuttering, long load times, and frequent crashes. Many feel the game is unoptimized and unfinished, even on capable hardware, with some bugs preventing progression.
- Feedback indicates issues with the move system, including limited control over move lists, inability to clear or rearrange moves, and a lack of diversity or depth in attack sequences. Some feel the combat is too automated or repetitive.
- Multiplayer functionality, specifically through Steam Remote Play, is widely criticized as unoptimized, awkward, and often unplayable due to glitches and poor performance.
- A common complaint is the inability to customize key bindings or rebind controls, which limits player accessibility and comfort.
- Players are disappointed by the removal of the 'lab demo' feature, which was present in previous versions and a reason some followed the game's development.
Gameplay:
- The game has significantly expanded since its demo, offering a wealth of content including new gameplay features, minigames, boss fights, and diverse game modes. Players can unlock new floors and upgrade content, adding freshness and variety to the experience.
- The core gameplay is a physics-based beat 'em up, often described as a roguelike or roguelite. Players engage in combat against stickmen, utilizing available items and moves to progress.
- The game's narrative involves a stickman climbing the corporate ladder by violently dealing with colleagues and superiors, including protesting employees. The humor and quirky voices contribute to a satirical take on corporate culture.
- The game features a unique card-based move system where players draw and sequence skill cards to perform attacks. There are many characters and moves to unlock and upgrade, allowing for varied combat strategies and combo creation, though a skill deletion feature from the demo seems to be missing.
- The game offers a variety of unlockable characters, each possessing distinct skills and characteristics, which adds to replayability and strategic depth.
Performance:
- Feedback regarding hardware upgrades, demo performance, and comparisons to other games is too fragmented and lacks specific, actionable insights. While it touches on performance, the information is not constructive enough for a high-importance summary.
- Despite general performance issues, some players report that the game runs surprisingly well on the Steam Deck. This positive feedback highlights a specific platform where the game performs acceptably.
Recommendations:
- Players overwhelmingly recommend this game, citing its excellent value for money, especially at its current price point. Many believe it's a must-buy for fans of roguelikes, beat 'em ups, and fast-paced action, with some even suggesting it's a great stress reliever.
- While generally positive, some players acknowledge that the game, being in early access, still has issues that need to be addressed. They express an expectation for fixes and improvements.
- A specific suggestion from players is the addition of online co-op, which they believe would significantly enhance the game's appeal and make it even better.
Miscellaneous:
- Players have been eagerly anticipating this game for a long time, with many following its development since early demos and itch.io versions. There's significant excitement for future content, including new levels, modes, characters, and online multiplayer.
- The game is currently in Early Access, which players understand means it's not a final product. This status also implies that developers are open to suggestions for future updates.
- Players describe the game as a unique combination, drawing comparisons to titles like Stickfight and Going Under, and noting its evolution from simpler concepts like One Finger Death Punch.
- The 'Retro image mode' is visually appealing, making elements glow beautifully. Some players suggest making this mode a default or offering it as an initial choice with a preview.
- Some humor in the game might not age well, and certain content is not suitable for playing in professional environments.
