Project Nimbus: Complete Edition Review Summary

Engaging high-speed mecha combat and homage to classics are undermined by a poorly told, cliché story and unfair difficulty spikes.

Engaging High-Speed Mecha Combat: Players consistently praise the fast-paced, exhilarating mecha combat, with fluid controls, satisfying weapons, and intense aerial dogfights. The combat is described as a mix of Ace Combat and Gundam, providing a unique and thrilling experience.

Homage to Classic Mecha Games: The game is often compared favorably to Armored Core, Ace Combat, Gundam, and Zone of the Enders. For fans of these franchises, it scratches a specific itch and fills a niche for high-quality mecha action on PC.

Engaging Story with Multiple Perspectives: The story is described as engaging, with multiple perspectives and themes reminiscent of Gundam and Ace Combat. Players appreciate the anti-war themes, character development, and faithful homage to classic mecha anime.

Smooth Controls and Accessibility: Controls are described as smooth, intuitive, and easy to learn, with options for both keyboard/mouse and controller. The auto-aim feature helps accessibility, while the responsive controls allow for skilled maneuvers.

Exceptional Value for Price: The game is frequently described as a steal for its low price, often costing just a few euros or dollars. Players feel they get a surprising amount of content and quality for the cost, making it a highly recommended purchase.

Story poorly told and cliché: The story is widely criticized for being confusing, tropey, and lacking depth. Constant faction switches, too many characters, rushed pacing, and derivative elements from Ace Combat/Gundam make it hard to follow or care about.

Unfair difficulty and spikes: Many missions and bosses have one-hit kills, extreme damage, or impossible timers. The difficulty curve is erratic, with easy missions followed by brutally hard fights that require guesswork or feel unfair.

Graphics and animations dated: The game looks cheap with low-quality textures, stiff animations, poor mech designs, and an overall budget feel. Many note that it doesn't even match Unreal Engine 3 expectations and has uninspired environments.

Weapon and combat system lacks impact: Weapons feel redundant, homing missiles often miss or self-destruct, melee is nearly useless, and hit detection is inconsistent. There is little feedback on hits, and combat boils down to spamming cooldown-based tools.

Controls clunky and unintuitive: Controls are described as unresponsive, slippery, and hard to manage—especially keyboard/mouse and controller mappings. Issues include missing roll, bad camera, claw grip necessity, and no double binding.

Fast-paced aerial mecha combat: The game features high-speed aerial combat with mechs, emphasizing fast movement, boosting, and dogfighting. It combines elements of third-person shooting with flight mechanics, offering a sense of speed and agility.

Diverse weapon systems with lock-on: Players have access to a wide array of weapons including missiles, machine guns, railguns, blades, and funnels. The lock-on mechanic simplifies targeting, allowing players to focus on maneuvering and switching weapons.

Multiple game modes including campaign and survival: The game offers a story-driven campaign with numerous missions, a survival mode with wave-based enemies, and a Warfront mode with progression and upgrades. These modes provide variety in objectives and replayability.

Heavily inspired by Ace Combat and Armored Core: The gameplay is frequently compared to Ace Combat for its aerial combat and mission structure, and to Armored Core for its mecha action and weapon systems. It also draws from Zone of the Enders and Gundam, blending these influences into a unique experience.

Responsive controls with movement nuances: The controls are designed for high-speed action, with boosting in all directions, evasive maneuvers like flares, and weapon switching. Some players find the controls initially clunky or sluggish, but they become smoother with practice. The flight model includes 6DOF and inertia, though some dislike the lack of roll.

Performance Problems and Stuttering: Many users report lag spikes, frame drops, and stuttering during missions or boss fights, even on good PCs. Some mention high fan usage, poor optimization, and trouble running at max settings on older hardware.

Various Bugs and Crashes: Reviewers mention general bugs, crashes, mouse control issues, screen visibility problems at start, and a problematic camera. These issues are reported across different play sessions.

Launch Issues: Multiple users report problems starting the game, especially the Complete Edition, requiring workarounds like changing Steam launch options or setting environment variables. Some players cannot launch on Windows 10 at all.

Missing Graphics Options: Players note the absence of detailed graphic settings, no V-Sync option leading to screen tearing, and limited display resolution support (only 1080p ultrawide, not 1440p). This reduces customization for different setups.

Cutscene and Audio Glitches: Several players experience cutscene problems: video fails on Linux with rainbow artifacts, audio sync issues, and missing sound effects. Subtitles and audio sometimes work, but the visual component is broken.

Highly recommended for mecha fans: The game is strongly recommended for fans of mecha anime and games, especially Gundam and Armored Core series. Many players praise its fast-paced action and mecha customization.

Best value on sale: Many reviewers recommend purchasing the game during sales, especially at deep discounts. It is considered worth the low price but not at full price for most players.

Better alternatives exist: Several players suggest playing other mecha or flight games instead, such as Armored Core 6, Ace Combat 7, Daemon X Machina, or Zone of the Enders. The game may not meet expectations set by these titles.

Positive with caveats: Many reviewers give a positive recommendation but with reservations, such as pointing out flaws or not fully endorsing. The game is seen as decent but not outstanding.

Only for hardcore mecha fans: The game is considered highly niche and only recommended for hardcore mecha enthusiasts or players starved for mecha content. Casual players may find it frustrating or lacking.

Community fair range: $5.00 - $7.00.

Story completion: 4.5h.

Session length: 1.3h.

The game's early hours are marred by a steep learning curve and problematic controls, but the core fast-paced combat becomes genuinely fun after practice, and the experience improves further in the end game with better mech options.

Reported time to anchor: 2h.

Friction: steep learning curve for mech/flight combat; complex controls that are hard to master; control weirdness even in tutorial; enemies frequently evade attacks causing a slog; game-breaking bugs early on; repetitive mission design (kill all enemies, time limits).

Unlock drivers: practice and mastery of movement and weapon switching; access to the protagonists' strong mechs in the end game; persistence through the initial learning phase.

Armored Core Veteran: Fast-paced, evasive maneuvering, boosting, and dogfighting; they enjoy challenging combat and invest time to master controls. Motivation: To recapture the gameplay feel of Armored Core, especially after the release of AC6. Stance: sale.

Mecha Anime Fan: Story-focused, appreciative of characters and cameos; may play on normal difficulty and enjoy the cinematic elements. Motivation: To experience a game that pays homage to their favorite mecha anime and includes familiar references. Stance: buy.

Budget-Conscious Casual: Casual playthrough, likely on easier difficulty, not focused on completion or high challenge; they play to pass time. Motivation: To get a good value game that provides fun without requiring a large financial investment. Stance: deep sale.

Steam Deck: The game suffers from significant compatibility issues on Steam Deck, including a non-functional Complete Edition, broken Linux cutscenes, and no official support from developers. Although a few users can play with tinkering, the overall experience is unstable and frustrating for most.

Kickstarter project origin: The game was funded via Kickstarter, and one reviewer followed its development as a backer. This indicates community support and expectations from the crowdfunding campaign.

5-6 hours of gameplay: The game offers about 5-6 hours of gameplay, providing a short but potentially focused experience.

Language barrier hinders story: One player could not evaluate the story due to a language barrier, highlighting localization issues or lack of translation options.

Demand for OST release: A reviewer expressed a desire for an official soundtrack release, indicating appreciation for the game's music.

Steam Deck compatibility mentioned: A review notes that the game's compatibility with Steam Deck was discussed, suggesting relevance for handheld gaming users.