Angels Fall First Review Summary

Deep loadout customization and epic space combat with offline bots evoke a nostalgic classic feel, but a very low player population and janky, laggy controls hold it back.

Deep loadout customization: The game offers extensive customization for infantry, vehicles, and ships, including weapons, gear, and loadouts, which is a key feature.

Offline bot support: Offline play with bots is fully supported, with progression, challenge on many maps, and fun co-op; bots are decent.

Epic space combat: Space battles are praised as epic and fun, featuring capital ships, piloting, boarding actions, and customizable ships.

Nostalgic classic feel: The game is frequently compared to classics like Star Wars Battlefront 2, Battlefield 2142, and Titanfall, often seen as better or with more depth.

Excellent overall game: Many reviews call the game excellent, a gem, and worth every penny, praising its overall quality and enjoyment.

Very low player population: Multiple reviews report a very low concurrent player count, empty servers, and a small community. This makes finding matches difficult and threatens the game's long-term viability.

Poor user interface design: The user interface is frequently described as awful, unintuitive, clunky, and hard to use. Many reviews call for a complete redesign to improve readability and navigation.

Janky and laggy controls: Movement and general gameplay feel laggy, janky, and unresponsive. These issues contribute to a dated and frustrating experience.

Polished space vs rough ground: Ground combat feels less polished and more dated than the space combat, with quality-of-life shortcomings. The game also shows its early access rough edges.

Performance and optimization issues: The game suffers from optimization problems that cause framerate drops and stuttering. This harms performance even on capable hardware.

Combined arms space combat: Players frequently highlight the inclusion of combined ground, vehicle, and space combat with capital ships, fighters, and boarding actions. This feature is a core selling point of the game.

Player controlled capital ships: Several clusters emphasize the ability to pilot and board capital ships, with player-driven interiors and destruction mechanics. This depth of ship interaction is a distinct and praised feature.

Extensive loadout customization: Loadout customization for infantry, vehicles, and spacecraft, including weapon mods, is consistently valued. This depth allows players to tailor their playstyle across different combat roles.

Offline and bot support: The availability of offline play with AI bots and online co-op is frequently mentioned, important for solo players and practice. This ensures accessibility without requiring online connectivity.

Classic Battlefront inspiration: Players often compare the game favorably to classic Battlefront titles and describe it as a mix of Battlefield, Star Wars, and Halo. This suggests it successfully captures the feel of beloved franchises.

Performance Issues Persistent: Multiple reports describe frame rate drops, stuttering, poor optimization, and CPU-heavy performance. Issues occur in specific scenarios like high bot counts, map starts, or every 30 seconds in solo play.

Good for Some Rigs: Some players report smooth and well-optimized performance, especially on high-end hardware. A minority find it runs well on moderate settings.

Dev Priority: Stutter: Space stutter is acknowledged as a top priority by developers, showing awareness and planned fixes.

Steam Deck Underperforms: The game struggles on Steam Deck despite claims of compatibility. Performance is not satisfactory for portable play.

Host System Taxed: The game taxes the host system heavily, likely impacting multiplayer hosting performance.

Great for shooter fans: Many players recommend this game specifically for fans of older class-based shooters, large-scale combined arms battles, and space FPS games. It is seen as a worthy alternative to franchises like Battlefront, Battlefield, Planetside 2, and Enemy Territory.

Excellent value for price: Multiple players give strong buy recommendations, calling it a 10/10, an essential purchase, and a no-brainer. It is praised as great value for money, especially at its current price point.

Hidden gem and indie success: Players describe the game as a hidden gem, a labor of love, and an overall awesome experience that surpasses some recent AAA releases. The development team receives strong support for their work.

Players recommend community support: Players actively encourage spreading the word, buying copies for friends, and building the community to ensure the game's success. This shows strong dedication and a desire for the player base to grow.

Some players advise avoiding: A minority of players do not recommend the game, citing a lack of polish, dead servers, or better alternatives. Some state it is not worth their time or money in its current state.

Community fair range: $17.99 - $20.00.

Session length: 2.0h.

Angels Fall First initially frustrates with a steep learning curve and poor tutorials, but the game becomes highly engaging once players push through to a bot match or use community resources.

Friction: steep learning curve; poor or broken tutorials; confusing interface and controls; lack of in-game help; progression system limits initial loadout options; dead multiplayer community for PVP seekers.

Unlock drivers: playing a quick bot match; using community guides; getting through the tutorial; leveling up to unlock more loadout options; playing in single-player or co-op mode.

Classic Combined Arms Veteran: Enjoys large-scale battles with infantry, vehicles, and spaceships; adapts to both PvP and PvE; values tactical depth and team coordination. Motivation: Nostalgia and love for old-school combined arms multiplayer gameplay. Stance: buy.

Single-Player/Co-op Bot Enthusiast: Plays solo or with friends in offline/co-op matches against AI; explores customization and leveling without PvP stress. Motivation: Enjoyment of tactical bot battles without the pressure of online competition. Stance: buy.

Disappointed Multiplayer Seeker: Attempted to engage in online PvP but encountered empty servers and performance problems; may have tried single-player but found it lacking. Motivation: Desire for a populated, competitive multiplayer environment. Stance: no buy.

Both hardware cohorts report positive performance with no significant issues.

Windows <8GB VRAM: positive. Players with 8GB VRAM report good performance, with no major issues mentioned.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: positive. Players with 16GB VRAM report excellent performance, even under heavy loads.

Steam Deck: The game exhibits significant control and performance issues on Steam Deck, requiring workarounds such as using DX9 and manual controller configuration. The store page misleadingly claims seamless performance, but actual experience demands tinkering. Despite positive indie sentiment, the game is not out-of-the-box compatible.

Linux and Proton: The game runs on Linux with minor DirectX 11 texture glitches that are easily fixed by switching to DirectX 9. No major blockers like secure boot or anti-cheat issues are reported. Linux compatibility is overall good with a simple workaround.

Monetization: The user reviews consistently affirm that the game is a one-time purchase with no microtransactions, battle passes, or pay-to-win features. The only monetization-related feedback is positive, highlighting the absence of such mechanics.

External guides: The only complaint fitting the wiki tax categories is a severe alt-tab crash bug, indicating a technical issue rather than a need for game mechanic or economic data. Other reviews are neutral, positive, or unrelated to external data dependency.