Angels Fall First Review Summary

Seamless ground-space combat experience: The game features large-scale battles with seamless transitions between ground and space combat. Players can pilot various ships, board enemy vessels, and engage in intense FPS combat within capital ships, creating a unique and immersive sci-fi experience.

Competent and customizable AI bots: The game features competent AI bots that provide a challenging and enjoyable experience, even in solo play. Bots fill matches, use tactics, and can be customized, making the game fun regardless of player count.

Extensive weapon and vehicle customization: The game offers extensive customization options for weapons, vehicles, and loadouts, allowing players to tailor their experience to their preferred playstyle. This includes diverse weapon attachments, vehicle modifications, and armor customizations.

Evokes classic Battlefield/Battlefront gameplay: The game is frequently compared to classic titles like Battlefield 2142 and Star Wars Battlefront 2, capturing the essence of those games while offering its own unique features. This evokes a sense of nostalgia for fans of those franchises.

Detailed and strategic capital ship combat: Capital ships are a key feature, with detailed interiors, manual control, and strategic importance. Players can board, sabotage, and even escape from these ships as they engage in large-scale battles.

Critically low player population: The game suffers from an extremely low player count, resulting in empty multiplayer servers and matches predominantly filled with AI. This significantly diminishes the potential for engaging PvP experiences and coordinated teamwork, making it difficult to recommend for players seeking a vibrant online community.

Cluttered, unintuitive user interface: The user interface is frequently described as cluttered, unintuitive, and difficult to navigate. Reviewers note that the UI's complexity and dated design hinder the player experience, making it challenging to manage loadouts and understand in-game information.

Outdated graphics and presentation: The game's graphics and overall presentation appear dated, with some reviewers drawing comparisons to older titles. This is attributed to the game's engine and prolonged early access state, leading to visuals that don't meet modern standards.

Unintuitive and clunky space combat: Space combat is criticized for being unintuitive and difficult to learn, lacking sufficient explanation and clear weapon descriptions. Players report issues with controls, enemy visibility, and overall execution, making space battles frustrating and unrewarding.

Awkward and unrefined vehicle handling: Vehicle physics and handling are described as awkward and unrefined, leading to frequent collisions and a lack of satisfying control. Reviewers suggest improvements to vehicle physics, collision detection, and the overall feel of vehicular combat.

Varied maps and objectives: Maps are varied, ranging from planetside environments to space stations and capital ship interiors. Objectives include capturing points, attacking/defending bases, and boarding enemy ships, providing diverse gameplay experiences.

Extensive loadout customization options: The game emphasizes extensive loadout customization. Players can modify weapons, armor, and vehicles with various attachments, mods, and even ammo types. This allows for diverse builds and encourages experimentation to find optimal setups.

Combines elements from classic games: The game incorporates elements from classic games like Battlefield, Battlefront, and Unreal Tournament. Game modes include territory control and attacker/defender scenarios, providing familiar but distinct gameplay experiences.

Command system for AI squads: Players can issue commands to AI squadmates, influencing their behavior in combat. This system encourages tactical play and coordination, but the AI squadmates wander aimlessly without commands.

Lacks server browser filter: The game features conquest and rush modes, but could benefit from additional modes like Escort/Multi-VIP. The game lacks a server browser filter for specific game modes, forcing players to cycle through maps to find desired modes.

Optimization issues impact performance: Many players report experiencing performance issues, including low FPS and stuttering, even on systems that meet or exceed the recommended specifications. Some suggest the game needs better graphical optimization to run smoothly, especially with a large number of bots or on higher settings. This is a recurring concern across different reviews.

Textures need improvement: Some reviewers feel that the textures could use some improvement. The game looks acceptable, but the graphics are not particularly impressive.

High AI count impacts performance: Frame rates can drop significantly when the player is swarmed by a large number of enemies or when a high number of bots are active. This suggests that the game's performance is heavily impacted by the number of AI units being processed, potentially due to CPU limitations.

Dated movement and physics: The game's movement and physics feel dated, with clunky vehicle handling and occasional snagging on terrain. While movement is generally smooth, the overall feel is not as polished as more modern titles. This can detract from the immersion and fluidity of gameplay.

Collision issues on some maps: Some players have encountered collision issues on certain maps, including falling through the floor or getting stuck in the environment. These bugs can disrupt gameplay and require the player to find a workaround or respawn.

Strongly recommended; solid gameplay, potential: Many reviewers recommend the game, citing its solid gameplay, potential, and status as a passion project. Some suggest purchasing it to support the developers, especially given its low price and the value it offers compared to AAA titles. Reviewers highlight that current issues seem fixable.

Good single-player/co-op bot experience: The game is recommended for its single-player or co-op experience against bots, especially for those who enjoy the gameplay of Planetside but prefer playing offline. Some reviewers even suggest that the bots are better than the average player.

Hopes for continued development: Reviewers express hope for continued development and updates to the game. They suggest that purchasing the game now will help with development and encourage the addition of features like workshop support.

Needs more exposure/marketing: The game needs more exposure to increase the player base. Some reviewers suggest that a popular YouTuber showcasing the game could attract more players.

Modernized Battlefront/Battlefield alternative: Many reviewers compare the game favorably to the classic Battlefront and Battlefield titles, especially those developed by DICE. They see it as a spiritual successor or the game that Battlefront should have been, delivering large-scale sci-fi battles.

Long, possibly stalled development: The game has been in development for a very long time, starting as a mod and entering early access many years ago. Some reviewers express concern about the slow development pace, the small team size, and whether the game will ever be fully released, while others note that development seems to have been abandoned.

Sci-fi setting, dated graphics: The game features a sci-fi setting with its own universe and lore, and an art style reminiscent of older games like Homeworld. While the graphics are considered good, they are not cutting-edge.

Low player base, poor marketing: The game suffers from low player counts, attributed to a lack of marketing and a generic name. This makes it difficult to find populated online servers, hindering the multiplayer experience.

Mix of Planetside/Battlefront/Battlefield: The game is comparable to a mix of Planetside, Battlefront, and Battlefield 2142. It offers a blend of large-scale battles, spaceship dogfighting, and close-quarters combat.

Audio mix, TTK need adjustment: The default music volume can obscure important audio cues like enemy footsteps, and the default time-to-kill for infantry feels too high. These issues impact gameplay and require adjustment.