Sodaman Review Summary

Fun, addictive gameplay experience: The game is frequently described as fun, enjoyable, and addictive, with players often losing track of time while playing. Many reviewers highlight the engaging gameplay loop and satisfying sense of progression as key factors contributing to its addictiveness.

Great art, music, and sound: Many reviewers praised the game's art style, music, and sound design, noting that they contribute positively to the overall atmosphere and immersive experience. The graphics are often described as visually appealing and well-crafted.

Responsive controls, impactful combat: The game's controls are well-made and responsive, contributing to a smooth and enjoyable combat experience. The fast-paced combat and impactful hit feedback further enhance the overall feel of the game.

Balanced, enjoyable difficulty curve: The game offers a balanced challenge, with a difficulty curve that is easy to learn but hard to master. The enemy and boss designs are well-executed, contributing to a satisfying and engaging experience.

Refreshing survivor-like experience: The game is considered a refreshing and enjoyable take on the survivor genre, differentiating itself from typical Vampire Survivors-like games. Reviewers appreciate the unique design elements and find it more engaging than other similar titles.

Fails power fantasy experience: The game fails to deliver a satisfying power fantasy experience. The game feels unrewarding, with meta-progression primarily tied to finding blue boxes and quitting stages.

Poor UI and unclear elements: The game suffers from usability issues, including unclear mouse-over highlighting and unnecessarily complex systems for selecting and discarding items. The map's symbols are unclear, forcing players to learn their meanings through trial and error.

Poor translation quality: The game's localization is poorly done, featuring machine translation quality, inaccurate translations, and untranslated text. This makes it difficult for players to understand the gameplay, story, and skill descriptions, hindering their ability to progress effectively.

Game riddled with bugs: The game suffers from various bugs, including crashes, language setting issues, and freezes. These technical problems disrupt gameplay and negatively impact the overall user experience.

Lacks meta-progression elements: The game lacks meaningful meta-progression outside of matches, with limited content and almost non-existent out-of-game upgrades. This results in a lack of a satisfying sense of progression and replayability.

Soda powers enable diverse builds: The game features a unique soda-themed power-up system where consuming different sodas grants various abilities and stat boosts. Players can combine different soda types to create custom playstyles and enhance their combat effectiveness. Some sodas and combinations are more effective than others, influencing player choices and strategies.

Card system enhances abilities: The game incorporates a card system where players find and equip cards from chests to enhance their abilities during runs. Players explore maps, complete objectives, and defeat bosses to progress through difficulty levels. Limited card slots require strategic decisions about which cards to keep, adding a layer of deck-building to the survivor gameplay.

Out-of-game upgrades enhance character: The game features an out-of-game progression system where players earn currency and blueprints to modify their character with cybernetic implants and purchase new weapons. This system allows for long-term character development and customization, influencing the underlying game mechanics and providing a sense of progression beyond individual runs. Submachine gun with ricochet is particularly effective.

Auto-aim and manual aim options: The game offers both auto-aim and manual aiming options, catering to different playstyles and combat situations. Auto-aim is useful for dealing with hordes of enemies, while manual aiming allows for more precise targeting of bosses and elites. This flexibility enhances the player's control and adaptability during gameplay.

Vampire Survivors-like with soda theme: The game is a survivor-like game, drawing inspiration from titles like Vampire Survivors and Death Must Die. It incorporates elements such as waves of enemies, experience collection, and skill upgrades within a cyberpunk setting. The soda theme is a core element.

Bugs, poor optimization, lag: Multiple reviews cite bugs, performance issues, and optimization problems. These include crashes, FPS drops (especially in later levels or with specific builds), lag spikes, and general poor optimization. Some users reported that the game engine struggles with on-screen chaos.

Conflicting optimization reports: Some reviews praise the game's optimization and modest PC requirements, while others contradict this. Given the number of negative reports, these positive reviews may be outliers or based on limited testing.

Localization issues present: Some players have encountered issues with the game's localization, including Chinese fonts appearing in system menus and untranslated text. This can make the game difficult to navigate and understand.

Audio bugs reported: Several players have reported audio bugs, such as sound disappearing after specific actions or at regular intervals. This can detract from the overall gaming experience.

Settings reset on startup: Players have reported that graphics and language settings reset each time the game is started. This is a recurring inconvenience that should be addressed.

Wait for future updates: A recurring sentiment is to wait for future updates before purchasing. Reviewers suggest the game is currently lacking content or has issues that need to be addressed, but they are optimistic that it will improve over time. Some specifically recommend wishlisting the game and checking back later.

Positive initial impressions: Some reviewers rate the game highly, praising its success even in Early Access. They consider it a solid entry in its genre and commend its current state.

Worth the affordable price: Many reviewers find the game to be worth its current price, often citing its affordability. They suggest that the game provides enough entertainment value for the cost, especially if the developers continue to support it.

Good for genre enthusiasts: The game is recommended for fans of the bullet hell roguelike or Vampire Survivors-like genre. Some suggest that if you enjoy similar games like Death Must Die, you will likely enjoy this one.

Core gameplay is shooting: The core gameplay loop revolves around shooting and utilizing various abilities. Players can combine soda, guns, cards, and character enhancements to create diverse combat capabilities.

Early access, future improvements expected: The game is in early access, with frequent updates and plans for future expansion. Reviewers anticipate improvements to content, balancing, and overall game features as development progresses.

Humorous, quirky soda theme: The game features a quirky soda-themed cyberpunk setting with a humorous storyline. The narrative is presented through comics and incorporates references, adding to the game's unique and lighthearted atmosphere.

Empty hub, story is backdrop: The game features a hub area that feels empty due to limited interaction options. Additionally, while the game includes a story, it serves primarily as a backdrop to the overall gameplay experience.

Inconsistent loot box drops: Players have noted that the frequency of loot box drops varies significantly between game sessions. This inconsistency can impact the player's progression and overall experience.

Rerolls give same cards: Players report that rerolling rewards consistently yields the same cards, albeit with varying rarities. This limits strategic options and can make progression feel repetitive.